The audio from our sermons
During the forty days before Easter, many Christians fast or pause activities which disconnect them from the holy. A Unitarian Universalist approach might ask, what will you give up for this season to help life along? We do this knowing nothing is so strongly attached that the wind won’t blow it away.
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Charles Gabriel was raised in the Catholic Church, wandered aimlessly through a 35 year period of atheism and finally developed a spiritual center to his life through the gift of the 12-step programs Nar-Anon and Al-Anon that he became involved with through his step-son’s drug addiction.
Who is our enemy and who are we? – An exploration and a universalist view of inclusion in the beloved community.
Charles joined USG in October, 2004 and has held several volunteer positions including Budget & Finance Committee member, Buildings & Grounds committee co-chair, Strategic Planning Council chair and Board of Trustees member. He is now retired from church leadership and sings in the USG choir. Today marks his eighth sermon at USG.
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NASA’s Opportunity, the Mars Rover, just finished 15 years of rolling across our neighbor planet’s rocky red soil. Opportunity helped to discover evidence that ancient Mars had water and might have been capable of sustaining life. This Stewardship Sunday we celebrate the opportunity USG gives us to sustain and empower life and love! Being generous to our church is one element of the endeavor.
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If life is a journey why are there so many detours? Because everyone has to take a turn – ha ha! We can plan all we want but so many times life is composed of interruptions and unplanned changes. Following a roundabout route is essential in many aspects of a quality life journey.
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What does it mean to be a people on a journey? With this spiritual question of the month, we begin with the theme of loneliness. It turns out that many presumptions about loneliness are off-base. For example, many times one is not the loneliest number. Nor is loneliness necessarily tied to highly individualist societies. Should we mindfully attempt to accept loneliness? How can we improve our relationships with our selves?
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So many of us come to Unitarian Universalism to find community, to
renew our spirits, to commit ourselves to the work of justice. But the
promises we made as liberal religious people were made in a world very
different than the one in which we live today. How shall we now live our faith, in these critical days for our country and our world?
The Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt is president of Starr King School for the Ministry, a Unitarian Universalist and multi religious seminary in Berkeley, CA. A congregational minister in Manhattan for more than a dozen years, Rev. McNatt was an editor and widely anthologized writer for more than 20 years before answering the call to ministry. She is the author of three books, including her memoir, Unafraid of the Dark. Rev. McNatt is married to Robert McNatt, a lifelong UU who introduced her to the faith when they met at Yale University. They are the proud parents of two young adult sons, Allen and Daniel.
Faith Under Pressure
The Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt is president of Starr King School for the Ministry, a Unitarian Universalist and multi religious seminary in Berkeley, CA. A congregational minister in Manhattan for more than a dozen years, Rev. McNatt was an editor and widely anthologized writer for more than 20 years before answering the call to ministry. She is the author of three books, including her memoir, Unafraid of the Dark. Rev. McNatt is married to Robert McNatt, a lifelong UU who introduced her to the faith when they met at Yale University. They are the proud parents of two young adult sons, Allen and Daniel.
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Rumi said, “You were born with goodness and trust.” The question often becomes, trust in what? Trust in God? Trust in Love? Trust in Life? These are deep and complicated questions for many of us. Thankfully, our Unitarian Universalist tradition embraces an open and honest search in these matters. In what or whom do you trust and believe in for reliability, truth and strength?
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At the heart of each one of us resides essential Light, also known in Sanskrit as prana. In most of us, however, this Light is dampened, shrouded in a cloak of self-protective darkness that prevents us from standing fully in our powerful presence, individually and in relationship with others. We are mired in habits that ensure that this pure Light is barely visible to ourselves and to others. How does this happen? What ways are there to clear the path to live into the possibility of me, of you, and of us? Esther will share the essential spiritual teachings she turns to and her own experience to expose this process and offer ways to access alignment with our life purpose.
Esther Wyss-Flamm and her husband Brad Flamm have been coming to USG for four years, occasionally accompanied by their son Theo and daughter Maya. As a young girl, Esther attended services at the River Road Unitarian Church. She worked with Unitarian Universalist Service Committee’s International Programs for three years while studying in Boston, and went on to spend years working with international organizations, including UNICEF, to develop and strengthen partnerships with local health and education groups. Esther has a Master’s Degree in Adult Education and a PhD in Organizational Behavior. After moving to Philadelphia, she established herself as a yoga and mindfulness instructor at several studios and organizations in the area, developing her own business, White Flame Yoga. Esther began exploring meditation and yoga while living in a rural village as a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, West Africa, when she was in her 20s, and has been finding refuge and renewal in these practices ever since. Esther is also one of the founding board members of The School Mindfulness Project in Philadelphia, and part of the member-elected board of our local beloved Weavers Way Coop.
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One year before his death Dr King preached at Riverside Church in New York about the triple headed monster of racism, militarism and poverty. After that sermon, for the rest of his tragically short life, King had enemies and antagonists on all sides. Today the three headed monster wreaks havoc in ways that bring hot anger and overwhelming despair. How do we stay true to the Kingian vision and lean into finding and creating opportunities of peace, equality and justice for all?
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The New Year is a time when we can embrace new possibilities. Many times in order to have time, energy or focus, we have to “say no” first. What do you need to stop, leave or say “No” to in order to embrace your possibilities?
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