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Photo of King's Chapel from a recent UUSE Affirmation class trip to Boston I’m about to take you on a whirlwind tour of 1,840 years of Unitarian, Universalist, and Unitarian Universalist history. (I’ll be covering, on average, about 92 years every minute of this sermon). Please know everything I say is a generalization, and I am leaving out many important people, events, and trends. I’m offering primarily a theological history—Unitarian and Universalist are, after all, theological terms. I am doing this because my mother-in-law, Elaine, purchased a sermon at our goods and services auction last winter; when I asked her what she wanted me to preach on, she said, “I just want to know what Unitarian and Universalist mean. Like, where did you come from?” I interpreted this as a request for some historical information, which I am now presenting to you.             Ready?             We begin with the early Christian Church. For approximately three centuries after the execution of Jesus, the early Church Fathers [1] (which is how they are known in the historiography, and which of course makes women’s contributions invisible) debated a variety of questions about who Jesus was and the nature of his divinity; and who God was, what God’s intentions for the world were, and the role Jesus played in fulfilling those intentions.             An orthodox theology emerged slowly and was eventually codified at the First Council of Nicaea in the year 325 AD. The Nicene Creed, as it came to be known, articulated the doctrine of the Trinity—the idea that three eternal entities, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, comprise one God, and all three are begotten of the same substance. Before and after 325, those who expressed opposing views were branded as heretics, punished, exiled, even executed, their books banned and burned. One heretic, Arius, a priest from Alexandria, Egypt, born in 256 AD, was a distant forerunner of modern Unitarianism. He argued that God and Jesus were not begotten of the same substance, that Jesus was not co-eternal with God, and that God made Jesus, presumably out of a less eternal substance. For Arius, Jesus was divine, but subordinate to God, closer to human. This may not sound like a big deal, but the Arian Controversy, as it came to be known, threatened to split the church. In fact, the Council of Nicaea was convened to put an end to Arianism. The final paragraph of the original Nicene Creed reads: “Those who … assert that the Son of God is of a different … substance, or created, or subject to alteration or change — these the Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes.” [2] To anathematize is to condemn. That paragraph, which doesn’t appear in later versions of the creed, was referring to Arius, whom Emperor Constantine promptly exiled.             A second early church figure important to our history is Origen, born in 185 AD, also in Alexandria. During his life he was regarded as a brilliant theologian. However, at the Second Council of Constantinople in 543 AD, almost 300 years after his death, some of his teachings were anathematized—deemed heretical. These included “subordinationism,” the idea that Jesus is subordinate to God, which overlapped with Arius’ heresy; and, most importantly for us, Apokatastasis, or   universal salvation, the notion that eventually all beings would be restored to harmony with God. He was the first Christian Universalist to leave a written record.             Throughout the history of European Christianity, Arianism and Universalism continued to pop up from time to time and get summarily squashed. During the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s, a more extreme form of Arianism emerged, Unitarianism.  Unitarians rejected the doctrine of the trinity outright, arguing that God is one, not three, and that Jesus was human, not divine. They called for the use of reason in religion, specifically in Biblical interpretation. Three notable figures are: Michael Servetus, a Spanish physician and theologian whom the Calvinists burned at the stake in Geneva in 1553; Faustus Socinus, an Italian Unitarian theologian who fled Italy to escape the Roman Inquisition, and ultimately settled in Poland where his writings influenced a Protestant sect known as the Polish Brethren; and King John Sigismund of Transylvania, who adopted Unitarianism under the guidance of the Catholic-priest-turned-reformed-minister, Francis David. In 1568 Sigismund issued the first edict of religious toleration in European history. (That’s 1,383 years if you’re tracking.)              Next, we turn to Britain’s American colonies, specifically Massachusetts, where Puritan immigrants established a network of local, parish-based Calvinist theocracies beginning in the early 1600s. They mixed their staunch Trinitarianism with a variety of orthodox ideas, including the doctrine of total human depravity: human nature is sinful and cannot be redeemed without God’s grace; and unconditional election: God has predestined certain individuals for salvation, and everyone else is bound for hell with no recourse. It gets worse. I’ll stop there.             Despite everything we find abhorrent about their theology, the Puritans did bring the practice of congregational polity, meaning essentially that each congregation governs itself (which James Luther Adams referenced in our opening words, “I call that church free.” [3] ) We inherit and still practice that tradition. The Puritans also brought the idea of covenantal relations among congregations. Each congregation is independent, yet all congregations work together and support each other. We inherit and still practice that tradition.             We do not inherit Puritan theology. Over time, various colonial religious leaders began rejecting that theology. They objected to its negative view of humanity and its utter hopelessness. They objected to God’s abject cruelty. Imagine hearing for your entire life the message that you’re a sinner in the hands of an angry God and you’re destined for eternal punishment.  You might live with some anxiety.             Or you might start to think, maybe there’s another way . The European Enlightenment was having a liberalizing impact on European thought and society, and many colonists were paying attention. They put an increasing emphasis on using reason and science in the search for truth. They began questioning received doctrine and dogma. They began reading the Bible critically, as a historical document. They began doubting the miracles. They embraced natural religion, basing their beliefs more on observation of the natural world than on Biblical revelation. Some clergy began preaching openly about the right of private judgement: The dictates of my heart matter. My own conclusions about what is true matter. They increasingly rejected the Trinity as unscriptural. They increasingly spoke of Jesus more as a moral example, and less as a God. And they preached a more hopeful, universalist theology. Throughout the 1700s, the orthodox Congregationalists had a name for them: Arians! Heretics! Eventually they had an even worse name for them: Unitarians! Heretics! (They actually weren't direct followers of Arius. If anything, they were taking some cues from the late 16th- and early 17th-century Dutch theologian, Jacob Arminius, whose attempts to reform Calvinism featured both Universalist and Unitarian ideas.) Despite its orthodox critics, this liberal religious movement was growing. In 1805 the Unitarians took control of Harvard Divinity School with the appointment of the Rev. Henry Ware, Sr. as the Hollis Professor of Divinity. [4] In 1819, the Rev. William Ellery Channing preached his Baltimore sermon, entitled “Unitarian Christianity,” in which he identified the foundational principles of Unitarianism. The congregational churches split, some remaining orthodox, others becoming Unitarian. 