Listen to the sermons!

Listen at www.koober.org (broadband recommended).

Our Parents...Our Selves

5/11/2008 Steve Edington

A long-time, as in nearly 40 years, friend of mine recently published a book called Not Like My Mother. In it she describes how she attempted to avoid all the shortcomings she'd seen in her mother when it came to raising her own two daughters-and how that resolve created a whole other set of issues for her to deal with. I'm hoping we can invite Irene Tomkinson to speak at one of our summer services, so I'm going to tread very lightly with the book itself. But I would, on this Mothers' Day 2008, look at the more general issue of how the ways in which we were raised affect, for those of us who are parents, how we raise our own children. And if you're not a parent yourself, you probably will (if you haven't already) have the experience of being a parent to your parents.

Local to Global: The Goal of World Community

5/4/2008 Steve Edington

Our Sixth UU Principle says we affirm "The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all." It's certainly a worthy goal, but how much reality is there to it? Over the course of this still ongoing election season, every candidate across the political spectrum has seen fit to remind us (some more emphatically than others) that we live in a dangerous world with persons and powers who wish us harm. I don't doubt that. How do we deal with a sometimes dangerous world on the one hand and advance our Sixth Principle on the other?

Do We All Have a Higher Power?

4/20/2008 Steve Edington

I've long been fascinated by the power and persistence of the 12-Step Recovery movement. On one level of thinking I have a hard time with the idea that we are powerless on our own and need to turn our lives over to a "Higher Power" in order to gain control over them. But I'm also aware that the people I know who live by this maxim are anything but powerless robots whose lives are "controlled" by a Higher Power. They are really pretty confident and self-actualized individuals. There's a paradox here that has to do with letting go in order to really take hold of one's life.

A Place Called Hell?

4/13/2008 Steve Edington

Speaking of surveys, most surveys on religious beliefs in America show that a majority of our fellow citizens believe in the actual, physical existence of a place called Hell. The latest Gallup Poll figure has it at 69%, as a matter of fact. Strange as that may seem to me now, I once held such a belief myself. What is behind this belief in a realm of eternal punishment? Part of it has to do with how we deal with the problem of evil-which, unlike Hell, really does exist. I'll also touch on our Universalist story here since our Universalist ancestors believed in the afterlife, but disavowed the existence of Hell.

The UU Conundrum

4/6/2008 Steve Edington

This is the "Auction Sermon" that was jointly bid on by Phil Brown, Harry Purkhiser, and Jim McCormick. Thomas Jefferson once expressed the opinion that the day would come when the majority of Americans would be Unitarians. (Yeah, well, Tom - it hasn't quite worked out that way!) The question Misters Brown, Purkhiser, and McCormick raise is, in effect, why hasn't this happened. Their actual question is why is it that a religion that sounds so appealing attracts so few actual members. I got some clues to the answer in a recent survey by the Pew Research group on the changing, and fluid, nature of the current American religious scene, which I also cite in my column for this month. I'll try to pull it all together on this Sunday.

Easter Blessings - Literally

3/23/2008 Steve Edington

The very word Easter has long fascinated me. While the precise origins of the term are hard to pin down, it probably derives from a pagan goddess of spring or of fertility-or perhaps both. "Easter" doesn't really reference the resurrection of Jesus at all, but the early Church founders still chose to use the word to designate the highest and holiest day on the Christian calendar. So, taking the term literally, Easter is about the renewal and regeneration of the Earth after a period of seeming death-and about the renewal and regeneration of our lives as creatures of the Earth. I'll tie together the natural renewal of the earth with the resurrection myth to look at how we find rebirth and come back to life throughout our life cycle.

The Word and William Burroughs

3/9/2008 Steve Edington

An "instant tradition" - there's an oxymoron for you! - I've created for myself is to use the Sunday closest to Jack Kerouac's birthday, March 12, to do a sermon on the life and legacy of one of the "Beat Generation" figures. (Hey, I wrote a book on the subject; I might as well get some sermon mileage out of it!) This year I'm going with the strangest and most bizarre one of them all, William Seward Burroughs. One of WSB's main concerns and targets was the perversion and manipulation of language by persons in power. He knew that spoken and written language is the main defining characteristic of being human, but he also recognized that the use of language by persons of power and influence was a major means of thought control. I'll see where I go with this one.

Reaching for Redemption

3/2/2008 Steve Edington

A common theme in many religious traditions is that of redemption - or having a "redeemer." The human need behind this theme, however, runs deeper than any one faith. We all need to find some kind of restoration to wholeness after a time of feeling broken or fragmented. We all seek to find ways of restoring and healing ourselves-and reconciling ourselves to others-after we have caused pain or hurt. How we all reach for redemption at certain times in our lives, and some of the ways of finding it, are the sermon topics for this Sunday.

When Virtue Turns Deadly

1/27/2008 Steve Edington

My friend and colleague in the UU ministry, the Rev. Forrest Church, has defined evil - in his book The Seven Deadly Virtues - as a perversion of the good. That is to say, believing so devoutly that you are pursuing and serving "the good" that you end up doing evil deeds. Terrorism, whether it's flying planes into buildings or bombing abortion clinics, is usually an expression of this kind of deadly virtue. But it need not be that dramatic. The question and challenge we all need to confront is: How do we avoid "rightful righteousness" from spilling over into a less-than-thoughtful kind of self-righteousness?

Martin Luther King Day - 2008

1/13/2008 Steve Edington

Since I will be away on the "official" Martin Luther King Sunday on January 20, I'm treating today as MLK Sunday (which is closer to his actual birth-date of January 15th anyway). Celebrating the life of this champion of racial equality/justice and peace is a good time to explore how we are doing-as both a nation and human beings-on both counts. As the title indicates, the glass is half-full and half-empty when it comes to our achieving of racial justice and working for a non-violent society and world. I'll offer my own take on the "state of the glasses" on this Sunday.

Seasons Of Our Lives

1/6/2008 Steve Edington

In our part of the world the coming of a New Year is usually just another wintry day, but I find it also puts me into a contemplative mood about the passing of time through our life cycle. Several years ago Judith Viorst wrote a book that became a best seller titled Necessary Losses. It's Ms. Viorst's subtitle that's the most intriguing, however, as it goes, "The loves, illusions, dependencies, and impossible expectations that all of us have to give up in order to grow." That's the angle I want to pursue: What do we have to be willing to give up and let go of in order to meaningfully move through the seasons of our lives?

A Place for Myth and Fantasy

12/9/2007 Steve Edington

We come now into a season where such things as fantasy, wonder, and mythology come into play. I greatly value the rational mind - this is one of the main reasons as to why I became a UU minister. But I also value having a place for fantasy and wonder, and an appreciation for mythology, in my life. I believe that having such a capacity as this greatly enriches our overall lives.

Joy and Woe Are Woven Fine

12/2/2007 Steve Edington

The title is from a line of a poem by William Blake (and #17 in our hymnal). Another line goes, "Under every grief and pine runs a joy with silken twine." I'll use Blake's words to look at how closely our joys and sorrows or griefs can sometimes run. And this is the first Sunday in Advent, whose theme is joy.

How to Thank a Veteran

11/11/2007 Steve Edington

Whatever one's feelings about the rightness or wrongness of war - or of any war in particular - I still feel a certain respect and honor is clearly due those who have fought in them; or who have served in the military whether experiencing combat or not. I've been a peace activist, in one way or another, for most of my adult life. But this has not diminished my regard for those who put on the uniform of their country. I'll speak to this subject on this Veterans Day Sunday.

