The body is sacred and women’s bodies are sacred. Let us honor this reality by creating pathways for self determination, and not stopping there. But going much further, helping to create safe and sustainable communities for women after they’ve made their choice about potential motherhood, whatever it may be. Only then will we come to know the true meaning of liberty, and how true freedom depends on our willingness to find a way to nurture each other.
Each moment we are in is a moment of transformation, or potential transformation. A time to discern our heart. A time to let go of what is poison, and to make use of the raw ingredients of our life, all of our life without fear or regret.
It is a blessing to be. It is a blessing to be here. It is a blessing to be here together.” It is a blessing to be. For about a decade this sense has grown in me, supported by members of this church like Linda Scharf, musicians, and many friends who remind us that it’s … Continue reading 06-12-22 Blessing of Being Together
Phillis Wheately was the first African American person to publish a book in 1773. It wasn’t even published in the States. It was published in England under the title Poems on Various Subjects: Religious and Moral. She was originally born in Senegal, in West Africa, and was forced by British sailors to board a ship, … Continue reading Easter 2023
Rev. Joseph Boyd When the weather gets warm, we like to leave doors open with a screen door so we can welcome a nice breeze and the sounds of the outdoors into our homes. We hear various kinds of birds – barred owls, robins, cardinals, and catbirds – birds that sound like a cat. Our … Continue reading Sermon – Jun 19, 2022 – “The Joy of Being Discovered”
Fannie Lou Hamer embodied the term: “Widening the Circle,” our worship theme for February. Through fearless effort, intelligence, and determination, Ms. Hamer made a path of self determination for African Americans throughout the United States. Let us engage the legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer, and what her life can teach us about being alive today.
Joan Didion changed the cultural landscape of how one could talk, write about, and express grief. In the aftermath of losing her husband suddenly and unexpectedly, while simultaneously nursing her daughter back to health in the hospital, Didion chronicles a year in the life of grief for her. What can grief teach us about love … Continue reading The Year of Magical Thinking
bell hooks – American author, feminist, professor and activist lived and shared with the world how a love ethic can transform our sense of self and systems of centuries long oppression all at once. Using some of bell hooks insights, let us see how we might continue her legacy through our living in this congregation … Continue reading All About Love: Continuing the Legacy of bell hooks
One of the complaints of this era is: Where is the vision that can guide us in this era? And who will offer that vision? In an address on April 3, 1968, days before his assassination, Martin Luther King Jr. told the people of Memphis, TN (and the world) that he had “Been to the … Continue reading “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”
Our theme for January is “Living with Intention.” It seems that both our world and our individual lives are constantly calling out for needed transformation: from isolation to connection, from a sense of brokenness to wholeness, from disease to health and well being. How do we practice a love ethic that truly transforms our life … Continue reading Practicing Transformative Love