1825 witnessed the founding of the American Unitarian Association. Universalism emerged as a denomination in the late 1700s, though not as a schism within the congregational churches. Often it was Baptists, Methodists or former Congregationalists who had gravitated to Universal Salvation and they founded churches to preach its profoundly hopeful message. As the early preacher John Murray put it, “give them not hell, but hope.” Universalists began organizing congregations and larger denominational structures in the 1780s and 1790s. They founded the Universalist Church of America in Massachusetts in 1793. Both the Unitarians and Universalists were hopeful. Both trusted that God was good, benevolent and just, not for an elect few, but for all. Both had positive views of human nature and believed human beings could work to improve themselves, following the example of Jesus. They both sought to apply reason to their religious lives and the reading of scripture. And, in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, amidst the excitement and the promise that came with the founding of a new nation, both denominations seemed to capture and convey the new American spirit—its optimism, its focus on liberty, its humanism. They were not relics of old Europe. They had come of age with the young American republic and saw their destinies as intertwined with the nation’s destiny. I will add that, just as the nation continues to deal with the legacies of white supremacy, colonization and slavery, our denomination continues to confront those legacies as well. [5] Both denominations were liberal Christian sects with theologies traditionally regarded as heretical. Unitarians tended to be urban, merchant class, elites. Universalists tended to be rural, farmers, working class. Both denominations were white, though there have always been people of color among us. Throughout the 1800s and the first half of the 1900s, both denominations slowly departed form formal Christianity. Among Unitarians, the rise of the Transcendentalist movement in the 1830s, while initially unwelcome in the congregations, eventually had a profound impact. Transcendentalists saw the natural world as an ongoing source of revelation, and argued that no scripture contains the final word on truth. For them, Christianity was one among many path to God; other religions had valuable wisdom to teach. They preached self-reliance, and called for an unfettering of the human spirit. They learned to trust human intuition. They were mystical. They were idealists. Some created utopian communities. Others worked for social reform. Later on, Unitarians were heavily influenced by Charles Darwin’s On The Origin of Species , which called into question the notion that God created everything in six days about 5,000 years ago. Many Unitarians eventually adopted theologies that aligned with the theory of evolution and other scientific discoveries. Some became atheists. A robust Humanist-Theist debate marked Unitarian congregations in the early 20 th  century. By mid-century, religious humanism was the dominant theology within Unitarianism. The Universalist departure from Christian identity took longer. By the early 20 th century many leaders spoke less about an eternity in Heaven, and more about creating heaven on earth through good works and social reforms. [6] By the mid-20 th  century, Universalists were preaching about one universal religion, contending that all religions ultimately preach the same, basic golden rule message of ‘love for neighbor.’  They argued after peeling away the outer husk of any religion, one eventually arrives at this universal moral kernel, a core spiritual wisdom that transcends cultures, time periods, and dogmas. [7] The American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America were both headquartered in Boston. The Unitarians were at 25 Beason St. The Universalists were a block away at 16 Beacon St. (If I have my facts correct, the Universalists were renting from the Unitarians!) The leaders knew each other and often spoke about merging. They published a joint hymnal in the 1930s. Their respective youth organizations merged in 1954, becoming Liberal Religious Youth. The denominations formally merged in 1961. (We’re now at 1,780 years!)   Today, 65 years later, we are Unitarian Universalists. We are eclectic in our theology. We are Pagans, Buddhists, Christians, Humanists, Atheists, Agnostics, Jews. Muslims, Hindus and Taoists, and many others join us on occasion. Some of us are scientific in our faith. Others are mystical. We are searchers, mixing and matching, experimenting and playing. We gather around our congregations not around a shared theology, but rather around a set of seven principles and six values, all emerging from love at the center. We are the spiritual descendants of early Christian heretics, Arius and Origen, whose spirit lives on in us.   We are the spiritual cousins of radical European reformers, some, like Servetus, who paid with their lives; others like King John Sigismund who called on people of differing faiths and theologies to to live together in peace. Their spirit of protest against dogma, theocracy and inquisitions lives on in us. We are the spiritual grandchildren of the Puritans, from whom we inherit the New England Congregational Way. As much as we may not want to admit it, their spirit lives on in us. We are the spiritual children of American Unitarians who brought reason to religion, proclaimed that God is one, and that we human beings are good. Their spirit lives on in us. We are the spiritual children of American Universalists, who taught that God is good.  Their vision not only of Heaven, but of a current world in which all are welcomed, valued, included and loved, lives on in us. May we continue to nurture and proclaim these great legacies that live on in us. Amen and blessed be. [1]  They are sometimes called the Apostolic Fathers. [2]  I’ve edited the text for ease. Here’s the actual text (translated into modern English): “But as for those who say, There was when He was not, and, before being born He was not, and that He came into existence out of nothing, or who assert that the Son of God is from a different hypostasis or substance, or is created, or is subject to alteraEon or change – these the Catholic Church anathematizes.” See: https://christthesavioroca.org/files/2020-Resurrection-Classes/The-Nicene-Creed-of-325.pdf . [3]  Adams, James Luther, “I Call That Church Free,” Singing the Living Tradition (Boston: Beacon Press and the UUA, 1993) #591. [4]  Harvard Divinity School became the nation’s premier liberal seminary and, in response, Yale Divinity School became the orthodox seminary. [5]  In the preached version of this sermon, I mention a recent youth group trip to Boston, which included a stop at King’s Chapel (the first Unitarian congregation in the country), where they are conducting research into the congregation’s various connections to slavery, including more than 200 enslaved people who have been identified as part of the congregation in the years when slavery was legal. See: https://www.memorial.kings-chapel.org/ . [6]  An example is Clarence Russell Skinner’s 1915 book. The Social Implications of Universalism. [7] This view is sometimes known as the perennial philosophy.

