Unitarian Universalist Church of Silver Spring

Sermons 2000

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2000
December 24, 2000 Christmas Eve Rev. Elizabeth Lerner	Christmas Eve Homilies
December 17, 2000 Hannukah Sunday Rev. Liz Lerner	This service will celebrate and explore some of the themes and history of Hannukah, the eight-day Jewish holiday, which begins the following week on December 21st at sundown. We will sing songs, hear stories, light the shamas candle on the menorah, and consider Hannukah's potential to enlighten our lives.
December 3, 2000 Plain and Simple Rev. Elizabeth Lerner	This service will focus on the ideas of simplicity and balance as they move through many strains of religious thought, including Daoist and Quaker. This service will feature special music on the theme written by UUCSS members.
November 26, 2000 Home William Hartung	Home. They say you can never go back to it. But you live in one now. “Home is where you hang your hat.” But home is also spoken of as the place where your heart is. In this frag-mented, peripatetic society what is home and where is it? We will explore some thoughts on this and you get to share your own. Bring everyone who came for Thanksgiving.
November 5, 2000 The Call To Action Rev. Liz Lerner Should UUCSS Join UUSJ? Don Grubbs	This service will be organized with the help and participation of the social action committee. It will address the historical connection between Unitarian-Universalism and social justice, and will lift up some current UU goals and initiatives of the new group in our area: UU's for Social Justice (UUSJ).
October 29, 2000 The Sacred Grove Rev. Liz Lerner	Falling so close to Samhain and Halloween, this service will address the sometimes creepy, sometimes-exalting presence people have felt in nature since the dawn of time. Nature religion is popular for the first time in a while, but it’s not new, even in our own denomination. From cave paintings to Greco-Roman religion to the Romantic poets and philosophers to Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Transcendentalists to witches and wiccans—there’s a lot to explore, and we’ll do our best.
October 22, 2000 Money, Money, Money Rev. Liz Lerner	This is our annual canvass service. We will look at some of the history of the relationship between money and religion, and explore money’s place in our own congregation. This is not the same old, same old. Don’t miss it, as we kick off our canvass period for the coming church year
September 24, 2000 This Is Your Life Rev. Liz Lerner	The Rev. Paul Ratzlaff from the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship in New Jersey pointed out in a minister’s meeting how often we go through phases of our lives thinking, ‘I just need to get through this and then I’ll get back to my life.’ His point was that there is no going out, and returning to, our lives. It’s always our lives, and bearing that in mind might change how we make choices and live. This idea will be the focus of our service. An Inquirers’ lunch for visitors will follow.
September 3, 2000 Faerie Christianity in China Larry McAneny	Larry McAneny will explain what chess, China, and Christianity have to do with each other ( beside their first two letters.)
August 6, 2000 John Barleycorn Won't Die David Miley	There are those of a us who felt chills the first time we heard the song John Barleycorn Must Die. Finding out why might be a life long task. This service explores this song's magic spell through Arthurian legend, the words of Milton Erickson , imagery from the Irish and Saxon seasonal festivals and food. The Greentop Ramblers will play.
July 23, 2000 Understanding Our Whole Lives Rick Lohmeyer and Karen Eckert	Many religious denominations provide sexual education for youth. Over thirty years ago the UUA recognized that young people need guidance and information about sexuality and created the award-winning AYS program (About Your Sexuality) for middle school students. Now we are introducing OWL, the new sex-ed curricula for children, adolescents and adults. Rick and Karen will consider why sexual education is a necessary part of the religious experience, and present the OWL Bill of Rights, the Program Values and Assumptions, and outline the contents and context of its teaching. One of the exercises used in the program will be demonstrated.
July 9, 2000 The Why And How Of Prayer Mary Amato	How and why do people around the world pray? Can you pray if you don't believe in a personal, listening deity? Do UUs pray? How? Why? Mary Amato will share what she has learned and is learning about prayer from Hindus, Buddhists, Chris-tians, Jews, Muslims, UUs and more. The service includes a time for young folks.
July 2, 2000 Building Bridges to the Pursuit of Happiness Deborah Ferrenz	The Declaration of Independence proclaimed the inalienable right to 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.' The Greeks defined happiness as 'the exercise of vital powers...in a life affording them scope'; this fits well with a UU goal of fostering personal growth. Those who built this nation dreamed of making this growth possible for the many, not just the few. They would have agreed that 'a mind is a terrible thing to waste.' The speaker will reflect on how this dream has shaped her life and on the hope that the dream may become reality in the new millennium.
Flower Communion June 18, 2000 Most Precious Gifts Rev. Kerry Mueller	This is the last “regular” service of the church year, the annual Flower Communion and general celebration. Please bring a flower to the service—you will take a different flower home. (But if bringing a flower is difficult for you, fear not. This ritual is about abundance and your inherent value. We'll have plenty of extras.) At the end of the service we will say goodbye to Kerry. A reception for her will follow the service. The choir will sing.
