April 11, 2021
by Reverend Anthony Makar, Worship Leader
Grace Durfee, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
Without a doubt, there are structures and systems in our world that alienate people from themselves and from others and thereby cause great suffering. White supremacy culture is one of these. But how, specifically, does white supremacy culture manifest itself? What are some ways we might seek liberation from it?
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April 4, 2021
by Reverend Anthony Makar, Worship Leader
Elizabeth Gerencser, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
Our year-long sermon series exploring some of the world religion sources of our Unitarian Universalist spiritual way continues with Christianity. Our study text is Huston Smith’s The World’s Religions: The 50th Anniversary Edition (available at your local bookstore, at Amazon, and other outlets). Reach out to Rev. Makar directly if you are unable to afford purchasing the book. As preparation for the sermon, please read the chapter on Christianity (pp. 317-364) before the service.
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March 28, 2021
by Reverend Anthony Makar, Worship Leader
Judy Montgomery, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
U. S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who recently died this past September after serving the highest court in the land for 27 years, changed American life for the better. Everyone has a lot to thank her for, but many don’t know how much she’s done. She’s also a fascinating personality, to boot. Rev. Makar explores this and more in his personal letter to Judge Ginsburg. Join us!
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March 21, 2021
by Reverend Anthony Makar, Worship Leader
Vicki Warden, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
“Forward into Light” was a popular rallying cry for the women’s suffrage movement, which culminated in the ratification and adoption of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, in 1920, that “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Today, Rev. Makar explores the drama and complexity of this story, together with the continuing struggle for women’s voting rights.
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![It Takes Practice]()
March 20, 2021
by Matt Meyer, Guest Worship Leader
Grace Durfee, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
Our favorite songs, whoever the artist or whatever the style, were created in a strange alchemy of study and inspiration, of strict practice and of letting go. Spiritual Practice is a similar combination of dedication, muscle memory, and perhaps a little divine inspiration. Join us for a musical exploration of learning to risk, building the muscle memory of courage, and the spiritual practice of relationship when things around us are changing fast.
About Our Guest Worship
Leader Matt Meyer is musician, worship leader, and community organizer, as well as a lifelong Unitarian Universalist. He has been a keynote speaker at the JPD worship arts festival, Ohio Summer Institute, Allies for Racial Equity national conference, and the annual meeting of the Canadian Unitarian Council. He has also led music for most of the last fifteen General Assemblies of the UUA. Matt is a founding worship leader and current Director of Operations for Sanctuary Boston, a contemporary worship community in Boston. He was a founding member of the Lucy Stone Cooperative and is a current organizer of the UU Song leaders Convergence. www.RhythmRevelations.com
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March 7, 2021
by Reverend Anthony Makar, Worship Leader
Jeff Modzelewski, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
Our year-long sermon series exploring some of the world's religions of our Unitarian Universalist spiritual way continues with Judaism. Our study text is Huston Smith’s The World’s Religions: The 50th Anniversary Edition (available at your local bookstore, at Amazon, and other outlets). Reach out to Rev. Makar directly if you are unable to afford purchasing the book. As preparation for the sermon, please read the chapter on Judaism (pp. 271-316) before the service.
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February 28, 2021
by Reverend Anthony Makar, Worship Leader
Vicky Warden, Worship Associates
David Blazer, Director of Music
Today we explore a classic fairy tale and its message about magic, creativity, aging and the spiritual meaning of work.
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February 21, 2021
by Reverend Randy Partain, Worship Leader
Elizabeth Gerencser & Melinda McGucken, Worship Associates
David Blazer, Director of Music
We’ve heard about a “new normal” for quite a while. Many people have also said that "normal" is just a setting on the washing machine. We might take pride in being unique. And yet, when it comes to the way we judge or accept others, it often comes down to how well another person fits our personal definition of "normal." How can we draw the circle of welcome wider and still embrace our own sense of individuality?