Gathering Music Welcome and Announcements Centering Prelude "Rainbow Connection" by Paul Williams Chalice Lighting and Opening Words "The Abundance of Our Lives Together" by Katie Sivani Gelfand We light our chalice as a symbol of gratitude... In this sanctuary we harvest bushels of strength for one another ... we cultivate a simple sweetness to brighten our spirits ... May we be grateful for the ways we nourish and uplift each other, For it is the sharing of this hallowed time together that sustains us. Opening Hymn #1010 "We Give Thanks" Words and music by Wendy Luella Perkins Oh, we give thanks for this precious day, For all gather'd here, and those far away; For this time we share with love and care, Oh, we give thanks for this precious day. Oh, we give thanks for this precious day, for all gather'd here, and those far away; For this food we share with love and care, Oh, we give thanks for this precious day. Time for All Ages "The Thank You Letter" by Jane Cabrera Read by Sam Taylor Musical Interlude Introduction to the Service Reflections from Deb Gould Joys and Concerns Musical Interlude Reflections from Desiree Holian-Borgnis Offering The recipient of our November Community Outreach offering is Manchester Senior, Adult and Family Services, which provides social work and conservator services to any Manchester resident over age 18. Social work services can include providing information, guidance, assistance completing applications, advocacy, referrals, and outreach/wellness checks. Services are provided in-person (office, home, community), by phone, email or Zoom. Offering Music "A Musical Thank You Gift for UUSE" from Mary Bopp Reflections from Sam Taylor Closing Hymn #128 "For All That Is Our Life" Words: Bruce Findlow Music: Patrick L. Rickey For all that is our life we sing our thanks and praise; for all life is a gift which we are called to use to build the common good and make our own days glad. For needs which others serve, for services we give, for work and its rewards, for hours of rest and love; we come with praise and thanks for all that is our life. For sorrow we must bear, for failures, pain, and loss, for each new thing we learn, for fearful hours that pass: we come with praise and thanks for all that is our life. For all that is our life we sing our thanks and praise; for all life is a gift which we are called to use to build the common good and make our own days glad. Extinguishing the Chalice and Closing Words "May We Go Forth From This Place" by Charles A. Howe May we go forth from this place thankful for the life that sustains and renews us, and open to the grace that surrounds and surprises us. May we go forth from this place with openness and with thanksgiving. Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come.

Gathering Music (Mary Bopp)   Welcome and Announcements (Rev. Josh Pawelek)    Centering   Prelude “Gather the Spirit” by Jim Scott adapted by Mary Bopp   Chalice Lighting and Opening Words Excerpt from “I Call That Church Free” by James Luther Adams     Opening Hymn #145 “As Tranquil Streams” lyrics by Marion Franklin Ham music: Musicalisches Hand-buch , Hamburg, 1690, adapt.   As tranquil streams that meet and merge and flow as one to seek the sea, our kindred hearts and minds unite to build a church that shall be free-- Free from the bonds that bind the mind to narrow thought and lifeless creed; free from a social code that fails to serve the cause of human need: A freedom that reveres the past, but trusts the dawning future more; and bids the soul, in search of truth, adventure boldly and explore. Prophetic church, the future waits your liberating ministry; go forward in the power of love, proclaim the truth that makes us free. Time for All Ages Parting Hymn #352 "Find a Stillness" words by Carl G. Seaburg music: Transylvanian hymn tune Find a stillness, hold a stillness, let the stillness carry me. Find the silence, hold the silence, let the silence carry me. In the spirit, by the spirit, with the spirit giving power. I will find true harmony. Seek the essence, hold the essence, let the essence carry me. Let me flower; help me flower, watch me flower; carry me. In the spirit, by the spirit, with the spirit giving power, I will find true harmony. Joys and Concerns Musical Meditation Offering The recipient of our November Community Outreach offering is Manchester Senior, Adult and Family Services, which provides social work and conservator services to any Manchester resident over age 18. Social work services can include providing information, guidance, assistance completing applications, advocacy, referrals, and outreach/wellness checks. Services are provided in-person (office, home, community), by phone, email or Zoom. Offering Music "Spirit of Life" by Carolyn McDade adapted by Mary Bopp Sermon "Do UU Know Your History?" Rev. Josh Pawelek Closing Hymn #287 "Faith of the Larger Liberty" Lyrics by "Vincent B. Silliman" Music: Bohemian Brethren, Kirchengesang , 1566 Faith of the larger liberty, source of the light expanding, law of the church that is to be, old bondage notwithstanding: faith of the free! By thee we live -- by all thou givest and shalt give our loyalty commanding . Heroes of faith in every age, far-seeing, self-denying, wrought an increasing heritage, monarch and creed defying. Faith of the free! In thy dear name the costly heritage we claim: their living and their dying. Faith for the people everywhere, whatever their oppression, of all who make the world more fair, living their faith's confession: faith of the free! Whate'er our plight, thy law, thy liberty, thy light shall be our blest possession. Extinguishing the Chalice Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come.

Gathering Music Welcome and Announcements Centering Prelude Chalice Lighting & Opening Words "Chalice Lighting Words" by Albert Schweitzer At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us. In the glow of that gratitude, let our worship begin. Opening Hymn STJ #1008 "When Our Heart Is in a Holy Place" When our heart is in a holy place, When our heart is in a holy place, We are bless'd with love and amazing grace, When our heart is in a holy place. When we trust the wisdom in each of us, Ev'ry color ev'ry creed and kind, And we see our faces in each other's eyes, Then our heart is in a holy place. Chorus When we tell our story from deep inside, And we listen with a loving mind, And we hear our voices in each other's words, Then our heart is in a holy place. Chorus When we share the silence of sacred space, And the God of our Heart stirs within, And we feel the power of each other's faith, Then our heart is in a holy place. Time for All Ages The Next Place Written and illustrated by Warren Hanson Ready by Sam Taylor Musical Interlude Joys and Concerns Musical Interlude Offering The recipient of our November Community Outreach offering is Manchester Senior, Adult and Family Services, which provides social work and conservator services to any Manchester resident over age 18. Social work services can include providing information, guidance, assistance completing applications, advocacy, referrals, and outreach/wellness checks. Services are provided in-person (office, home, community), by phone, email or Zoom. Offering Music Reading "Otherwise" by Jane Kenyon" I got out of bed on two strong legs. It might have been otherwise. I ate cereal, sweet milk, ripe, flawless peach. It might have been otherwise. I took the dog uphill to the birch wood. All morning I did the work I love. At noon I lay down with my mate. It might have been otherwise. We ate dinner together at a table with silver candlesticks. It might have been otherwise. I slept in a bed in a room with paintings on the walls, and planned another day just like this day. But one day, I know, it will be otherwise. Introduction to the Service and Speakers Musical Interlude Reflections by Nancy Madar, a Hospice Volunteer Musical Interlude Reflections by Peter Marotto: "Lost Recipes: What We Lose and What We Gain When Caring for a Loved One in Their Final Days" Closing Hymn STJ #1002 "Comfort Me" Comfort me, comfort me comfort me, oh my soul. Comfort me, comfort me, comfort me, oh my soul. Sing with me, sing with me ... Speak for me, speak for me ... Dance with me, dance with me ... Closing Words Wiccan Burial Prayer This is a place which is not a place in a time which is not a time halfway between the worlds of the Gods and of mortals. As the sun sets So our friend has left us The water of our tears like the salt water of the sea, and like the water of our mothers' womb, blesses this Circle. As life is a day So our friend has passed into the night The fire of our life, the memories and courage, the strength given to us by our friend blesses this Circle. As all that falls shall rise again So our friend will be reborn The air we breathe, this treasure of our life, the compassionate caring we give each other blesses this Circle. As the Earth forms us So our friend shall return to the earth Our Mother feeds us, and clothes us. She gives us everything and in the end she takes our bodies back. And earth blesses this Circle. We all come from the Goddess and to Her we shall return like a drop of rain falling to the ocean We all come from the Horned One and through Him we are reborn corn and grain, corn and grain all that falls shall rise again. Extinguishing the Chalice Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come.

