Sermons & Newsletter – UU Church of Rutland

May 28th: Rev. Barbara Threet – “What We Remember, and How”. On this Memorial Day weekend we’ll reflect on how we UUs, who tend to object to at least many military actions, support those who have served in our military, and how we remember them. Rev. Barbara Threet will be preaching, as guest minister.

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A free and responsible search for truth and meaning is one of our UU principles. What is a responsible search for truth – and what is our responsibility to search for truth? What do we do when truth itself is a point of contention, and we want to interact effectively with others who see the truth differently? We’ll examine the state of the art and science around humans and truth, including logical fallacies and cognitive biases (with useful handouts).

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What does prayer mean for Unitarian Universalists? Why would we pray, and when? What is prayer – a supplication, a bargain, an affirmation, a centering, or…? We’ll consider these questions and more, using prayers from many cultures and times.

One man’s journey to an unexpected spiritual awakening. Provided with loving parents, but also provided with feelings of being defective and second rate, from a minor, today, birth defect, this boy had no idea who he would be expected to become, and expected to do, some 60 years later. God gave him lots of support: The disease of addiction that forced and enabled his nascent spirituality to develop, and 35 years later, an Imperative urge, in June 2009, to seek spiritual work beyond AA. An Advance weekend Workshop on Shamanism was the first opportunity that arose.

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“We Just Never Learn”: No matter how hard we try to share your hard-earned wisdom with a kid, they are going to make the same stupid mistakes we did. No matter what devastating lessons history teaches humanity, we seem doomed to repeat the errors of the past. So, how does civilization ever survive, and how can we help?

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February 26: Rev. Barbro Hansson “Bread and Roses” On January 21, the day after the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States, the Women’s March on Washington took place along with sister marches all over the country and the world to “affirm our shared humanity and pronounce our bold message of resistance and self-determination.” Our guest Minister, the Rev. Barbro Hansson, participated in the Women’s March on Washington and joins us today to reflect on the forces that inspire and empower us to transform society.

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February 12 2017 Rev. Barbara Threet “Try a Little Tenderness”. On this Valentine’s Day weekend, which also marks the start of our Annual Canvass, we’ll consider what it is to love tenderly, and why that’s just as important as loving passionately. Canvass materials will be available during coffee hour, after the service.

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January 22 Justin Classen, “What Is Islam?” This is rather like asking “What is Christianity” because there are many variations. Justin will tell us about not only the Sunnis and Shiites, but also others. The differences are as great or greater than Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox, but almost invisible to us. Like Christianity, Islam is also divided by fundamentalist or liberal variations. Service will end later than usual, around 11:45 a.m., to leave plenty of time for questions and discussion. Justin will look at this topic from his background as a doctoral candidate in history.

January 15 Fredda Mangel and Luther Brown, “Service for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day”

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November 20th: Herb Ogden “Doubting Is Not Enough” is the title of a 1982 book by Herb’s uncle Prof. Marshall Dimock, who was the first moderator of the merged Unitarian Universalist Association from 1961-64. If you’re a sadist, come watch non-Christian Herb try to extract some useful and maybe even inspiring observations from this Jesus-centered book. If not, come to console him at coffee hour.

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