Plant a Radish: Thoughts on Dedicating and Naming a Child

11/4/2007 Steve Edington

The sermon title is a line from the song, as sung in the musical The Fantastiks. In it the singer laments the uncertainties of child rearing, as contrasted to knowing what you'll get when you plant a turnip - or any other vegetable - seed. In a service where we Dedicate and Name Katherine Merkel McGee, daughter of Mary Merkel and Chip McGee, I'll follow up that happy occasion with some thoughts on the challenge of not always knowing what you're doing in the course of raising a child to adulthood. And from a spiritual development angle I'll say a bit about what I feel goes into a good liberal religious education - something I feel we do very well here!

We Are Not Afraid

10/7/2007 Steve Edington

One of the basic and fundamental needs we all have as human beings is for safety and security, without which we could not function. But how do we attend to this need without being consumed and immobilized by it. Where is the middle ground between living a completely reckless life, and being hunkered in a bunker? On the societal and political level, how do we provide for a reasonably safe social environment without allowing ourselves to be exploited and manipulated by fear?

Does the World Need Us?

10/21/2007 Steve Edington

My basis for this sermon is a recently published book by Alan Weisman titled The World Without Us. It's Dr. Weisman's take on what would happen on this planet if human beings were to suddenly disappear from it. If there's such a thing as a seriously taken fantasy, this book would be it! But beyond Dr. Weisman's fanciful musings is the deeper message of how we as human beings may still have time to move beyond our exploitative ways and actually be a friendly and nurturing species on a planet; a planet which we need far more than it needs us.

Hosea Ballou: A Story from Our Heritage

10/28/2007 Steve Edington

I'm continuing a tradition of my own that I began two years ago with a sermon on Michael Servetus, and continued last year with one on Joseph Priestly. I'm using the last Sunday in October to both honor Servetus' memory and point to yet another person who played a crucial role in giving us the free faith we enjoy today. This time I'm getting very close to home by telling the story of Hosea Ballou. He was a self-educated minister from New Hampshire, who moved from Baptist to Universalist, and became one of the primary shapers of American Universalism at the turn of the 19th century. Beyond his important theological contributions to our UU story, Ballou's life also offers some insights on how we as UUs might get past some of the class issues that continue to bedevil us.

Is Anything Sacred?

9/23/2007 Steve Edington

I've come to think of the second sermon I do in a new church year as my "Annual God Sermon." [Not to be confused with my Annual Jesus Sermon on Palm Sunday.] Actually I'm increasingly finding debates about the existence or non-existence of God, as in Christopher Hitchens latest book God is Not Good to cite a recent example, pretty boring. My greater focus is on how we as human beings find some sense of the sacred or the holy in our lives - which transcends what we "believe." How do we experience life at some greater depth than the mundane? This is a fundamental human challenge and need. One of the roles of a religious community, ours certainly included, is to offer paths to the sacred and holy parts of life. How do we do this?

A Time for Transformation

9/16/2007 Steve Edington

The life of practically any religious community is largely made up of tasks and activities: worship services, discussion groups, social activities, social justice work, committee meetings, and the like. Indeed, if we didn't do these kinds of things we wouldn't be much of a community. But what is the greater reason for being that stands behind, and sustains, all that we do? Our greater goal and purpose is the transformation of lives, as well as the transformation of the life of our larger world. As another year in our congregational life gets underway I want to share some thoughts on what it means for us to be a transformational community and congregation.

What Do You Believe?

7/15/2007 Gary Lerude

Have you ever been asked about your religious beliefs? Did you find it a challenge to cogently summarize your religious philosophy in under a minute? To affirm what you believe rather than what you don't believe? With our open-ended search for meaning and often non-traditional views, UUs are arguably at a disadvantage when asked "what do you believe?" Come to this service to explore ideas for creating your own "elevator speech."

No One Dies in Vain: A Memorial Day Meditation

5/27/2007 Steve Edington

In his poem The Young Dead Soldiers Archibald Mac Leish wrote: "Our deaths are not ours; they are yours; they will mean what you make them...We leave you our deaths. Give them meaning." Mac Leish penned these words at the end of the Second World War. The meaning of the ultimate sacrifices made in that conflict was quite clear, and could be held up in the midst of the grief and pain felt by the families and loved ones of those who had lost their lives at that time. But how do we apply Mac Leish's words to those who have perished in subsequent wars-especially the current one in which we've been entangled for a longer period of time than World War II itself? My feeling is that however justified, or senseless, the war, none who lose their lives fighting it die in vain. But differing deaths in differing wars offer differing lessons. With more than a little trepidation, I'll take up Mac Leish's challenge that he puts in the mouths of those who perish in battle: "We leave you our deaths. Give them meaning."

What Is a Family?

5/13/2007 Steve Edington

On a day when we quite rightfully and respectfully pay tribute to Mothers, I want to expand upon the theme by looking at the larger, and changing, meanings of family. Part of the recent legislative debate over the legalizing of civil unions for same-sex couples in New Hampshire centered on the meaning of marriage and family; with civil union opponents insisting that the meaning of marriage and family is a once-and-for-all-time, fixed matter. Historically speaking this is simply incorrect. Without dwelling on that angle too much, I want to speak to the many meanings of family, as well as how we as a congregational family make room for, and affirm, the varieties of families that are in our midst.

Kurt Vonnegut, RIP

5/6/2007 Steve Edington

This past April 11 the novelist and essayist Kurt Vonnegut passed away at age 84. I've long been an admirer of his work, and had the pleasure of briefly meeting him when he was the Ware Lecturer at the 1986 UUA General Assembly. Mr. Vonnegut identified himself as a Unitarian Universalist. His novels combine satire, quick wit, sarcasm, and a deeply felt compassion for human beings in our often complicated and conflicted human condition. His best-known novel, Slaughterhouse Five, is based on his experiences as a POW, while being held in Dresden, Germany, during World War II. Like Albert Camus, I regard Vonnegut as one of the more intensely religious atheists I've ever encountered; and for all of his irreverent ways he was a strong moralist. I'll use this sermon to pay tribute to his life and work.

Proud Moments

4/15/2007 Steve Edington

Pride heads the list of the Seven Deadly Sins, and I guess the case can be made when it is pride as vanity or egomania. But how much meaning or purpose would our lives have if we did not have our moments of pride? To recall one's proudest moments is to learn a lot about ourselves, the lives we're living, and the values we are living by. I'll share a few of my proudest moments in this sermon-as a way of inviting you to do the same-to see what they tell us about the lives that are ours.

A Grounded Life That Touches the Ground

3/18/2007 Steve Edington

This is my "auction sermon" which was purchased last April by Harry Purkhiser and Jim McCormick. Harry has requested that I do a sermon on the writings of an Indiana based writer, Scott Russell Sanders. He and Harry are fellow Hoosiers. Sanders work has to do finding one's spiritual grounding through an intense identification with, quite literally, the ground, or land, itself. In Sanders case it is the land, or ground, that one has internalized and feels a relationship with.

All About Me and Nothing About Me

3/11/2007 Steve Edington

It's all about me and nothing about me. I've come to believe that one of the keys to living a balanced and meaning-full life lies in learning how to live in that very paradox; in that mix between having a strong personal center and a strong personal focus, while also knowing that the life of the world and universe in no way revolves around you.

Is God Obsolete?

