January 19, 2020
On January 19, 2020 we celebrated Martin Luther King Sunday. In this video, you will see Kris Ersland present the “Social Justice Moment”, sharing a video featuring civil rights leader John Lewis (and thanking FCU member Caroline Marvin along with FCU). There is also an unveiling of a portrait of a young John Lewis from the Civil Rights Movement, which now hangs in our Vestry. Finally, I share my short sermon, “Good Trouble”, with a titled inspired by the words of Lewis.
January 12, 2020
Nothing from nothing leaves nothing… Or so they say. How did the universe come into existence from nothing — or did it? And does it matter (no pun intended)? Lawrence Krauss’s book “A Universe from Nothing” was considered, along with other sources. At the end you will find bonus postlude music, “Nothing from Nothing” by Billy Preston, performed by our Music Director Molly Lozeau.
January 5, 2020
“Remembrance Sunday” is an annual FCU tradition when we light Candles of Love and Memory to recall irreplaceable family and friends who died in the past year. We also light Candles of Hope and Joy to celebrate children dear to us who were born in the past year. This video shows the end of the service, where I share an excerpt from “Charlotte’s Web” by E. B. White and a brief sermon, “Web of Life”.
December 22, 2019
On Sunday, December 22, 2019, my short sermon was “An Apocryphal Christmas”. This video starts with two excerpts from “apocryphal” nativity stories, the first from the Arabic Infancy Gospel (at 0:00, read by Deacon Cindy Malley), and the second from the Gospel of James (at 3:52). The short sermon begins at 9:38.
December 8, 2019
In our culture, it’s common to hear the words, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” In this sermon, I talked about what it means to “fix” things, at a deeper level.
December 1, 2019
The guest preacher at First Church Unitarian in Littleton, Massachusetts on December 1, 2019 was the Rev. Dr. Clyde Grubbs. Rev. Dr. Grubbs’s sermon was “Tisquanta’s Gift”. Description: “According to written sources, an American Indian came among the settlers in the Plymouth Plantation soon after arrival and taught them essential knowledge that was key to their survival. Who was this mystery man whom the English speaking Pilgrims called Squanto?” The Rev. Dr. Clyde Grubbs is a Unitarian Universalist minister who served congregations in Indiana, Quebec, Massachusetts, Texas, Florida, and California. He is presently serving as Minister at Large of the Tuckerman Creative Ministries for Justice and Healing. Clyde honors his Native American heritage (Texas Cherokee) which informs his spiritual understanding and practice, and his anti-racist and anti-oppressive commitment. He has worked for peace, justice, and equality since he was in the Unitarian Universalist youth movement, Liberal Religious Youth.
November 24, 2019
On November 24, 2019, we had a “whole church” (multi-generational) Thanksgiving service. You will see some of the highlights here, including the time for all ages, led by DRE Vicki Merriam, where we made a tapestry together; a gorgeous performance by the choir (led by Music Director Molly Lozeau) of “Alleluia” by R. Thompson; a homily by me; and the end of the cornbread and cider communion, led by our deacons.
November 17, 2019
“The Question Box” (Also known as “Ask the Minister”)! Many Unitarian Universalist congregations have the tradition of setting aside one Sunday a year as the “Question Box” service. I gave it a shot! In place of a sermon, I answered questions submitted by the congregation. [One note/errata: I credited a quotation to Rev. Forrest Church, but in fact it was a quotation by Rev. John Buehrens (I was thinking of the right book, “Our Chosen Faith”, which was co-written by Church and Buehrens).]
November 10, 2019
Coinciding with the 550th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak, I preached about Sikhism. The 3rd source of UUism is wisdom from the world’s religions. How much do you know about Sikhism, the 5th largest organized world religion? This religious tradition is very dear to me, and I wanted to share something about it with the wonderful people of FCU.
November 3, 2019
This was my “response” (of a sort) to the previous week’s sermon (“God Is Not God’s Name”) by guest preacher (and former FCU interim minister) Rev. Steve Edington! Some Unitarian Universalists are agnostics; some are atheists; some believe in “God”, but just what does that mean? Do you have (what some have called) “a God concept”? Here I share some of my own ways of thinking about God, or “God”.