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February 14, 2021
by Reverend Anthony Makar, Worship Leader
Melinda McGucken, Worship Associates
David Blazer, Director of Music
Our year-long sermon series exploring some of the world religion sources of our Unitarian Universalist spiritual way continues with Islam. Our study text is Huston Smith’s The World’s Religions: The 50th Anniversary Edition (available at your local bookstore, at Amazon, and other outlets). Reach out to Rev. Makar directly if you are unable to afford purchasing the book. As preparation for the sermon, please read the chapter on Islam (pp. 221-270) before the service.
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![Diligent Joy]()
February 7, 2021
by Reverend Anthony Makar, Worship Leader
Grace Durfee and Judy Montgomery, Worship Associates
David Blazer, Director of Music
Elizabeth Gilbert, in Eat Pray Love, writes, “As I focus on Diligent Joy, I also keep remembering a simple idea my friend Darcey told me once–that all the sorrow and all the trouble of this world is caused by unhappy people. Not only in the big global Hitler-’n’-Stalin picture, but also on the smallest personal level. Even in my own life, I can see exactly where my episodes of unhappiness have brought suffering or distress or (at the very least) inconvenience to those around me. The search for contentment is, therefore, nor merely a self-preserving and self-benefiting act, but also a generous gift to the world. Clearing out all your misery gets you out of the way. You cease being an obstacle, not only to yourself but to anyone else. Only then are you free to serve and enjoy other people.” That’s what Elizabeth Gilbert says. Diligent Joy is a key spiritual discipline. Let’s talk about what’s involved.
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January 31, 2021
by Reverend Anthony Makar, Worship Leader
Jeff Modzelewski, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
The endless conversation is about God. God exists. No, God does not exist. God exists and God is like this. No, God is like that. And on and on and on. Today, we will get a glimpse of the endless conversation and Unitarian Universalism’s role in it.
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January 24, 2021
by Charlie Farrell, Kathy Strawser & Jerry Devis, Guest Speakers
Judy Montgomery, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
In society there are stigmas associated with brain health issues. West Shore embraces and welcomes all individuals. The service shares thoughts on ending the stigma related to people with dementia and looks for ways towards a dementia friendly culture.
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January 17, 2021
by Rev. Anthony Makar, Worship Leader
Grace Durfee, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
Our year-long sermon series exploring some of the world religion sources of our Unitarian Universalist spiritual way continues with Taoism. Our study text is Huston Smith’s The World’s Religions: The 50th Anniversary Edition (available at your local bookstore, at Amazon, and other outlets). Reach out to Rev. Makar directly if you are unable to afford purchasing the book. As preparation for the sermon, please read the chapter on Taoism (pp. 196-220).
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January 10, 2021
by Rev. Anthony Makar, Worship Leader
Elizabeth Gerencser, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
Today our focus is on failure. Everyone has experienced failure in trying to pursue a personal dream. What happens next? What role might one's failures play in the spiritual life?
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January 3, 2021
by Rev. Anthony Makar, Worship Leader
Judy Montgomery, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
We begin a new year at West Shore with an exploration of the question of authenticity. A new year represents a new beginning and another chance at becoming more fully ourselves. So, what’s involved with this? How might we do this?
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![An Enlightened Presence In A World Falling Apart]()
December 27, 2020
by Param Srikantia, Guest Worship Leader
Melinda McGucken, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
COVID-19, racial tensions, economic insecurity and political differences have generated tremendous stress. The acronym VUCA world (Volatile, Uncertain, Chaotic and Ambiguous) has been invoked to describe periods of discontinuity and disruption. The talk will explore the theme of "Enlightened Presence" suggesting five pathways that will enable us to light the lamp of inner wisdom so that we can be a healing presence to ourselves and to others around us. Dr. Param Srikantia, Professor, School of Business at Baldwin Wallace University, is a former television host and a TEDX speaker who is well acquainted with the art of energizing a live audience. Dr. Srikantia has recently embarked on public seminars based on non-traditional ways of unleashing human potential that have now grown to a contagious level of popularity reaching over 100K attendees in Cleveland, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Washington DC, Toronto and the New York metropolitan areas. He holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Case Western Reserve University and Master’s Degrees in Business Administration, Human Resources and Organizational Psychology.
