Hey mom! Happy Mother’s Day! Would you like some controversial thought today? Because that’s what I got you… I dedicate this blog post to you mom, with a shout-out to Rev. Lora Brandis, Consulting Minister at South Valley Unitarian Universalist (SVUUS) and Pocatello Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (PUUF), another mom who…
2: Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
This Valentine’s Day, take a moment to pray (yes, even if you are a UU) that we, all of us, every last human, recognize the importance of this principle. I had a different post prepared for this principle, until yesterday…I was going to talk about making just and equitable choices…
Extreme Welcoming Sermon
Last month in January, I had the good fortune to “inherit” a service because our consulting minister was called out of town unexpectedly (well, kind-of unexpectedly). The title was already set and the topic already published; Extreme Welcoming. I got into thinking about what makes up the idea of welcoming,…
1: The inherent worth and dignity of every person
Our first principle “The inherent worth and dignity of every person” seems obvious. Of course people have worth and deserve dignity, right? Things are not always as obvious as they seem. A while ago, in my little liberal church in Salt Lake City, Utah, I gave a sermon about Everything…
Shout Out to Micah – Great Sermon
Micah Scarbrough from Humanzee came to South Valley this past Sunday and gave his first sermon. He talked about balance and being a catalyst for change, using his knowledge of Parkour to create a muscular metaphor for balance. It was a beautiful sermon, well done, and the workshop he gave…
RLLS: Heading Home
Last morning at RLLS was full of a sense of deep connection. Though most were clearly eager to return home to their loved ones, there was also a sadness. In worship, we reflected upon how we had successfully built a beloved community together, and took time to think about the…
RLLS: Prophetic Voice
Our Prophetic Voice is not a voice that speaks the future, it is our voice which speaks truth; or at least our voice which speaks our truth, and in particular, the voice that speaks truth to power. This is a short post, because well, its been a long week, and…
RLLS: Building Beloved Community
Beloved Community. “Take care of the people, the all-mighty God can take care of himself.” – Kurt Vonnegut Day 4, or really, Day 3 of classes here are RLLS. There was again, a lot of ground today; what stuck with me is that to create our community, our beloved community…
RLLS: Our Mission and Vision
“Claiming our Mission” Day 2, Day 3 of Classes. “A church that is not growing has a mission problem.” – Robert Latham Mission is simply a bit misty and hard to nail down unless you are working on one. It seems, from the coursework, and my thought, that our mission…
RLLS: Our Covenantal Faith
Covered an amazing amount of ground today; covenantal faith, mission, vision, Universalist history, Unitarian history and small group discussion. Literally some 14 hours of dialog, music and worship. What stood out the most? Even though today was about mission, the importance of our covenants to our faith was what stuck…