3/4/2007 Steve Edington

Over the past year two books have appeared that could come under the heading "The Atheists Fight Back." They are The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins and The End of Faith by Sam Harris. They both decry what the authors see as the danger of belief in God - although Harris is a little more gentle about the matter than Dawkins. I find myself in agreement with a lot of what these two have to say. But they leave unanswered the question of once you've "deconstructed God," as a supernatural Supreme Being (as I've done for some time), where do you go from there in finding meaning and depth in living?

Love is the Doctrine of this Church

2/11/2007 Steve Edington

Three days before Valentine's Day - with its theme of hearts-and-flowers (and candy) romantic love - I'll offer some thoughts on what it means for love to be the guiding principle of a religious community. It doesn't mean we all love - or even like - each other equally. But it does speak to what it means to be in relationship with one another, so that we are not just a collection of individuals. What do we mean to one another? What do we owe one another? What can we expect of one another? These are the questions that arise as we seek to understand what we are saying when we say "Love is the doctrine of this church."

A Sure Thing Will Always Let You Down

2/4/2007 Steve Edington

The title is from my favorite few lines in all of Ric Masten's poetry: "It's only in uncertainty...That true hope can be found...And you can bet a sure thing...Will always let you down." Ric wrote these lines in a poem after his diagnosis of terminal prostate cancer, relating how he's found deep meaning in living with the uncertainty-in an ultimate kind of way-that this diagnosis has given him. It opens up the wider, human issue of how we meaningfully live with all of the uncertainties of our lives, and how do we deal with the reality that we can never completely and fully bet on a sure thing.

The Wonder of Incarnation

12/17/2006 Steve Edington

For Christians the Incarnation is the act of God becoming real and concrete in a human being-Jesus of Nazareth. A broader understanding of Incarnation is that of our ideals, values, and principles becoming real as they are born and take root in the hearts, minds and lives of human beings. I will use the traditional Christmas Story as a way of exploring what it mean for each of us to "incarnate" some of our deepest hopes and yearnings.

Expectations Lost and Gained: An Advent Reflection

12/3/2006 Steve Edington

Among John Lennon's most oft-quoted lines is the one that says, "Life is what happens while you're making other plans." Couple that phrase with the theme of the Advent season, a time of waiting and expectation, and you get yet another of the human dilemmas we live with. Of course we need to live in a spirit of hope and expectation for those things we want to happen. But how much of our lives do we spend waiting, planning, and expecting events to transpire compared to living the lives we believe we are meant to live in the present moment? As the King of Siam said "'Tis a paradox!" It's one we will explore on this Sunday.

Through the Good Times and the Bad Times Too

11/12/2006 Steve Edington

I'm using this sermon to tell a Ric Masten story, which - as he would readily agree - is much more than a Ric Masten story. Ric's best known, and signature, song is Let It Be A Dance. It is number 311 in our hymnal. He wrote this delightful and upbeat song in the wake of a horrible tragedy in which a couple of his daughter's schoolmates were killed in an automobile accident caused by a drunken driver as they were returning from a dance performance. One of the young survivors of this horror was told she would not be able to dance again. A year later Ric wrote Let It Be A Dance so she could dance to it - which she did. This is yet another variation on the theme of why bad - and terrible and horrible - things happen to good people. I'll use Ric's story as a way of offering my thoughts on the subject.

We Are All Values Voters: A Pre-Election Reflection

11/5/2006 Steve Edington

The term "values voters" has now worked its way into the lexicon of political punditry, taking its place with other such notables as "soccer moms" and "NASCAR dads." It primarily refers to those whose votes are largely driven by such wedge issues as abortion, same-sex marriage, creation/evolution, etc. My contention is that everyone who enters a voting booth and casts a ballot is a "values voter" in one respect or another. Any vote we cast, whether for a candidate or on a voter referendum issue, is a reflection of the values we hold - whether those values are about our personal concerns and well being, or about the kind of society and world in which we want to live. This sermon will be about the values I'll suggest you have in mind when you vote on November 7.

Science, Religion, and Joseph Priestley

10/29/2006 Steve Edington

On this Sunday one year ago I offered a sermon of the life, death, and legacy of Michael Servetus, who is regarded as one of the founders of Unitarianism. I've since decided to use the last Sunday in October as a "UU Heritage Sunday." This year I'll speak on the life and legacy of Joseph Priestley. Priestley was an 18th century British scientist, and British Unitarian minister, who is best known for his discovery of oxygen. He was driven out of England when a religiously inspired mob burned down his home and laboratory since some of his scientific discoveries and ideas were at odds with certain prevailing religious ideas and doctrines. He came to America, settled in the Philadelphia area, and founded the first church in America to bear the name "Unitarian." His story is a fascinating one, and one with plenty of contemporary relevance.

Moral Clarity or Moral Blindness?

10/21/2006 Steve Edington

I'm revisiting and updating a sermon I did three years ago titled "Confessions of a Moral Relativist." While moral clarity can be a good thing to have it can also very easily lead to moral blindness when that supposed clarity becomes a justification for all the deeds done in its name. Our country's current administration has become increasingly fond of using the term "morally confused" when it comes to dealing with its critics. I find it troubling when honest attempts to be morally discerning about matters of social policy become (mis)characterized as moral confusion.

Atonement and Forgiveness

10/1/2006 Steve Edington

Using the Jewish observance of Yom Kippur (meaning "Day of Atonement") as a backdrop I'll offer some thoughts on what it mean to seek and offer forgiveness and to make amends. Is forgiveness always possible? And how does it move us along the path to healing?

Are We a Theocracy?

9/24/2006 Steve Edington

I'll be playing some of the ideas put forth in Kevin Phillips' recently published book American Theocracy as a way of introducing this topic. Theocracy literally means "rule by God." Iran, very likely, offers the most pronounced contemporary example of theocratic governance. Constitutionally speaking, the United States is not a theocratic state, but we increasingly have our ways of behaving like one. There is a world of difference between calling ourselves "One nation under God" and being a theocratic state. This is the difference I'll attempt to sort out.

Re-Called to Ministry

9/17/2006 Steve Edington

I've come to call this my "rally the troops" sermon as I set forth some of the issues and concerns of particular importance to religious liberals. This year I want to frame those issues around the question of what it means to be in ministry in the free church, and liberal religious tradition. Ministry, as I have come to understand it, is not just what a minister does - rather it is what happens in the engagement between minister and congregation. It is what clergy and laity do together. How we can all be in ministry together as we face the challenges and promises of the upcoming year is the theme of this sermon.

Seventy-three Years In the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Nashua

7/16/2006 Bob Sampson

Bob has been a member of the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Nashua for 73 years. He will tell you a little about the history of the Unitarian part of the church and the changes he has seen in a lifetime of membership. These have been not only physical changes and the merger with the Universalist Church, but changes in the theological and political flavor of the church.

A Time to Remember: A Memorial Day Reflection

5/28/2006 Steve Edington

With the more-than-I-can-count funerals and memorial services I'd conducted in my 35 years in the ministry, I've come to see some common themes when it comes to how persons are remembered. They have given me some good insight about what it really important and of lasting value when it comes to the live we lead. I also want to use a part of this service to pay tribute to two very dear members of our congregation that we lost in this past year: Sheila Ferlan and our Minister Emeritus, Rev. Donald Rowley.

The Freedom to Be All You Can Be

5/21/2006 John Watkins

John's lay sermon on his human empowerment work with the Simple Society, given at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Laconia, NH.

