East Shore UUC - Sermons

Upcoming Sermon Topics

Sunday, August 17, 2008, 10:30 a.m.

Religion IS a Laughing Matter; The Sermon as Stand Up

Rev Art Severance

Laughter in church? I have been told that I should have been a stand up comedian, and sometimes I say that I am! Only that's not all that I am. I love stories that make us laugh while making us think, that poke gentle fun at tradition, at stuffiness, at hypocrisy, yea, even our own. Laughter is also healing and spiritual if it is done right and is not cruel or hurtful, and yes, that sometimes is a challenge. Laughter opens the heart as well as the minds; it brings happiness, and maybe we will leave here on Sunday morning with a light heart and a smile to get us through a difficult week.

Special music by Diana Packer and Ardis Krill, viola and harp.

Sunday, August 24, 2008, 10:30 a.m.

Creative Interchange: The Process of Theologizing

Rev Art Severance

All sermons are a form of ?creative interchange,? a term from UU philosopher, Henry Nelson Wieman and Process Theology. Weiman was once challenged by an orthodox minister who had heard him lecture on some aspect of process theology. The minister asked, ?Where, in your theology, is God,?? to which Weiman is reported to have answered: ?If you tell me your experience, and I really, really hear you, and then I tell you of my experience, and you really, really hear me, there, in that exchange, is God, and we are all three transformed."

Special music by Rosemary Tropman

Sunday, August 31, 2008, 10:30 a.m.

Spirituality for the Theologically Challenged

Rev Art Severance

When I was the minister in San Antonio, I used to get a lot of calls from non-members to perform weddings from people who would always describe themselves the same way- "we're spiritual, but not religious." They wanted a wedding ceremony that was spiritual they said, but they really meant was that they had been turned off by traditional religion, especially traditional religious language, liturgy, and what seemed to them downright LIES! Yet so many people still wanted the wedding to be more than a justice of the peace making it legal. Why do people come to church? Come find out.

Special music by Robert Pierce, baritone & Sherry Niederkorn, accompanist

Sunday, September 7, 2008, 10:30 a.m.

Homecoming, Return to a New Year

Water Communion

Rev Art Severance

Water Communion an multigenerational service for the whole family to begin the new church year with a mingling of the waters from our travels this summer and a sharing of the stories. Our vacations are a form of sacred pilgrimages which were to sacred sites: rivers, lakes, seas, pools. Vacations are for fun. We are refreshed, and there is a spirituality in that as well. Families bring up a small amount of water and share the source, and pour it in a large bowl. Later, the water will be used to refresh the memorial garden.

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