November 11, 2018
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.”
"We are experiencing the birth pains of a new world," say the Rev. Andy Burnette. What the French national soccer team has to tell us about that new world is explored in his sermon below.
Commentary
Written by Orlando Montoya
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. At the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, an armistice ended one of the deadliest wars in human history, with nine million direct combat and seven million direct civilian deaths. Many more died indirectly, from disease. When the war’s last surviving combat veteran, a British woman, died in 2012, World War I passed into the same category of war as the Peloponnesian War, the Hundred Years War and the War of 1812. Ancient history. No one alive remembers it. Why remember it today? If you see life as I do, as a huge interconnected web, you see that one thing leads to another and another and another. The Franco-Prussian and Balkan Wars led to World War I, led to World War II, led to the Korean War, led to Kim-Trump. We are the sum total of all who came before us. We are people in a long line of people, going back to time’s beginning, when all people were one, and leading after us to time’s end. Wars create holes in life’s web that we can only imagine. Each person killed by war had stories, hopes and dreams and loved ones. Their lives are inherently worthy of our remembrance. Our more orthodox religious siblings believe that one day, in heaven, our souls will mingle with this line of ancients. We might ask a Peloponnesian War veteran what it was all about. I instead believe that this history lives today, in our veterans, who, in our time and place, chose to put themselves in harm’s way. Let us work to make what comes after us worthy of their sacrifices, hold them as sacred and precious, care for them and work to end to all wars.
Sermon
"Can Pluralism Survive?" (8/19/18)
Rev. Andy Burnette
Valley Unitarian-Universalist Congregation, Chandler, Arizona
Sermon
“Exploring the Possible” (10/7/18)
Rev. Stephen Kendrick
First Church Boston, Unitarian-Universalist
Sermon
“What You’re Not Allowed To Love” (2/12/17)
Rev. Aaron White
First Unitarian Church of Dallas
Sermon
“Go Fast Alone, Go Far Together” (2/18/18)
Rev. Teresa Schwartz
First Unitarian Church of Chicago
UUA Principles and Sources
Our liberal faith as defined by the Unitarian Universalist Association
UUA Statements
Messages from the Unitarian Universalist Association
Natural Silence
Used by permission of ListeningEarth.com
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
World Religions
Written by Orlando Montoya
Interfaith Calendar
Written by Orlando Montoya
UU FAQ
Written by John Sias from interviews with Rev. Steve Edington
Published by the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Nashua, NH
