Rev. Leuchtenberger is our senior minister. Read more.
As we celebrate our annual Flower Communion service, may we remember the Navajo prayer that there is beauty before us, behind us, above us, and below us – provided we choose to notice. Please bring a flower if you can – though we’ll have plenty of extras. The sermon will be the story of the … Continue reading Flower Communion Sunday: Now I Walk in Beauty
Music Sunday will trace the musical journey of our choir this year, from the celebration of being together, to the courage it takes to live through the darkness; from the profound sadness of the Brahms Requiem, to the hope of love and believing in the sun even when it is not shining. Join in for … Continue reading Music Sunday: To Sing Our Shared Humanity
Trust in how we practice democracy continues to erode. We appear to have a system that inspires theoretically yet seems stuck in its implementation. What if the process of voting, what if elections, the way they have evolved, are a part of the problem rather than a path to a solution? What if democracy, the … Continue reading Democracy without Voting
As Robert Reich reminds us “The common good consists of our shared values about what we owe one another as citizens who are bound together in the same society – the norms we voluntarily abide by, and the ideals we seek to achieve. [..] If there is no common good, there is no society.” So … Continue reading Our Common Good
The impulse to be helpful when someone is facing or experiencing homelessness is strong in many of us. Nine year old Hewie, who inspired this sermon, talks about a “deep feeling in his gut” that makes him want to be useful when he passes a person on the street asking for support. How do we … Continue reading Feeling Useful, Feeling Used
The stories we tell – about ourselves, our communities, and our culture – can be inspiring and liberating or hold us back and keep us stuck. As we welcome a cohort of new members, what are the stories we choose to share? Michael will recount and reframe some of our old stories and offer some … Continue reading We Are Our Stories
An “Enter in Silence” Sunday | The calling to cultivate awareness, resonance, compassion and awakened activism feels ever more pressing, knowing the challenges we face in these times. This service, which is the culmination of our 10th Annual Mindfulness Meditation Weekend Retreat, will encourage each of us in developing steadiness of mind and heart, a … Continue reading Mindfulness for Our Times
We all expect someone who has experienced the death of a close friend or relative to grieve, and we send cards, make casseroles, and participate in rituals to acknowledge their loss. We may be less sure how to respond when someone’s cat dies, or they tell us they are separating from a partner, or they … Continue reading Grief is Grief
It’s delightful to be surrounded by “saints” who do the right thing, say the right thing, and generally model a way of being that is healthy and inspiring to others. “Saints” value community and communities love and welcome “saints.” And then there are those who don’t always do the right thing, say the right thing, … Continue reading Communities of Saints and Sinners
Our mission statement concludes with the aspirational words: “Transforming ourselves and the world.” The choir just sang “Now is the time for change.” And across the political spectrum, the status quo is seen as something that needs molding, revolutionizing, or reforming. So how does it work? What theories of social and cultural change seem most … Continue reading Everybody Want to Change the World