Two Stories for Mothers' Day

5/14/2006 Steve Edington

While it's never been a subject of hot debate there are two different stories of how Mothers' Day began. They're not really contradictory but do have widely differing emphases. The more traditional one is about a West Virginia woman, Anne Jarvis, whose desire to have a Sunday service in her Methodist church set aside to honor her mother eventually resulted in President Woodrow Wilson proclaiming the second Sunday of May as Mothers' Day. The other version is that Julia Ward Howe-author of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"-became an advocate for world peace and strove to create a day for mothers to speak out for peace. On this Mothers' Day I want to play out the meaning and significance of both of these stories.

Evolution: The Issue Behind the Issue

4/23/2006 Steve Edington

This is not another sermon on the Intelligent Design debate. I think Stephen Nodvin dealt with that subject very well back in January. What I want to address here is the argument put forth by the proponents of Creationism that if there was no willful action by a Creator God to bring human beings into existence then our lives are of no more significance or value than that of an insect. Proponents of this argument would further maintain that if we are not all "God's children", in a literal sense, then we have no reason to care for one another and it's every man, woman, and child for him/herself. This, in fact, was one of the arguments William Jennings Bryan put forth in the Scopes trial in his attack on the teaching of evolution. I believe it is important for religious liberals to distinguish between Darwinism as a scientific principle, and the "survival of the fittest" as a social principle.

Easter Moments: When Life Calls Us Back

4/16/2006 Steve Edington

I consider an Easter Moment to be one of those times when you feel that your life has been restored to you after a time of pain, loss, confusion, defeat, or disorientation. Such moments cannot be rushed or manufactured. You have to let them arrive on their own time, and be ready to respond when they do arrive. The Resurrection accounts of the New Testament provide a good metaphor for such moments. In this legend the disciples of Jesus had lost all they'd been working for with the execution of their leader. The Resurrection Legend is really about their finding a reason to go on, when no such reason seemed readily apparent. If mythology is really about what is happening to us right now, rather than what "happened" in a fanciful past, then let's look at how we make ourselves ready for life to be restored to us.

So What Would Jesus Do...Really?

4/9/2006 Steve Edington

I've noticed that the WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) acronym is not as in vogue now as it was several years ago but I still find it intriguing. While the WWJD folks were/are generally associated with the more conservative and evangelical wing of Christianity in America, the question itself is one well worth exploring by religious liberals-Christian or not. Studied closely, the teachings of Jesus represent a liberalized, if not radicalized, version of the Judaism of his day. Many of them have a universal quality to them which transcends the bounds of any one religion. In truth, we don't even know who Jesus was, much less what this obscure human being would say and do in response to many of the moral and ethical issues we face today. But I'd like to offer some thoughts on what it could mean to use the teachings ascribed to him as a guide to the moral and ethical life-on both a personal and social level.

A Kind of Madness

2/19/2006 Steve Edington

This line comes from Thomas Moore's book Care of the Soul. I'm using it as a Valentines Day sermon two days earlier. I'll pair Moore's line with one from Rev. Richard Gilbert (who will be speaking here on March 26) that "Love is an irrational commitment." Are words like "irrational" and "madness" really the best ones available when it comes to speaking of love? Maybe so. After all would love be love if it were only known and experienced in sane and rational ways? Let's see how I sort this one out!

If You Must Invoke God

2/5/2006 Steve Edington

Over the past month we've seen Rev. Pat Robertson suggest that Ariel Sharon's stroke was a punishment from God for being too accommodating towards the Palestinians (for which he later apologized). Then New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin suggested in the wake of Hurricane Katrina that God is mad at African Americans because, in his words, "We're not taking care of ourselves." If there is such a God I have to believe he/she/it is getting pretty fed up by now at being dragged into human affairs in such a fashion. And now I'm coming off of a mini book tour for something I've written called The Beat Face of God, so maybe I'm getting into the act myself. It's all making me ponder whether or not there is a reasonably coherent way to speak of God in both personal and public settings. I'll share some of my ponderings with you this Sunday as I (finally) complete my three part sabbatical.

Intelligent Design and Evolution

1/8/2006 Stephen C. Nodvin, Ph.D.

This service is being hosted by our Social Justice Committee with one of our members, Stephen Nodvin, speaking. Of his topic, Stephen says: Controversies regarding the teaching of evolutionary theory in America are not new. What is new is that opponents of the teaching of evolution in public schools have now successfully portrayed the controversy to the American public as a "scientific" debate. The success of this approach has resulted in the recent redefining of science by the Kansas School Board to include the consideration of both natural and supernatural causes for scientific observations. The debate has proceeded apace in America not only because the die-hard creationists believe the increased scientific understanding is an attack upon religion, but also because some well-respected evolutionary scientists have gone so far as to equate evolution as an alternative to religion, and to claim that evolutionary findings negate the existence of God or a Supreme Being or both. Both of these extreme views are wrong. This is not an "either/or" debate and this is what I will explore in my talk today.

If Jesus Had Never Been Born... Would We Have Made It Up Anyway?

12/18/2005 Rev. Steve Edington

The story of the birth of Jesus - which is a variation on any number of similar stories about how gods or demi-gods came to be born on earth - speaks to our deep human need for mythology. Myths touch us because they are about us, which is why we have come up with them from the earliest days of human history.

Whose Holiday Is It?

12/4/2005 Rev. Steve Edington

In recent years the Winter Holiday season seems to have become yet another battleground in the cultural wars. The usual charge is that the "secularists" are not allowing anyone to say "Merry Christmas!" anymore, thereby maligning Christianity. Actually the celebration of Christmas is a relative late-comer to the festivities and observances that have taken place this time of year over the course of human history. I feel that in order to truly understand and appreciate the religious significance of this time of year one needs to be aware of, and understand, the many religious observances-from the most ancient of days-that have made this time of year a Holy time.

Give Thanks To...?

11/20/2005 Rev. Steve Edington

I'm not sure how well I can combine a Thanksgiving sermon with my weighing in on the current "Intelligent Design" debate, but I'll give it a try and we'll see where it goes. My more traditionally theistic friends like to ask how one can offer Thanksgiving without acknowledging the existence of a "Giver," as if one cannot be done without the other. The parallel argument is that there cannot be a "Design" without a "Designer." I'll offer my thoughts on what it means to live in a state of gratitude towards life - even with all of its trials and pain - whatever one's views on the origin of life may be.

To Die For - A Veterans Day Reflection

11/13/2005 Rev. Steve Edington

"Giving one's life for one's country" is a phrase that seems to roll off the tongue easily enough. I have a much tougher time making it roll easily through my mind. What does it really mean to die for one's country-and what are the circumstances under which we can rightfully ask someone to do that? Do such circumstances even exist? I want to explore these questions as a way of honoring the sacrifices that veterans of our armed services have made over the course of our nation's history.

Michael Servetus - His Vision Did Not Go Up In Flames

11/4/2005 Rev. Steve Edington

This is the "Auction Sermon" that was jointly purchased by Steve Ladew and Jim McCormick. They were interested in learning more about the life, death, and legacy of Michael Servetus. Servetus is generally regarded as the founder of Unitarianism. He was a Spaniard and a renowned physician in his day. He refuted the Doctrine of the Trinity-which he believed to be a stumbling block to what he saw as being the universal appeal of Christianity. For this position Servetus was executed at the hands of Protestant "reformer" John Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland on October 27, 1553. This is more than simply an interesting-and horrifying-piece of history, however. In many ways the life and death of Servetus mark the early stages of Enlightenment liberal religion, and the use of the free mind in matters of religion. He is an important religious and spiritual ancestor of ours to whom we should pay heed.

