Author Archives: usguu

Comedian Maria Bamford is a 43 year old who jokes about many things including her own mental illness. Her mission is to empower the public to stop pretending mental health problems don’t exist. Her mission is to proclaim it is ok for people to be their authentic selves. How do you use your distinctive gifts […]

Myths, fantastical creatures, and tales of special powers have always shaped the human story. Over the last century, the worlds of Narnia, Middle Earth, and Hogwarts have enchanted children and adults alike, and brought religious themes into popular culture. What’s a Unitarian Universalist to do with all this magic?

King David danced before the Lord with all his might.  It would have been good if he also had laughed.  Laughter is a balm for the soul, a balm which too many people lack.  Laughter can spread contagious blessings for the body, soul and mind.  Got laughter?

Sometimes we forget to look back in our pasts to see what life used to be like. By telling stories of our past, we pass on humor, gain wisdom, and broaden our understanding of the Gifts of the Spirit. Unfortunately, in today’s world, some of our neighbors are treated as outsiders to those stories, with […]

I am a man who believes that symbols have enormous power, a power that multiples exponentially the more ingrained in our consciousness they become, for good and ill. In my homily for the Sunday after Christmas, a lapsed Catholic will explore his happy struggle to find faith through Unitarian Universalist non-doctrine.   Tom Ott is […]

As much as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life has often been reviewed it commonly remains misunderstood.  He gave everything, no matter the cost for the values he cherished: universal justice, service and liberating love.  Tavis Smiley has written a powerful new book “Death of a King”, which looks at King’s last year from his […]

As we seek to honor the differences among us, we often hear that we’re called to love our neighbor.  But this sermon – inspired by an address of the same name by Kurt Vonnegut – explores the possibility that we might do better if we set our sights just a little lower. The Rev. Libby […]

Many of us love to give and receive gifts for Christmas.  Of course it is also difficult to resist the pull of an overly materialistic Christmas. There are also situations where we feel torn between obligation and true desire to give gifts.  Every year we sing Joy to the World: “Repeat the sounding joy.  Repeat the […]

We will have a joyous time lighting candles, telling stories, and moving to the beats of African drumming.  Storytellers will bring us on journeys not to be missed!  We will celebrate the principles of Kwanzaa: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.

After publicly declaring that females deserve education as much as males, Malala Yousafzai was shot in the face by an agent of the Taliban.  Ms. Yousafzai survived her attack and went on to be an international voice for empowerment.  She says that every day she and her movement strengthen around a common cause.  In the […]