I was raised in a family that embraced New Thought (or New Age) traditions, along with exposure to guru teachings that my parents followed. We also practiced transcendental meditation, and on top of all this my parents consider themselves secular—go figure?
They were raised in traditional … read more.
Grateful. Grateful. Grateful. Grateful. Gratefulness flowing from my heart.[1]
That may be as good a summary of today’s message as we’re going to get. That beautiful piece—thank you quartet—was a gift. A call to begin with gratitude.
We get the message at an early age that … read more.
The storm is passing over. There is a sense of relief…a new lightness many of us are feeling. First, new national leadership is on the way in just a couple of months. And then the announcement that a vaccine…or several could be just around the corner.
The storm … read more.
“I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.”
I have been driven many times upon my knees.
It was Abraham Lincoln who made that confession.
On Our Knees. When I selected this morning’s sermon title…months ago … read more.
We are beginning our monthly spiritual theme of prayer this morning. Last spring as we were choosing the themes, the election was certainly on our minds, and, well, prayer seemed like a good topic for these days. That was before COVID. That was before we … read more.
Most religious traditions have something to say about brokenness (which we could also call pain, suffering, or injustice), and Unitarian Universalism is no exception. Today we’ll explore what makes our UU response to pain uniquely compelling, and how that response shapes our prayers of lamentation … read more.
The power outage that affected sections of downtown Portland, including our church block, is now over. Power has been restored. All church events scheduled for this evening, Feb. 22, will go on as planned.
Our spiritual theme for the month of February is prayer.
Prayer; that place where we take our emotions, our seekings, our questions and concerns, our gratitude, and set them forth with intention.
When we pray, we speak our words aloud or express our intentions silently, invoking the … read more.
Anthem: Lift Every Voice and Sing
Sermon: Answering the Call of Love
“Stick to the paths of Love and Justice.
Your restless hearts will find me there.”
That sentiment from the Psalm is echoed in our anthem.
“Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met … read more.
“You ask me how to pray to someone who is not,” began our Responsive Reading this morning. And that is certainly one question that thinking about prayer can prompt. Is prayer begging a favor from someone or something, some power or force outside ourselves that … read more.