Gathering Music Welcome and Announcements Centering Prelude "Vivace" from Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor by J. S. Bach Sharon Gunderson and Anhared Stowe, violin Ryan Ford, bass Mary Bopp, piano Chalice Lighting and Opening Words "Languages of Gratitude" Rev. Michelle Collins Opening Hymn #18 "What Wondrous Love" American Folk hymn adapted by Connie Campbell Hart Music from the Southern Harmony , 1835 What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul, what wondrous love is this, O my soul? What wondrous love is this that brings my heart such bliss, and takes away the pain of my soul, of my soul, and takes away the pain of my soul. When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down, when I was sinking down, sinking down, When I was sinking down beneath my sorrow ground, friends to me gather'd round, O my soul, O my soul, friends to me gather'd round, O my soul. To love and to all friends I will sing, I will sing, to love and to all friends I will sing. To love and to all friends who pain and sorrow mend, with thanks unto the end I will sing, I will sing, with thanks unto the end I will sing. Time for All Ages Musical Meditation Joys and Concerns Responsorial "Prayer for Connection" Words by Cyndi Krupa Music by Mary Bopp May peace, love and light Infuse all living beings With a feeling of connection And knowing we are one. Offering The recipient of our November Community Outreach offering is Manchester Senior, Adult and Family Services, which provides social work and conservator services to any Manchester resident over age 18. Social work services can include providing information, guidance, assistance completing applications, advocacy, referrals, and outreach/wellness checks. Services are provided in-person (office, home, community) by phone, email or Zoom. Offering Music "Largo ma non Tanto" from Concert for Two Violins in D Minor by J. S. Bach Sharon Gunderson and Anhared Stowe, violin Ryan Ford, bass Mary Bopp, piano Sermon "On Gratitude" Rev. Josh Pawelek Closing Music "Allegro" Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor by J. S. Bach Sharon Gunderson and Anhared Stowe, violin Ryan Ford, bass Mary Bopp, piano Extinguishing the Chalice Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of lie And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come

Gathering Music (Mary Bopp) Welcome (Emmy Galbraith) Announcements (Rev. Josh Pawelek) Centering (Emmy Galbraith) Prelude and Calling the Directions "To the Four Directions" Music by Mary Bopp Words adapted from Joan Goodwin's "To the Four Directions" Sandy Johnson, vocals Chalice Lighting and Opening Words Excerpt from "The Art of Living" by Thich Nhat Han Bill Graver, Alex and Wesley Bernier (11:00 AM) Opening Hymn #387 "The Earth, Water, Fire, Air" anonymous The earth, the water, the fire, the air, return, return, return, return Building the Altar of Remembrance "Breaths" by Ysaye Maria Barnwell Performed by UUSE choir members Body Prayer "Reaching Back" by Emmy Galbraith Musical Interlude Joys and Concerns Musical Interlude Offering MARC, Inc. provides the opportunity for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live meaningful lives of independence, choice, inclusion, and continuous personal growth. MARC, Inc. was founded in 1952 by seven families who were working together to support their children who were living with disabilities. Today, they have a campus on Sheldon Road in Manchester where they provide multiple services and programs, in addition to managing eleven residential homes. MARC supports almost three hundred individuals from twenty-seven towns in the Greater Hartford area. UR Community Cares mission is to keep older and disabled neighbors supported in their homes and active in their communities. Their programs include: "Neighbors Helping Neighbors," which provides volunteer support so that older adults and people with physical disabilities can live safely at home; "Cycling Without Age Manchester," which deploys an e-bike rickshaw to provide free recreational rides for older and disabled residents in Charter Oak Park and along the East Coast Greenway; the UR Community Tech Center, which offers free technology support and volunteers to answer questions about smartphones, tablets, laptops; and UR Vision Resources, a 100-page printed Blind/Vision Impaired Directory to ensure more people know what services are available. Offering Music "Meditation on Breathing" Adapted with permission from Sarah Dan Jones by the UUSE Elementary School Classes and Mary Bopp When I breath in... I breathe in Hope When I breathe out... I breathe out Peace When I breathe in... I breathe in Peace When I breathe out... I breathe out Love When I breathe in... I breathe in Love When I breathe out... I breathe out Joy When I breathe in... I breathe in Joy When I breathe out... I breathe out Flame When I breathe in... I breathe in Flame When I breathe out... I breathe out Warmth Story Remembering our deceased UUSE members and friends Remembrances Closing Hymn #83 "Winds Be Still" Words by Richard S. Kimball Music by Samuel Sebastian Wesley Winds be still Storm clouds pass and silence come. Peace grace this time with harmony. Fly, bird of hope, and shine, light of love, and in calm let all find tranquility. Bird fly high. Lift our gaze toward distance view. Help us to sense life's mystery. Fly high and far, and lead us each to see how we move through the winds of eternity. Light shine in. Luminate our inward view. Help us to see with clarity. Shine bright and true so we may join our songs in new sounds that become full symphony. Closing Words Excerpt from "Braiding Sweetgrass" By Robin Wall Kimmerer Extinguishing the Chalice Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come.