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December 20, 2020
by Reverand Anthony Makar, Worship Leader
Grace Durfee, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
Rev. Anthony Makar is asking you to watch a video clip from the Christmas comedy movie Elf starring Will Ferrell, before this Sunday's Service. In his sermon, he will be referring to this movie, and given copyright restrictions, we are not able to screen this clip in the service. Receive extra credit if you choose to watch the full movie before Sunday. To watch the video clip, click here.
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December 13, 2020
by Reverand Anthony Makar, Worship Leader
Melinda McGucken, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
Our year-long sermon series exploring some of the world religion sources of our Unitarian Universalist spiritual way continues with Confucianism. Our study text is Huston Smith’s The World’s Religions: The 50th Anniversary Edition (available at your local bookstore, at Amazon, and other outlets). Reach out to Rev. Makar directly if you are unable to afford purchasing the book. As preparation for the sermon, please read the chapter on Confucianism (pp. 154-195) before the service
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![The Journey Towards a Healthy White Identity]()
December 6, 2020
by Reverand Anthony Makar, Worship Leader
Vicky Warden, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
Passion for life does not necessarily come when we make huge achievements. But it comes when we know how to see beauty in the smallest things, grace in the darkest hour, and the courage to love when life is at its messiest. The gifts that keep us growing are often wrapped in the most unusual packages.
In her book Good White People: The Problem With Middle-Class White Anti-Racism, philosopher Shannon Sullivan writes, “Whiteness is not a club in which a white person can just decide to drop her membership. Whether a white person likes it or not, at this moment in history she is white and she is implicated in the effects of whiteness. How she takes up and lives her complicity in white domination will help determine the quality of her contributions to racial justice movements.” In other words, how might white people learn to develop psychologically and spiritually healthy white identities, in service to the liberation of all? What does that look like?
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![Love is Our Best Coach]()
November 29, 2020
by Shirley Nelson, Worship Leader
Judy Montgomery, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
Passion for life does not necessarily come when we make huge achievements. But it comes when we know how to see beauty in the smallest things, grace in the darkest hour, and the courage to love when life is at its messiest. The gifts that keep us growing are often wrapped in the most unusual packages.
Today’s guest speaker is Shirley A. Nelson. Ms. Nelson is a Cleveland-area inter-spiritual counselor and life skills coach; founder of San's Sacred Circle, which offers retreats and workshops; former vice president of the Council for Health and Human Service Ministries of the United Church of Christ; and author of "The Many Faces of Prayer: A Healing Balm in the 21st Century." Shirley is currently a student at One Spirit Learning Alliance in NYC. She is in her last year of seminary and will be ordained in June 2021. She is also the part-time office administrator and newsletter editor for our sister Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Cleveland. Her website is www.sanssacredcircle.com
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November 22, 2020
by Reverend Anthony Makar
Melinda McGucken, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
Today is our intergenerational Thanksgiving service, so all ages will be together to enjoy our focus story entitled “A Thanksgiving Wish” written by Michael Rosen and illustrated by John Thompson. As you listen to the story, here are some questions to keep in mind: Does your family have any special Thanksgiving rituals? Is there anybody you’ll be especially missing over the holidays? When you are sad, what helps you feel better?
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November 15, 2020
by Reverend Anthony Makar
Grace Durfee, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
Our year-long sermon series exploring some of the world's religions sources of our Unitarian Universalist spiritual way continues with Buddhism. Our study text is Huston Smith’s The World’s Religions: The 50th Anniversary Edition (available at your local bookstore, at Amazon, and other outlets). Reach out to Rev. Makar directly if you are unable to afford purchasing the book. As preparation for the sermon, please read the chapter on Buddhism (pp. 82-153) before the service.
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November 8, 2020
by Reverend Anthony Makar
Jeff Modzelewski, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
Each of us as people are made up out of a multitude of identities based on our skin color, our gender, our sexual orientation, and on and on. Today, we explore one of these identities - class identity - and its powerful influence on our quality of life, how we see ourselves and others, and our spirituality.
