Call to Worship and Chalice Lighting Rev. Denis In times of darkness, people have always kindled light – to remove the gloom of ignorance, to chase away clouds of doubt, and to overcome the fear of oppression. We, too, come together to kindle light: the symbol of our prayers for peace, for hope, for freedom, and for blessings for ourselves and the…
Love. Revere. Discover. Connect.
Love. Revere. Discover. Connect.
Sermons from 2015
Personal Reflection “Vetting the Neighbors” John Bernardini When my wife and I started looking for a house, we knew that we would be pretty limited by our budget. We would not be building the house of our dreams or residing in any new and trendy neighborhood. The most we hoped for was a solid fixer-upper with a good roof, dry basement, and…
Centering Thought: “;Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.”; – Thich Nhat Hanh Prayer “;My Prayer for You,”; by Bree Byrd May you always know joy.May you find enough laughter through the tears that will fall, to see the beauty the world has to show you.May you find the hidden whispers of knowledge in the series of moments…
Centering Thought: “We are in a world that is connected, but not communicating.” — Tariq Ramadan Personal Reflection Patrick McGovern I’ve always loved an underdog. Maybe that goes some of the way to explaining my love of Cleveland sport teams and the Browns, in particular. After all, why would I be so passionate about being a part of a group rooting for…
Prayer (Read by David Domanski as Ian Griffith lights a candle for each) In addition to the candles already lit here in our circle of caring, we light 20 additional candles, one for each of the women killed by their intimate partners, in Lake County since records began being kept. On October 10, 1976, NANCY KUSUNIC was killed. She was 32 years…
Reading This morning’s reading is from the book Let Your Life Speak, by Parker J. Palmer What am I meant to do? Who am I meant to be? I was in my early thirties when I began, literally, to wake up to questions about my vocation. By all appearances, things were going well, but the soul does not put much stock in…
Homily “Shaping Our Souls,” Rev. Denis Letourneau Paul Have you ever noticed clouds in a brilliant azure blue sky on a gorgeous day? Of course you have! They’re so fluffy and light, white, with a little gray in them. How can you see them and not feel happy, buoyant? And when you see images of angels in heaven, the clouds they glide…
Every once in a while, a minister writes a sermon, then at the last minute has to lay it aside and start all over, in order to deliver a completely different message that addresses an issue suddenly made visible. What has come up is a question asked by a number of people, pretty much all at once. (I heard it a couple…
Centering Thought: “In case you forget, pain is there to help with your decisions.” – Hafiz Sermon “Dining with Daniel,” Rev. Denis Letourneau Paul Have you ever gotten news that seems devastating? The kind of news that you were afraid would change your life for the worse? Only to have it turn out to be not so bad afterall? That happened to…
(Presented at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Cleveland) Time for All Ages Rev Denis Letourneau Paul “The Father and The Crow,” based on a traditional tale I would like to share with you a traditional story. Some sources say it’s an Indian or Hindu tale. Some say it’s Muslim tale. But I nobody knows for sure. It could come from anywhere. Whatever…