Part I: “What a Free Faith Invites”           I began my October newsletter column with this question: “How do I engage in constructive dialogue with people who think, feel, believe and act radically differently than I do?” I’ve been encountering various versions of this question throughout my career; and as our nation’s cultural, political, economic and religious polarization continues to deepen, I seem to encounter it multiple times every day. So many unrelated conversations about so many unrelated topics eventually land on some version of “How do I engage in constructive dialogue with people who think, feel, believe and act radically differently than I do?” It feels like an essential question. It also feels more and more like an impossible undertaking.           I want to address this question, but a little housekeeping first. The Coleman family purchased this sermon at our 2023 goods and services auction. It’s long overdue. Originally, one of the kids suggested I should preach about pangolins, which are a type of anteater.  I was really looking forward to that—and may still preach that sermon. But then she handed the project over to her grandfather, Bill. Eventually he landed on this question about how we engage with people who think, feel, believe and act radically differently than we do. It’s an important question to address from the pulpit just about any time of year; but our ministry theme for October is “cultivating compassion,” and it certainly fits with that theme. Engaging constructively with people who think, feel, believe and act radically differently from ourselves requires that we find in ourselves some degree of compassion for the person with whom we are engaging, and for ourselves. This is a tall order, especially when our compassion for the other is not returned in kind. More on that later.            I want to share my thinking on this question in three, short reflections. The first I call “What a Free Faith Invites.” Our Unitarian Universalist faith—our free faith, our creedless faith, our liberal faith—invites us to engage with people who think, feel, believe and act radically differently than we do. I won’t say it requires us to engage. Nobody has to engage, and there are often good reasons not to engage. But our faith is invitational in this way. If I commit to our first principle, “respect for the inherent worth and dignity of every person,” that commitment doesn’t disappear when I encounter someone who holds opposing political, cultural or religious views. If anything, that commitment makes me curious about who this someone is, what experiences have led them to hold their views. If I commit to our second principle, “justice, equity and compassion in human relations,” that commitment doesn’t disappear when I encounter someone on the opposite side of the nation’s culture war from me. We typically and appropriately follow that second principle into a position of solidarity with society’s most vulnerable people and groups. Yet the principle is universal. Everyone deserves to live in a just and equitable society. Everyone deserves compassion, including people with whom we disagree.           If I commit to our fourth principle, “The free and responsible search for truth and meaning,” and our fifth principle regarding the “right of conscience,” neither disappears when I encounter someone who abides by a radically different theology or worships a radically different God than me. In fact, if we remain in our social, cultural, political and religious bubbles, all we have is an echo chamber. This inevitably stunts our capacity for growth. At least that’s the risk. I believe this: As we engage with people who think, feel, believe and act radically differently than we do, our understanding of what is true and meaningful grows, develops, evolves, is honed, is strengthened, is deepened.           If I hold dear the Unitarian Universalist value of generosity, that holding ought to create in me a spacious openness towards people who hold contrary views. If I hold dear the Unitarian Universalist value of pluralism, that holding ought to create in me a spacious openness toward people who hold contrary views. If I hold dear the Unitarian Universalist value and seventh Unitarian Universalist principle of interdependence, that holding ought to create awareness in me that I am spiritually, physically and cosmically connected to all there is—we are all star stuff—and that includes people who think, feel, believe, and act radically differently from me. Of course, this kind of engagement in the midst of deepening polarization is extremely difficult. But our free faith invites us to engage. Our free faith affirms that this engagement ought to be possible.   Part II “On Love and Hate”                     During my summer study leave I read Liberated to the Bone  by the Minneapolis-based writer, healer and cultural worker, Susan Raffo. I was struck by her chapter on the similarities between love and hate—how they can feel very much the same. Referring to scans of a structure in the brain called the putamen , she says “when we feel hate, there is a part of us that lights up. It expands, glows. It’s the same part of us that lights up when we feel love.” It’s not exactly the same, but very similar, “and that matters.” [1]           She says, “It feels good to hate. It actually feels good. It has its own kind of energy, its own sense of connection, of purpose, of story. It can unite people around a common enemy. It can take away the uncomfortable awfulness of having to look at myself and how I have created or co-created this horrible situation we are in. It’s all tied up with the pleasure drug [oxytocin], because usually, hate goes along with something wonderful and visionary that we want to protect.” [2]           Here’s the lesson I take from her analysis. When we are threatened—and make no mistake, there are people in this room whose very right to exist is threatened; or when the people we love are threatened; or when the neighbor we care about, or immigrants, or trans people, or poor people, or the black and brown federal employees losing their jobs are threatened; or when free speech, due process, the justice system and democracy itself are threatened, we are rightfully and appropriately angry. And when we wish to engage in dialogue with people who think, feel, believe and act radically differently from us, but we hear these same threats echoing through their words, even threats of violence, yes: we are rightfully and appropriately angry. Our putamen lights up, big feelings rise up from our bellies. Our bodies tense up. We’re ready to respond. Do we respond with hate? Or do we respond with love? And because they can feel so similarly in the moment, do we even know the difference? Or are they both welling up simultaneously, both churning in that space Raffo describes behind our eyes halfway between our forehead and the back of our skull? [3]  Can we tease them apart, so that even if we’re feeling hate, we can still recognize and respond with love? In that moment, can we give energy to and articulate not what we hate, but what we love; and can we invite the person with whom we’re engaging to give energy to and articulate not what they hate, but what they love? That’s a very different conversation than the one we anticipate having.           I would be remiss if I did not mention a critical piece of Raffo’s analysis. Hate is easy. It rises up, rushes up, hits all the pleasure centers, pushes everything else aside. But know this: it’s a defense mechanism. It’s a shield. It’s protective. It’s a mask. Do you know what it protects us from? Hate masks and protects us from sorrow, sadness, grief. Sorrow, sadness and grief for all that we’re losing, for all that we’ve lost. Raffo says “the farthest back root for the word hate  that we can find is the word for sorrow. That sentence is almost enough on its own.” [4]  Imagine if this engagement we’re so anxious about—this dialogue with people who think, feel, believe and act radically differently from us—imagine if it were about all that brings us sorrow. We might find that at least we don’t feel as radically differently from each other as we assume we do.   