October 27, 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 call in the RAIN!  That stands for Recognition, Acceptance, Investigation and Non-Identification, four steps for difficult times.  We’ll also say Yes to saying No.  Find these sermons below.

Commentary

Written by Orlando Montoya

I recently finished the book “King Coffin” by Conrad Aiken.  I selected the book as the main topic for next year’s Conrad Aiken remembrance event in August.  I have organized that event, honoring a great writer, for the past four years.  “King Coffin,” like many of Aiken’s great works, is more appropriate for Halloween than August, the month of his birth and death.  The story takes place in the troubled mind of a writer, named Jasper, who is obsessed with the idea of what he calls “pure murder.”  That is, he’s writing a fictional story about a man who wants to kill a total stranger, someone the killer literally picks out of a phone book and studies over several days.  Pure murder.  Only, as the pages turn, we understand that Jasper might not just be fictionalizing the subject, he actually might want to do it.  His obsession grows and ends in a horrific and unexpected way.  What I take from the story is the danger of self-absorption and the need for human connection – because the writer is lost in his own thoughts and delusions.  He believes in his own greatness.  His friends try to break his obsession.  But Jasper sees his friends conspiratorially.  And his friends don’t see the true depths of his troubled mind.  For the most part, Jasper walks and talks like anyone else, with only faint and non-actionable signs of his plans.  You don’t know what’s going to happen.  And that’s the scariest part of “King Coffin.”  Our minds are filled with noble and ignoble thoughts.  On any day we have no idea which will spill over.  The best thing is to develop a healthy relationship between your interior and exterior lives, always seeking to connect with others.  May we work to know others around us better.

Sermon

“Calling Down the Rain” (9/29/19)

Rev. Kate Landis

Shoreline Unitarian Universalist Church of Seattle

Sermon

“Saying No to Saying Yes” (9/22/19)

Rev. Joan Javier-Duval

Unitarian Church of Montpelier, Vermont

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