“Radiate boundless love towards the entire world,” the Buddha is quoted.  A worthy goal, yet potentially overwhelming and vague in its application and scope.  Jesus taught that “faith the size of a mustard seed could move mountains” (Matthew 17:20-21).  Perhaps, then, mustard seeds of love, is all we need to reach the larger world as … Continue reading Mustard Seeds of Love

On Nov 17, 1957, Martin Luther King delivered his famous “Love Your Enemies” sermon.  We will listen to parts of the sermon and reflect on the timeless relevance of what MLK shared that Sunday, and why he claims we must start with a look at ourselves if we want to understand the hate we perceive … Continue reading Love Your Enemies

Three ways we will embrace the dark:  First, a celebration of the darkness so helpful for regeneration, for slowing down, for fallow time, sleep, sabbatical, and rebirth.  Then a heeding of the darker sides in all of us, so valuable for accepting ourselves and others more fully.  And a nudge to the darkness of grief, … Continue reading Embracing the Dark

“Awe is the emotion we experience when we encounter vast mysteries that we don’t understand,” writes Dacher Keltner in his book, Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life.  We can find awe anywhere.  It requires no money or the burning of fossil fuels.  All of us can find … Continue reading Awe, Yes Please

God is mystery. Much of life remains a mystery, often beyond words, yet palpable, real, and open to understanding at some deeper, mysterious level of conscious and unconscious awareness. The mystery shows up in music & art, in the miracles of nature, the brilliance and emptiness of space, the cycles of life, the return from … Continue reading Dancing with Mystery

Touch can be a most important source of healing and joy, for children and adults alike.  Many of us long for more touch – from the right person, in the right way, at the right time.  Touch can also be a devastating source of pain, fear, and abuse.  How do we tap into the healing, … Continue reading The Power of Touch

Come hear first hand stories about what it can be like to arrive in Concord as a refugee, perhaps knowing no English, arriving with few belongings, largely disconnected from networks of cultural and family support.   And hear the stories of what it can be like to befriend a family of refugees, growing into a … Continue reading Being & Befriending Refugees in Concord

With no creeds or official dogma what are the throughlines that have held steady in our evolution as the liberal, justice seeking faith we are?  What aspirations, visions, and struggles connect us to the Unitarians, Universalists, and Unitarian Universalists of the past 200 years and the movements they helped to shape within our congregations and … Continue reading Throughlines of our Faith

Each Sunday we “embrace the beauty within each of us, yet acknowledge the imperfections that make us human.”  UNLESS, it seems, you are a celebrity leader, dead or alive.  Those leaders we expect to be first-rate and beyond reproach, flawless and infallible, honorable and admirable in all aspects of their public and private lives.  What … Continue reading Hallelujah for Imperfect Leaders

Forgiveness and creativity, wonder and compassion, love and courage, and just about everything else that makes life interesting and worthwhile, depends on our willingness to welcome curiosity into our way of being. It cracks open the doors we didn’t realize existed. It doesn’t take sides as we explore different perspectives. It doesn’t insist on a … Continue reading The Answer to Everything: Curiosity