USGUU Sermon Podcast

Our hearts are broken again with the outbreak of senseless violence in our nation. Every day, violence plagues our nation in the form of guns, knives and other attacks. This time the bombings in Boston crush our hearts with sorrow and grief.

We send our love to the people of Boston who were affected by this cowardly attack on innocent people. Throughout the days to come I encourage all of us to meditate, pray, or engage in any spiritual practices, which can create peace in our hearts and our world.

During our Sunday morning service instead of my previously scheduled sermon I will reflect briefly on the situation and then as a community we will spend time in a Quaker style meeting for silence and reflection.

 

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I recently came out of the closet. I am an atheist. It’s been a long road from devout Roman Catholic to atheist. But being a Unitarian Universalist helped me get here.

A former chef and restaurant critic, food and wine writer Sam Gugino is a contributing editor and columnist for Wine Spectator magazine and blogs at samcooks.com. He has been a member of USG since 2002 and has served the church in a number of capacities including three years as Membership Chair, three years on the Board of Trustees, the last two as president, and two years chairing the Stewardship Committee.

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The great poet Hafiz asks: “What happens when your soul awakens your eyes, heart and the cells of your body to the Journey of Love?”  The Unitarian Society of Germantown helps us to awaken to the journey of love.  On this Pledge Campaign Sunday we will celebrate all the ways our ministries and programs awaken our hearts and souls to the bounty of life.  In the words of Hafiz we will also claim “our deep need to love and serve the friend”, and the congregation.

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This Sunday is Easter Sunday and we invite you to join us for an intergenerational Easter Worship Service! Each Easter Sunday we celebrate the universal message that new life can spring forth even from our darkest moments. We all have “empty tombs” of loss, pain, and uncertainty. Yet, with hope and courage we emerge to find new life and meaning. Hallelujah!

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Anne Gwynn and Mel Strieb are long-time members of USG. From 2007 to 2009, they were Peace Corps volunteers in Romania. They recently returned from a second tour, this time in Kenya teaching secondary school students. They will be talking about their experiences with their students and how their own lives were enriched by their interactions there. They also will describe the contribution USG made to their Kenyan school.

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Many of us struggle when posing for pictures.  When we are with friends and someone pulls out a camera it can be quite an effort to find a relaxed smile.  Why is this?  In our society too often we take ourselves and our situations too seriously.  How do we give legitimacy and mindfulness to the art of happiness?  Sometimes it truly does take courage to dance and sing, let alone simply to smile.

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We learn from the painful experiences in life to avoid emotional hurt and shame. We learn to protect ourselves by remaining closed to sharing the whole of our selves with others. But, what if vulnerability is a key to unlocking the fullness of life? How do we find the courage to live with our whole heart?

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Do you wish that the cold, short days of winter would go away?  Are you pining for more time spent outside in warm sunshine?  Do you have the blues?  Part of a healthy spiritual life is to accept that we all hit bumps in the road.  Many times we need support and courage to sing the blues.  Come hear the excellent blues band: Gretchen Emery & Dirty Boots, starring Alan Windle’s brother Kenny on guitar.

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Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “God has given to all. The spirit of God is a transcendent, infallible guide.” This God manifests through listening to our souls. This God also takes shape through all the glories and mysteries of nature. From the miracle of the first cells of sludge coming out of the waters and becoming land animals, to sperm and egg combining to reproduce a next miraculous generation of life, to butterflies migrating from Mexico to Canada every year even though not one single butterfly ever makes the trip twice.  What a miraculous God!

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“Give them not Hell, but hope and courage.” Universalist John Murray’s famous words encapsulate the essential message of early Universalism, and Universalists have continued to this day to proclaim a belief in a God of limitless love. How does the “good news” of Universalism inform the living of our Unitarian Universalist faith in our times?

 

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