June 11, 2000 Through a Glass, Brightly Rev. Kerry Mueller	How far have we come! How much we have learned! How joyful it has been! How important to keep it going! Come and join in the summing up of our year of interim ministry. The choir will sing.
May 28, 2000 Answering Impertinent Questions Dave Hunter	In recognition of Memorial Day, Dave Hunter, who is preparing for Unitarian Universalist ministry at Wesley Theological Seminary, will share with us letters that his four grandparents might have written to him in response to impertinent questions that as a boy he might have asked them. Rev. Kerry Mueller will provide commentary.
May 7, 2000 On Being a Jew-U Rev. Elizabeth Lerner	Did you know that at the turn of the last century there was a hot intellectual debate as to whether Unitarianism and Judaism were the same thing? Growing up half Jewish offers a lot of opportunities and challenges for exploring the relationship between Judaism and Unitarian Universalism. This is not only an issue for the many UU individuals who come out of other faith traditions, it is also one of the imminent challenges for our increasingly pluralistic denomination. Our many histories and backgrounds can enrich and deepen Unitarian Universalism, or they can serve as superficial placeholders that we struggle to honor but fail to make coherent within the larger framework of our faith. This Sunday's service will address Rev. Liz Lerner's journey along this path.
April 23, 2000 Playing Possum Rev. Kerry Mueller	Bodily resurrection from the tomb. A miraculous escape through parted waters. The Bible is full of amazing and intriguing stories. What message can Unitarian Universalists find in the stories of Easter and Passover? Come and celebrate!
April 16, 2000 Because God Loves Stories Rev. Kerry Mueller	Who are we? What have we done in our lives? What are our hopes and fears? It is said that God created the world because God love stories. In shaping and sharing our stories with each other we come to know ourselves and each other. There will be a child dedication in this service.
March 26, 2000 Relationship, UU Principles and Spirituality Laura Montgomery	Laura will talk about relationship as a sacred dimension of human life. The individual develops and is nurtured in relationships with significant others. At the core of our UU principles is the primacy of ethical and just relationships. Laura is a sociologist with the U.S. Public Health Service where she researches child health and wellbeing.
March 19, 2000 Coming Out, Coming Home Rev. Kerry Mueller	This week marks the Jewish festival of Purim, which tells the story of Esther, a Jewish woman in ancient Persia who had to hide her identity when she became Queen. What does it mean to live in a closet? What does it mean to come out? Come and explore issues of the coming out that we all experience.
March 12, 2000 The Politics of Charity Janet Hunt	Volunteerism and charity are up. Political activism and voting are down. How are these trends related? What are their implications for social justice? Explore these issues with us.
March 5, 2000 Oh, Susanna! Rev. Kerry Mueller	The book of Susanna in the Apocrypha tells how the religious elders attempted to coerce a beautiful and innocent young woman to submit to them. Sexual harassment by persons with religious authority is a tragic story, as old as organized religion and as recent as today. Music will be provided by guitarist John Sullivan.
February 20, 2000 Job: A Man of Integrity Rev. Kerry Mueller	The ancient story of Job tells of a good man who suffers catastrophic losses. Come and explore the meaning of Job's integrity in the face of his undeserved suffering. Music will be provided by pianist Victor Medina and his daughter, Janet Medina.
January 30, 1999 Unexhausted Kindliness Rev. Kerry Mueller	Ralph Waldo Emerson uses these words in describing friendship. Modern theologian Mary Hunt writes of ‘fierce tenderness’. Come and explore with me the roots of this most precious human relationship.
January 23, 2000 Belonging William E. Hartung	Belonging has many aspects. We belong to our family when we are born. As we grow, we choose to become members of a group of friends, or join teams. Then, as we reach adulthood, we may choose a partner and so belong in that relationship, in addition to participating in a work environment. We keep adding new personal relationships as to go through life, for we are responding to an inherent need for belonging. Join us in an exploration of some aspects of this multifaceted need.
January 16, 2000 Here Comes This Dreamer: Let Us Kill Him Rev. Kerry Mueller	The dream of Martin Luther King, Jr. lives on, despite every attempt to kill those who carry it on. Come and celebrate this hero of our times. We will also install our new Board of Trustees and recognize new members. If you have joined UUCSS since our last new member recognition, you are invited to take part. Please call the church office to RSVP for the ceremony, and for the new members lunch which follows the service.
January 9, 1999 Empowerment through Education: Women's Rights, Roles and Respon-sibilities in Muslim Societies Dr. Haleh Vazini	What are “universal” human rights? Why do some around the world dismiss universality? How can women and/or other constituencies in distress render the human rights discourse more accessible and less easily dismissed? Dr. Vaziri will discuss efforts to vindicate the human rights of women and girls in Muslim societies and examine the implications of culturally and religiously rooted human rights education, Dr Vaziri is a research manager at the InterMedia Survey Institute where she designs projects to investigate the impact of media on politics and markets in the Middle East. She has also worked with Sisterhood is Global Institute, an international feminist organization.