Having non-biblical readings has become such a canon among mainline Unitarian Universalists that Unitarian Universalist Christians face a crisis on the subject of readings. Is it proper to have non-biblical readings in worship? The question of authority isn’t clear-cut. My home library has several works of daily readings: selected sections meant to be read regularly… Continue reading Should Christian worship have non-biblical readings?
Category: Preaching
Bleg: how does the lectionary or church calendar work in once-a-month churches?
This is a blog-beg for preachers and ministers of any denomination who preach or have preached in churches that meet less than weekly, and who use a lectionary or observe a traditional church calendar. I appreciate your sharing this with anyone who has experience. In short, how do you make it work? Do you use… Continue reading Bleg: how does the lectionary or church calendar work in once-a-month churches?
So glad I don’t preach Mother’s Day
So, tomorrow is Mother’s Day. And I’m glad I’m not preaching. It’s an impossible gig. I’m really glad I’m not preaching. You need to talk about Mother’s Day, as if it were traditional for churches and not a civil and cultural observance, so lacking many of the liturgical hooks that makes worship manageable. You need… Continue reading So glad I don’t preach Mother’s Day
Come hear me preach, Sunday, April 26
I’m glad to be invited back to preach at Universalist National Memorial Church this Sunday. Using images of the Good Shepherd, I will (try to) explore what it mean to be a Christian in a pluralistic age, with readings from the Gospel of John and the Acts of the Apostles.
Preaching next on February 15
So, I’ve got about a month to prepare for my next sermon, and I’d love you to to hear it– and visit Universalist National Memorial Church — on February 15, 2015, at 11 a.m. (Directions.) That’s the Feast of the Transfiguration, and I’ll be preaching from the appointed Revised Common Lectionary texts.
True words
This video is making the rounds, and should seem familiar to anyone who has ever preached a “Saturday night special.” I don’t preach again until February 15, but I’m starting to work on it now. And I love those lectionary texts.
Tool to search news broadcasts
Internet Archive has a tool that searches news broadcasts back to 2009, but since it’s fairly new, you may not have heard about it. Lots of uses, but I’m thinking particularly of those preachers who heard of, or were told of, a news segment but then don’t have access to it. I thought a demonstration… Continue reading Tool to search news broadcasts
The architecture of Universalist National Memorial Church, in detail
I was Googling for a set of 1939 orders of service from the Universalist National Memorial Church — where I was once minister and now, after a long break, am now a member — and found Sixteenth Street Architecture, a fine architectural survey of Washington, D.C. “avenue of churches” from just north of the White… Continue reading The architecture of Universalist National Memorial Church, in detail
The sermon fit for reading
There is a practical take-away from this historical episode; keep reading. Abigail and John Adams, the departing ambassador to Great Britain, and John Murray, the Universalist minister, sailed together back to America on the same vessel, the Lucretia, in the spring of 1788. Unitarian Universalists today recall Abigail Adams’s recollection of Murray’s preaching, as recorded… Continue reading The sermon fit for reading
Preparing for preaching in September
So, I’ll be preaching at Universalist National Memorial Church (UNMC) on September 21, and since I don’t preach much these days, I figured I had better start getting some words down now or else I’ll never be ready. Be prepared to see non-sequitur blog posts that link obliquely to that sermon until then; I do… Continue reading Preparing for preaching in September