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November 1, 2020
by Reverend Anthony Makar
Judy Montgomery, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
Happy 250th birthday, Universalism! 250 years ago, in 1770, John Murray preached in Thomas Potter's chapel in Good Luck, New Jersey. Ever since people have been telling the amazing story surrounding the whole event. Today, I will share that amazing story with you.
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October 25, 2020
by Reverend Anthony Makar
Vicky Warden, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
Somewhere downstairs a door slammed, and my father entered the house laughing. Instantly, the whole universe joined in. Great roars of hilarity sounded from sun to sun. Field mice tittered, and so did angels and rainbows. Laughter leavened every atom and every star until I saw a universe inspirited and spiraled by joy, not unlike the one I read of years later when Dante describes his great vision in paradise, ‘D'el riso d'el universo’ (the joy that spins the universe). This was a knowledge of the way everything worked. It worked through love and joy and the utter interpenetration and union of everything with the All That Is." This story comes from psychologist and spiritual teacher Jean Houston, and it adds to an untold number of similar stories about people encountering the infinite. Let’s take a closer look.
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October 18, 2020
by Reverend Anthony Makar
Melinda McGucken, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
Our year-long sermon series exploring some of the world religion sources of our Unitarian Universalist spiritual way begins with Hinduism. Our study text is Huston Smith’s The World’s Religions: The 50th Anniversary Edition. The book is available at your local bookstore, at Amazon, and other outlets. Reach out to Rev. Makar directly if you are unable to afford purchasing the book. As preparation for the sermon, please read the chapter on Hinduism (pp. 12-81) before the service.
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October 11, 2020
by Reverend Anthony Makar
Christine Salontay, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
We are needing some sweet silliness in these difficult, emotionally-heavy days. So, join us for a worship service full of sweet silliness. Even the very serious and intense philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein said, "If people did not sometimes do silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done." Writer Richelle Goodrich adds, "It's okay to be absurd, ridiculous, and downright irrational at times; silliness is sweet syrup that helps us swallow the bitter pills of life."
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October 4, 2020
by Reverend Renee Ruchotzky
Elizabeth Gerencser, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
Even when diversity and inclusion are aspirations for a community, living into such a community can be fraught with misunderstandings and hurt. How might we hold one another in love and covenant as we build a beloved community together?
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September 27, 2020
by Reverend Anthony Makar
David Blazer, Director of Music
You can be the best and most careful driver in the world, but if there’s no system of traffic lights, signs, and laws already in play (or one that’s confusing and/or insufficient), you’re guaranteed to crash into someone else. We have amazing individual leaders at West Shore, but how are we doing in terms of shared understandings about how to work together? What does our system of “traffic lights” look like? Today, I want to explore with you a plan for how we can all share in the work of ministry, in a way that expands the range of people’s involvement in deciding and doing and improves communication, coordination, and morale across the board. This plan was developed in the 2019-2020 program year by the Organizational Development Committee of the Board, and the Board of Trustees has formally approved it.
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September 20, 2020
by Reverend Anthony Makar
Melinda McGucken, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
Did you know that the history of our faith - its journey across time - can be told using the Six Sources? Come hear Rev. Makar tell our story in a way you may never have heard it told before!
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![Ingathering 2020: The Story of Mr. O]()
September 13, 2020
by Reverend Anthony Makar
Judy Montgomery, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
Regular life is in upheaval, as the pandemic reigns. Around this time of year, we would be returning from summer travels away or "staycations" closer to home. We would see kids going off to school or to college. Fall favorites like college football would be gearing up. And so on. But none of that is in the cards for us, in this strange year of 2020. For this reason, it becomes even more important to practice spiritual disciplines that help structure our lives and give them meaning. One of these practices is observing time cycles, which includes endings and new beginnings.
