In 1849, famed Transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau wrote his renowned essay on Civil Disobedience. In it he argued, “All men (sic) recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to refuse allegiance to and to resist the government, when its tyranny or its inefficiency are great and unendurable.” This essay has inspired Gandhi, Martin … Continue reading Marching Towards Walden: Thoreau and Civil Disobedience in 2025
Watch the service HERE. The Day of Atonement is the most sacred holy day in Judaism and the culmination of the Days of Awe. It takes places on October 12th this year. As we meet the day after, which is also the day before Indigenous People’s Day, we’ll explore the complex question: Who Will Atone? … Continue reading Yom Kippur: Who Will Atone?
This weekend is Side with Love’s first ever Climate Justice Revival, with the theme Reimaging Together, From an Extractive Age to a New Era. Most area congregations, including Eastrose, are acknowledging this day, and expect to follow up with a variety of trainings and actions over the coming months. Watch the service HERE. At this week’s Service, … Continue reading Sweat Equity: Service In An Era of Extreme Climate Events
Watch the service HERE. In the Article II revision that was passed by our General Assembly in June, Unitarian Universalists name justice as one of our faith’s central values. And certainly all of us want to believe in a universe in which everyone has an equal chance at health and happiness. But we also know … Continue reading “It’s Just Not Fair!
Watch the service HERE. Cultivate Initiatives is a group of people that envisions communities that are safe, supportive, and full of opportunities. As a nonprofit organization serving East Portland and East Multnomah County, they empower individuals and communities through workforce development, housing and homemaking, and supportive sheltering. Caleb and others from the Cultivate Initiatives team … Continue reading Providing Support, Safety and Opportunity Amidst the Ruins
Watch the service HERE. In the hit Netflix series, “Squid Game,” a group of desperate South Koreans risk their lives to pay off their crippling debts. The series reflects a real social problem in their country – too much money too easily borrowed. This week, the taxman cometh to our doors, and Americans find themselves … Continue reading “Squid Game” and the Death Knell of Debt
Watch the service HERE. You’ve seen them everywhere – at peace rallies and Pride marches, in our pulpit and on members of the choir, on our children and our elders, at General Assembly – those vivid gold T-shirts radiating the phrase: “Side With Love.” For Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, we’ll explore the origins and … Continue reading Here Come the Love People
Watch the service HERE. The Sermon on the Mount, found in the Gospel of Matthew, is perhaps the most widely known and quoted passage attributed to Jesus, a radical Rabbi in his time. As Unitarian Universalists who honor the humanitarian Jesus as a wisdom teacher, the Sermon on the Mount can offer us a universal … Continue reading Blessed Are: A Humanist Sermon on the Mount for 2023
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
Watch the service HERE. The publication of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird prequel, Go Set A Watchman, unleashed a torrent of befuddlement about the recasting of Atticus Finch from paragon of white virtue to an emblem of deep south racism. Mary Louise goes home as an adult and sees a different shade of Atticus … Continue reading Go Set A Watchman: On Radical Honesty
