Rev. Matt Alspaugh is the minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Youngstown.
This is Rev. Joseph’s first service, and Rev. Matt’s last service with us. It is unusual in our tradition to have both the incoming and outgoing ministers present at the same time. Each minister will comment briefly on the past, the future, and the time of transition. We will celebrate the transfer of ministry with … Continue reading “The Ceremony of the Keys”
In time of continuous war, when we battle in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, and when new fronts threaten to open up in places like Qatar, North Korea, and Syria, how do we find peace? Is peace even a possibility worth hoping for, worth working for?
“Happiness is not another place but this place. Not for another hour, but this hour.” – Walt Whitman How do we attend to the happiness that might be right before us in this place and this time? How do we experience joy in our interconnected world? As part of our worship we will hold our … Continue reading Finding Joy in the Here and Now (Flower Communion)
How happy are you? How happy are we together? We’ll explore the science of happiness and joy. At the end of the service we will move downstairs, where our summer services will be held. Our annual picnic will follow.
Writer and contemplative Richard Rohr has said “the key to a healthy spiritual life is getting out of the top 3 inches of our body.” As our theme for May is Embodiment, we explore getting out of our heads and into our bodies, all the while not leaving our heads too far behind.
We are each organically connected with one another, and perhaps with all living things, through our mothers, our mother’s mothers, and so on. We’ll explore mothering, the archetypal mother, and mother of us all, the earth.
What is it about our companion animals that causes us to go beyond belief, to love? They do love us, unconditionally, but do they believe in us? Does it matter? We will also make time to remember those departed ones who brought us much joy.
We oftentimes think of risk as something that can be good, that can be managed to maximize reward. Change involves risk, and life involves change. But sometimes we’re forced into risky situations with little potential benefit, only danger of loss. How do we balance risk and reward? How do we deal with risk where we … Continue reading “Risk, Change, and Risking Change”
The final of a multi-part series on putting our Principles in Practice. We will focus on the prophetic call embedded in our Principles. Not long ago, I encountered the book “The Starfish and the Spider”, which explored the concept of leaderless organizations. I wonder if there is a larger principle in play, that of organizations, … Continue reading “The Starfish and the Spider”
The sixth of a multi-part series on putting our Principles in Practice. We will focus on the prophetic call embedded in our Principles. Our world seems to be coming apart, divided with walls, barriers, and isolationism. Yet not so many years ago, many of us dreamed of one world community with open borders, free trade, … Continue reading “One World, Divided?”
