Why should you come to church more often? Because you want to. I hear this from my congregants all the time. That it’s hard to come on Sunday mornings–people want to sleep in, they have lots to do–but when they do, they’re glad. “I need to come more often,” I …
The following sermon was shared at the December 7, 2014 worship service at Chalice Unitarian Universalist Congregation. In Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1921, an angry mob of white people numbering in the thousands burned down the Greenwood District, the African American part of town. More than one thousand homes and businesses …
Beloved community, The week before Thanksgiving was certainly tumultuous. First, President Obama announced he would use his executive powers to protect up to 5 million undocumented immigrants from being deported. Many of us who have been hoping for immigration reform were glad for some action to finally be taken, imperfect …
Beloved community, I have just arrived home from a 5-day trip to Tucson, where I studied immigration issues with 20 other Unitarian Universalist ministers through a program offered by BorderLinks and the UU College of Social Justice. BorderLinks is a nonprofit educational organization in Tucson that offers experiential learning in …
“I’m spiritual but not religious,” they say, and “I’m not comfortable with institutionalized religion.” That’s all well and good. But I get phone calls from strangers hoping I’ll visit a dying father And emails from strangers requesting prayers. I’ve seen people crying in the grocery store And the mall parking …
Beloved community, Most people are uncomfortable talking about memorial services. Not me. I’ve been planning my own memorial service since I was a teenager, with a particular interest in music selections. I’ve progressed from thinking I might like the Star Wars theme played to—more recently—thinking the song “I Lived” by …
Beloved community, Because we are such a community of readers, I thought some of you might be interested in knowing what’s on my reading list for the coming year. Reclaiming Prophetic Witness: Liberal Religion in the Public Square by Paul Rasor. This is the UUA’s “Common Read” title for 2014-15. …
Post by Chalice Unitarian Universalist Congregation.
Beloved community, As part of my recent time off for vacation, I participated in a five-day silent retreat at Mary and Joseph Retreat Center in Rancho Palos Verdes. Except for one hour each day with my spiritual director, I was silent from 7 p.m. Sunday evening until Friday morning (I …
Beloved community, I’d like you to think about joining our Religious Education (RE) committee. Yes, you. The majority of Unitarian Universalists were not raised in this faith tradition. Many of us come to Unitarian Universalism as we prioritize certain life values over the norms of our surrounding culture. We value …