More and more, the challenges we face are global challenges that require us to have a broader imagination and to engage in acts of steadfast courage. We will draw lessons from the approach that the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee has taken from its beginnings more than 80 years ago: partnering with directly impacted communities.
During this global pandemic, many of us developed capacities for innovating that we never knew we had. We changed much of what we ordinarily do at work, in our religious institutions, at home, and in our daily lives. Can we also find ways to tap into our imaginations in order to innovate for the sake ...
It is time to reconnect and recharge as a community where each of us is accepted as we are. The semi-isolation and stress resulting from the Covid19 pandemics (alpha and delta) has taken a toll on us. Cultural discord has added to our distress. We each are urged to renew and create new friendships and ...
In his song, “Everything’s Possible,” UU minister Rev. Fred Small offers this verse, “I will sing you a song no one sang to me.” What would be included in your “song no one sang” to you? What possibilities are not included in our current understanding of “what is”? Heather McGee in her book, The Sum ...
Join me while I reflect on a First Unitarian legacy – a contribution to our community by numbers of our members that was exactly aligned with the tagline of our current mission, “Transforms the world through loving action.” This was during the time surrounding the desegregation of our schools. Hear what we did, what made ...
There is a resiliency to the human spirit that motivates us to find creative and meaningful ways to gather—even when we have to be apart. On this Ingathering Service, we begin our time of meeting together on multiple platforms (online, our building or our grounds) for worship, religious education and other events. Peace activist, Priya ...
When are those times when you have asked yourself, “Now, what’s possible?” Even on this Labor Day weekend, as we celebrate accomplishments, we also recognize what has not yet been achieved. I discovered recently why the celebration of the Jewish New Year (September 6-8, this year) is followed by a 10 day period of reflection ...
The inspiration for my first sermon with First Unitarian Church came from an unlikely place! In this service, we’ll explore these three practices of stop, look and listen from the perspective of the world’s religious traditions, psychology and our own experiences. Perhaps, we will find some insight for this time in our lives and this ...
As we look forward to our fall reopening and the chance to be together again–in person–inside–in real life–how are we relating to each other’s bodies, and to our own? Some of us have bodies that have changed during our time away; some of us have bodies that have always been scrutinized by others. What can ...
“It’s déjà vu all over again.” Yogi Berra explained that this quote originated when he witnessed Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris repeatedly hitting back-to-back home runs in the Yankees’ seasons in the early 1960s. Yogi Berra was well known for his impromptu pithy comments, malapropisms, and seemingly unintentional witticisms, known as “Yogi-isms”. His “Yogi-isms” very ...