Jared Hammond is chair of the Worship Arts Team at East Shore Unitarian Universalist Church in Kirtland, OH. He is a music and adventure therapist and lives with his two cats, Magnificent Mae Puddlestone III and Mollificent Jean Puddlestone, First of Her Name.

Titles of programs/sermons and a brief statement of content on each:

• Humanity - Humans have an incredible superpower to give and take away the humanity of anyone or anything. At its best, this makes us the kindest and most compassionate animals. At its worst, this makes us authoritarians capable of genocide. How can our values lead us to use this superpower wisely?
• Tenacious Vulnerability - Tenacity is the drive and motivation to do something difficult. Vulnerability is letting your guard down. Tenacious Vulnerability is letting your guard down, knowing that it’s going to hurt, but also knowing that it’s going to be worth the pain. How can we benefit from this approach to our most difficult problems?
• It Starts with Us - In his 1963 Letter from a Birmingham Jail, The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lamented that the church would, “lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century.” Are we having the impact on the world around us that we intend?
• A Whole Note in Common Time - Music can be divided very neatly into measures on the page. We can change the size of the measure and the size of the note to ensure that everything fits exactly where it is supposed to be to make beautiful music. Can music give us the tools to create the most inclusive welcome?
• What is There in the Silence? - For some of us, silence is incredibly uncomfortable. Because of where our minds wander or because of what we hear when the room tone is the loudest sound. For others, silence is a beautiful and spiritual experience. With so vast a difference in perspective, what is actually there in the silence?
• Good and Evil - We could debate whether true good and evil exist in the real world, but they certainly do in the realm of storytelling. “Why do we tell stories?” a wise man once asked. Perhaps it is a place for us to ask the important questions about who we are and what we do.
• Being Intentional - To be intentional is to do something with purpose and as full an understanding as possible of who will be affected and how they will be affected. What is the purpose behind our actions and how do our actions affect the world around us?

Availability: Willing to do virtual or in-person depending on need and distance. Willing to travel within 120 miles of Berea, OH.

Fee arrangements: Standard fee for your congregation.

Contact: Email Jared Hammond, jhammond09@mail.bw.edu