December 9, 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.”
Did we evolve into believing in transcendent beings or did this capacity and yearning come with the packaging? The Rev. Kate Walker talks about that question in the message linked below.
Commentary
Written by Orlando Montoya
I spent about 12 hours last week thinking that I had lost every e-mail that I ever sent and received going back 14 years. It was a simple mistake. And I retrieved my archive after an eight-hour recovery from a backup. But for one night, I contemplated what it might mean to lose everything in my e-mail folders. Had that happened, it would not have been the worst data loss in my digital history. More complete wipe-outs occurred in 2004, when a hard drive failure prompted a total restart and a switch from PC to Mac, and in 2000, when I left an apartment and threw into a dumpster everything associated with a 1989 TRS-80, the floppy disks, the cartridges, the beloved data of my youth. I thought about the god of change, the progress of regress, how storms trim trees to their strongest parts, how World War II prompted this technology. That’s just how I think. I could’ve lived without those e-mails, rediscovering what was truly needed in my life today. After all, no one asks me about the creative things I did in high school or about the best work of my career, my late 20’s work, which of course, doesn’t exist now. But take my word for it. It was much better than today’s! Sometime I see the possibility of a total restart in my life – a kind chuck it all and start from scratch – as a privilege of wealth, a luxury that I can’t afford. And sometimes I see it as a great way to shake out trees and discover what I truly need. Perhaps you feel the same about yourself or what’s happening in the world. If you do, I think the questions are: Can’t we just call customer service for this? Where’s our backup?
Sermon
“Born to Believe” (11/11/18)
Rev. Kate Walker
Mount Vernon Unitarian Church, Virginia
Sermon
“Being a Follower” (9/23/18)
Rev. Kathy Schmitz
First Unitarian Church of Orlando, Florida
Sermon
“I Know You Believe…” (8/16/09)
Rev. Joan Kahn-Schneider
Unitarian-Universalist Church of Savannah
Sermon
“The Biggest Risk” (3/19/17)
Rev. Teresa Schwartz
First Unitarian Church of Chicago
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
A Year of Spiritual Companionship
Written by and used by permission of Anne Kertz Kernion
