There was once a young Unitarian Universalist child who was dining with parents at the home for the first time of an elderly great uncle, who was known to be very religious. Just before they started eating, after watching the old man bow his head and speak in a soft voice, the young Unitarian Universalist asked, Mom, what did Uncle Bob say…
Some Halloween humor: A squad car driver was covering a quiet beat out in the sticks when he was amazed to find a former lieutenant on the police force covering the beat. He stopped the car and asked, “Why, Mike, this wouldn’t be your new beat out here in the sticks, would it?” From a book called Children’s Letters to God, compiled…
The famous writing rabbi, Harold Kushner, author of the well known, Why Bad Things Happen to Good People, wrote : “Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is like expecting the bull not to charge you because you are a vegetarian. Or as one cynic said recently, “Of course life is unfair. If life were fair,…
There is an organizational development story about a man who injured his thumb on the job. He was told by his foreman to go to the clinic. He stepped inside and saw an empty room with only a desk and two chairs. Toward the back of the room there were two doors–one marked “Illness” and the other marked “Injury.” The man thought…
The mother of a 17-year-old girl was concerned that her daughter was having sex. Worried the girl might become pregnant and adversely impact the family’s status, she consulted the family doctor. The doctor told her that teenagers today were very willful and any attempt to stop the girl would probably result in rebellion. He then told her to arrange for her daughter…
The early Universalist preacher had to be somewhat defensive since they were often considered heretics, believing that God loved everyone and didn’t believe in predestination like the Calvinists. They seemed to have developed a quick and ready comeback There’s a story about John Murray, often called the Father of Universalism, that during one of his sermons, a stone flew through the window…
Opening Words:Welcome back! Ollie Ollie In Free! DO you remember those words from the children’s game of calling in those who have been hiding; it’s safe to come out now! SO, we call to those who have been away for the summer to come home, come home. We start our new church year, our new Sunday school year, and of course, a…
There is a story about the famous atheist and philosopher Bertrand Russell who was sent to jail during W.W.II for being a pacifist. As he was being processed the clerk had to ask him many personal question and finally he asked: Religion?Russell answered him defiantly: Atheist.The clerk , not too bright, and remember this was a time when the term wasn’t as…
Depending on ones point of view, I am either cursed or gifted with my sense of humor; perhaps it’s the same thing. Try as I might, I just see humor in so much of life, but I don’t want to be a comedian, I am a minister. Yet I have always found a sense of laughter in the divine as well. Humor…
After the recent shooting at the Knoxville Unitarian Universalist Church I believe it is even more important to emphasize the power of love to overcome hate, and that sometimes we must laugh so that we can get over the tears. We UUs like to poke fun at our liberal religion,.. How to know that you’re a UU?: How Many UUs Does it…