“I’ll bring you hope, when hope is hard to find…” Poetry can offer words of encouragement for all the difficult times in our lives. Join Rima Snyder and Judith Martin-Straw for an exploration of poems that can help us find hope and reassurance.
"Stories We Leave Behind" is the theme by Chaplain Bronwen Jones. Inspired by the lives of her oncology patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, she explores the notion of legacy, that we create our legacy whether we want to or not. Every moment we are alive has the potential to be remembered by our loved ones and friends, our colleagues and peers. It is a subject rich for contemplation and creativity. We can harness our awareness of what is most important to us and have some potency in how we are remembered. Worship Associate: Jo An Peters.
Inspiring Songs for Centering Love. Listen to the music, where the song lyrics are incorporated into the sermon itself. Feel free to sing along during this Soulful Sunrise. Each song represents an emotional/spiritual turning point in our lives when, in wisdom, hope, and faith, we may collectively turn to embrace love as a personal centering act of caring, sharing, serving, and forgiving. Johnny Canales, MDiv, MTS, Lay Community Minister, is an accomplished musician and a member of our congregation. Patrick Meighan, Worship Associate.
In April, James was officially designated a "Distinguished Alumn" at his seminary, the Pacific School of Religion. When he visited, he witnessed some of the consequences of the steep decline in mainstream religions, especially Christianity. He also witnessed some things that gave him hope for a vital and useful spirituality in our perilous times. We welcome back the Rev. James Ishmael Ford, who is a Unitarian Universalist minister, a Zen teacher and retreat leader, a blogger, and an author. He is minister emeritus at the First Unitarian Church of Providence, RI. For the past three years he has served as a consulting minister with the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles. He is also an active member of the teaching circle of the Empty Moon Zen community. Sue Bickford, Worship Associate.
Amy Brunell explores the topic, "Your Body Is Welcome Here." We have been led to believe that only certain bodies are healthy and therefore valuable. We have been inundated with what "health" looks like. If we do not match the ideal, then we are called lazy, considered uneducated, and lacking self-care strategies. In addition, many of our Liberal folks still struggle with the unconscious bias of tattoos and piercings! Now our Trans folks, including children, are being attacked and denied medical care and acceptance. Let's gently consider some of the bias of bodies we may encounter or we ourselves have. Johnny Canales, Worship Associate