The Second Half of Life

Rev. Mark Newton

December 11, 2011

We live in a society with clearly articulated markers and rites of passage for the first half of life. But what of the second half? Do we meander unconsciously through it, or thoughtfully embrace it and walk through the thresholds to elderhood and wisdom it offers? Today's service explores the second half of life through the lenses of cultural anthropologist Angeles Arrien, and Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. Their seminal work offers a vision of elderhood as a time of unparalleled inner growth, engagement, and contribution to the world we will leave behind.

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Healing Our Democracy

Rev. Peg Boyle Morgan

November 6, 2011

I doubt there is any one of us who is happy with our country’s political landscape. It is easy to feel discouraged, and cynical at the competitive paralysis in Washington D.C. It would be easy to assume that our country too will decline into oblivion, as have all the great economic and political powers. Today I’ll reflect on how we can wrestle with these thoughts and feelings in our spiritual lives.

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Moth to the Flame: Michael Servetus

Rev. Peg Morgan

October 16, 2011

Today we honor the 500th anniversary of the birth of Michael Servetus, author of “On Errors of the Trinity.” Michael was committed to ideas, regardless of the ultimate cost of his life. Is there anything you would give your life for?

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No Room for Correction

Rev. Peg Morgan

October 2, 2011

Given the recent death of Troy Davis, I will reflect on moral issues of capital punishment.

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Conspirare: To Breathe Together

Lisa Reitzes

September 25, 2011

There are many reasons that we gather on Sunday mornings, perhaps as many reasons as there are people in the Sanctuary. Whatever brings us there, what we do together in that space creates something that is different than what we can experience on our own. However diverse our spiritualities, we agree for that time to be bound to each other by the common air we breathe. 

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One Light, Many Windows

Rev. Peg Morgan

September 18, 2011

Today we reflect on why it is that we come together on Sunday morning when we could stay home with our own beliefs. In this very unchurched area of the country, we choose to come together, gathering in our sanctuary with its many windows, sharing the light together as we ponder the mysteries and celebrate the masterpiece that is this life. In so doing, we remind ourselves of the ways to be saved in this world, for this world…for as Thoreau said, we prefer to take things one life at a time.

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Holding to the Beauty of Life: Reflections on 9-11

Rev. Peg Morgan

September 11, 2011

It has been ten years since the tragedy of 9-11. Today I will peer into that tragedy to recover strains of wisdom that can sustain us whenever life hands us an unthinkable blow.

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Why Africa Matters

Christian Ramers, MD

September 4, 2011

This service will address why the disparities in health and human rights between ours and the African continent are prime examples of why our social justice mission needs to extend beyond our borders.

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The Air We Breathe: Joseph Priestley

Rev. Peg Morgan

August 21, 2011

Today’s sermon will be all about the Unitarian minister and scientist who discovered the existence of oxygen, and the wisdom his life offers us today.

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The Best of Charlotte

Rev. Peg Morgan
July 10, 2011

Today Peg will share the best of her experiences and learnings from the General Assembly in Charlotte, NC. This will not be a dry report. It will include deeply moving messages and emerging themes that were presented in worship, workshops and special special presentations.

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The Blessings of Catholicism: Contemplation and Action

Eileen Duffy

July 3, 2011

We are formed by our early religious beliefs. Later in life, we rejoice in them or rebel against them. More often it is both.

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Finding God at Costco

Jill Fleming

June 26, 2011 

What does it mean to “believe in God”? In response to feeling surrounded by skeptics and atheists, member and life-long Unitarian Universalist Jill Fleming explores the idea of God.

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The Spiritual and Moral Effects of War

Rev. Peg Morgan

June 19, 2011

Can we stand back for a few moments and look at what we humans are doing around war, and the effects of war on people? Is war inevitably a part of human humanity? Are we willing to continue as is, knowing the effects upon our soldiers and the innocent civilians who are wounded, killed, or grieving? Today's sermon will draw upon Dr. Edward Tick's "War and the Soul."

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Creative Interchange: Akin to Grace

Rev. Peg Morgan

March 27, 2011

There is in nature and among humans a dynamic of "creative interchange"... interactions that change us. We are not in charge of the change, we cannot will it, so it is akin to Grace. The creative interchange is a force between that we feel and to which we respond. It operates in all life, to create, save and transform.

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Living Into the Surprise

Rev. Peg Morgan

March 13, 2011

Sometimes the way we live our lives, we see the world through tiny eyes, our vision limited. It is far better to live into the largeness and surprises of life. We'll talk about what it takes to do that.

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You Go to Church?

Rev. Peg Morgan

February 27, 2011

Many of us Unitarians are a bit shy about telling people we go to church, for fear people will think we're buying into old medieval myths and dogma. How can we talk about our faith community, in ways that go beyond what we don't believe?

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