From The Boston Children’s Chorus and the Roxbury Ballet, where youngsters are passing rumors of very big presents, to mall mangers and web masters spreading rumors of a very green holiday season, rumors abound. Tis the season of rumors, and almost everyone loves it. What about you? Here’s the video of the sermon.
In winter folks seek warmth, physically and spiritually. We want to snuggle down and be lifted up by religious celebrations. These festivals of fire express the most ancient of human longings, which is for meaning. They teach us that life’s purpose though comes from struggle and choice, not from routine and comfort. Here is the … Continue reading Festivals of Fire
The Boston Children’s Chorus joins us to celebrate the advent of Awe. Our expression “awe” is rooted in the Greek word áchos which also gives us the word ache. That vastness we experience in awe opens an ache in the heart, and by doing so, expands it. – This December we consider what it means … Continue reading Epiphanies of Possibility
My old friend and classmate, NPR’s Robert Krulwich, once worked together with me on researching what the first Thanksgiving was really like. The terrible truth is there was no turkey at the first Thanksgiving and it wasn’t a jolly, family affair. But there was a story of hope, the story of people and possibilities when … Continue reading We Gather Together
Walt Disney’s TV shows and especially the Mickey Mouse Club are easy to criticize for their silly, pure fun acted out by children. And yet it is the most popular Disney TV show of all time. Why? It turns out there is a lot to be appreciated on the MMC from Disney’s theology of hope … Continue reading Made for You and Me
The culture and our Unitarian Universalist faith are at odds about how to get one. The culture screams, “Accumulate!” Our faith counsels “pay attention!” The mantras couldn’t be more different: The commercials tell us “Get what we want!” Our preachers urge “Cherish what we have.” Here’s the video of The Good Life.
Few people are born cheerful, but we can be more so. It takes the faith at the core of Unitarian Universalism: an audacious faith that you, sitting here right now, are a miraculous divine creation. What you do and think from this moment on is an expression of the wonder-filled breath of life in the … Continue reading 90% Cheerful
Universalist poet Robert Frost wrote: “The best way out is through…” A reflection and sermon on how that wisdom can help us heal ourselves in this wounded world. Here is the video of Healing Ourselves.
How young Hosea Ballou followed in the footsteps of America’s first Universalist preacher, John Murray, and preached the doctrine of universal love and salvation for all in the late 18th and early 19th century. Ballou was born in New Hampshire and first preached in Vermont, but ended up writing and preaching during a long career … Continue reading Better Together
I believe those who have lived gently must not be forgotten because to survive we need to return home to them. To thrive, though, we must go further. We need to pass on the stories of people whose lives go beyond the memories of this time and place; the gentle souls who have already lived … Continue reading Truth to Power
