Rev. Chuck Freeman: In the Spirit of Yahrzeit: This word literally means “time of [one] year”. In the Jewish faith, yahrzeit is the yearly ceremony to honor the death of a loved one. Mourners participate in various customs like reciting the Kaddish prayer, lighting a candle which burns for 24 hours, fasting, visiting the gravesite, and doing a good deed in the deceased’s name. We hold our yearly remembrance service in this spirit. [24:41]
Rev. Kathleen Ellis: The Cost Of Freedom: I’m thinking of the freedoms most of us take for granted: freedom of religion, freedom to remain ignorant, freedom to protest, and so on. We’re free to choose, but what? And why? [20:24]
Rev. Chuck Freeman: The Miracle of Compassion: During Chuck’s chaplaincy days in the Texas Medical Center he was heart sick trying to minister to a young woman who was dying of cancer and her husband. In a flash his despair yielded a moment of insight regarding one of Jesus’ miraculous acts. The applications of this enlightenment are numerous, ranging from the personal to ministry in our Live Oak community. [19:01]
Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Pardon Me!: This evening marks the conclusion of Jewish High Holy Days, a period of atonement. In Judaism, if someone causes you harm, but sincerely apologizes and tries to make amends, you are religiously obligated to forgive. Without this apology, there is no such obligation. Today is the day to ask forgiveness of G-d for offenses against G-d, but G-d cannot forgive harm done to another person without that apology. Other religions have a different approach to forgiveness. Buddhists see forgiveness as a way to keep painful emotions from damaging your own mental health. Do you need to forgive someone? Do you need to forgive yourself? [24:38]
Rev. Chuck Freeman: Root Power: One February evening in 1994 during Live Oak’s seedling days, the community decided to employ consensus as our governing model. Shared power and shared leadership has been at the root of our genius over the years. As we grow bigger branches, the consensus model is being stretched and challenged. How can we maintain the spirit of consensus without making molasses seem speedy? What are the spiritual principles of consensus that go beyond “church governance”, which enhance all relationships? [36:01]
Ryan Valentine: Turning Public School Into Sunday School: Long a contentious venue for church-state issues, public schools have become the front line in Texas’ “culture war”. The religious right is busy dreaming up new ways to introduce religious ideology into the classroom: creationism (or intelligent design) into biology textbooks; stripping out all disease prevention and family planning from health textbooks in favor of abstinence-only instruction; elective courses in the Bible, many of them devotional in nature; teaching fundamentalist, Protestant beliefs as fact. Come hear what you can do to protect the line separating church and state in our neighborhood schools. [25:11]
Rev. Chuck Freeman: Flame On!: Every Sunday we join UUs around the globe in lighting what is known as the Flaming Chalice. How did this come to be a common symbol for our churches? What are the meanings that underlie it? We have a real purty one now! Today we will dedicate our new chalice, bathing it in history and future vision. [18:08]
Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Foundation for Democracy: Leander Independent School District has a vision: “Every student is encouraged, supported, and challenged to achieve the highest levels of knowledge, skills, and character.” Yet schools in Leander, Cedar Park, Austin, and Texas face enormous challenges in helping all of our students achieve these standards. Changing demographics mean that more families who speak no English and have no high school graduates at home attend Texas schools. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita propelled 46,000 students into Texas and 35,000 of them are staying. Many of them will need extra assistance in meeting state standards. Can we do something about the schools? [25:52]
Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Longing, Belonging: As distant as we are from our families, many of us long for community – a place to belong where people know us more deeply than in coffee hour conversations. As a spiritual community we long to deepen and sustain our spiritual foundations. How can we provide this for ourselves and for those who need us? [20:01]
Rev. Chuck Freeman and Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Water in a Dry Land: During summer travels we have invited you to collect water from your various destinations. We share stories of our sojourns and pour the water into a common vessel to symbolize our ongoing connection, our return from summer travels, and our interconnection with all creation. Kathleen’s brief homily focuses on the metaphor of water in the midst of global warming and Middle East warfare. [30:39]
