Sept. 25, 2016 – “The Self That Is Hidden”

In her reflections at our worship services on Sept. 25, 2016, the Rev. Molly Housh Gordon explained that when we come to practice self-awareness, we must also decide which parts of ourselves we bare to the world, and which remain hidden.

We must recognize, as well, that pieces of us are hidden to ourselves, though not always to the world. When it comes to our spiritual growth, how do we grapple with blind spots, defenses, and the hidden inner world?

Sept. 18, 2016 – “To Be of Use”

In her poem “To Be of Use,” the gifted poet Marge Piercy tells us that humans crave real purpose and meaning in life. In her sermon of the same title at the 9 and 11 a.m. worship services on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, the Rev. Dottie Mathews, our new affiliated community minister, addressed the foundational question, “Why does spiritual growth matter?”

View photos from the worship service.

Sept. 11, 2016 – Cultivating Spiritual Growth

On Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016, as we resumed holding two worship services and 9 and 11 a.m., we began exploring our overarching theme for the year – cultivating spiritual growth. What is spiritual growth, exactly? How do we cultivate it, and how do we know it when we see it? These are the questions the Rev. Molly Housh Gordon explored in her sermon.

Sept. 4, 2016 – Throw-Away People

At our worship service on Sept. 4, 2016, with the aid of the new book White Trash: The Four Hundred Year Untold History of Class in America by historian Nancy Isenberg, the Rev. Molly Housh Gordon explored the profound influence of class in America and in our Unitarian Universalist tradition. She posed the question, How do we faithfully respond to our broader culture’s tragic and deeply ingrained belief that some people are disposable?

July 17, 2016 – Where Environmental and Social Justice Meet

In his remarks during the worship service on July 17, 2016, lay leader Steve Scott shared a key insight from the book This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate by Naomi Klein – that environmental and social justice advocates need to recognize the common causes of the ills they are fighting and work together more closely.

June 5, 2016 – Self-Compassion in the Digital Age

On June 5, 2016, the Rev. Molly Housh Gordon explored the following questions in a sermon titled “Self-Compassion in the Digital Age”:

  • How do we practice self-compassion in an age that commodifies self-help and self-improvement as products marketed to us in various digital media?
  • How do we love our neighbors and ourselves in a world of carefully crafted digital self-presentation?