In this concluding segment of the sermon trilogy, we will use one of the most iconic figures of American culture to help reveal evidence showing the ways society has slipped into unprecedented low in civility. MAGA critics pushed hard on the claim that the new Superman movie is ‘wokism’. But the real truth is we … Continue reading God is Betting on Us – Part III – This Superman Moment
Noah had a dilemma. It seems the world was going to hell in a handbasket and, frankly, he was hoping for something a little more promising. Together with his neighbor and the wisdom of the animals of his community, they reflect on a theology that may help guide them toward a more hope-filled future. They … Continue reading Noah’s Dilemma
Continuing in the second part of this sermon trilogy, we turn our attention to the people who are part of the action – those who have ‘skin in the game.’ The world of the recently legalized sports betting industry is, of course, filled with winners and losers. But when we learn that the game is … Continue reading God is Betting on Us – Part II – For the Love of the People Who Play
There is a wise prophecy of a UU mentor who said that churches – even the really good ones – would, eventually, break our hearts. Hearing it for the first time seemed almost sacrilegious. It suggested that the institution based on faith that we dedicated ourselves to could be the very thing to challenge our … Continue reading Love After Love
This sermon trilogy opens one hundred and four years ago, when eight Chicago White Sox players were permanently banned from baseball for desecrating the sport’s sacred code: they bet on the game. More accurately, they received payoffs to throw the 1919 World Series, allowing the gambling syndicate to profit. The incident cast a stain on … Continue reading God is Betting on Us – Part I – For the Love of the Game
How does singing African American Spirituals help us understand the systemic oppression built into this country and the convoluted path that African Americans had to navigate to find their way to freedom? The Zoom link and Order of Service will be provided at mpuuc.org/zoom.
200 Years ago, New England Unitarians – who were yet to marvel before the miracle of air conditioning, would close their churches and all migrate to the Cape where it was cooler. This was because most early Unitarian ministers were also university professors who didn’t teach classes in the summer. This is the history behind … Continue reading Flower Communion
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is a Harvard-trained neuro anatomist. In 1996 she experienced a severe hemorrhage (AVM) in the left hemisphere of her brain causing her to lose the ability to walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life. She put what she learned from that experience in her book, My Stroke of … Continue reading A Stroke of Insight
In the summer of 2010, when SB1070 – the controversial anti-immigration (‘Show me your papers’) law, UUs descended upon the city of Phoenix to challenge Sherriff Joe Arpaio’s immigration sweeps. What we learned in two days helps make sense of decades of racism in policing, detention and immigration systems. At a time when these issues … Continue reading A 36 Hour Crash Course on Immigration Oppression
Look everywhere around you at this moment and you will see – everywhere – things are in a precarious place of absolute destruction and change. Things we thought would be everlasting – like laws that protect the vulnerable and guarantees of human rights – are suddenly being questioned if not eliminated. We are in great … Continue reading The Essential, Ordinary Wisdom of Resurrection
