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Sermons from The Unitarian Universalist Church-Rockford, Illinois.
Episodes
Sep 17, 2013
Sep 17, 2013
Aug 29, 2013
Aug 29, 2013
Jul 30, 2013
Jul 30, 2013
19 min
In a good story, heroes begin with high hopes, but are laid low - by fate, by the gods, by their own errors, by chance. Then, somehow, they come again to life. How, in our own lives and in the lives of our churches, do we walk through the valley of death and come into stronger life?
Jul 30, 2013
Jul 30, 2013
22 min
Lillian Daniel said that the evangelism strategy in mainline churches for the last 50 years has been to say "if we expect as little as possible from them, the unchurched will come to us." This isn't working. And it isn't honest, and it doesn't lead to the kind of personal and social transformation that we long for. What would it mean, instead, to have Great Expectations? To say, yes, everyone is welcome, but the spiritual path we offer is rigorous, demanding, and requires much of you?
Jun 18, 2013
Jun 18, 2013
18 min
Mental Health Break
The Rev. Dr. Matthew Johnson-Doyle
Taking a mental health break is about stopping working for a moment, stepping out of the back and forth, and enjoying something interesting, amusing, amazing, and inspiring. The internet tradition of posting a “mental health break” video once a day can be a good lesson for living all of our lives.
Jun 18, 2013
Jun 18, 2013
16 min
Don’t Feed The Trolls
The Rev. Dr. Matthew Johnson-Doyle
Second in a series of sermons on how the lessons of internet life and the lessons of spirituality intersect. Online, and off-line, we encounter trolls. Harsh critics, troublemakers, nasties and bullies. How do we resist the gravity of negativity?
May 29, 2013
May 29, 2013
17 min
Reflections on pluralism and divinity. Do all our words, seeking to describe the ultimate, help us understand what cannot be named? Or do these words get in the way? How can we speak of sacred power when some of us believe, some don’t, and many are unsure?
May 13, 2013
May 13, 2013
18 min
Mother Gods and Goddess
The Rev. Dr. Matthew Johnson-Doyle
Theodore Parker, Unitarian minister, caused a stir 170 years ago, when he referred to “Mother and Father God,” but in polytheistic systems, mother gods and goddesses are always part of the pantheon. We’ll reflect on some of these deities, their stories, and how the fierce, powerful, and generative aspects of divinity can inform our living today.