Last week, we celebrated America’s most iconic black leftist, Martin Luther King Jr. Most people now don’t think of this Southern Baptist preacher as being particularly liberal, much less a leftist, and don’t know about the radical social philosophies that inspired him.
Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. He was an American Baptist minister, activist, and political philosopher who was one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968.As we remember Dr. King today, let’s ask ourselves what we want to be remembered for, … Continue reading “Inauguration of a New Day,” by Rev. Dr. Brent Smith
Lauren’s presentation will be part song, part dramatic reading, and part sermon, based around the story of “Aunt Rachel” by Mark Twain, as printed by The Atlantic Monthly in November of 1874. Lauren first heard this story in Ken Burns’ documentary about Twain on PBS. The subject is about the one of the tragedies that … Continue reading “Aunt Rachel’s Story: A True Story, Repeated Word for Word to Mark Twain,” by Lauren Young
At its core, freedom is about individual liberty. It’s the freedom to live life on your terms, as long as it doesn’t violate the rights of others. It’s the right to speak your mind, practice your faith, and live your values without fear of persecution. This includes respecting the freedom of others. True freedom requires … Continue reading “The Cost of Freedom,” by Rev Frank Clarkson
In the midst of overlapping climate crises and mounting social injustice, we are in a time of great change and profound anxiety. Taking a note from those who have gone before us, the UUA Climate Justice Revival is meant to be a time to come together and re-commit to realizing collective environmental equity in our … Continue reading “A Future Where We Can Thrive,” by Andrew Batcher”
How do we deal with spiritual pain and better ourselves? The answer: we can transform our personal pain into large-scale social action and social justice. In picking to fight for causes that we care about personally, we can better ourselves and our community.
Becoming a hub for community engagement, action, and betterment.
Dr. Randol Contreras spent close to a decade studying the legendary Maravilla gangs of East Los Angeles. Once celebrated in the gang world as rebels who defied the established inmate prison order, veterano Maravilla gang members now grapple with the consequences of leading violent lives. This talk sheds light on how these aging men struggle … Continue reading “The Maravillas: Gangs, Aging, and Mattering in East Los Angeles,” by Dr. Randol Contreras
Asexuality is a sexual identity, like being gay, for someone who has little to no sexual attraction to any gender. This sermon will discuss the history of asexuality and how UUs can support the asexuals in their lives.
What does it mean to matter? How do you know you matter? Today’s reading takes a hard look at systematic racism and how it affects all of us. Colorblindness is often well-intentioned, an attempt to see everyone as a human being and therefore as the same, without paying too much attention to race and other traits … Continue reading “The Promise of All Lives Mattering,” by Amanda Udis-Kessler
