Author: LdeG

What Would Theodore Parker Do?

LdeG

Another excellent sermon from James Ishmael Ford.

Transcendentalism called us to examine our own hearts and the world through that faculty that can be called either “reason” or “intuition.” I find it really important how for them there was no particular difference between the two, reason from this angle, intuition from that. This is a much richer understanding of how we actually come to know things than many of us tend to notice. So, itself a great gift.

And when applied to life, it brings a new way of living in the world. Parker himself, in that sermon sorting the transient from the permanent, proclaimed, “Christianity is not a system of doctrines, but rather a method of attaining oneness with God. It demands, therefore, a good life of piety within, of purity without, and gives the promise that whoso does God’s will, shall know of God’s doctrine.” And with this Parker articulated a radical doctrine, declaring we are our true selves when we have nothing between God and us, between the ultimate and me, between the world writ large and you.

A Meditation on Theodore Parker and the Call of Liberal Religion as a Compass in Hard Times

Sunday, 31 January 2016: Grace, Gratitude, and Privilege

LdeG


Prelude: Let Her Go – Passenger

Welcome

Chalice Lighting May We Look With Gratitude Upon This Day – Michael R. Leduc

May we look with gratitude upon this day, for the beauty of the world, for the first radiance of dawn and the last smoldering glow of sunset.

Let us be thankful for physical joys, for hills to climb and hard work to do, for music that lifts our hearts in one breath, for the hand-clasp of a friend, and for the gracious loveliness of children who remind us of the wonders of life.

May we be appreciative above all for the concern and love of those around us; for the exceeding bliss of the touch of the holy which suddenly awakens our drowsy souls to the blessed awareness of the divine within us and within others.

For all of this, and for the countless other blessings present in our lives, let us be grateful. Amen.

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Sunday January 3, 2016: Altars, Shrines, and Every Day Practice

LdeG 1 Comment

Prelude

Chalice Lighting:

Rabbi Hillel, a Jewish contemporary of Jesus, said, “Separate not thyself from the congregation and its concerns, nor postpone thought for thy spirit until the day of thy death. Say not, ‘By and by, when I have leisure, I will care for my soul,’ lest perchance thou never find leisure.”

Song:

Come, come, whoever you are
Wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving
Ours is no caravan of despair
Love yet again come Continue reading →

Sunday December 20, 2015: Celebrate the Light

LdeG

Prelude: Ring Solstice Bells by Jethro Tull

Welcome

Chalice Lighting

We gather in the chill of winter solstice,
finding warmth from each other, nourishing
hope where reason fails.

Grateful for small miracles, we rejoice
in the wonder of light and darkness
and the daring of hope.

I’d like to invite each of each who has brought a candle to come forward and light your candle while we sing “Come, come, whoever you are” three times.

Song and Candle Lighting: Come, come, whoever you are
Wandererer, worshipper, lover of leaving
Ours is no caravan of despair
Come, yet again come Continue reading →

Sunday December 13, 2015: Politics and Religion

LdeG

Welcome

Welcome and Happy Holidays, Happy St. Nicholas Day, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Abolition Day, Bodhi Day (Tuesday), Second Sunday of Advent

Chalice Lighting
~ Kimberly Knight, Minister of Digital Community, Extravagance UCC

No, my prayers will not stop the killing.
No, my prayers will not bring back the innocent.
No, my prayers will not relax the gnarled fist of hatred.
No, my prayers will not open the greedy hearts of those who profit from death.

But, my prayers can gently break the silence of despair.
But, my prayers can channel my rage at the machine.
But, my prayers can embolden me to be the hands and feet of The Divine.
But, my prayers can encourage others of faith to awake, arise and act.

I do not pray for God to send us a miracle.
I pray for God to remind us how to be the miracle.

I am because you are and only together, with a radical belief that a paradigm shift is possible, active hope and faithful resolve to be the change we seek, can we make it stop.

Continue reading →