A couple of weeks ago, a student at Wheaton College, where I used to teach, emailed me with some questions. She was writing a senior thesis on the role of music in church, and her advisor, an old colleague of mine, told her I was a church musician and she should contact me. Being totally […]
Two weeks ago, I talked a little bit about the difference between “true belonging” and merely “fitting in.” I quoted Brene Brown, who wrote in her book Braving the Wilderness, that… Belonging is being accepted for [who] you [are]. Fitting in is being accepted for being like everyone else… If I get to be me, […]
Our two readings sum up rather well our human condition when it comes to this month’s theme of identity and belonging. Each of us is unique, and yet we are connected. All of us long to belong, and yet we all too often find ourselves feeling disconnected and lonely. Brene Brown begins her book, Braving […]
This is a holy weekend. Today, many of our Christian friends are celebrating Candlemas, which commemorates the day the baby Jesus was presented by his parents to the priests in the Temple. It is also the day when the candles for the church year are traditionally blessed. Today is also Groundhog Day and Superbowl Sunday, […]
A Reflection on White Rage We began this morning with the dream. And yet we hardly need reminding, that the ideal which we seek lies in stark contrast to the reality in which we live. Have we made progress in this country in terms of race? Yes, but it has not been straight forward. Every […]
It’s hard to believe that we are almost a quarter of the way through this two-year interim period. I have thoroughly enjoyed beginning to get to know you, and hearing some of your stories. And I thank you for welcoming me in and sharing with me some of your concerns and some of your hopes. […]
Happy New Year! During this first month of the new year we will be looking ahead and reflecting on the theme of vision and possibility. According to the Soul Matters staff writers who pull together and distribute a lot of our theme material each month, “Of all our topics…possibility is arguably most central to our […]
What Breaks your Heart? I first heard that story of the perfect heart told a couple of summers ago. It was shared by our UUA President, The Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, as part of a worship service at a Unitarian Universalist General Assembly. Later in that service, during her sermon Rev. Susan reflected on her first […]
Happy Solstice to everyone! At 11:19 last night, we reached that astronomical moment when the noontime sun is at its lowest point in the sky. We have arrived at the shortest day of the year. We have been waiting for the return of the sun to the northern hemisphere for so long, and now that […]
This morning is the second Sunday of Advent, which, in Christian churches, is the first season of a brand-new liturgical year. In congregations which traditionally light the candles of an Advent wreath on each of the four Sunday’s of Advent, last week’s candle would have been a candle of hope, and this morning’s candle would […]
During this month of November, we’re reflecting on the theme of Memory. This morning I’d like to spend some time thinking with you about memory and how it shapes us. About how the stories that we tell about ourselves and our experiences shape our sense of identity and self-understanding. Last week, we touched on the […]
Last week, we thought about grief together. And I mentioned that among the things we might find ourselves grieving these days are climate change and our current political situation. And it’s not just grief that we feel, it’s also anxiety and disorientation. Life feels hard to many of us right now, particularly challenging, as some […]
Last year, at just about this point in late October, my mom found herself first, in the hospital, and then in rehab, recovering from pneumonia. She was there for quite some time and, as any of you who have spent much time in medical facilities know, it can be hard to sleep in such places. […]
When I first announced a few weeks ago that I would be preaching a sermon on Marie Kondo’s book, one of you very kindly and graciously asked me if I knew that Mark had also preached on the same book this past spring. And I was very grateful to have learned of that. I, of […]