as prepared for the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, July 13, 2025 Recent events have been overwhelming, for me personally, for my family, for our congregation, and, indeed, for many in the state of Texas. I have been in something of a state of shock from the relentless media cycle and sheer number of hateful messages that we have received. The convergence of a horrific disaster...
The text of my sermon discussing the proposed revisions to Article II of the UUA's bylaws.
A sermon on the tension between Unitarian and Universalist visions of salvation.
as preached at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, February 18, 2023 He drew a circle that shut me out–Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.But Love and I had the wit to win:We drew a circle that took him in! Those words might be familiar. They have long been popular in Unitarian Universalist circles. They come from the poet and lifelong Universalist Edwin Markham. Active in the...
This past year was not a good year for reading. While a lot of people experienced as the pandemic as a time that allowed them to do more reading than usual it had the opposite impact for me. Being a single parent meant that whenever I finished with my own work I had to turn my attention to getting my son focused on completing his school work. Between my job, my scholarly writing, housework, and...
Fire, like our connection to the divine, needs to be nurtured, needs to be maintained, if it is to continue. This is a helpful lesson to remember during these difficult days. For it prompts the question: In these times when it can feel like the fires of our spirits flag, what shall we do to maintain them?