In 1968, Trappist Monk wrote Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander responding to some of the horrific events on the political landscape trying to examine what sense of accountability the good citizen had in failing to make a nation safe for its people. Today, we can look back 21 years and ask ourselves some of the … Continue reading Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander
Because of the rapid proliferation of technology and communication, traumatic events and acute personal reminders have become much more commonplace experiences. We’ve become conscious of what previous generations could only imagine. These difficult new experiences can startle and trigger anxiety and alarm rather than empathy and compassion. This is a sermon about what recent events … Continue reading What Happened to You?
Each of us has probably experienced the feeling of being abandoned and betrayed. In moments that mattered, we have had to imagine facing the world unprotected and alone. It is a scary sequence of thoughts that come when we have to piece together our own survival rather than the creative imagination that comes when we … Continue reading Bird by Bird, Stone by Stone, Hand in Hand
Known to some as the country’s “second Independence Day,” Juneteenth celebrates freedom. Not just the freedom of folks who assumed they were free, but what it might feel like if ALL people were free. The news that enslaved people would be freed after the civil war, took a long time in reaching some communities – … Continue reading Juneteenth
Our annual Flower Communion service asks us to remember the courage and vision of Norbert Capek who presided over one of the largest Unitarian Congregations in Prague, Czechoslovakia in the years when the Nazi regime terrorized political dissidents for criticizing the Third Reich. Capek asked people to imagine the beautiful diversity in everything – from … Continue reading Flower Communion
Over the course of a year, it’s sometimes good to map the trajectory of our hearts and review the journeys we’ve been on. This is sometimes as helpful for communities as it is for individuals. Especially when the world we live in has been taking us for the ride of our lives. What are the … Continue reading To Survey An Atlas of the Heart
In this service we will share some of the stories of our racial history that we recall with pride and that for which we still hold regret. As UUs, we will acknowledge our important, inspiring, compelling and confusing journey toward racial justice and what has led us to this point of feeling like we need … Continue reading 8th Principle
Baseball is full of heroes. The amazing catch. The game-changing home run. The play no one can never forget. And, of course, baseball is a game spotlighting the specific player who performs these unforgettable feats of grandeur. We all want such players on our team. Indeed, some say the game today is actually the game … Continue reading When Angels Meet Giants
Unitarian Julia Ward Howe was one of the first people who conceived of a Mother’s Day. But she did not envision what we currently have today – a Mother’s Day celebrated as a sentimental and gift-giving day honoring mothers. Ward, was a 19th century social reformer (and author of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,”) … Continue reading The Presence of a Protector, the Promise of Peace
Almost everyone will tell you that they care about the earth. They care about the relationship they have helped to co-create [and re-create everyday] with the other 8.7 million species that co-habitate with us on planet earth. But what does it really mean to responsibly live up to our end of the interdependent bargain? This … Continue reading The Interdependent Web of Life of Which We’re a Part (Earth Day)
