A sermon about the nature of the sacred and the secular offered during the Jewish High Holidays.
The Sacred and the secular
T
Kew Gardens
K
Kew Gardens has long been one of my favorite places in the world. They are the Royal Botanical Gardens started by George III and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As I mentioned in my post about walking around Oxford, I have always had a soft spot for English gardens. The oldest, like Kew or the Oxford Botanical Gardens, are magical multiple generational projects where the power of what humans can...
Troubling the Truth (Easter 2022)
T
In my Easter sermon for 2022 I challenge us to go beyond the idea that there is such a singular thing as the truth.
Self-Help
S
as preached at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, February 27, 2022 My sermon this morning is inspired by the person who won the right to “Name the Sermon” in last year’s auction. When I asked them what they would like me to preach about their answer was both simple and capacious: self-help. I responded with a desire for a bit more specificity. What about self-help? The...
Joe Manchin Might be a Senator from West Virginia but he’s Paid for by Corporations
J
Joe Manchin is doing everything he can to undermine effective legislation to address the climate crisis and stop any sort of expansion of the social safety net. Like a lot of people, I have been feeling a lot of anger and despair over his power to dictate the Democratic Party’s legislative agenda at a time when it seems clear that a major consolidation of right-wing and white supremacist power is...
Mourning the Past
M
In this sermon I consider how we might re-imagine mourning the past.
Grieving the Future
G
In this sermon, I consider how we might grieve for losses that will occur in the future.
The Transient and the Permanent
T
as preached at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, September 26, 2021 It is good to be back in the pulpit. I have missed you. I have not been gone from First Houston these past weeks. But I have been absent from Sunday morning worship. And worship, this thing the congregation does together–whether online or in-person–sits at the core of the life we share. The title of...
When the Spirit Says Do
W
as preached at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, August 29, 2021 Thank you, Sophia for that exquisite violin performance. It is a blessing to have such talent in our congregation. I think that I can speak for the entire community when I say that we are proud of your achievements and wish you the very best as you continue your musical education. I am certain that you will bless...
Let It Be a Dance
L
as preached at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, August 15, 2021 It is good to be with you this morning. It is good to create this community together through word and song. I know this rose will open.I know my fear will burn away.I know my soul will unfurl its wings. I appreciate the confidence, the faith, that our hymn projects. It is a nice reflection of classical Unitarian...