This is what our annual Ingathering service is all about. It signifies a new beginning for our collective life together. The service, appropriate for all ages, draws from the classic story, The Cello of Mr. O by Jane Cutler and illustrated by Greg Couch. Some things our children might listen for, and to think about as this service unfolds, includes: (1) Have you ever felt afraid of being hurt, if not by war than by COVID-19 or a bully at school, or something else? (2) Why do you think people fight? (3) Life is scary and hard these days, so it is especially important to remember that we are not alone, and there is hope. What gives you hope and courage when you are afraid?
Ingathering is also the time when we celebrate our annual Water Communion ritual, a beautiful ceremony of the celebration of life! Be sure to have a small container of water near you, and a bowl to pour it into, as you, with hundreds of your West Shore friends, simultaneously engage this ritual. It will be different this year, but that doesn't have to mean it will be less meaningful.
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September 6, 2020
by Reverend Anthony Makar
Grace Durfee, Worship Associate
Joe Schafer and Abby Rosu, Guest Musicians
When COVID-19 pandemic struck, it was as though we all crossed a line in time. There had been "before the pandemic," or BP, and now it is "after the pandemic," or AP. But whether it's BP or AP we're talking about, there has always been a need for downtime, time off, time away--sabbath time. This is the spiritual dimension of the Labor Day holiday, which is side-by-side with its more social-political dimension of support for the working class and labor unions. Today, we take a closer look at that more spiritual dimension.
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August 30, 2020
by Reverend Anthony Makar
Judy Montgomery, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
Do you believe in reincarnation? Unitarian Louisa May Alcott did. She once wrote, "I think immortality is the passing of a soul through many lives... such as are truly lived, used, and learned, help on to the next, each growing richer, happier, and higher, carrying with it only the real memories that have gone before." Echoing this is Ralph Waldo Emerson, who said, "The soul comes from without into the human body, as into a temporary abode, and it goes out of it anew. It passes into other habitations, for the soul is immortal." Today, we take a closer look at this ancient spiritual perspective.
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August 24, 2020
by Reverend Anthony Makar
Elizabeth Gerencser, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Director of Music
Early on in his amazing Ware Lecture, given before a whole host of Unitarian Universalists at the 2015 General Assembly, Cornel West says "unequivocally" that "I am who I am because somebody loved me, somebody cared for me... Any serious talk about struggle for freedom and struggle for justice has to radically call into question any conception of ourselves being self-made." Today, we talk about the role of love and being loved in our activism.
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August 16, 2020
by Reverend Anthony Makar and
Jeff Modzelewski, Worship Associate
Back in 1878, the Unitarian Lydia Marie Child once imagined "an eclectic church of the future which shall gather forms of holy aspirations from all ages and nations." She imagined this at a time when our congregations were still very much Christian-centered. But now, all these years later, we embody Lydia Marie Child's dream and are fully pluralistic. How did we get from there to here? What do we need to know, going forward?
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August 9, 2020
by Reverend Michelle Ma and
Vicky Warden, Worship Associate
Why go to church? What do we get out of it? What is church for? Rev. Michelle Ma has some ideas: at church, we build a new world, one that doesn't play by old rules.
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August 2, 2020
by Reverend Michelle Ma and
Jeff Modzelewski, Worship Associate
Fred Rogers has seemingly been elevated to sainthood these last couple of years. Rev. Michelle Ma didn't grow up watching Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, but she has nonetheless come to see him as a role model, and the Neighborhood as a form of Beloved Community.
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July 26, 2020
by Reverend Michelle Ma and
Barbara Walker, Worship Associate
Have you ever been asked why Unitarian Universalists have Sunday morning services? Or why we worship at all? Maybe you're one of those people who grits your teeth every time you hear the word "worship." Rev. Michelle Ma offers some context for Unitarian Universalist worship and what that's all about.
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July 19, 2020
by Reverend Michelle Ma and
Judy Montgomery, Worship Associate
One of the things you learn as a hospital chaplain is how to listen: not just to the content of someone's words, but to the feelings those words are signaling. Unitarian Universalists are famously a really cerebral bunch, but that doesn't mean we are without feelings. What would happen if we listened to our and each other's feelings?
