In honor of my Jewish heritage on this Rosh Hashanah, my Mel’s Mouth post for today is this story I told earlier this year about my Aunt Chvolkah. My fledgling blog is also celebrating today its 1,000th page view. I’m grateful and humbled that more than 250 people have checked me out, and I invite…
Heaven Is So High — February 17, 2013, Sermon
Every once in a while we become aware of another group that deserves our attention, that needs people to go to bat for it. Maybe it’s the turn of the mentally ill.
I Know How Joe Biden Feels
Joe and I are both in that stage of mourning where we must find our new normal.
The 5th Precept and the 12 Steps — December 1, 2013, Sermon
Even though she had been clean for some time and in fact was working in a recovery center, she broke down when she talked about her failures to care for her daughter, as she told us: “There’s no love greater than the disease of addiction.”
Investing in Your Beliefs — May 10, 2015, Sermon
…there’s considerable evidence that having more education doesn’t make us more broad-minded. Instead, it makes us better at defending our biases.
That Arc Bends Toward Truth, Too — March 2, 2014, Sermon
To find today’s, I didn’t have to dig very deep into my vault of sermons not yet posted here. This one tells two remarkable stories. I’ll start with the prelude: Many of you know that it was 19th Century Unitarian minister Theodore Parker who originated the phrase about the moral arc of the universe bending…
What Lives Matter? – A sermon by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar – YouTube
We Unitarian Universalists drive people away from our congregations by adopting a cause or phrase du jour and demonizing anyone who is not ready to adopt it. Currently, it’s “Black Lives Matter.” This sermon by the Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar does a stellar job of explaining why the phrase, and the movement, are important, without…
Community: Warm & Fuzzy or Cold & Hairy — September 14, 2014
Whenever I meet newcomers to Unitarian Universalism, one of the things I talk about is the community – that it plays a bigger role for us than it does for many other religions. We don’t come to church on Sunday mornings to pay homage to a deity and improve our chances of making it into…
Bruce Springsteen: This Land Is Your Land – YouTube
Thanks to James Ford and his Monkey Mind blog for reminding me what a great version this is of a classic song to listen to on Labor Day.
Why I Was Born — in 10 Minutes on Youtube
Over the past few years, I’ve been telling stories with the talented group Better Said Than Done. Here’s the one I consider my best.
My Loose-leaf Bible — August 30, 2015
I don’t know why I often begin my sermons with stories from my time at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Reston, so forgive me for doing it once more. In Reston, we had a process for prospective members similar to what we do here in Loudoun, with one exception. A couple of times a year…
How to Explain Our Faith ~ the Rev. Aaron White
I’d call the the best 20-minute explanation I’ve ever seen of Unitarian Universalism. — MHP
Melting-Pot Dharma 