One of my favorite movie scenes is from the film “Parenthood”. The father in the show, Steve Martin, has just been told his job is on the line – he needs to work more hours. When he gets home he and his wife try to get the family out the door to a school play. [...]
Unitarian Universalism affirms the inherent worth and dignity of every person. It recognizes all of us as special, each of us in our own way. Every person of every age who has gathered of a Sunday morning since the congregation was gathered in 1640, since this fifth meetinghouse was erected in 1814, since this second-floor [...]
Every year I try to remember to preach one sermon on some figure from our denominational history. This year there will be two such sermons, because next week I’m going to preach on Maria Child, who used to attend church in this very room. This week, it’s Abner Kneeland, from the Universalist side of [...]
Unless your attention has been completely distracted this past year, you have probably heard the name Harry Potter. If you are a child of reading or even of listening age, or one of their parents, you may have heard it daily.
Kids are having a great time reading about the exploits of Harry, who is only [...]
I don’t know the average age of the adult members of this congregation, but I do know there are a goodly number of you who are under 40 years old, which means that means that you were no older than eight when Martin Luther King, Jr., was murdered. Which means you probably have no [...]
First, a story.
I am walking down the long hallway between the Varley Building and the Regan Building, both part of the Cranston campus of the Eleanor Slater Hospital, where I work as a chaplain intern. As the state hospital of Rhode Island, the Slater cares mainly for patients with psychiatric and long-term care needs.
Many psychiatric [...]
There is this guy I know who has written a book about religion, and I think it’s going to sell pretty well. It’s got a big-time publisher, good references on the jacket by the likes of William Sloan Coffin and Harvey Cox, and a cover to stop you in your tracks – there beneath the [...]