I am fond of telling stories about how children who grow up in the First Unitarian community remember highlights from their younger years here. I have loved hearing from adults, some my age and older, who still speak about their roles in our Christmas Pageant … read more.
“Almost Biblical.” That is how one staff member at the church described this week. Between the flood in our own Buchan building and the fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, that description had me nodding my head in agreement.
In this week when the … read more.
I always get the words wrong. The hymn “We Would Be One” is a favorite of mine and of many of us:
We would be one as now we join in singing
Our hymn of love to pledge ourselves anew…
My problem is that I learned different lyrics, … read more.
This is the season when preachers and teachers in religious communities search within themselves and in the world to justify hope. The renewal in the earth around us stands in stark contrast to the failures in human community, also around us. Human failures are now … read more.
Opportunity rather than
equality has shaped the American vision of Beloved Community, at least the
dominant vision. Equality as a goal, in fact, has been broadly embraced only as
equality of opportunity.
The conversation about reparations, which I introduced again… read more.
The Gospel of Mark, the earliest in the Christian tradition,
begins with the adult Jesus seeking baptism. The earliest Gospel begins with
his yearning for cleansing and the hope of new life that John the Baptist
promised. It was a very human yearning, I think, that drew Jesus … read more.
A number of congregants have spoken or written to me about the UU WORLD article on transgender issues that I discussed in my sermon last Sunday. Some expressed thanks that we are dealing with this controversy in an open and direct way. You have heard … read more.
“There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend your days … read more.
The United Methodist Church has just affirmed their “Traditional Plan,” which refuses to allow same sex marriage or the ordination of queer ministers. Extensive child sexual abuse was recently exposed in the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the world. Long patterns of … read more.
Last Sunday, almost 60 congregants gathered in Eliot Chapel after the 11:15 Service for my quarterly Q&A. Given the snow on Saturday and travel difficulties for many, I was thrilled with the turnout. I always enjoy this format with its give and take and the … read more.