Part III “No Harm”             I endeavor to approach people who think, feel, believe and act radically differently from me with compassion. I try to convey my compassion through my curiosity about who they are, where they’re from, what they think and why, and what they believe and why. I hope they don’t think I’m nosey. But my free, creedless, liberal, Unitarian Universalist, dignity-respecting, truth-seeking, interdependence-affirming faith invites me to approach in this way. I know I have something to learn. As I approach, I am mindful of two realities:           First, however I convey my compassion, I realize it may not be reciprocated. Related to that, I am mindful that the person with whom I am engaging may intend to treat me with compassion, and may anticipate that I will not reciprocate. So maybe we dance awkwardly until something that feels like trust emerges. Either way, my most common experience of engaging with people who think, feel, believe and act radically differently from me is with people from conservative faith traditions. I am curious. I ask a lot of questions. I learn a lot about the person. But I rarely experience curiosity in return. I rarely get questions in return. I typically don’t feel that the person is learning who I am. Maybe that’s as far as the conversation can go in that moment. I typically leave the conversation knowing more about their faith. I don’t have the impression they’ve learned anything about Unitarian Universalism.           Second, I am a straight, cis-gendered, white, middle-aged, upper middle-class, mostly able-bodied, professional man with a masters degree from Harvard Divinity School, practicing ministry in a faith tradition that, though it may on the surface appear fringy, is actually deeply rooted in American colonial, revolutionary, literary and spiritual history with all the challenging contradictions that entails. I’ve got a lot of privilege, which makes me relatively safe in conversations with people who think, feel, believe and act radically differently from me. But I am keenly aware this is not how it works for many people, including many people in this room. When this person who sits on the other side of the political, religious, cultural, social divide expresses thoughts, feelings, beliefs or takes actions that are harmful; when they dismiss, discount, deny and either imply or threaten violence toward vulnerable communities—immigrants, LGBTQIA people, people with disabilities, people of color, women, poor people, people on public assistance, religious minorities, atheists, pagans, low-income working people—even if they don’t realize what they’re expressing or doing is harmful, I see no reason why anyone who holds any of these vulnerable identities should feel obligated to continue engaging. There is no reason to stay in a dialogue or engagement that causes you harm. Exiting that dialogue, or refusing to have it in the first place, is an act of self care, and the absence of engagement is not on you. It’s on them for not recognizing you as the full, whole, perfectly imperfect, beautiful, holy, sacred, made-in-the-divine-image, interconnected, beloved human being that you are. I feel strongly that all of us, especially those of us with more privilege and safety, must do everything in our power to be in those dialogues where we can say clearly and without apology that this country and, frankly, this planet, and truly our sorrowful, grieving, threatened, hating but also loving human brains, bodies and spirits are big enough and spacious enough and ultimately interdependent enough for all of us to embrace all of it, the full range of human being, the full diversity, nuance and layers of human identity and the natural world. We can embrace it all with the vast reservoirs of love, compassion and respect that are actually available to us. This is one of the great insights of our free faith. There is enough love to go around. There is enough compassion to go around. There is enough respect to go around. This is the invitation our faith lays before us each and every day. Let us each respond to this invitation as best we can. Amen and blessed be. [1]  Raffo, Susan, Liberated to the Bone: Histories, Bodies, Futures ( Chico, CA: AK Press, 2022) p. 49. [2]  Raffo, Liberated to the Bone, p, 52. [3]  Raffo, Liberated to the Bone, p. 49. [4]  Raffo, Liberated to the Bone, p. 50.

Gathering Music (Mary Bopp)   Welcome and Announcements (Rev. Josh Pawelek)   Centering   Prelude "A Conversation" Improvised by Mary Bopp   Chalice Lighting and Opening Words “Turn Scarlet, Leaves” Words by Raymond J. Baughan Music by Mary Bopp Turn scarlet, leaves Spin earth Tumble the shadows into dawn Tumble the shadows into dawn   Opening Hymn #1023 “Building Bridges” Words: The Women of Greenham Common peace occupation in England, 1983 Music: Contemporary English Quaker round   Building Bridges between our divisions, I reach out to you, will you reach out to me? With all of our voices and all of our visions, friends, we could make such sweet harmony.   Time for All Ages   Musical Meditation   Joys and Concerns   Musical Meditation   Offering   MARC, Inc. provides the opportunity for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live meaningful lives of independence, choice, inclusion, and continuous personal growth. MARC, Inc. was founded in 1952 by seven families who were working together to support their children who were living with disabilities. Today, they have a campus on Sheldon Road in Manchester where they provide multiple services and programs, in addition to managing eleven residential homes. MARC supports almost three hundred individuals from twenty-seven towns in the Greater Hartford area.   UR Community Cares UR Community Cares' mission is to keep older and disabled neighbors supported in their homes and active in their communities. Their programs include:  “Neighbors Helping Neighbors,” which provides volunteer support so that older adults and people with physical disabilities can live safely at home; “Cycling Without Age Manchester,” which deploys an e-bike rickshaw to provide free recreational rides for older and disabled residents in Charter Oak Park and along the East Coast Greenway; the UR Community Tech Center, which offers free technology support and volunteers to answer questions about smartphones, tablets, laptops; and UR Vision Resources, a100-page printed Blind/Vision Impaired Directory to ensure more people know what services are available.     Offering Music Andante from Sonata no. 13 in A Major by Franz Schubert   Sermon “On Love and Hate” Rev. Josh Pawelek   Closing Hymn #1031 “Filled with Loving Kindness” Traditional Buddhist Meditation Adapted by Mark Hayes Music by Ian Riddell   May I be filled with loving kindness. May I be well. May I be filled with loving kindness. May I be well. May I be peaceful and at ease. May I be whole.   May you be filled with loving kindness. May you be well. May you be filled with loving kindness. May you be well. May you be peaceful and at ease. May you be whole.   May we be filled with loving kindness. May we be well. May we be filled with loving kindness. May we be well. May we be peaceful and at ease. May we be whole.   Extinguishing the Chalice Flame   Responsorial “The Flame in Our Hearts” Words by Josh Pawelek Music by Mary Bopp   The flame in our hearts, never ceases burning.   Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now and in all the days to come.

