Our annual service of all souls offers an opportunity to remember our beloved dead. This all ages service will include stories and song, and a time to share the names and stories of people who have had an impact upon our lives. We celebrate the gift of life and offer thanks. Bring along a memento or photo to share.
Transcendentalism was essentially a religious movement that emerged from Unitarianism in the middle decades of the 19th century. Rev. Barry Andrews views the Transcendentalists—Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller among them—as living voices whose writing is addressed as much today as it was in their time to spiritual seekers such as ourselves. In Transcendentalism, he believes we will discover a uniquely and authentically Unitarian Universalist form of spirituality.
Last spring, Unitarian Universalist congregations across the country were invited to have conversations about white supremacy in response to a staff shake up at our headquarters in Boston. This Sunday we’ll continue that conversation. What awarenesses help us to stay awake to the impact of white supremacy? What can we do about it? We’ll gather in a brave space for worship.
In life, as in woodworking, you follow the existing pattern of whatever you’re working on to smooth out what already is. But if you truly want to create something new, at some point you have to find the courage go against the grain.
Parker Palmer’s book, Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit, was published in 2011, but speaks to the dreams and promise of our country. What grounding do we need to enact a vision of courageous and compassionate politics?
In the poem, “The Guest House,” Rumi urges us to welcome and entertain whatever arrives at our door. Really? We’ll consider his advice.
Our new year of Religious Explorations begins today, and we’ll reflect upon the journey of life and what we need along the road.
We begin our program year with our annual water service during which everyone is invited to bring a little water that is from a place you’ve been or an experience you’ve had or that symbolizes something of your summer adventures. This all ages service will include singing and stories and time for sharing.
Each of us have places in our lives where we feel stuck from time to time. Could a slight change in perspective be enough to set our wheels back in motion?
As humans, we tend to like to identify ourselves by the groups we belong to, the company we keep: my church, my family, my neighborhood, the cause I’m involved in. These self-imposed distinctions set us apart from others, and we lose sight of how much we really have in common. Let’s contemplate reaching out to the “other,” planting seeds of friendship and common purpose.
