We live in a world of scarce resources: not enough land, housing, clean water, trees, wealth, opportunity, energy, healthcare, firefighters (these days), and the list goes on. One obvious response is to conserve resources by living sustainably. But this often means that none of us has enough or that some have more than enough, while others have nothing. Another option is to create a world of abundance in which there is always more than enough for everyone.

A few years ago, the leadership of the Unitarian Universalist Association initiated a plan to change its bylaws so that, instead of being a service organization, its member congregations would have to agree to a covenant that they would periodically renew. But the organization’s proposal was never put before voting delegates at a General Assembly, as had been their original intention. Instead, as of late, they’ve just started calling ours a “covenantal religion.” Balderdash! Ours has long described itself as a “liberal religion.” In this sermon, I’ll do my best to help prevent this sleight of hand from escaping our attention.

In the U.S., little more than half of us been vaccinated against COVID-19, not because vaccinations are scarce, but because too many of us are afraid of them for unsound reasons. Such hesitancy has led to a deadly outbreak of the virus that is worse than the first. In this sermon we’ll recall the marvelous origins and history of vaccinations and how much they have saved and improved our lives.

Whether or not it is true that people are more divided now than ever, or if this is something claimed by every generation, the fact that more of us are divided today than ever cannot be denied. In this sermon we’ll consider some of the modern forces driving us toward extremist thinking and how to avoid being influenced by them.

We are divided over much in our society and in our world, often divided over which ideologies are better. In this sermon we’ll consider the possibility that some of the ideas most driving us apart are the two halves necessary for making us whole.

Demons and demonic powers have become the subject of modern horror stories, but the original meaning of “demon” was in reference to the uniqueness in every individual. Since individuality is often discouraged in many communities the concept of the “demon” became, well, demonized. In this sermon we will consider the necessity of reconnecting with our own inner-daimon and supporting those in society who have been demonized.

Throughout history religion has been a source of conflict between peoples, and sometimes an excuse for abusing them. In this sermon we’ll consider the meaning of an old Islamic story that suggests a different understanding of what religion ought to be about.

In George Orwell’s 1984, the Powers-that-Be keep switching enemies in an ongoing worldwide war and their citizens very quickly forget that they had ever been at war with anyone else. In this sermon, we’ll consider how easy it is for our society to forget even it’s most recent past, and how important it is that we don’t.

Since the advent of the PC, the stereotypical computer programmer is thought of as a young nerdy male without much of a social life. Not only is this stereotype false, but the opposite is true. The first hackers, referring to those who “hacked” together computer code, were mostly brilliant women. In this sermon we’ll take a closer look at the hidden figures who have and are changing our world with this powerful technology.

The idea of Unity seems so simple, but it complicated. It’s complicated because unity implies the unification of different things, parts, people. This is true of communities, biology, and the Universe itself. In this sermon we’ll consider how increasing complexification is a driving force behind our evolution toward wholeness.