Opening Hymn #389 Gathered Here Today, in this time of great social conflict, we have a greater than usual number of prayers, songs, responsive and unison readings, so before we begin, I want to be really clear about something. Here, at East Shore Unitarian Universalist Church, while you are always welcomed and encouraged to participate, you are never required to do anything…
Love. Revere. Discover. Connect.
Love. Revere. Discover. Connect.
Sermons from 2016
May nothing evil cross this door.Too Late! – This place is full of people.What an insult you say.What a mundane observation I say. Now I do not intend to bore you with a tedious lecture on the evils of humanity, but I do wish to raise a voice against our romantic tendency to saccharin sweet mutual praise. I also wish to delve…
Prayer: Acquainted with the Night by Robert Frost (read by Jerie Green) I have been one acquainted with the night. I have walked out in rain-and back in rain. I have outwalked the furthest city light. I have looked down the saddest city lane. I have passed by the watchman on his beat And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain. I have stood still and stopped…
I preached my first sermon in a full year since retiring at the end of June last year, and I was asked back to East Shore to preach! Yes, I had some reservations, yes there were minor glitches-the new church secretary left out the alternate words I wanted for “Shall We Gather by the River” that were written by old friend, John…
Centering Thought: “Showing up is eighty percent of life.”- Woody Allen Reading from Lessons in Belonging, by Erin S. Lane Nancy Tozer This morning’s first reading is from a book called Lessons in Belonging from a Church-going Commitment Phobe, by Erin S. Lane, a millennial who works for the Center for Courage and Renewal as an assistant director for clergy and congregational…
Personal Reflection “My Connection to Mr. Rogers” Tim Ray When I was 9 or 10 years old Mr. Rogers was one of my Sunday school teachers. Yes, THE Mr. Rogers. The one many, many kids loved to watch on TV when they were young. I actually lived IN his neighborhood – about 3 blocks from his house. Through my parents and our…
Centering Thought: “Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to ‘jump at the sun.’ We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground.” – Zora Neale Hurston Flower Communion, Halcyon Domanski Czechoslovakian Norbert (CHApek) Capek was studying in the United States to be a Baptist minister. It was the 1920’s, and while studying here, he…
Personal Reflection “Breathing in a Huge World” Diana Packer Save the world. Are you kidding me? That concept is huge. Just hearing myself say those three words out loud makes me feel completely overwhelmed. How am I supposed to save the world? Well, I figured out that the first thing I need to do is reduce the size of the world. I…
Reflection “Letting Go,” Rev Denis Paul When I was little, my siblings and I didn’t get candy for Easter. Oh, we got an Easter basket, complete with plastic grass and even some dyed hardboiled eggs, but no candy. The basket was mostly filled with little toys, things like Silly Putty, yo-yos, magnetic board games for long car rides, that kind of thing.…
Story “Sodom and Gomorrah” (Rev Denis) Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all trace their origins back to many common characters in their stories, but chief among them is Abraham. Abraham had a special bond with God. I mean, there was that time when God told Abraham to go to the land of Moriah and sacrifice his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. Abraham…