Archives: Services

Making More of Enough

Speaker: Rev. Joe Cleveland | Much in our cultures and society tries to teach us to look at our world through the lens of scarcity. A liberal religious impulse is to teach abundance. What if we just have enough? Might a spiritual practice of leaning into enough or sufficiency lead us to an experience of … Continue reading Making More of Enough

Welcome Welcoming

Speaker: Rev. Joe Cleveland | Today we explore welcoming as a spiritual practice by contemplating the intentional and unconscious barriers that limit our practice of welcoming, and what sources of inspiration we might discover when we are able to tear some of those barriers down.

Growing Imagining

Speaker: Rev. Joe Cleveland | Our “Summer of Song” series concludes by acknowledging the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, and exploring the spiritual practice of imagination through the teachings of “Imagine,” by John Lennon.

How Simple Is It?

Speaker: Rev. Joe Cleveland | Today we explore the complexities of what Unitarian Universalists believe with the help of “(Ours Is a) Simple Faith” by David Tamulevich.

Of Earworms and Sacred Songs

Speaker: Laurie Singer | We invite you to join us in considering the madness (or magic?) of musical earworms, and how a melody that gets stuck in your head just may lead to some deeper thinking.

Getting Closer to Fine

Speaker: Rev. Joe Cleveland | “I’m trying to tell you something about my life,” sing the Indigo Girls in their song, “Closer to Fine.” The song appears not just once but three times in the Barbie movie, which was directed and co-written by Greta Gerwig, who was raised Unitarian Universalist. Today we’ll get help from … Continue reading Getting Closer to Fine

Moving Through You

Speaker: Rev. Joe Cleveland | The ‘Summer of Song’ continues with “When You Are a Wave” by UU songwriter Peter Mayer. Mayer’s song will help us to continue to explore the question of ‘what is it to be’ that we looked at last week, as well as the question of what it is that religion … Continue reading Moving Through You

What It Is To Be

Rev. Joe says: I sometimes call the blues artist and songwriter Chris Smither my favorite philosopher. Today, we’ll use his song “I Am the Ride” to help us explore what it is that makes a song or a text sacred or religious. We’ll also plumb it for insights into the spirit and into human nature. … Continue reading What It Is To Be

Love Beyond

Speaker: Rev. Joe Cleveland | “There is a love that exists beyond the love we think we know.” Our summer of song continues with a song that helps us explore a theology of love. With the help of “Love Beyond” by old-time fiddler and songwriter James Leva, we’ll explore what we believe in when we … Continue reading Love Beyond

Hearing Our Call

Speaker: Rev. Joe Cleveland | The notion of a calling can sometimes feel a bit elusive. And sometimes, hearing who we are called to be can paradoxically mean letting go of our ego or current sense of self. Today we explore the spiritual practice of listening for the ways our love wants to manifest in … Continue reading Hearing Our Call