Come and Join the Dance

10/2/2005 Rev. Steve Edington

This is the Sunday when we make a special effort to introduce ourselves to persons who are interested in our UU approach to being a liberal religious community - and in the faith tradition that made us who we are at present. [Actually every Sunday on which we gather for worship should be an Open House Sunday - a point I address in my "Reflections..." column this month.] If you know of a friend, family member, co-worker, neighbor, etc. whom you feel would be interested in our liberal religious community, and whose life would be enriched by it, please invite them to attend on this Sunday!

Reachin' Out...

9/25/2005 Rev. Steve Edington

I guess you gotta love (if you're a Red Sox fan) how a hokey Neil Diamond song has become the de facto Red Sox National Anthem. Okay, I get into it too on a Fenway night just before the bottom of the eighth inning. However corny the words may be they also address a deep seated yearning in contemporary society. One of the grand paradoxes of our age is that the more sophisticated our means of "communication" allegedly become, the greater our level of human estrangement also seems to become.

Religious Liberals - Do We Matter Anymore?

9/18/2005 Rev. Steve Edington

As we gather our thoughts and rekindle our spirits for the year ahead of us I want to offer some thoughts on the relevance of religious liberalism itself. Religious conservatism continues its ascendancy - from the rise of mega-churches to its ever increasing influence in the halls of civil governance. Is religious liberalism an idea whose time has come...and gone? Or do we still have a place to stand and a message to offer that will touch people's hearts and meaningfully address the needs of our larger society and world?

On Living a "Good" Life ( 108k pdf)

6/19/2005 Gary Lerude

Congregation President Gary Lerude shares how being a Unitarian Universalist provides guideposts for living a "good" life.

A Note to the Pope

5/1/2005 Rev. Steve Edington

This has got to be the most pretentious sermon title I've ever put forth, but when has a lack of pretension ever stopped me from anything? I am assuming that by the time this Sunday arrives a new Pope will have been named. I do wonder - this is the pretentious part - what I would say by way of greeting and recommendation to the man as he begins his papacy, were I to be given such an opportunity? Having made common cause with some wonderful Catholic clergy and laity on certain social issues on the one hand, while also hearing "recovering Catholic" stories on the other, has given me certain perspectives on the workings of this faith. Given that the chances of my ever sharing my perspectives in a papal audience are slim to none, I'll share them in a sermon with you instead.

God and the Constitution - Ours and Europe's

4/24/2005 Rev. Steve Edington

As a constitution (not sure if that's what it's actually being called) is being drafted for the European Union, a bit of discussion - as the British might put it - has arisen as to whether or not this document should contain a reference to God. In the United States, I think we have been well served by our Constitution for well over two centuries with no reference or allusion to a deity at all. The irony of this is that God, religion, and no small amount of religiosity play a far greater role in the public and political life of this country than in any European, or combination of European nations. Is this good or bad? For us, or for the Europeans? I don't pretend to be a scholar of social, cultural, and political doings of today's Europe, but this "bit of discussion" does present yet another take on the proper - and improper - roles of religion in public life.

Stuff, Stuff, and More Stuff

4/3/2005 Rev. Steve Edington

One would have a hard time making the case that I'm an anti-materialist. I've accumulated my share of worldly goods over the course of my life to date; and, for the most part, I enjoy having them. But there's a difference, I feel, between truly enjoying the "things" of life we acquire, and pursuing consumption for its own sake. Maybe it has always been this way, or maybe I'm just getting cranky in my old age, but I'm seeing an ever more pervasive cultural ethos that seems to boil down to "the more stuff the better" - with "better" being largely undefined. I know the phrase "whoever dies with the most toys wins" is supposed to be a joke (isn't it?). When did we start taking it seriously?

The Jesus Captivity

3/20/2005 Rev. Steve Edington

Yes, this is Palm Sunday on the Christian calendar - which means it is time for my 17th annual Jesus sermon. I usually have a little fun with this one, and I will this year too; but I'm approaching the topic in a more sober frame of mind this time around. The sermon title refers to my belief and concern that the person of Jesus is becoming increasingly captive, or is being held hostage, to a right wing social, cultural, political, and religious agenda. To read the New Testament gospels with any kind of insight at all is to find a simple, and yet deeply enlightened teacher of human kindness, compassion, love, wisdom, and justice who would be repulsed - I feel quite safe in saying - by much of what is said and done in his name. The question for religious liberals is: Do we care enough about this state of things to want to spring Jesus from his captivity?

Why Did This Happen? - When Belief Meets a Tsunami

3/6/2005 Rev. Steve Edington

This is a corollary, in a way, to the "faith series" I did during February. The tsunami that struck the shores of South and Southeast Asia a couple of months ago brought on one of the greatest natural disasters in human history. The death toll - now at some 175,000 - is staggering. The number of wounded, plus the loss of homes and entire towns, compounds the cost. There has also been, in some quarters, another kind of collateral damage involving a loss of faith, or a questioning of the idea of a benevolent deity who could allow such a thing to happen. Even for non-theists this event can raise questions about the place of human beings in the larger natural order of things, and challenges any notion of an inherent benevolence in nature. What does a horrifying incident like this tell us about our relationship to the rest of "Being" - whatever it is we understand "Being" to be?

Why Are We Here - as a Community of Faith?

2/20/2005 Rev. Steve Edington

We formally launch our 2005-06 pledge drive on February 27. As a lead-in to next Sunday, I want to offer a sermon that I hope will remind us of the value of this liberal religious community in our personal lives, our family lives, our congregational life, as well as the life of our larger community and world. "Where there is no vision," so the writer of the book of Proverbs tells us, "the people perish." Some clever wordsmith - whose name I've lost - has given that verse a clever twist: "Where there is a vision the people parish!" What is the vision that makes us into a congregation (or parish)? This is what I seek to address as we prepare to ask for your support for another year in our life as a "beacon of liberal religious thought and action," as our congregational Vision statement puts it.

Fake It 'Til You Make It

2/13/2005 Rev. Steve Edington

This sermon was originally scheduled for November 14, until my post-election sentiments nudged it aside. "Fake it 'till you make it" is an expression I've heard, and used myself, to describe a situation where you don't quite know what you're doing, but are forced to act anyway. It is not about being phony or inauthentic, but rather about trusting yourself in the midst of uncertain or difficult circumstances as you are trying to get your bearings. The larger point and question is: how do we nurture within ourselves a capacity for self-trust that can get us through painful or tenuous times? Ultimately, it is a question of in whom or in what we finally place our trust as our journeys unfold.

Who Is A Person of Faith?

2/6/2005 Rev. Steve Edington

In the weeks and months following the Presidential election and inauguration, the issue of the role of religion and faith in our public life has come to the forefront. The issue is a good and worthy one. What disturbs me in the framing of the matter, however, is that "faith" is often posited as the antithesis of reason or science. This is a false dichotomy. Living a life of faith means choosing the values, principles, ideals, and beliefs you think are worth building your life around, and then taking it from there. To be a religious liberal is also to be a person of faith. I'll explain why on this Sunday.

