February 18, 2018

Love is the spirit of this program.  The music spans many genres but has unifying themes of justice, love, learning and hope.  The messages come from podcasts, sermons and readings from Unitarian-Universalist and other sources in liberal religion.  The title of this program comes from the words of a beloved Unitarian-Universalist hymn, "Spirit of Life," including, "Sing in my heart all the stirrings of compassion" and "Move in the hand, giving life the shape of justice."

Braver Wiser

"No Longer Claiming 'Divorced'"

Rayla D. Mattson

Unitarian-Universalist Church of Hartford, Conn.

Sermon

"To Hold with Care"

The Rev. William Sinkford

First Unitarian Church of Portland, Ore.

Message

"Pastoral Message in Response to School Shooting"

The Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray

President, Unitarian-Universalist Association

Natural Silence

"Cloud Forest in Malaysia"

Andrew Skeoch

ListeningEarth.com

World Religions

Today in Eastern churches is Forgiveness Sunday, also called Cheesefare Sunday.  It is the last Sunday before Great Lent, the Orthodox term for Lent, which leads on April 8th to Pascha, the Orthodox term for Easter.  On Forgiveness Sunday, the faithful ask each other for forgiveness for discourtesy and disrespect.  It's also called Cheesefare Sunday because it's the last day the faithful will eat cheese and other dairy products until Pascha.

Today is the birthday, in 1836 in present-day West Bengal, in India, of Ramakrishna Paramahansa.  An Indian mystic and yogi, he said that all living beings are on a plan to find the Divine, what you might call God.  He practiced several religions, including Islam and Christianity, and taught that, in spite of their differences, all religions are valid, since they all lead to ultimate reality, which he called an ocean of consciousness without limit.

Today is the anniversary of the arrest, in 1942, of members of a non-violent, intellectual resistance group, led by students and professors in Nazi Germany, known as the White Rose.  The group denounced Nazi crimes, oppression and mass murder.  Many of those arrested faced imprisonment or execution.  The anniversary, also called Nazi Resistance Day, reminds us to be vigilant against the rise of fascists and the acceptance of cruelty.

Tomorrow in Eastern churches is the beginning of Great Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and reflection.  Similar to but a little different than Western Lent, Eastern Lent begins with a strict fast and a week of spiritual cleansing.  The aesceticism is not only for the clergy but for the layperson as well.  The idea is not so much repetance but an attempt to uplift, strengthen and prepare for God's calling on Pascha, the Orthodox term for Easter.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the Executive Order, by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1942, that incarcerated more than 100,000 American residents into concentration camps for no reason other than Japanese ancestry.  The anniversary reminds us to be vigilant against the profiling of people for no reason other than their race, national origin or religion.

Tuesday is the World Day of Social Justice.  Recognized by the United Nations since 2009, the observance promotes efforts to tackle issues such as poverty, exclusion and unemployment.  The theme of this year's observance in "Workers on the Move," the yearning of an estimated 150 million migrant workers for basic human dignity.

Thursday is the birthday, in eastern Virginia in 1732, of George Washington.  Among the nation's founders, Washingon's views on religion are the most enigmatic.  He held that all relgions were beneficial and wrote much about truth, character and honesty.  But he wrote little about dogma.  He expressed tolerance towards Jews, writing to the Savannah congregation, in part, "May the same wonder-working Deity, who long since delivered the Hebrews from their Egyptian oppressors... still continue to water them with the dews of Heaven, and make the inhabitants of every denomination partake in the temporal and spiritual blessings of that people, whose God is Jehovah." In those lines, Washington says that Jews and Christians worship the same God.

Sermon

"The Ancient Myth of the Green Man"

The Rev. Tim Kutzmark

Unitarian-Universalist Church of Fresno, Calif.

Message

"When the Unimaginable Happened"

by Anne Barker

from "To Wake, To Rise: Meditations of Justice and Resilience"

Edited by William Sinfkford

Conclusion

Seven Principles and Six Sources of Unitarian-Universalism