Do women deserve rights and a voice in society? This quest has been a struggle for centuries. Two systems in our country shape an answer to this seemingly straightforward question. In one, we are fully entitled, and in the other, we’re not or we’re threatened to have whatever equality we currently have stripped away. Rabid … Continue reading Mainstreaming Misogyny

When Viktor Frankel wrote his landmark book, “Man’s Search for Meaning” in 1946, he couldn’t have envisioned a time when people would be consulting artificial intelligence for the answers to life’s most probing questions about being human. Are we on the cusp of a society that will engage with religion, philosophy, and community with a … Continue reading AI and “The Meaning of Life”

As Valentine’s Day approaches with its mythic view of romance, we’ll explore why it can be so difficult to give and receive love and how we can soften into the comforting hug just outside of our resistance. What might it mean to “have without holding?” Is devotion possible in our Maybe-I-Do world? How can we … Continue reading Open Your Arms If You Want to Be Held: A Sermon Towards Devotion

In his acclaimed, Pulitzer Prize winning novel, “James,” Percival Everett offers us a compelling and provocative retelling of the Huck Finn story. Our title character, James, is the familiar “Jim” from the Twain tale, but he lives a double life here. As a slave, he speaks and behaves as “expected” by the culture around him. … Continue reading “James” and the Expectation of Blackness

When it comes to imagery for transformation, change, and reinvention, some people gravitate towards the metaphor of molting one’s skin to make room for a new one. I prefer the symbolism of the chrysalis that shelters a developing butterfly. We’re all destined to form and shed many chrysalises throughout our human lives. This morning, with … Continue reading A Chrysalis Year

Resistance in America takes many forms in 2026. One is the whistle brigade to prevent or interrupt ICE abductions. Chicagoans assembled 4000 ICE-watch whistle kits and the intervention is spreading. How do we fight back on the creeping authoritarianism in our country? In this sermon for Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, we’ll revisit Timothy Snyder’s … Continue reading Come Blow Your Whistle… Revisiting “On Tyranny”

It has been said that the essence of monastic life is summed up in one phrase: “chop wood and carry water.” That is, as part of a structured day of habits and rituals that begins in the early morning light with meditating on death, making one’s bed, chanting, and sweeping.  How can the power of … Continue reading Waking Up with the Monks and the Power of Habit

On Wednesday, December 24 at 4:30pm join us for a joyful service of readings, reflection, choir selections and congregational caroling. Rev. Robin Landerman Zucker with Worship Leader Rev. Suzie Matranga Watson. Music from Mary R. and the Sunrise Choir, under the direction of Tyler P. AV tech services by Jon N. Cookie exchange after the service.

In the Western Abrahamic religious traditions, God is seen as a source of light, banishing darkness, and bringing hope. Yahweh impressively “let there be light,” Jesus is famously “the way, truth and light,” and Allah is characterized as the “Universal Light.” Darkness is seen as an enemy, associated with evil, with the shadow. It wasn’t … Continue reading Luminescence – Welcoming Light, Honoring Darkness