The Church of Me(03/04/12)

How do we want to be known? What commitments do we need to make individually and institutionally for that to happen?

Old Man Joseph: In Praise of Co-Stars(12/11/11)

Joseph of Nazareth is definitely a supporting player in the story of Jesus’ birth, but a fascinating character for our reflection. How do you stay in the story when you have no idea what’s going on?

The Peace That Passeth Understanding: The Joys and Consequences of Living With Integrity (03/06/11)

The religious search is a search for integrity. It is a search for that peace which the world can neither give nor take away.

Commentary on the Sermon: Faithful Friends: Founders Sunday (02/07/10)

Commentary on the Sermon: Faithful Friends: Founders Sunday

Faithful Friends: Founders Sunday (02/07/10)

On the anniversary of the founding of our congregation in 1642, we reflect on spiritual friendship and the inspiration and challenge we get from each other. I will share some passages written between two very dear Unitarian friends, James Freeman Clarke and Margaret Fuller.

Contagious (01/10/10)

I have heard recently that loneliness is contagious, and I read an alarming study last year that claimed that obesity is contagious. My goodness. What with the H1N1 virus and all these warnings about catching loneliness and corpulence from each other, maybe we should all find a separate mountaintop and live there alone. My friends, the human condition is contagious, and thank God for that.

Commentary on the Sermon: "Second Naivete: The Mystical Way of Faith" (12/07/09)

Commentary on the Sermon: Second Naivete: The Mystical Way of Faith

Second Naivete: The Mystical Way of Faith (12/06/09)

The season of Advent is all about finding the spirit of the child within. Philosopher Paul Ricouer coined the phrase "second naivete" to describe the religious faith we can develop after we have passed through the critical dismissal of literal beliefs.

The Good Goodbye (11/02/08)

On this All Soul’s Sunday we will share thoughts about what it means to say that final goodbye, and how we can say goodbye even if we were not able to say it to the deceased when they were alive.

The Election Sermon: What Leads Us? (10/26/08)

It has been a tradition for centuries for New England preachers to give a sermon on the pertinent issues facing the nation on the eve of Election Day. This sermon assumes that you already know the issues and have probably already made a commitment to one of the candidates. So today, I’ll be reflecting on Adlai Stevenson’s quote, "Who leads us is less important than what leads us."