So much has been written about children attending worship services that I feel I have little to add. At the same time, parents with young children have many questions and worries about attending church with children. So here goes. Many parents are surprised to learn that children are welcome to …
You made it to church for the first time! You got yourself out of bed on Sunday morning, had the right set of directions, found a parking spot, and arrived not too late for the start of the service. You even enjoyed the service! But… Something off-putting happened. There was …
Before I became a minister, I never, ever, even once went through the receiving line to greet the minister after a worship service. I assumed that everyone else waiting in line had something meaningful to say about the service, something deep. I had no idea what to say. I came …
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 …
I had an electrician at my house Monday morning for a repair. He knows what I do for a living, and he asked me if I was ready for Christmas Eve service. “It’s only Monday,” I replied. “I still have a couple of days to get ready.” People always imagine …
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 …