To hope is “To Give Yourself to the Future” writes Rebecca Solnit. When oppression, and environmental devastation, and endless violence keep us from feeling optimistic about the future, where can we find hope that can carry us forward?

Join us for Music Sunday! This annual service is led by our Music Director, John B Hedges and features our wide array of talented music ensembles!

Many great prophets & spiritual leaders throughout time have voiced a fierce anger at injustice while also being able to laugh raucously and love life’s beauty. How might facing into our own rage and delight make our lives more rich?

Using writings from Audre Lorde and James Baldwin, Revs. Abbey and Hannah will explore the anguish our spirits experience in a world which demands we make ourselves smaller and silent about the injustices we face. Together we’ll reflect on how our faith is grounded in a love which compels us to speak out and confront reality.

Love may start out humbly but can become powerful and universal. A love from deep within our bodies is changing Unitarian Universalism and calling us into more fullness.

“If your spirituality does not demand beauty and liberation for every person and piece of the cosmos, it is not God you are seeking, but a shallow ritual of self-soothing,” writes “Black Liturgies” creator, Cole Arthur Riley. How can we strengthen our practice of love in the context of community?

I’ll tell stories from my own life, with some references to stories by Rebecca Parker and Vanessa Machado de Olivieri, the author of Hospicing Modernity: Facing Humanity’s Wrongs and the Implications for Social Activism. Within the stories I hope the essence of my sermon will be two parts: a reassurance that the times we are in may be unsettling, but it’s not new in history, and a challenge to be honest about where we are.

When we want something to be different in our lives or in the world, our goal can sometimes feel so far away. How can we approach the powerful work of change without sinking beneath discouragement?

This time of year, people commonly make resolutions about what they plan to do in the new year. But what if we made resolutions to try less? What if we prioritized doing nothing, whenever possible? What might emerge in the open spaces we tended?

Together we share the ancient story of wonder and hope reborn, sing carols, and reflect on the meaning of Christmas in our lives and in the world.

“In the universe there moves a Wild One whose gestures alter earth’s axis toward love” says poet, scholar, and theologian Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker. This morning, we gather to welcome new members, honor the Winter Solstice, and find meaning in this time of deep darkness and turning of the seasons.

As Buddhists in our community and around the world prepare to celebrate the day Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment or awakening (Bodhi day), what can we gain by waking up to our own lives?