“GOING APOPHATIC: THE SPIRITUALITY OF EMPTYING”
The Sermon at the First Parish in Wayland, Massachusetts
On November 29, 2009
By the Rev. Ken Sawyer
A month ago, I preached about silence. That sermon is on line at www.uuwayland.org, and printed copies are available. I drew on a book by the Cape Cod writer Anne D. LeClaire called, Listening Below [...]
“IN PRAISE OF REASON”
The First Parish in Wayland, Massachusetts
The Rev. Ken Sawyer
November 8, 2009
I met last week with both of our youth groups in turn, which was a great pleasure. In both cases there was some fun and there was some heady, thoughtful discussion, mostly about religion. In both groups, one of the questions that [...]
“Memory, Gratitude, Remorse, and Resolve”
The Thanksgiving Sunday Homily
At the First Parish in Wayland, Massachusetts
On November 22, 2009
By the Rev. Ken Sawyer
There is a new documentary film out about Lydia Maria Child, produced by a California film-maker, Constance Jackson, narrated by the actress Diahann Carroll, and featuring numerous shots of the First Parish in Wayland, both [...]
“WHO WE ARE, AND TRY TO BE”
The Sermon at the First Parish in Wayland, Massachusetts
The Rev. Ken Sawyer
October 11, 2009
I offer a special greeting to anyone who is here by invitation, here because a neighbor, friend, or family member encouraged them to come, and maybe even brought them, this being Bring a Friend Sunday. [...]
“EMERSON: PROSE POET OF PARADOX”
The Sermon at the First Parish in Wayland
The Rev. Ken Sawyer
October 4, 2009
For many years, I have met monthly with people as together we read our way through a book or the work of an author. One can come as often or as infrequently as one chooses, and you only have [...]
“BALANCING STIRRING ACTIVISM
WITH STILLING SILENCE,
EVEN BOLD BENEVOLENCE
WITH BENEFICIAL BOREDOM”
At the First Parish in Wayland, Massachusetts
By the Rev. Ken Sawyer
On October 25, 2009
THE READING
From Listening Below the Noise by Anne D. LeClaire
The soul, Jung said, is inexorably driven to seek balance.
Today, for most of us, life is seriously out of balance…. Somehow we have become estranged [...]
Use this link to retrieve the 23 page pdf document complete with images and preferred layout.
http://www.uuwayland.org/docs/sermons/welcomingcongregation.pdf
Below is the text-only version
First Parish in Wayland
Welcoming Congregation
Order of Service and Readings October 18, 2009
What is a Welcoming Congregation?
In 1987 the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) established the Common Vision Planning Committee. This committee found many negative attitudes, [...]
“What Are We Here For?”
The Sermon at the First Parish in Wayland
By the Rev. Ken Sawyer
On September 20, 2009
What are we here for?, the sermon title wonders. It was even announced in the town paper, and for any of you who are here looking forward to my answer to the meaning of life, I have [...]
Stewardship Sunday
A Sermon given by
Rev. Erin Splaine
The First Parish in Wayland, MA
March 22, 2009
Several years ago there was a list circulating around the Internet and amongst Unitarian Universalist ministers called “Top 10 Things You’ll Never Hear in Church.” For those who might not have heard Ken or me use them in years past here [...]
This is the time of year for grand addresses to graduating classes, praising the efforts of those about to set forth and raising the prospects of achievements to come, with titles like, “A Bright Future Beckons.”
As it happens, that is also the title of my sermon this morning, although what I had in mind when [...]
What a mixed lot we humans are, what a vast array of accomplishments, some admirable, some despicable, some poignant, some amusing. Of course the evidence of that is around us all the time, but paying attention to lives as they end brings it home to me, especially when I bundle ended lives together for a [...]
Vox Populi, Vox Deum
a sermon delivered at the First Parish in Wayland, Massachusetts
Sunday, March 1, 2009
by the Reverend Dr. Deborah J. Pope-Lance
Let me say first how grateful I am for the opportunity to be with you, to worship with you, this morning. The chance to preach in this fine pulpit, to preach with you comes [...]