This is an inspirational poem by Tom Hoornstra, Keweenaw UU Fellowship, Houghton, MI, who attended our Celebration Service at the UUA-GA. He was inspired after hearing our Celebration Service.
Scarlet Cord
How often I’ve seen it: God’s secret servants,
guardian angels, some of them human;
the saving stroke, the outstretched hand,
the line flung to save the drowning man;
the cord strung across a Jericho doorway,
marking the ones set aside for protection;
the scarlet streak on Israel’s dwellings,
the five scarlet wounds flowing rivers of healing,
the signs of His covenant-love on the altar,
seals of betrothal, standing to witness:
“This one is mine, and noone may touch them!”
And there is a River faithfully flowing
down through the years of my life’s many seasons,
like a thread running through a tapestry, weaving,
binding the wounds and stitching the edges,
the ripped, ragged seams, the gaps in-between
these striving attempts and sad incompletions,
the things I did and my heart’s real intentions;
A touch of grace when I least expect it,
a song in the night, the words of a poet,
the music contained in a reddening sunset;
a face in the crowd, the smile of a sister,
the soft, secret force which binds us together.
And so I have found that it’s not by compulsion,
nor by decree, nor force of persuasion,
doctrines, religions, organizations
that a heart is redeemed and bound to another,
but by covenant-love, faithful, persistent,
the gentle betrothal of spirit to spirit.
Prophet of old, truly you saw it…
“Not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit”,
says the Lord Almighty. Zech. 4:6
The grace we can experience when we’re emptied enough, transparent enough in our feeling and perception, to see the beauty in one another and in Creation all around us, and so walk in the harmony, grace, and blessedness of that beauty.
Dear Oak Ridge UU's,
I attended, and loved, your improvisational worship at GA. The music and message struck some chords with my own experience, as expressed in poetry: see Attached.
Tom Hoornstra, Keweenaw UU Fellowship, Houghton, MI.
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A Voyage of Discovery
We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Psalms 96:11-12
Let the heavens rejoice,
and let the earth be glad;
let the sea roar,
and the fullness thereof.
Let the field be joyful,
and all that is therein:
then shall all the
trees of the wood
rejoice
and let the earth be glad;
let the sea roar,
and the fullness thereof.
Let the field be joyful,
and all that is therein:
then shall all the
trees of the wood
rejoice
In February, We Care
Resolve to be Aware
Awareness
Small as is our whole system compared with the infinitude of creation, brief as is our life compared with the cycles of time, we are so tethered to all by the beautiful dependencies of law, that not only the sparrow’s fall is felt to the uttermost bound, but the vibrations set in motion by the words that we utter reach through all space and the tremor is felt through all time.
—Maria Mitchell, nineteenth-century Unitarian astronomer
February Sunday Services!
In the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Psalms are 150 songs or verses from a wide range of life experience and faith stances. It is as if the whole community’s diversity—or the whole diversity within one person’s life—has been captured in a series of lamentations, praise-songs, petitions for mercy, and declarations of anger.
In February, ORUUC will focus on the spiritual theme of reverence. We won’t just talk about it—we’ll practice it. Let us share the psalms of our lives, and of all of life, in our worship together.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Psalm in the Swamp
Rev. Jake Bohstedt Morrill, leading both services
Science and religion are often foolishly pitted against each other. But in this age of environmental disaster, we need a worldview that unites the world as it is with the world as it ought to be--that links facts and values. As we begin this month of reverence, we'll explore a theology built from the stuff of creation, that does not reject life, but revels in it.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Psalm in the City
Rev. Jake Bohstedt Morrill and the Welcoming Congregation Team, co-leading both services
The Bible begins with the simple and pastoral society of Adam and Eve and concludes with the complex fever dream, the urban visions, of the Book of Revelation. Our world in the twenty-first century is more like the latter--a tapestry of cultures, values, and lives which defy simple reduction. Throughout this diversity, Unitarian Universalism asserts the unity of love. On this Valentine's Day, along with many of our sister congregations, we will take the chance to affirm our faith in a wider love that encompasses each person and each family, and fuels our work toward aligning the world with the reality of this love. Because this will be a service about justice, this will be a service about love.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Psalm in the Highway
Members of ORUUC
As Jake preaches at the new UU congregation in Maryville, members of our community will share their stories of overcoming obstacles and learning the practice of reverence, each in their own different way in the journey.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Psalm in the Storm
Rev. Jake Bohstedt Morrill, leading both services
No matter our positive thoughts on sunny days, times come when the rain won't stop, when we're caught in a storm. In times of challenge, some of us may secretly envy those of an authoritarian faith, who have something solid to cling to when times are hard. How can we, of a free faith, stand firm in our faith when we are challenged, when hard times come? How can the hopeful faith of Unitarian Universalism engage the reality of evil?
