Son of the Return of the Question Box: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1)

It’s Question Box Day! Rev. John will collect any burning questions you have for him and answer as many as time will allow. Ask the minister anything!

Presented by: Rev. John Cullinan

 Positivity [22:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1)

Ann Shafer will present a sermon on a new approach to psychology called Positive Psychology which emphasizes positive emotion and mental health rather than the traditional approach of mental illness and pathology. Positive psychology helps those who are functioning reasonably well to use their strengths to achieve greater happiness.

Presented by: Ann Shafer

 What Are You Going To Do With Your Life? [33:33m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Vocation. Avocation. We are all called to do something meaningful with our lives. Where does your great gladness meet the the world’s deep need? What will you do with your one wild and precious life?

Presented by: Rev. John Cullinan

In two of my September sermons, I spoke on issues of religious knowledge and spiritual articulation.  When I told you last month that “Your Life is a Gospel,” I challenged us to find ways of talking about our movement that focus on your own relationship with the congregation and with your faith, rather than giving mere definitions—the dreaded elevator speech.  It’s the most I’ve ever talked about a sermon with people afterwards in coffee hour since my arrival! Some of you had your own transformative stories to share.  Others expressed a concern that they had nothing to share with others, as their stories weren’t quite so dramatic.  “How,” I was asked, “do we talk about our faith, then?”  The truth is you don’t need a story of great personal drama and transformation to convey to others why Unitarian Universalism is important to you.  You just need to convey a personal connection to your faith—tell a story from your heart.

If you’re still unsure how to go about this, have no fear.  After the New Year, I’ll offer an adult RE course on “Articulating Your UU Faith” where you’ll have a chance to explore your connection to your faith in a more intimate setting and develop a vocabulary for talking about Unitarian Universalism with others when the dreaded question, “What’s a UU?” arises.

Before we can focus on talking about Unitarian Universalism, however, we need to understand who we are as a tradition.  Last month, I also preached on how people in America “Don’t Know Much About Religion”—especially the religions they profess to practice.  I’m a big believer in promoting religious literacy, and that includes promoting general knowledge of our own faith.  I admit with some embarrassment that I was woefully ignorant of the history of Unitarianism and Universalism in this country for the longest times, even as I was sitting in the pews of a UU congregation each week.  It wasn’t until I entered seminary that I started gaining knowledge of and appreciation for the rich history that feeds our movement. That knowledge cost me over $10K a year. That’s not the method I recommend for most people to gain a basic literacy in their faith tradition.

I like to give that information away for free.

You’ll notice that I try to balance my contemporary preaching with a healthy dose of history throughout the year.  However, I know I haven’t given you the whole history, and I know I can’t spend every Sunday doling out a history lecture. So, starting later this month, I’ll be offering a Wednesday evening adult RE course on “Our American Roots.”  This is a video and discussion series produced by All Souls Unitarian church in Tulsa.  The videos present a survey of the history of our movement from the arrival of the Pilgrims to early Nineteenth Century.  There will be a small registration fee for the class of $10.  Light refreshments will be served, and childcare can be made available if needed.

The schedule for the class is as follows:

10/28  The Pilgrims Come to Plymouth/Universalism: A Saving Faith

11/4  Universalism, Part 2: Reason in Religion/Famous Founders: Priestly and Jefferson

11/18  William Ellery Channing: Unitarian Christianity & Revealing the Bible

12/2  Emerson and the Transcendentalists/Thoreau and Emerson: New Sources of Revelation

12/9  Theodore Parker and the Second American Revolution/The Free Pulpit and the Free Pew

I hope you’ll join me for this fascinating story and discussion.

…

Each month, we draw closer to our “Searching for the Future” weekend in January.  The Board and the Building Project Steering Committee, along with several dedicated volunteers and myself are hard at work preparing for this event. Soon, some of you may be called on to serve as small group discussion leaders for the visioning workshops.  I hope you’ll consider participating when called.  If you’re interested in serving in this capacity, please give me a call at the office or send an email.

Our vision question for this month is a tough one: “What is our positive core, our life-giving center from which our best thinking and contributions emerge?”  So often, we’re very good at talking about what our movement, and what our congregation, are not.  Unitarian Universalism is often seen as a refuge from somewhere else, rather than as a positive and rich tradition in its own right.  If you had to tell someone what Unitarian Universalism is—what our congregation is, how would you speak of it?  What’s most essential to who we are together?

…

January is shaping up to be a big month here.  In addition to our vision weekend, we’ll be hosting a fund-raising concert/coffee house on Saturday, January 16^th featuring singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey.  Peter’s a fellow Marquette Theatre alum who’s gone on to big things—from busking for change in the Boston subways and on the streets of Dublin, to winning the Boston Acoustic Underground competition, to a successful recording and touring career.  He’s been featured on “All Things Considered” and “Morning Edition” on NPR, and has opened for the likes of Los Lobos, Patty Griffin, and Richard Thompson.  He’s touring in support of his new album, “Letters From a Flying Machine,” and I’m thrilled that the Council agreed to bring him to Los Alamos while he’s swinging through New Mexico.  Mark your calendars now. I hope you can join us for what will be a fantastic evening.

See you in church!

Rev. John Cullinan