Nothing More American
What song might be most appropriate for this Fourth of July weekend? What song might minister to the needs of our human spirit?
What song might be most appropriate for this Fourth of July weekend? What song might minister to the needs of our human spirit?
To thrive in changing times, times of uncertainty, requires the development of a special skill and spiritual practice: the expression of vulnerability.
Speaker: Rev. Joe Cleveland | At the beginning of Black History month, the top news stories include police violence against Black bodies, and the State of Florida making it against the rules to teach history that is woke to the centrality of anti-black white supremacy culture in American history. It’s clear that when Black bodies … Continue reading Healing and Humanizing and the Future of History
The resurrection of Jesus was and is no mistake. Neither is Passover and the liberation of the Jews from Egypt. But finding resurrection, renewal, and liberation in our own lives can be more difficult. One thing we can count on is that we make mistakes. So today we explore the renewal, resurrection, and liberation to … Continue reading Whoops, Resurrection: Finding Renewal in Making Mistakes
Speaker: Rev. Joe Cleveland | This morning’s service is not just our annual flower communion. We also celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ritual which was created by the Unitarian minister Norbert Čapek and first used in the Unitarian church in Prague, Czechoslovakia, on June 4, 1923. We learn about Norbert Čapek and also about … Continue reading 100 Years of Flowers
Is hope and faith foolishness for those living in a riven world? Or could faith and hope be just the foolishness we need?
Speaker: Rev. Joe Cleveland | “I wake to sleep and take my waking slow.” So starts a famous poem by Theodore Roethke. There is no wakefulness without sleep. This morning we explore rest as a spiritual practice and as key to liberation. We look to the rhythms of nature—which bring to us now long nights … Continue reading Wake to Sleep
With help from James Baldwin, we explore the experience of epiphany and its relationship to the willingness to admit mistakes and openness to change and creativity.
Speaker: Rev. Joe Cleveland | During the winter holiday season, sometimes we can feel out of sync with all the cheery music. We can feel a little left out. We explore that feeling in this service by exploring a folk story from eastern India called “The Sun Cow and the Thief.” In this time when … Continue reading The Sun Cow and the Thief
Listening for a Change Rev. Joe Cleveland Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Saratoga Springs October 11, 2020 May we “pray without ceasing.” In Unitarian Universalists I have often encountered a resistance to prayer. This tends to be because we tend not to think that some supernatural force is going to enter into the world and … Continue reading Listening for a Change