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
As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of becoming a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association, five members of our congregation share their stories of UU Saratoga: Linda Miner, Faye Mihuta, Peter Marino, Arliss Nygard, and Aaron Broadwell.
Speaker: Rev. Joe Cleveland | Unitarian Universalists don’t really share a common belief about a hereafter. The call we hear and the sense of mission we feel comes from opening ourselves to the realities of Now.
Speaker: Aaron Mair | As the director of the “Forever Wilderness” campaign of the Adirondack Council, national wilderness advocate Aaron Mair is leading an effort to bring new funding and policy changes to the Adirondacks in order to protect clean water, create new jobs, and preserve the wilderness. To this end, Aaron explores what it … Continue reading Wilderness Forever