Growing up Black in NH

1/16/2005 Melanie Levesque

Melanie Levesque grew up in Nashua during the 1960s when her father came here to work for what was then Sanders Corporation. She is currently the first vice president of the recently formed Nashua branch of the NAACP, and was among those who played an instrumental role in getting the branch established. Melanie holds an M.B.A. from Southern New Hampshire University. She is a telecommunications consultant and president of TCS of America. She lives in Brookline with her husband, Scott, and their daughter, Logan.

The Difference To Me

1/2/2005 John Sanders

Back on our Open House Sunday, Carol Houde and Steve Ladew spoke about how being a part of this UU congregation has made a difference in their lives. Their remarks were so well received that several requests were made to do it again - so we will. Our immediate past president, John Sanders, will speak to the topic this time around.

Christ Climbed Down

12/19/2004 Rev. Steve Edington

"Christ climbed down from his bare tree this year and softly stole away...where in the darkest night of everybody's anonymous soul he awaits again an unimaginable and impossibly Immaculate Reconception, the very craziest of second comings." These words were written by the Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and were published in a collection of his work in 1958. I first heard them as a college sophomore, and they produced one of the first cracks in my near-fundamentalist religious consciousness of that time. They still speak to my religious humanist consciousness of today. The legend or myth of the birth of Christ is ultimately about the promise of rebirth for each of us-"the very craziest of second comings," as Lawrence puts it.

Making Peace with Winter - Or at Least an Attempt

12/5/2004 Rev. Steve Edington

I have lived all of my adult life in northern, often very northern, climate zones. One would think after all these years I'd have figured out a way not to hate winter. One would be wrong! I honestly believe that winter sports - ice skating, snow boarding, ice fishing, etc. - are really elaborate exercises in denial of the essentially horrible nature of winter itself. We do these things to convince ourselves that we're having a good time, when what we really want is summer! But it's high time I got past all this negativity. There is something good to be said for staying low for a time, for incubating, for turning inward, and for planting the seeds of the spirit indoors that you can later put out in the sun. There is something good to be said for these kinds of winter traits - and I have until this Sunday to figure out what it is.

Whose Moral Values? A Post Election Reflection

11/14/2004 Rev. Steve Edington

While it is not possible, or correct, to say that the just completed Presidential election was decided on one single issue, there is credible evidence that an appeal to uphold "moral values" was decisive in certain key states where the Presidential vote was close. In some of those same states referenda calling for the banning of same-sex marriage were overwhelmingly approved. Is the not-so-subtle message contained in such appeals that moral values themselves are antithetical to religious or political liberalism? (And I know the two are not necessarily the same). What I want to do with this sermon is reaffirm the moral values that I feel religious liberals - whatever their political persuasion may be - are called to uphold. I also want to hold up the idea that to live by faith, when it comes to advocating for certain moral values, is to believe that one is ultimately on the right side of history, however out of favor their moral sentiments may be in the present moment.

The Fear Factor

10/24/2004 Rev. Steve Edington

We are now over three years removed from September 11, 2001, but - both for better and for worse - we are anything but removed from the continuing reverberations of a day that in many respects was the "first day of the rest of our life" as a nation and as individuals. Since 9/11/01, I have done a good deal of reflecting on the role that fear plays in the life of a society, as well as in the personal lives of those who make up that society. Fear is a necessary survival instinct; we literally could not live if we had no capacity for fear. At the same time, it can be one of the more debilitating and destructive forces in both personal and civic life. As we approach the time of choosing the leaders of our communities, states, and nation, I want to reflect on some of the ways fear affects our common life. I will explore the paradox of how something that can protect us can also make us extremely vulnerable to the workings of our shadow side.

The More Things Change...

10/17/2004 Rev. Steve Edington

After several weeks of looking at the themes of transformation and change, I shift the focus here to the theme of continuity. I spent a weekend this summer with three gentlemen (well, loosely speaking) with whom I shared both an apartment and a very close camaraderie when we were all in theological school. It was the first time all four of us had all been in one place at one time in over 25 years. Once we got past the "remember when we did all that silly stuff..." stuff, and began sharing some of the twists and turns our lives have taken since then, the gathering took on a depth that I'm not sure any of us were fully expecting. What was especially revealing to me was discovering how, even in the face of the many life changes we'd each had to confront and deal with, there were parts of us that hadn't changed at all. So, the topic for this Sunday is about how we are sustained by our constants, even as we experience our various transformations.

Seeing the World Through a Religious Lens

10/10/2004 Rev. Steve Edington

Staying with the "difference" theme for one more Sunday, I'll now move beyond the personal angle that I emphasized in the September 26 sermon to explore how being a religious liberal can shape the lens through which we see and relate to the larger world of people, events, and nature. The point is not that we all see the world the same way, but that we approach and relate to it with the awareness that we are relational beings. How we understand our relationship with the greater world/universe in large measure determines how we understand ourselves and our larger responsibilities and commitments.

A Road, No Simple Highway

9/19/2004 Rev. Steve Edington

The title is drawn from a line in the song "Ripple," written by Robert Hunter, with music by Jerry Garcia: "There is a road, no simple highway, between the dawn and the dark of night." It's a good metaphor for the liberal religious journey, and the journey of a UU congregation; and I'm using it as my stage-setter for the upcoming year. What we offer is a way of being religious, and a way of being in community with one another. But it is a road that calls for perseverance and commitment, and not a simple highway for just cruising along.

What's the Difference?

9/26/2004 Rev. Steve Edington

This will be another of my ongoing themes for this church year. I've come to believe that people join religious communities, from the conservative to the liberal, because they are seeking some kind of change or transformation in their lives. As important as having a religion that stands up to the test of reason is - a time-honored UU precept, after all - it is not the most important thing. The real measure of a religion's strength and viability is how it makes a positive and transforming difference in the lives of those who choose to adhere to it. In speaking to the topic "What's the Difference?", I'll share some thoughts on what kind of personal difference I think being a part of a liberal religious community like ours can be.

Paper Valentines

2/15/2004 Jackie Clement

Can even a day dedicated to love redeem a month of gray skies and brown slush? Well, I said in my January sermon that love can save the world, so I guess it can save February, too, but this may not be the look at Valentine's Day you are expecting.

Playing the Hand You're Dealt

10/19/2003 Rev. Steve Edington

While speaking with a gentleman in the church I once served up in Maine, during an especially painful period in his life, he remarked, "Well, life deals the hand, but you still gotta to play the cards." I've carried that bit of Maine wisdom with me ever since. Whether or not one believes in the existence of a Dealer with a capital D, there is a great deal about who we are, and what gets visited upon us, that we do not control. The line from Invictus that "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul" is only true to a limited degree. What do we control, and what is beyond our control, when it comes to managing the fates that come our way?

God in the Public Arena

9/28/2003 Rev. Steve Edington

The often-times high potency mix of religion and politics has been present throughout human history and in human civilizations around the world. It has become especially pronounced in this country in recent years. Our President increasingly defines our foreign policy in good-versus-evil terms. One of the more visible religious leaders on our national scene calls on God for the "removal" of liberal Supreme Court justices. Most Americans, as a variety of surveys show, believe our country has been especially singled out by God for the fulfillment of His (Her?) purposes. While I happen to believe that there is a positive role for religion to play in the public life of any society, I find this "God Is On Our Side" stance to be nothing less than idolatry. It is hardly a new form of idolatry, and is far from unique to the United States, but it is a form of idolatry that remains very much with us.

The Challenges That Beckon

9/14/2003 Rev. Steve Edington

As another year gets underway, I want to point to what I see as being some of the particular challenges for religious liberals in the months ahead. These challenges range from the life of our nation to the life of our congregation, and will touch on some of the deeper areas of our personal lives as well.

