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I wrote this sermon yesterday. I’ve never written a sermon so late in the piece.   Even though all the data points available indicated a Yes defeat, I wasn’t ready to abandon hope for what tomorrow would look like. Now here we are. Tomorrow. This isn’t a sermon that is designed to heal us. ThatContinue reading “This is what tomorrow looks like”

Having studied in the United Kingdom for five years, I’ve been following that country’s recent political dramas with a morbid curiosity. After a record 45 days in office, Prime Minister Liz Truss was forced to resign after public backlash against an economic policy which cut taxes for the richest. The policy led to an increaseContinue reading “The Sycamore Tree: mercy, allyship, and justice”

As people concerned about social justice, we frequently bristle when we hear the offer of “thoughts and prayers” in response to suffering. It can feel flimsy and flippant, callous, and hollow. Merely thinking about and praying for something does not require us to be or do anything. The most egregious use of the sentiment isContinue reading “Thoughts and prayers”

In March last year, almost one year ago, Clare Menck stood where I am standing today and preached to us. It remains, and I suspect will forever remain, the most powerful sermon I have ever heard. In it, Clare tackled what we called “the tricky text” of Chapters 19-21 of The Book of Judges. It’sContinue reading “Grief and God: a sermon in memory of Clare”

When you go through a period of discernment in the Uniting Church, as I am doing, you get assigned a mentor. Mine is lovely, and intelligent, and wise, and when I asked him whether he had any readings to recommend for a sermon on Christ the King he paused rather thoughtfully, and then said …Continue reading “Sermon for Christ the King”

On this day in 1977, the spacecraft Voyager 1 took the first picture of the planet Earth and its Moon in a single frame. Astronauts have said a lot about the mental effect of seeing Earth from space. It’s actually so common it’s been given a name – it’s called the Overview Effect. Edgar Mitchell,Continue reading “Address for the Baha’i International Day of Peace”

Many of us gather here today feeling weary.  Women among us are weary. They are weary of having to defend their bodies from predation. They are weary of being spoken at, spoken for and spoken over by people who call them liars and drunk little girls and then expect them to smilemore. They are wearyContinue reading “The Sermon after Easter”