August 4, 2019
The unifying themes of this program are justice, love, learning and hope. The messages come from sermons and readings from Unitarian-Universalist sources. The program title comes from a beloved Unitarian-Universalist hymn, “Spirit of Life,” which includes the words, “Sing in my heart all the stirrings of compassion” and “Move in the hand, giving life the shape of justice.”
This week we feature the remarkable story of Carlton Pearson, an African-American Pentecostal minister whose faith journey was depicted in the films “Come Sunday” and “American Heretics.” He now preaches at a UU church. The Rev. Gretchen Haley talks about him in the sermon linked below.
Commentary
Written by Orlando Montoya
I attended a comedy show in Savannah last month. The entertainer, a woman of Latino descent no less, at the end of her show, and apropos of nothing, started waving her “American flag / God Bless America” T-shirts and shouting this angry nonsense about “If you don’t speak English or don’t like America then go back to where you came from.” The audience leapt into cheers, applause and fist pumps, more than any she got for her comedy, which, by the way, included tons of Latino tropes and silly accents, which I was okay with because, get this, it was comedy. But what she did at the end? No, this racist anger to incite people in the most base way was not comedy. Trump has given license for ordinary people to say and do extraordinary things. Hate crimes have risen dramatically since his rise. The people in that room that night are the same people that I see at the store, in the bar and in my polite professional networks. Would they, my neighbors, shout “go back” at me, “fag” at me, “taco” at me? All of which, as a gay man of Latino descent, has been shouted at me before? I must resist the temptation to close my heart to strangers and people that I barely know. But I also know that closing the heart is a self-preservation tool, one that I’ve used many times. Trump and his party use it. The comedian used it. People who look the other way use it. But all the prophets tell us not to use it. I just want to crawl away. May we resist this temptation. May we extraordinary people say and do extraordinary things: to love in the face of hatred and to persist though it hurts us so much.
Sermon
“Changed, Saved or Born Again” (4/22/19)
Rev. Gretchen Haley
Foothills Unitarian Church of Fort Collins, Colorado
Sermon
“Earth Day” (4/28/19)
Rev. Oscar Sinclair
Unitarian Church of Lincoln, Nebraska
Sermon
TBD
Sermon
TBD
Braver Wiser
Used by permission of Braver Wiser, a publication of the Unitarian-Universalist Association
Quest Monthly
Used by permission of Quest Monthly, a publication of the Church of the Larger Fellowship
UUA Statements
Messages from the Unitarian Universalist Association
Natural Silence
Used by permission of ListeningEarth.com
UUA Principles and Sources
Our liberal faith as defined by the Unitarian Universalist Association
World Religions
Written by Orlando Montoya
Interfaith Calendar
Written by Orlando Montoya
UU FAQ
Written by and used by permission of John Sias from interviews with Rev. Steve Edington
Published by the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Nashua, NH