Being An American: A Soulful Journey

3/2/2003 Rev. Steve Edington

This is the second installment in my series on how my thinking has evolved in various areas of my life, this one having to do with what it means to be an American. This evolution has taken place over the course of five decades now, and there have, to be sure, been more momentous events during that time than I could ever touch on in a single sermon. But they are events that have shaped my identity as a citizen of this country. How close we may be to a war at this point is not clear, but wherever things may be by this date they will certainly be on my mind as well.

Confessions of a Moral Relativist

1/12/2003 Rev. Steve Edington

Moral relativism is one of the favorite whipping boys of those who decry religious liberalism. My counterpoint is that far greater evils have been done in the name of moral absolutism than could ever be done via moral relativism. In exploring what I believe it means to live a moral life, my essential point will be that one lives a moral life by being a moral relativist, i.e. by making moral choices relative to the needs and demands of a particular situation.

A Godly Nation?

9/15/2002 Rev. Steve Edington

The flap this past summer about the inclusion, or exclusion, of the phrase "under God" in the pledge to the flag (however it finally gets resolved) does raise several issues about the appropriateness (or not) of religious expression in our public and civic life. In addition, for me it raises the question of just what kind of nation this would be if we really were under the direction of a God who demanded "liberty and justice for all." I'll also fold into this topic some of my own "one year later" thoughts as to where we as a nation now find ourselves after 9/11/01.

Staying Alive: An Easter Reflection

3/31/2002 Rev. Steve Edington

In his book To A Dancing God, the author and theologian Sam Keen devotes a chapter to telling about the life and death of his father, of whom he says, "He died only at the end of his life." I'd say that is a worthy goal for living: To stay truly alive for as long as one is given life. Staying alive in this manner means, among other things, being re-born a lot. As spring arrives I'll share some thoughts on what I think renewal, regeneration, and rebirth mean as they occur within the cycle of our lives.

Jesus - His Life or His Death

3/24/2002 Rev. Steve Edington

For my annual "Jesus Sermon" I'm drawing on an article in this month's issue of our UU World, written by Rita Brock and Rebecca Parker. Dr. Parker is President of the UU Starr King School for the Ministry. Brock and Parker explore their concern that there are harmful effects when Christian theology stresses the suffering and death of Jesus, rather than celebrating his life. Their article mirrors some of my own thinking that the Christian doctrine of the atonement - which stresses that Jesus' main reason for being on earth was to suffer and die - is the major impediment to an embracing of Christianity itself. A religious liberal's understanding of, and appreciation for, the person of Jesus has to be one that celebrates his life.

Romantic Love/Tough Love--A Valentine's Day Reflection

2/10/2002 Rev. Steve Edington

Romantic love as a basis for beginning a relationship that could in turn produce a family, is actually a relatively new phenomenon within the span of human history. The idea of "tough love," so called, is even newer yet as a means of dealing with disruptive and troublesome (if not dangerous) family members. I think the question I really want to explore here is: What does the "love" part mean with it comes to being either romantic or tough?

War and Rumors of War - A Veterans' Day Reflection

11/11/01 Rev. Steve Edington

Here's another of those sermons that I scheduled back during the summer, with the topic taking on new meaning in light of all that has transpired since. My original approach was to speak to how we honor and respect those veterans who have fought in our country's wars while also being advocates for peace -- and I will touch on that. But my major focus now will be on what I feel it means to be a "peace advocate" in the face of the attack we experienced on September 11, and the way in which we as a country have responded.

Transforming Experiences

11/4/01 Emily Burr

Our "Seminarian-in-Residence" (also known as our Field Education Student and UU Ministerial Intern), Emily Burr, will lead this service, including the sermon. Of her topic, Emily says: "We all have many transforming experiences throughout our lives. Some are big and some are small. These experiences can shape the way you look at the rest of your life. Drawing on my own brush with mortality last winter, I'll share some thoughts on the choices you have in dealing with transforming experiences in your life."

For Us, The Living (After September 11, 2001)

9/16/01 Rev. Steve Edington

It has been a personal struggle for me to find any words that will in any way meaningfully speak to the incomprehensible horror we witnessed on September 11; and to the many uncertainties--the many terribly troubling uncertainties--for the future we now face in the wake of that horror. I offer what I can.

God: A Package Deal?

7/8/01 Peter and October Craig

People often make a number of assumptions about what someone means when they say they believe in God. Peter and October Craig will look at what comes in this "package deal" and why it often causes people to reject the whole idea of God out of hand.

Living with Our Mortality

7/1/01 Emily Burr

"How do we live, knowing we will die?" was one of the questions posed to the members of our ROPES class this year. Emily Burr will explore some of the changes she has experienced in the way she approaches life after running smack dab into her mortality this winter.

The Devil You Say

5/6/01 Rev. Steve Edington

According to a 1995 article in Newsweek magazine, two-thirds of Americans say they believe in a creature called the Devil. I'm not in that number, but then I don't believe in an actual creature called "God" either. But as is the case with God, I don't dismiss the concept of the Devil either, anymore than I dismiss the reality of evil which a creaturely Devil personifies. I also agree with my UU colleague, Rev. Forrest Church, who says, "The Devil's true nature is evil disguised as good, which is simply to say he almost always appears in drag."

Life Heals: An Easter Reflection

4/15/01 Rev. Steve Edington

We can create and discover meaning until the end of our days. In the course of that living there will be wounding and healing, deaths and resurrections. If we can be open to both, and willing to live in and through both then we, too, may well create and discover meaning until the end of our days.

The Pre- and Post-Easter Jesus

4/8/01 Rev. Steve Edington

In the churches where our more traditional Christian sisters and brothers are worshipping today, palm branches are being waved; and that, as I say, is far more aesthetically pleasing than waving articles of clothing--however more Biblically correct the latter may be. And "Palm Sunday" has a better ring to it somehow than "Garment Sunday."

From the Bottom Up

2/25/01 Rev. Steve Edington

"Sometimes when the bottom falls out of our life, we are set free. We attain some enlightenment, some perspective, some sense of reality, some sense of dealing with things as they are. . ." So writes the Reverend Greta Crosby in a book of meditations she authored many years ago. She continues by noting that following an especially severe loss or setback, we go through a process "in which we let go of something and slowly learn to live again." I want to use Greta's insightful words to speak to how we deal with some of life's lowest blows, taking particular note of what she says about how when the bottom falls out, we are "set free."

Confessions of an Agnostic

2/18/01 Emily Burr

It's a joy having Emily Burr with us this year as we are her Field Education site during her preparation for the UU ministry at the Andover Newton Theological School. Emily will lead the service and deliver the sermon on this Sunday. Of her topic, she says: "Being an agnostic means believing it is impossible to know whether there is a God or not. If this fundamental question cannot be answered, on what foundation does one build a framework for day-to-day decisions? I will tell a bit about my own spiritual journey, and explore some of the issues agnosticism raises."

Stuck in the Wrong Metaphor: Why a "War" on Drugs?

1/28/01 Rev. Steve Edington

I last addressed this subject some seven years ago (time flies!), and am revisiting it in response to the UUA General Assembly 2000 Resolution on "An Alternative to the 'War' on Drugs." The debilitating, and sometimes deadly, effects of certain types of drugs on individuals, families, and society at large is not something I would in the least dispute. Declaring a war on drugs, however, has had its own debilitating and deadly effects. I question the rationality, especially in the increasingly drug dependent society we have become, of singling out certain "evil" drugs and declaring a "war" on them. I'll share some of my thoughts on an alternative metaphor on the Sunday.

