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”.
October 20, 2019
The FCU delegates for last year’s UU General Assembly (i.e., the offsite delegates and I) all learned a lot from a workshop on the topic of “white fragility” co-presented by Robin DiAngelo (author of “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism”) and Aisha Hauser, a UU religious educator. Why is it so often unsettling for white people to talk about race?
October 6, 2019
I preached the following short sermon at the “whole church” (multi-generational) Sunday service in honor of St. Francis. The statistics cited come from these sources: According to a recent Public Policy Polling: Six out of ten Americans own a pet. (That number might be low; another poll suggests that it’s closer to seven out ten Americans who own a pet.) From http://www.americanpetproducts.org/press_industrytrends.asp One in five Americans report a preference for spending time with their pets rather than most human beings. From http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2013/06/animals-and-pets-poll-american-prefer-dogs-fear-snakes.html The American Pet Products Association gathers statistics on how much Americans spend on their pets – including pet expenses such as food, their medicines and veterinary care, their grooming and boarding, and the initial cost of purchasing a pet. According to these statistics, it is estimated that in 1994, twenty-five years ago, Americans spent 17 billion dollars on our pets. Ten years after that, 15 years ago in 2004, we doubled it, spending more than $34 billion on our pets. The latest number, as of 2017? Doubled again! We spent almost $70 billion on our pets. From http://www.americanpetproducts.org/press_industrytrends.asp and https://www.vmdtoday.com/news/american-pet-spending-reaches-new-high Today there are about 900 million dogs on the planet. From https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/how-many-dogs-are-there-in-the-world.html
September 29, 2019
On September 29, 2019 at the First Church Unitarian, Littleton, MA, we had a “Unitarian Universalist Appreciation of Rosh Hashanah”. Together, we learned a few things about this important Jewish holiday and a few of its traditions. Here you will see a bit about the shofar and hear some brief remarks I made, ending with an excerpt (just the very beginning and ending) of a ritual inspired by the Jewish tradition of Tashlich, or “casting”.
September 22, 2019
There’s a good chance that in recent years you’ve heard someone say, “Impact is more important than intent.” Do intentions matter? If so, how much? Should we ever “assume good intentions”? And what does it have to do with privilege?
September 15, 2019
I preached this sermon at First Church Unitarian in Littleton on September 15, 2019. My sermon title was inspired by the song of the same name, composed by Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman and Yotam Schachter. The sermon came before the September 20 youth-led Global Climate Strike, demanding that transformative action is taken to address the climate crisis. (Gratitude to Rev. Peggy Clarke and other UU ministers who created a worship resource to help with this service. And gratitude for the folks from FCU who indeed went to the Boston Climate Strike on September 20!)
June 16, 2019
I preached this short sermon for our whole church (multi-generational) Flower Communion service.
June 2, 2019
What do you long for? I preached about longing and belonging. Recommended reading: “The Long Loneliness: The Autobiography of the Legendary Catholic Social Activist” by Dorothy Day.
May 26, 2019
I preached this sermon in honor of Memorial Day. The title comes from the quotation by Pope Paul VI: “If you want peace, work for justice.”
May 19, 2019
I was raised a UU, but I’d choose it for myself, too! I briefly explain some of the reasons why.