Gathering Music   Welcome and Announcements   Centering   Prelude "Believing" by Mary Bopp   Chalice Lighting and Opening Words excerpt from Finding My Way Out of the Darkness By Tony Ferraiolo   Opening Hymn #1002 “Comfort Me” by Mimi Bornstein-Doble   Comfort me, comfort me, comfort me, oh my soul. Comfort me, comfort me, comfort me, oh my soul.   Sing with me, sing with me…   Speak for me, speak for me…   Dance with me, dance with me…   Comfort me…   Time For All Ages   Joys and Concerns   Offering "Kindness Rocking" by Mary Bopp   MARC, Inc. provides the opportunity for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live meaningful lives of independence, choice, inclusion, and continuous personal growth. MARC, Inc. was founded in 1952 by seven families who were working together to support their children who were living with disabilities. Today, they have a campus on Sheldon Road in Manchester where they provide multiple services and programs, in addition to managing eleven residential homes. MARC supports almost three hundred individuals from twenty-seven towns in the Greater Hartford area. UR Community Cares ' mission is to keep older and disabled neighbors supported in their homes and active in their communities. Their programs include:  “Neighbors Helping Neighbors,” which provides volunteer support so that older adults and people with physical disabilities can live safely at home; “Cycling Without Age Manchester,” which deploys an e-bike rickshaw to provide free recreational rides for older and disabled residents in Charter Oak Park and along the East Coast Greenway; the UR Community Tech Center, which offers free technology support and volunteers to answer questions about smartphones, tablets, laptops; and UR Vision Resources, a100-page printed Blind/Vision Impaired Directory to ensure more people know what services are available.     Offering Music   Chancel Talk “Finding My Way Out of Darkness” or “Kindness Rocks” Tony Ferraiolo and Rev. Josh Pawelek   Closing Hymn #1053 “How Could Anyone?” By Libby Roderick   How could anyone ever tell you you were anything less than beautiful? How could anyone ever tell you you were less than whole? How could anyone fail to notice that your loving is a miracle? How deeply you’re connected to my soul.   Extinguishing the Chalice   Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life, And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come.

Gathering Music Welcome and Announcements Centering Prelude "Nothing Can Harm Our Love" Written and performed by Tret Fure Chalice Lighting and Opening Words "With Dirt on Our Hands" by Rev. Dr. David Breeden Come into this moment as if stepping into a garden at dawn, quiet, tender, open to what may grow. Let compassion be the flower we bend toward. We return as if returning to the soil, hands in the dirt, willing to tend what needs tending. Here, today, we gather to remember: that the most delicate blooms require daily care. That attention is the water of love. That we are still learning how to care. Come. Let us begin again in love-- tending the garden of the heart, and the heart of compassion. Opening Song "A Piece of the Sky" Written and performed by Tret Fure (Chorus) Raise your voice so high Like it's a piece of the sky Let it rain down around you, let it rain Raise your voice so high Like it's a piece of the sky Let it rain down around us all Introduction to the Service Time for All Ages "Spread it Around" Written and performed by Tret Fure Joys and Concerns Musical Interlude Offering Our October Community Outreach Ministry recipients are MARC, Inc. and UR Community Cares. MARC, Inc. The Manchester chapter of The Arc, MARC provides the opportunity for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live meaningful lives of independence, choice, inclusion and continuous personal growth. UR Community Cares UR Community Cares, located in Manchester, bridges the gap between those eager to make a difference and those in need of support. Their mission is to connect volunteers with opportunities to assist older adults and individuals with disabilities, thereby strengthening communities and improving lives. Offering Music "The Tie That Binds" Written and performed by Tret Fure 1st Reflection - Tret Fure Musical Interlude 2nd Reflection - Ellen Williams Closing Song "Freedom" Written and performed by Tret Fure (Chorus) Carry Freedom in your heart Carry Justice as a goal Carry Love in every fiber of the fabric of your soul Carry Freedom in your heart Carry Justice as a goal Carry Love in every fiber of the fabric of your soul Extinguishing the Chalice and Closing Words Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come.

The oak burl chalice on the world map table in the chapel at UUSE Over the last decade I’ve become a fan of the Drive-By Truckers , a three-guitar, southern rock band, founded in Athens, Georgia in 1996. I first noticed them when they started writing songs in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in the late 20-teens. I’m also very moved by their songs decrying American gun violence and the very nuanced way in which they proclaim their southern pride while not ignoring or white-washing histories of violence and racism. In July I went to their show at the College Street Music Hall in New Haven. Their encore was the song Andy and I just presented, "World of Hurt" f rom their 2006 album, A Blessing and a Curse . (Note that I left out some of the words and edited a few others – they don’t all work for a Sunday morning worship service.) I think I’d heard the song before the concert, but it hadn’t yet grabbed my attention. Well, it grabbed me that night in New Haven. I have no other words for it than to call it a spiritual experience. I found the music beautiful, and the lyrics a probing, searing meditation on the nature of love that met me right where I was in that moment, spoke to me in a way I needed to be spoken to, lifted me up, buoyed me, connected me. Music is known to have that effect on people. Over the next few weeks I listened to it easily 50 times—I’m sure I drove my family bananas. Please don’t play that song again. Please turn it off!  Every time I listened I thought, I want to share this in a UUSE Sunday service . So, here we are.             I would not expect anyone listening to our rendition this morning to be as spiritually moved as I was that evening in July. That’s not my purpose in sharing the song. I can no more recreate my spiritual experience in you than you can recreate your spiritual experience in me. But I do want to offer the song’s lyrics as a scripture not only for this sermon, but for the entire congregational year. This is Part II of a sermon series, “Imagining a Congregational Year.” And as I imagine the year stretching out before us, love figures prominently: naming and defining love; expressing love, practicing love, reflecting theologically on love, putting love into action. I imagine this for many reasons, but I’ll name two big ones here:             First, I imagine love figures prominently this year because our denomination, the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), is centering love in its articulation of our faith both nationally and internationally. As most of you know, when our General Assembly changed Article 2 of its bylaws in June of 2024, it replaced the seven Unitarian Universalist principles with six values—justice, equity, transformation, pluralism, interdependence, generosity—emerging from love at the center. The new Article 2 says “Love is the power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values. We are accountable to one another for [doing the work of] living our shared values through the spiritual discipline of Love.” As a reminder, our congregation is committed to continuing its use of the seven principles and will integrate them with the new values and their related covenantal statements. Our Principles and Values Integration Task Force will be making recommendations for how best to do that later this fall. Because love is at the center in the new Article 2 and because our denominational leaders are using love to articulate who we are as people of faith, I imagine we will be talking more and more about love through the course of the congregational year. What does it mean when we say love is at the center of our faith? What do we mean when we refer to a spiritual discipline of love?             