Worthy of Being Redeemed

Worthy of Being Redeemed

Just over a week ago, a number of us went across the street to Calvary Baptist Church for what they called “Prayer and a Movie.” The movie was the documentary “Emanuel,” about the murder of 9 people meeting in a prayer group, including their pastor, by a white supremacist. It was a powerful and moving experience. Especially to watch it with our neighbors, in their sanctuary. I am so grateful for that gathering, and for all of you who were able to be there, and for the connections that began that night. I am more hopeful than I was before that night.

Antidotes for Evil

Antidotes for Evil

I woke up yesterday thinking, “Why can’t people just be good? And do the right thing? Why do we mess up so often?” This month’s worship theme is “evil,” and it’s not fun to look at evil, it’s unpleasant to think about the bad things people do, the ways our actions, and our inaction, can cause suffering. Still, I hope we will take evil seriously; that we will make an honest accounting of ourselves and ask, “What have I done, and left undone, that I need to apologize for, and make amends for? What do I need to try to repair and restore?” Because we do have power, for good and for ill. It matters how we live, and the choices we make.

I Don't Know That Guy

I Don't Know That Guy

“May nothing evil cross this door,” we just sang. And this is a prayer, a hope, isn’t it, more than a command? We understand there’s trouble in our world, there’s danger; and we long for goodness and peace, so we sing, “and, though these sheltering walls are thin, may they be strong to keep hate out and hold love in.”

Our worship theme for February is “evil.” And I wonder what you think about evil. Some of us would rather not think about it. We want to push it away, to keep it out there. May nothing evil cross this door. It’s a scary and uncertain enough world already, right?

But it’s good to consider evil. Because what we push away, what we refuse to deal with, it can have power over us. And I sense that evil is not just out there, it’s in here, too. That each of us, as much as we mean well, as much as we may try to do good, we have the potential to do things that are hurtful and harmful. So we need to be in touch with our shadow side, as well as with our light.

Paradox and Possibility

Paradox and Possibility

I hope that being here brings you moments of peace, like we just sang about. And I hope you are living your life in such a way, that as the days turn into years, you will know the kind of peace that isn’t the absence of strife or struggle, but a peace with what is. With the light and the shadow, the joy and the sorrow.

This week I had visits with two of our people, each of them aware that death is drawing near. And neither of them afraid of that, or in denial, but rather, open to the blessings of what is, right now. One of these folks is in her nineties, and the other is in her sixties. Their circumstances are quite different. And each of them is facing their reality with courage and grace, and it is a privilege to behold.

People Powered

People Powered

I  chose that hymn we just sang because it reminds us that we have more in common with other people, even those we fear or are opposed to, than what separates us. I have to believe that almost everyone longs for peace and freedom, and wants a better world for their children. That “other hearts in other lands are beating, with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.”

On this weekend when our nation celebrates the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., when we remember his life and ministry and how he called our nation to change, to live out the values we proclaim; when we remember the way he inspired so many people, how he walked with the poor and the outcast, how he and others were beaten and jailed, how he and others gave their lives for the struggle—we must ask ourselves: how am I going to live up to that legacy? What am I called to do, in these days? What kind of difference will I make, in my life? What kind of difference will we in this church community make, while we are here?

Strong Back, Soft Front, Wild Heart

Strong Back, Soft Front, Wild Heart

In 2012, social scientist and author Brene Brown was asked to lead a TED talk.  For those of you who don’t know what that is, TED talks began as a yearly conference back in 1984 devoted to spreading ideas - usually in the form of short, powerful talks.  Today it’s a widespread, well-known public offering thanks to its online channel where anyone can access these incredible talks for free.  In more than 100 languages no less.

To get an invitation to do a TED talk is a big deal and Brene Brown was a great pick.  She had written several books and articles that were rooted in her meticulous research around how we humans tick–she’s fastidious about data and she’s relatable, funny, and deeply spiritual. She has a gift for bringing deep and wise truths forward–articulating them with both poetic beauty and grounded practicality.  If you are only now hearing about Brene Brown go out and devour her work…and you’re welcome.  You are in for a treat.

How Will You Use Your Power?

How Will You Use Your Power?

My last week in seminary, at a gathering of those of us about to graduate, one of the faculty gave us a warning. She said, “If you haven’t already learned this in your time here—let me tell you—that ministry is not about getting your own needs met, is not about feeling successful and powerful; if we haven’t already disabused you of this notion, then hear me now: ministry is not about you. Too often people go into this work for the wrong reasons; they forget that they are in it to serve, not to be served. And in pursuing their own gratification, they end up doing all kinds of harm. Don’t do that, to others or to yourself.”

Our worship theme for January is “Power.” And I wonder about your relationship with power. Do you see yourself as a powerful person? Or do you feel powerless? What about power as an idea, a force in the world? Are you in favor of power? Or are you uncomfortable with it, because so often power has been abused? You must know those words from the 19th century historian Lord Acton: “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” We come by our distrust of power honestly. But a recent psychological study found that power itself doesn’t corrupt; rather, “it heightens pre-existing ethical tendencies.” Some people are good at handling power, and some people, not so much. Stories of abuse of power make the news, because they are the exception, not the rule. Every day lots of ordinary people go out and do their jobs and use their power for good.

WELCOMing. Caring. Faith. Community.

Universalist Unitarian Church of Haverhill
15 Kenoza Avenue, Haverhill, MA • 978-372-5173 • office@uuhaverhill.org
Mailing & office address: 16 Ashland Street, Haverhill, MA 01830

The land now called Haverhill sits on the original homelands of the Pennacook and Pentucket Nations, Algonquian-speaking peoples of the Wabanaki Confederacy.