Sermons
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Earth Teach Us Resurrection
Delivered April 21, 2019 at First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church of Kennebunk. Earlier in the service, we read The Cloud Spinner by Michael Catchpool. All stories are true. Some of them even happened. The Gospel of Mark tells us that “when the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome… Continue reading
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See the Whole Board
Delivered April 15, 2019 at First Parish UU Church of Kennebunk, ME Reading Matthew 21:1-11 (NRSV) When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a… Continue reading
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Be Subject to One Another
Note: The original sermon, delivered at the West Wing Weekend on September 27, 2018, may be seen here; it includes multiple references to the show. The sermon below was delivered with the title “T.H.I.N.K” at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Oneonta, NY on October 28, 2018. How many of you grew up watching Mister Rogers… Continue reading
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The Blessing of One Voice
(Click here to listen – as delivered at the UU Congregation of Saratoga Springs, NY – thanks to soloists Nancy Kass and Laurie Singer) Fans of the TV show The West Wing are familiar with character President Josiah Bartlet, played by Martin Sheen. President Bartlet is smart as a whip, deeply religious, and a gregarious… Continue reading
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The Courage to Covenant
(As delivered on May 6, 2018, at the UU Fellowship of Bennington, VT) Reading “A Ritual to Read to Each Other” by William Stafford If you don’t know the kind of person I am and I don’t know the kind of person you are a pattern that others made may prevail in the world and… Continue reading
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Simply Pray
Click to listen here (as delivered in Nantucket on March 18, 2018) Let us pray. Now… some of you instantly bowed your head a bit, maybe you closed your eyes. Perhaps you took in a deep breath as you waited to hear how I started the prayer and to whom I addressed it. Others of… Continue reading
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Transmogrified
Click to listen here (as delivered in Nantucket on February 18, 2018). I first learned the word “transmogrified” from Calvin and Hobbes. You may remember the comic strip by Bill Waterston, which ran from 1985 to 1995. Calvin, aged 6, was part Christopher Robin and part Dennis the Menace, and his stuffed tiger, Hobbes, regularly… Continue reading
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Reclaiming My Time
Note: An earlier version of this sermon was delivered in Mt Kisco, NY, on October 8, 2018. Shortly after that service, accusations of sexual harassment against Harvey Weinstein and others spawned the #metoo movement, and the sermon had to be rewritten to address the new awareness. Listen to this new version, as delivered in Nantucket… Continue reading
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Crazy Wisdom
Humor is a funny thing, isn’t it? Sorry – couldn’t resist. But consider what has happened in this room. I began our service with some troubling news about our institution, with a seriousness about our denomination’s ability to walk the talk when it comes to anti-racism and anti-oppression work. And then I told a funny… Continue reading
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Give Them Not Hell
A Time for All Ages John Murray and The Winds of Change by Christy Olson and Jessica York Sermon True or false: In April of 1775, Paul Revere rode through the streets from Boston to Lexington yelling “The British Are Coming”. True or false: The Declaration of Independence was signed by everyone on July 4,… Continue reading
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links
Learn more about my ministry at The Art of Meaning
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