The Forest vs. the Trees

11/26/00 Emily Burr

Emily Burr is a seminary student preparing for the Unitarian Universalist ministry at the Andover Newton Theological School. She is doing her field education work at our church this year. Emily says this about her sermon topic: "We can get caught up in the details of our daily lives and lose sight of the bigger picture. We can also become overwhelmed by the wider view. Is there a place where we can have a balanced view of both?"

The Ghost of Star Wars: National Missile Defense

10/20/00 Dr. Michael Ferber

Michael Ferber is a Professor of English at the University of New Hampshire, and the Chair of the New Hampshire Peace Action organization. He was raised Unitarian Universalist. In 1968 he was the recipient the UU Skinner Sermon award, which is given annually for the sermon that best exemplifies UU social principles. The sermon was one Mr. Ferber gave at Boston's Arlington Street Church (UU) about his participation in the draft resistance movement of that time with, among others, Dr. Benjamin Spock and Rev. William Sloane Coffin. He will be speaking on the subject of nuclear arms control and the U.S. proposed missile defense system, issues that are still with us even in the absence of a Cold War.

Worth, Dignity, and Capital Punishment

10/15/00 Rev. Steve Edington

While capital punishment has not been a strong topic of debate in the presidential campaign, it has resurfaced as a national issue in the past couple of years--especially after the Governor of Illinois, a supporter of the death penalty, called a halt to executions in his State because he felt the punishment could not be fairly and justly applied. But can it ever be? Capital punishment, and the debate about it, is about more than executing people (although it certainly is about that). It's also a debate on how proponents and opponents feel about the human condition, as well as about what evil is and how we deal with it. Are there those who are so removed from their own sense of worth and dignity, and who have shown such disregard for life, that they forfeit their own right to life? And who, if anyone, should be entrusted to make that decision?

The God We Never Knew

10/08/00 Rev. Steve Edington

This is a "what I learned in summer school" sermon, the first of two I plan on doing. The sermon title is also the title of a book by Dr. Marcus Borg, Professor of Religion and Culture at Oregon State University. Dr. Borg was the lecturer/instructor for a "summer intensive" course I took at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. In his book, and in this course, Dr. Borg offered what I thought were some intriguing ways for religious liberals to conceive and/or experience the Holy, the Divine, God/Goddess, or whatever term one may use. He takes a "beyond categorical thinking" approach to thinking about God. I'll share some of what I brought back from that experience.

Could This Be Your "Third Place?"

10/01/00 Rev. Steve Edington

In my September 17 sermon I introduced the "Third Place" idea, i.e. that realm of our lives other than home and work where we invest a portion of our lives and receive a sense of identity and meaning. I want to use this idea as a way of suggesting the importance and value of a liberal religious community as one's third place.

Jesus at 2000

4/16/00 Rev. Steve Edington

So here it is Palm Sunday again, which means it time for me to do my annual reflection on the life and meaning of the elusive and enigmatic figure of Jesus of Nazareth, as portrayed in the New Testament gospels. I'm giving it a "third millennium" twist this year (which we are either four months into or eight months away from depending upon which side of that argument you come down on.). Today I'll be offering my thoughts on why this quasi-historical figure has had such staying power over the course of two millennia; and why I think he'll retain that staying power, even as his image changes, in the years, decades, and centuries ahead.

The Bible--A Book For Religious Liberals

2/27/00 Rev. Steve Edington

Very few of my sermons draw on a Biblical text or story, and yet I was raised in a religious community where the Bible was the central word and a sermon wasn't a sermon unless it was Biblically based. But even given my low-use approach, I believe the Bible is an important and valuable text for religious liberals. Today I want to look at the role the Bible has played in the histories of Unitarian Universalism, and at what I think its rightful place is in contemporary UUism.

Honoring Dr. King and Pursuing a Journey Towards Wholeness

1/16/00 Rev. Steve Edington

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is observed this year on January 17. In the three decades since his death we need to assess where we've come and where we as a society are when it comes to achieving racial justice and dismantling institutional, or systemic, racism. Once again our UUA's Faith in Action Department is requesting that our UU member congregations observe a "Journey Towards Wholeness" Sunday as a time to highlight some of our Association's anti-racist efforts and to help support programs through the Whitney Young, Jr. fund that serve the cause of racial justice and reconciliation.

Creating Value and Wanting Values

1/09/00 Rev. Steve Edington

In one of his New York Times columns E.J. Dionne has identified what he calls a "disconnect between the creation of economic value and the production of good values." As we move into a Presidential election season -- especially here in New Hampshire -- the candidates are stressing the need for personal and social values as much as they are advocating for their political policies. I find it of interest that the concern for values has become a hot issue during a time of a rapidly expanding -- for some of us anyway -- economy. What are the values we seek beyond the production of value?

The Mind of Millennialism

12/05/99 Rev. Steve Edington

With the year 2000 a few weeks away, I want to look at the phenomenon of millennial thought and belief in the western world. Certain sects within Christianity place great importance in the dividing of time into 1000-year segments, with a "reign of Christ" taking place for 1000 years before time itself ends -- whatever the "end of time" may actually mean. As remote as such thought may be to religious liberals, the culture we live in is shaped by millennial thinking in more ways than we may realize. I'll expand upon this topic on this Sunday.

Stop Communicating So Much!

11/14/99 Rev. Steve Edington

The columnist and social commentator Thomas Friedman has called "over-connectedness" the "social disease" of the approaching century. He's onto something. With the availability of the net, cell phones, and beepers the original sin these days is to be incommunicado. Even as I avail myself of these communication tools, I am concerned about what they do to our need for boundaries. Can you have a life of your own if you are also continually placing yourself at the beck and call of the rest of the world? Or am I just being a Latter-Day Luddite?

Creativity, Madness, and The Holy

10/24/99 Rev. Steve Edington

With my life-long interest in literature and artistry, I continue to be both fascinated and bewildered by how the creative drive and the tendency towards self-destruction often run so close together. Hemingway's suicide, Janis Joplin's overdose, Kerouac's terminal drinking ... some of our most creative artists have also operated on the edge of self-destruction, and taken a tragic fall over that edge. I will try to sort through the relationship between these two drives in this sermon/reflection.

What's God Got To Do With It?

9/26/99 Rev. Steve Edington

The title is from an article by the same name, by Bella English, that recently appeared in The Boston Sunday Globe. It was about how, for some women, an inability to conceive created a crisis of faith, as if God had somehow betrayed them. The larger issue, as I see it, is the paradox of finding both comfort and betrayal in believing that an external force or power (that is, "God") can affect the course of your life and well-being. How helpful or harmful is such a concept of God? What are some other possible ways of believing in a Power greater than ourselves?

Seekers and Orphans

9/19/99 Rev. Steve Edington

A colleague and friend of mine, now in the latter stages of his UU ministerial career, maintains that UUism has shifted from being a "religion of seekers" to a "religion for orphans." While the categories are a bit overdrawn, his point is that we now tend to emphasize liberal religion as a balm for healing broken-ness more than as a call to risk and adventure in one's search for meaning. It's a point well taken; but the larger point is can we create a community for both the orphan and seeker? We have some of each in us, after all. I'll explore this idea further in my "Set the Tone for the Year" sermon.