Speaker: Rev. Bret Lortie
When Things Fall Apart
In a world that seems to be coming down around us, how do we maintain a disposition of forgiveness amidst age-old angers and wrongs? Maybe with forgiveness, we have to start small and work our way up. We may never learn to forgive the world … read more.
Building Cathedrals: 185 years of Progressive Religion in Rockford
“Building Cathedrals: 185 years of Progressive Religion in Rockford.” The morning’s anthem plays with the idea “we may be informed by our past, but it doesn’t own us”! Our church’s historical timeline in Deale Hall just came down after more than a month, and using … read more.
Whose Are We? A reflection for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Whose are we? We know something of who we are: A people who care less about what someone believes and more about how we live lovingly into our values. Beyond our individual spiritual paths, however, we often speak of the transcendent–something larger than our individual … read more.
Empire and Epiphany
In times of empire, the journey of Christmas isn’t over until we find our way home “by another way.” SPECIAL RITUAL: Burning Bowl
We Pilgrim Souls: The Hopeful Roots of UU Covenant
Soul Matters program minister Gretchen Haley reminds us that a covenant holds a whole vision for how to live in this complicated, beautiful, and broken world. It says we are most human when we bind ourselves in relationship of trust, accountability, and return to each … read more.
Advent for Buddha
The beginning of Advent and the celebration of the Buddha’s enlightenment both happen in the beginning of December, and they’ve always been a favorite holiday “mash up” for me. What is the nature of the light we await through the season of Advent? What is … read more.
You Might Just Get What We Need
Cultivating gratitude from the things already present in our lives, not the sometimes unrealistic fantasies we concoct.
Forging the Platinum Rule: Love Beyond the Law
We’ve all heard of the Golden Rule: “So in all things, do to others what you would want them to do to you—for this is what the law and the prophets are all about” (Matthew 7:12, First Nations Version).
What if instead of treating others … read more.
Sealing the Book of the Year: Honoring our Unitarian Universalist Sixth Source
This past Thursday was Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in Judaism. Yom Kippur concludes the High Holy Days that began on September 22 with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The Hebrew traditions are a piece of our Unitarian Universalist sources, and … read more.