Rev. Joseph Boyd Wuhan, China, South Korea, Italy, Europe, the United States – Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, Cleveland, Warren in Trumbull County, Youngstown. That is a great distance to travel. Yet we are in a shared predicament. We are connected, bound together across great distance, in an attempt to delay a new strain of … Continue reading Homily – Mar 15, 2020 – “Community and Social Distance”
Rev. Joseph Boyd Helen Keller once said “I rejoice to live in such a splendidly disturbing time.” Rejoicing has a lot of connotations. It is often perceived as an exuberance that throws caution to the wind, the very definition of getting caught up in the moment. I posit there is an intelligent, thoroughgoing,simple path of … Continue reading Homily – Mar 1, 2020 – “Crazy Wisdom”
Rev.Joseph Boyd I had the privilege of living near Harlem. I lived and studied right between the 125th Avenue stop and the 116th Avenue stop on Broadway. The 125th Avenue stop was a little bit closer to the seminary I attended, but I remember one professor remarking: “Look at all the students turning right toward … Continue reading Sermon – Feb 23, 2020 – “Go Tell It”
Rev. Joseph Boyd This week I finally got a cold, though I’m mostly in recovery now. It’s been a while. In fact I can’t remember the last time I was sick since moving to Youngstown. I’ve had the great fortune of being reasonably healthy for a prolonged period of time. I actually remarked to Jennifer … Continue reading Sermon – Feb 16, 2020 – “99%”
Rev. Joseph Boyd The Battle Hymn of the Republic went through my mind following the failed impeachment hearing by the Senate. In a surprise move, a Conservative senator from Utah, Mitt Romney addressed the Senate and yes the nation, and said clearly and succinctly how we was cut nearly from the same cloth as the … Continue reading Sermon – Feb 9, 2020 – “John Brown’s Body”
Rev. Joseph Boyd I miss you. I see you. I love you. You belong here. These are the expressions of family. These may have been words we’ve heard from our mothers, or words we’ve heard from our fathers. They may have been words we heard from those who have shaped us and made us who … Continue reading Homily – Jan 26, 2020 – “The Meaning of Family”
Rev. Joseph Boyd There is a war in America. There is a war in America, and it begins with you, and it begins with me. Upon the towers of history, we have constructed signs as pointers toward a common destiny, and we have found interpreters who have read to us these signs in plain speech. … Continue reading Sermon – Jan 9, 2020 – “Beyond Iran”
Rev. Joseph Boyd The topic today is how Christianity relates to Unitarian Universalism. I’m a minister of a Unitarian Universalist congregation on the North Side of Youngstown. I approach this question as a practitioner, as a minister, not an academic or historian. My hope is to give you a spirit of Unitarian Universalism, and to … Continue reading Sermon – Dec 15, 2019 – “Christianity and Unitarian Universalism”
Rev. Joseph Boyd A Jewish tailor living in a shtetl has a dream. In the dream, he sees a treasure buried under a bridge leading to a castle. The tailor knows the capital has a castle, so he packs up all his belongings, and travels until he comes to the exact bridge he sees in … Continue reading Sermon – Dec 8, 2019 – “Fear and Awe”
Rev. Joseph Boyd There has been great debate about whether we should even celebrate Thanksgiving any more. Most of you know the Indigenous people of this nation, First Nation peoples, who see this holiday as marking the beginning of genocide. On the other hand, this holiday for many has little or nothing to do with … Continue reading Homily – Nov 24, 2019 -“The Need for Thanksgiving”