Second, I imagine love figures prominently for us this congregational year because our response to authoritarianism in the United States demands it. I’m going back to my sermon two weeks ago on imagining the congregational year. In response to political violence and increasing threats of political violence that week, I said “our principles, values and traditions call us to engage in nonviolent  resistance. I am convinced violence only leads to more violence. In resisting authoritarianism, the central question for me is how we do it with love, compassion and empathy.” [2]             This is not going to be an easy conversation. Last Sunday, in a national address, President Trump said “I hate my opponent and I don’t want the best for them.” In the face of such explicitly-stated presidential hatred which, I believe, includes liberal religious people like ourselves, what does it mean to say “My faith calls me to love my opponent and to want the best for them?” Not an easy conversation.             I go back to the song, “World of Hurt.” The Drive-By Tuckers wrote it in 2006. They likely weren’t anticipating our world of hurt in 2025. There was plenty of hurt to go around in 2006. The September 11 th , 2001 terrorist attacks might have been on their minds. The devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the government’s failed response in late August of 2005 might have been on their minds. The US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq might have been on their minds. But maybe none of that was on their minds. Maybe they just wanted to write a song that acknowledged that none of us—no human being—goes through life without some measure of pain, suffering and trauma, though there’s no fairness in how the hurt is spread around. Maybe they just wanted to write a song acknowledging that none of us—no human being—goes through life without moments of sadness and grief, fear and cowering, loneliness and isolation, disappointment, disillusionment, discontent—though again, there’s no fairness in how the hurt is spread around. This world of hurt is not just this authoritarian world we live in now. It’s in the experience of being alive. It's in the human condition. This song—our scripture for this morning—is saying, at least to me, that the only way to meet this world of hurt with integrity, maturity and wisdom is with love. But it’s not love as an empty pop music platitude. It’s not a feel-good liberal religious notion of love. It’s not some smart Facebook meme about what Jesus really taught which feels good in the moment, but which runs the risk of ultimately making us feel more smug and self-righteous. To love genuinely and authentically is to make oneself vulnerable to loss, because the people we love die. To love genuinely and authentically is to make oneself vulnerable to all manner of hurts because people in power may care nothing about you, may not want the best for you. To love in this world of hurt is to risk potentially everything. “To love,” as the song says, “is to feel pain. There ain't no way around it. The very nature of love is to grieve when it is over.” And right now, for so many of us, when it comes to love of country, love of democracy, love of what we thought were our agreed upon rights such as freedom of speech, it feels more and more like all of it is ending or over. Part of why hearing this song for the first time felt like a spiritual experience is because it took me to a place I needed to go to, but I didn’t quite know I needed to go there. It’s not just a matter of preaching “love your neighbor” or “love the stranger,” or “love your enemy,” or “love your country.” It’s easy enough to say. What I’ve realized is that I need to love my neighbor, the stranger, my enemy, my country and preach it with a full and unflinching understanding that doing so inevitably comes with a cost, requires sacrifice, and will cause pain. That’s a conversation I imagine we’ll be having this congregational year. But our scripture doesn’t leave us locked in a world of hurt. It shows us not a way out, because there is no way out—“to love is to feel pain”—but that there is also more to love than pain. And what our scripture shows us is a beautiful, spacious, life-giving hope that comes with our willingness to love despite the risk, along side the pain. For me, it’s a beautiful, spacious, life-giving hope that comes as we gather all our hurting pieces, knit them into an inevitably imperfect whole that says “yes” to life, “yes” to everything I love, “yes” to the people I love, and in this world of hurt, “yes” to the country I love, “yes” to the democracy I love,” “yes to the civil rights I love,” “yes” to the whole blessed thing. The song ends with the humble, hopeful reminder that if what you have is working for you / Or you think that it stands a reasonable chance / And if whatever's broken seems fixable / And nothing's beyond repair / If you still think about each other and smile / Before you remember how screwed up it's gotten / Or maybe still dream of a time less rotten / Remember, it ain't too late to take a deep breath / And throw yourself into it with everything you've got / It's great to be alive. I know it’s an unorthodox scripture. I know the proper Christian clergy might sneer and say “that’s not a real scripture.” But I remind us that the whole world is holy, and virtually any words can became scripture if they say what you need to hear. And this is what I imagine we’ll be talking about in the coming congregational year. To love is to feel pain. But it ain’t too late to take a deep breath and throw yourself into it with everything you’ve got. Turn to a neighbor and assure them, “it’s great to be alive.” Turn to another neighbor and assure them, “it’s great to be alive.” Let’s say it all together: “It’s great to be alive.” Amen and blessed be.

Gathering Music Ambient #13 by Dan Thompson Inspired by Ben Elzerman Welcome and Announcements (Rev. Josh Pawelek) Centering Prelude "Blue Monk" By Thelonius Monk Andy Ricci, guitar Chalice Lighting and Opening Words "There is a Love" By Rebecca Ann Parker Opening Hymn #38 "Morning Has Broken" By Eleanor Farjeon Andy Ricci, song leader Morning has broken like the first morning, blackbird has spoken like the first bird. Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning! Praise for them, springing fresh from the Word! Sweet the rain's new fall sunlit from heaven, like the first dewfall on the first grass. Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden, sprung in completeness where God's feet pass. Mine is the sunlight! Mine is the morning born of the one light Eden saw play! Praise with elation, praise every morning, God's recreation of the new day! Time for All Ages Musical Meditation (Andy Ricci) Joys and Concerns Musical Meditation (Andy Ricci) Offering Our September Community Outreach Ministry recipients are the Manchester Latino Affairs Council and She Leads Justice. Manchester Latino Affairs Council The Manchester Latino Affairs Council (M.L.A.C.) was established in January of 2007. Its current mission is to address social issues with a focus on diversity, inclusivity and equality within Manchester's Latino community. She Leads Justice She Leads Justice advocates for under-resourced, marginalized women in Connecticut. They work to close the civil legal justice gap and to create state policy for economic security. Formerly known as the Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund, their work supports women who identify as cisgender and transgender, and non-binary individuals, as well as people of all marginalized gender identities. Offering Music "Stonewall" By Andy Ricci Sermon "Imagining a Congregational Year, Part II" Rev. Josh Pawelek Including "World of Hurt" By the Drive-By Truckers Andy Ricci, vocals and guitar Josh Pawelek, spoken word Closing Hymn #95 "There is More Love" African American hymn Andy Ricci, song leader There is more love somewhere. There is more love somewhere. I'm gonna keep on 'til I find it. There is more love somewhere. There is more hope somewhere... There is more peace somewhere... There is more joy somewhere... Extinguishing the Chalice Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come.