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July 12, 2020
by Reverend Michelle Ma,
Elizabeth Gerencser, Worship Associate and
David Blazer, Director of Music
What is your greatest gift? Is it your cooking? Is it your public speaking skills? Is it your green thumb? Spoiler alert: it's none of those things. You'll have to tune in to find out what Rev. Michelle Ma thinks our greatest gifts are.
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July 5, 2020
by Reverend Michelle Ma and
David Blazer, Director of Music
You're going to be seeing something different and new in the Sanctuary: a minister preaching while wearing a mask or a face shield. Rev. Michelle Ma is going to explain why, and how it all comes back to the Seventh Principle..
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June 28, 2020
by Reverend Anthony Makar
Worship Associate Ryan Rosu and
David Blazer, Director of Music
Join Rev. Makar in his exploration of some of the happiest facts of all time.
In these “happy facts” we will hear hope’s tune.
Hope Is The Thing With Feathers
“Hope” is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops - at all.
-Emily Dickinson
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June 21, 2020
by Reverend Anthony Makar and
David Blazer, Director of Music
June is Pride month! Join us for a celebratory and thought-provoking service where we lift up the GLBTQ+ community. Our focus will be RuPaul, who is arguably America’s most famous drag queen. Since 2009, he has hosted and produced the drag queen reality show RuPaul’s Drag Race, for which he won an Emmy 2016. He is whip-smart, sharp, wise, and worth getting to know better!.
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June 14, 2020
by Reverend Anthony Makar and
David Blazer, Director of Music
By now, it may feel cliche to say that the times we’re living in are unprecedented. It’s been said already so often. And, it’s just true. Our times have seen an unprecedented pileup of crises, one after the other, in a mere five-month period: Trump’s impeachment and governmental disarray, the coronavirus pandemic, the economic crash, and most recently, intense protests against racism and police violence in the wake of George Floyd’s murder on March 25. Some say it’s like 1968 all over again. Is it? What is the meaning of the fire this time? What do we do? Today, we will also honor our high school graduates with a Bridging Service.
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June 7, 2020
by Reverend Renee Ruchotzke and
David Blazer, Director of Music
Instead of a world where exploitation and extraction rule, there is a world of interconnection, beauty, and resilience that we yearn for. How might Unitarian Universalists be partners with indigenous and other marginalized communities to live into a transformed way of living that invites all of humanity to participate?
Rev. Renee Ruchotzke serves local congregations as a part of our larger Unitarian Universalist Association. She serves on the LeaderLab design team and as Dean of the UU Leadership Institute. She lives in Kent, OH, where she and her spouse Randy spend their free time outside in their Permaculture food forests garden.
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May 31, 2020
by Reverend Anthony Makar and
David Blazer, Director of Music
In light of recent events, Rev. Makar has written a different sermon for tomorrow: The Bigger the Break, the Bigger the Opening
We are seeing things break in the horrific death of George Floyd from police violence and the sick way this same sort of thing keeps on happening over and over again in America.
We are seeing the break in the protest fires of Minneapolis and smashed windows of Atlanta and the thrown bottles and the pepper spray which all represent, as Dr. King once said, “the language of the unheard.”
We are seeing the break in our President’s despicable tweet where he urges the violence on, saying, “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
We are seeing the break.
But you know what? The bigger the break, the bigger the opening, and the bigger the possibility for transformation.
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May 24, 2020
by Reverend Anthony Makar and
David Blazer, Director of Music
He has been called “our most distinguished and indispensable grouch” and “a satirist with a heart, a moralist with a whoopee cushion, a cynic who wants to believe.” He is 20th century author, humanist, and Unitarian Universalist Kurt Vonnegut. Come and experience his presence among us, as I share my personal letter to him.
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May 17, 2020
by Reverend Anthony Makar and
David Blazer, Director of Music
Pre-corona vs. post-corona. Old normal vs. new normal. The world changed on us with shocking swiftness, and now that we are several months in, perhaps it is time to take stock. What are our new responsibilities to each other? What is the new normal we are entering into?