In February, ORUUC will focus on the spiritual theme of reverence. We won’t just talk about it—we’ll practice it. Let us share the psalms of our lives, and of all of life, in our worship together.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Psalm in the Swamp
Rev. Jake Bohstedt Morrill, leading both services
Science and religion are often foolishly pitted against each other. But in this age of environmental disaster, we need a worldview that unites the world as it is with the world as it ought to be--that links facts and values. As we begin this month of reverence, we'll explore a theology built from the stuff of creation, that does not reject life, but revels in it.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Psalm in the City
Rev. Jake Bohstedt Morrill and the Welcoming Congregation Team, co-leading both services
The Bible begins with the simple and pastoral society of Adam and Eve and concludes with the complex fever dream, the urban visions, of the Book of Revelation. Our world in the twenty-first century is more like the latter--a tapestry of cultures, values, and lives which defy simple reduction. Throughout this diversity, Unitarian Universalism asserts the unity of love. On this Valentine's Day, along with many of our sister congregations, we will take the chance to affirm our faith in a wider love that encompasses each person and each family, and fuels our work toward aligning the world with the reality of this love. Because this will be a service about justice, this will be a service about love.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Psalm in the Highway
Members of ORUUC
As Jake preaches at the new UU congregation in Maryville, members of our community will share their stories of overcoming obstacles and learning the practice of reverence, each in their own different way in the journey.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Psalm in the Storm
Rev. Jake Bohstedt Morrill, leading both services
No matter our positive thoughts on sunny days, times come when the rain won't stop, when we're caught in a storm. In times of challenge, some of us may secretly envy those of an authoritarian faith, who have something solid to cling to when times are hard. How can we, of a free faith, stand firm in our faith when we are challenged, when hard times come? How can the hopeful faith of Unitarian Universalism engage the reality of evil?
In January, We Care
January Sunday Services
We Welcome You!
January 10, 2009: Bring-a-Friend Sunday
Ubuntu: A Promise We Make to Each Other
Rev. Jake Bohstedt Morrill, leading both services
Ubuntu is a Xhosa concept from South Africa that describes a sense of community and human interdependence. Speaking of 'Ubuntu,' South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu has said, 'The solitary human being is a contradiction in terms and therefore you seek to work for the common good because your humanity comes into its own in belonging.' On this Sunday, come to experience the 'Ubuntu' of ORUUC and to feel fully human in your belonging.
January 17, 2009: Martin Luther King, Jr, Sunday
Vision: A Promise We Make to Our Grandchildren
The Youth Group, leading both services
At the Ministry Vision session last fall, a leading theme of people’s hopes was greater youth involvement and leadership. ORUUC is blessed by strong youth leaders, who have a keen eye on the present and the future of UUism. Today, we’ll hear news from the front-lines of our faith.
January 24, 2009
Hope: A Promise We Make in the Dark
Caitlin Cotter and Rev. Jake Bohstedt Morrill,
co-leading both services
Winter is a time of cold and darkness, when the joyful evidence of life can be hard to find. After the celebrations of the turning of the year are over, where do we look for meaning in this season? What is winter's power and potential, and how is it important for our personal journeys? Caitlin S. Cotter is a third generation UU and a native Tennessean. After graduating from Bryn Mawr College in 2008, Caitlin spent a year as a professional environmentalist and now is working as a batik artist. In January, she'll take part in a social justice residency at The Mountain before beginning seminary studies in the fall, toward UU ministry.
January 31, 2009
Recovery: When We Break Our Promises
Rev. Jake Bohstedt Morrill, leading both services
Well, as it turns out, making promises is easier than keeping them. But, good luck: when we inevitably fail in our quest for perfection, what really matters is how we respond. Do we give up? Do we despair? Or do we take a breath, come to center, and go on with intention. How can we do this?
January 10, 2009: Bring-a-Friend Sunday
Ubuntu: A Promise We Make to Each Other
Rev. Jake Bohstedt Morrill, leading both services
Ubuntu is a Xhosa concept from South Africa that describes a sense of community and human interdependence. Speaking of 'Ubuntu,' South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu has said, 'The solitary human being is a contradiction in terms and therefore you seek to work for the common good because your humanity comes into its own in belonging.' On this Sunday, come to experience the 'Ubuntu' of ORUUC and to feel fully human in your belonging.
January 17, 2009: Martin Luther King, Jr, Sunday
Vision: A Promise We Make to Our Grandchildren
The Youth Group, leading both services
At the Ministry Vision session last fall, a leading theme of people’s hopes was greater youth involvement and leadership. ORUUC is blessed by strong youth leaders, who have a keen eye on the present and the future of UUism. Today, we’ll hear news from the front-lines of our faith.
January 24, 2009
Hope: A Promise We Make in the Dark
Caitlin Cotter and Rev. Jake Bohstedt Morrill,
co-leading both services
Winter is a time of cold and darkness, when the joyful evidence of life can be hard to find. After the celebrations of the turning of the year are over, where do we look for meaning in this season? What is winter's power and potential, and how is it important for our personal journeys? Caitlin S. Cotter is a third generation UU and a native Tennessean. After graduating from Bryn Mawr College in 2008, Caitlin spent a year as a professional environmentalist and now is working as a batik artist. In January, she'll take part in a social justice residency at The Mountain before beginning seminary studies in the fall, toward UU ministry.
January 31, 2009
Recovery: When We Break Our Promises
Rev. Jake Bohstedt Morrill, leading both services
Well, as it turns out, making promises is easier than keeping them. But, good luck: when we inevitably fail in our quest for perfection, what really matters is how we respond. Do we give up? Do we despair? Or do we take a breath, come to center, and go on with intention. How can we do this?
In December, We Care
In November, We Inspire
Receive with Open Heart
Whatever we are waiting for - peace of mind, contentment, grace, the inner awareness of simple abundance - it will surely come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart.
—Sarah Ban Breathnach
Everything comes to us that belongs to us if we create the capacity to receive it.
—Rabindranath Tagore
—Sarah Ban Breathnach
Everything comes to us that belongs to us if we create the capacity to receive it.
—Rabindranath Tagore
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