In the words of writer David Brooks, “In a culture devoid of moral education, generations are growing up in a morally inarticulate, self-referential world.” Along with Mr. Brooks, I wonder why so many Americans have gotten so sad and gutted. And a companion question, why has a swath of America gotten so mean? This intermeshed … Continue reading How America Got Mean & Why Kindness Matters
When Thomas Jefferson debated his landmark Statute of Religious Freedom in 1786, could he have foreseen the troubling state of rampant official “Godliness” in our current political system? On this pre-election Sunday, we’ll explore how the President’s religious behavior has taken on new and surreal meaning in a White House rife with endorsed evangelical zeal and … Continue reading An Atheist for President?
Have you ever noticed that all of the stories in our lives that we re-write tend to have happier endings, sometimes even mythic? What is the allure of imagining do-overs of glory? This morning, we’ll explore how the very modern preoccupation of imagining alternate selves can be fuel for fantasy and escape, but also fodder … Continue reading Sliding Doors and the Lives We Didn’t Live
The great spiritual traditions all tell us to love our neighbor. However, in this political moment, it isn’t easy. Some of our neighbors infuriate, distress, and embarrass us. It feels like a great leap to try and love them. In this service, we will explore ways to break through to love those we find disagreeable. … Continue reading How to Love Your Neighbor
In the Old Testament story of the Tower of Babel, Yahweh observes a civilization which speaks a single language, enabling them to work together to build a tower. He worries that this commonality might unite them with too much power against him. So, he fractures their language and weakens them. They can no longer communicate. … Continue reading Speaking “Empathy” In an American Babel
It’s New Year’s Resolution time! Again? (sigh). In 2025, rather than “resolve,” how might we reflect and cast intentions for our lives? Have we become more tender towards ourselves, more flexible with others? Can we muster the energy to fight the good fight? “Now, I become myself,” writes the poet May Sarton, “it’s taken time, … Continue reading Some Assembly Required: On Becoming A Self
Watch the service HERE. Nobel Prize winner Albert Schweitzer has famously remarked that, “Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.” When it comes to our relationship with animals, how do we balance our seventh principle about interconnectedness with social norms that typically uphold the … Continue reading Inhabiting a Peaceable Kingdom: Our Relationship With Our Plate
“To embark on the journey towards your goal and dreams requires bravery. To remain on that path requires courage…” Steve Marboli Watch the service HERE. Seeing bravery and courage in others often inspires admiration and awe. Yet, almost all of us in our life have been brave and at times courageous. Rev. Suzie Matranga-Watson will look … Continue reading Being Brave, Having Courage
Watch the service HERE. As Easter and Ramadan converge (and with Passover on the horizon), 2024 offers us a valuable opportunity to practice a “free and responsible search for Holy Week.” What is the common thread in the Abrahamic faiths (and in our own tradition) that lifts up universal love and “salvation” in ways that … Continue reading The Paradoxical Commandments – Love Them Anyway
Watch the service HERE. Mohandas Gandhi once speculated that with so many hungry people in the world, when God next comes to earth it will be in the form of a loaf of bread. My guess is that this loaf will be a simple one, as close to the integrity of wheat and water as … Continue reading Bread, Not Stone: Hunger and Homelessness in the Land of Plenty
