There was a Mystery. She was a great Mystery. And nobody understood or appreciated her mainly because there was no one else around to appreciate or understand much of anything.

Great Spirit of Life, be with us now as we witness these, our youth. By laying our hands on you, we infuse you with the power of our love. The many generations of families who have participated in the life of this congregation have left for you the legacy of their love and commitment....

As part of my seminary training I spent a summer working as a hospital chaplain, assigned to the psychiatric floor. I found it to be deeply gratifying work, and I was able to build relationships with many of the patients. Some were long-term and others had a quick turnaround. Some were what we...

Today is the second of our three-part sermon series dedicated to Rev. Forrest Church. As I noted last week, Church spent nearly 30 years as the senior minister of All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in New York City....

How clearly I remember it. My husband, Dan, and our daughter, Sarah, had spent the night in Taos, New Mexico. The next morning we set out for the pueblo, an ancient village inhabited by indigenous people known as the Pueblo. Clearly tourists, easily identified as European Americans, we were...

We give thanks for the animals Who live close to nature, Who remind us of the sanctities of birth and death, Who do not trouble their lives with foreboding or grief, Who let go each moment as it passes, And accept each new one as it comes With serenity and grace....

In this religious community we reach back into the past to honor those who came before us and those who have given much so that we may be here today. And we reach forward with hands of welcome to embrace those who have newly joined our Fellowship....

Spirit of Life and Love, We have gathered again out of our separateness to know that we are not alone. In our fears, we are not alone. In our grasping for peace, finding it in fleeting moments, and losing it again to some turmoil of the mind and heart, we are not alone....

Opening words (by Tess Baumberger) Reader 1: There will be a brightness to this day Even if there be but cloud and rain outdoors. Reader 2: The brightness of this day comes from within, From this gladly gathered company....

One day I was sitting in a coffee shop downtown when I noticed a couple of street corner evangelists setting up shop across the street—an older and a younger man (possibly his son?), wearing dark suits and ties and wielding King James Version bibles. They commenced taking turns preaching the...

Pity the poor dandelion. It is, in many ways, nature’s perfect plant. With a tap root that grows more than a foot long, it can survive in climates of scorching heat and bitter cold. Its tender, young greens make a tasty addition to any salad, or they can be boiled like fiddleheads or as a tea...

In his 1947 biography of Theodore Parker, the American historian Henry Steele Commager wrote about Parker's first trip to Europe: There was everything to be seen and much to be remembered, and Parker invaded Europe with the ruthless thoroughness that ever characterized him: he carried the towns b...

In his book, Facing Death, Averil Stedeford recounts the following story about a woman who was diagnosed with a terminal illness: Mrs. N. was a very particular housewife who felt she should clean her home every day. She did not entertain often, for it was such an effort; everything had to be...

There was a fascinating story on the public radio evening news on Wednesday: The town of Port Arthur, Texas, a conservative, middle American community, is building a memorial to its best-known native daughter—Janis Joplin. Janis Joplin—rock star, rebel, outrageous dresser, screamer and shouter,...

We call this light before us in hope that we may always remain a strong community, working together to make the world a better place. When we are grieving or sad, When we are challenged, When we need help, This flame guides us out of the darkness. When we are cheerful, When we celebrate, When we...

What is this fire? A match, a wick, a flame. What is this place? Wood, and stone, and glass. Yet here we have gathered In this place Before this flame Making each holy By our presence here, together.

There once was a person named John Murray. He lived in England, and worked as a minister there. The congregation to which he belonged took religion very seriously. They believed in life after death, but they thought that almost everyone was going to have a terrible, horrible time after they died.

I send you out now, to share yourself with the world May its promise and complexity set your mind ablaze May you hold fast to what your life has taught you May you question everything And when you have changed the world, And the world has changed you, May you return again, to this place, And shar...

[This sermon is second in a three-part series: "The Humanist in Me," "The Theist in Me," and "The Christian in Me."] You may have noticed that I do not completely attach myself to one label....

We light this chalice in memory of the courage of those who have struggled for freedom, the persistence of those who've struggled for justice, and the love of those who've built beloved communities to carry on the light of hope.