Podcast
The Search for Living Prophets
Hosted by Marc Maxmeister · EN
A series for activists who want to work for change in a spiritually grounded, healing-transformative way. Inspired by sermons from Christian leaders, universalist ministers, mennonites, UMC, and other liberal religious voices.
65episodes
Episodes
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The fierce ugency of now – Rob Hardies
Oct 9, 2017Tap to summarizeRob Hardies – The fierce ugency of now (sermon at All souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Washington, DC) is about the Treyvon Martin story and how it relates to the 1963 march on Washington, when a pastor at this very church was killed in Selma Alabama – James Reeb. Lessons for today. http://ia800408.us.archive.org/26/items/uu-fierce-urgency-of-now/13.18.25TheFierceUrgencyOfNow.mp3
Transcribe →What is Peace, really?
Oct 9, 2017Tap to summarize“They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.” Pastor Deniece Mason explains what this means in a modern context. She points out that Memorial Day wasn’t a holiday before 1971. And long before that, it’s origins come from women in Mississippi who, while decorating the graves of their ancestors in a cemetery, noticed some long neglected overgrown graves. These were for union soldiers. And they decided to clean these up and put flowers on them, because it didn’t matter that they were men who fought against their own ancestors. Humanity mattered more. Fast forward a few generations to a time when Memorial Day and Veterans Day have become more about the glory of soldiers and their sacrifice and not about the sacrifices we must all make to bring peace. We must all be able to recognize the human on the other side of a conflict. (Nov 11, like Memorial Day, was co-opted from its global origin as Armistice Day – a day that marks the end of World War I everywhere else – to glorify Power instead of Peace.) This swords to plowshares passage is found in two Hebrew books, and on the walls of the United Nations. It is the central promise of the Peace-loving Christian faith. Let our holidays be Holy-days again, as we find meaning in the pursuit of alternatives to strengthening the hand of those who accept war. “As Christians when we read about this passage, we think it has little meaning today because we think about Peace as a noun,” Mason says. “It is a verb. It is what we’re called to be, to live into. It is the word Shalom. Shalom is not just Peace, but also Completeness. Everything one needs to live a full life. Back to the garden of Eden. Perfection. Justice. Neighborliness.” http://ia601505.us.archive.org/27/items/WhatIsPeaceReallyPlowsharesHolidaysHolyDaysShalom-DenieceMason-UMC-TX/What%20is%20Peace,%20really%20-%20plowshares,%20holidays,%20holy-days%20-%20Shalom%20-%20Deniece%20Mason%20UMC%20TX.mp3
Transcribe →03.01.19 Most Durable Power
Oct 8, 2017Tap to summarizeThis sermon explores what some call the roots of religion: awe and humility. How does our particular faith, Unitarian Universalism, address these two large concepts? Can we learn to say, “We don’t know?” with awe and humility? The Rev. Barbara Wells serves as co-minister (with her husband, Jaco ten Hove) at Paint Branch UU Church in Adelphi, MD. Sunday, January 19, 2003 at 10:50am: ‘The Most Durable Power’ — Rev. Robert M. Hardies https://ia601201.us.archive.org/25/items/03.01.19-Most-Durable-Power-h6bzfe/03.01.19MostDurablePower.mp3
Transcribe →Creating sanctuary after Trump
Oct 7, 2017Tap to summarizeIn the days after the 2016 election with a surprising Trump victory, many in the congregation were shocked and horrified and despondent. Rob Hardies’s sermon struck a perfect balance between accepting the results and preparing All Souls Church as a “sanctuary” for the times ahead. He reminded us that the church’s bell, crafted by Paul Revere’s son, has tolled for the powerless in past times. It tolled for John Brown when he was hung for his abolitionist raid on Harper’s Ferry. It tolled for the Emancipation Proclamation, and the end of the civil war. It tolled for MLK’s 1963 march on Washington. And it tolled when marriage equality for DC residents was signed into law in this sanctuary. And it will toll again as the beautiful people of liberal religion work for justice. https://archive.org/download/11.13.2016TheThingsThatMatter/11.13.2016%20The%20Things%20That%20Matter.mp3 https://archive.org/details/11.13.2016TheThingsThatMatter
Transcribe →How Hope – faith in the future – Transforms and Sustains
Oct 7, 2017Tap to summarizeFrom the Gospel story of the woman who sneaks through the crowd to touch Jesus’s robe because she believes she can be healed, Deniece Mason explains why there is more to the story of a nameless, sick, ostracized woman than it first seems. This story is about coping with and hoping through tragedy in our own lives. When Jesus says, “Daughter, your faith has made you well, and now go in peace and be healed,” the original meaning has a deeper connotation. It’s more like, “Your faith has given your soul lasting salvation, now go in peace and heal yourself.” Interesting how one much heal emotionally before physical cures can happen. The preacher explains that hopes are not dreams. Hope is faith in the future. In our moments of worst suffering, hope means to believe that they way we feel at this moment is not the way we will always feel. https://ia801506.us.archive.org/2/items/DenieceMasonMiracleOfHopePleasantValleyTXUMC/Deniece%20Mason-miracle%20of%20hope-Pleasant-Valley-TX-UMC.mp3
Transcribe →I choose you – Yahweh, Moses, and a burning bush
Oct 6, 2017Tap to summarizeThe burning bush in the desert was not something amazing, but rather something sublime that only a careful observer of the world could have noticed. And Moses, at nearly 80 years old, did not fit the mold of an activist or revolutionary. What mattered was that he was paying attention, and receptive, and didn’t turn a blind eye. Such is the way for all those who wish to make the world a better place, Deniece Mason explains (of Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church in Texas).
Transcribe →Beyond the Moment and the Movement: Spiritual Transformation in Times of Division and Fear
Oct 5, 2017Tap to summarize“Not a moment but a movement,” has become a popular slogan in progressive circles, a reminder that our social justice work must go beyond mere resistance to the immediate political crisis, and strive to build a lasting movement for justice and equality. As people of faith committed to building beloved community, we understand this. Yet I would argue that as people of faith we seek something beyond the moment and the movement. I would argue that our current climate of division and suspicion and fear offers the possibility of an even deeper transformation, a spiritual and moral transformation. This Sunday I share what’s at stake religiously in this moment.
Transcribe →Bill Quigley – Message on Law and Social Justice
Oct 2, 2017Tap to summarizeDr. Martin Luther King’s message is not for the faint of heart. You must BE WILLING TO BE UNCOMFORTABLE, because questioning our laws will make other people uncomfortable. … We must NEVER CONFUSE LAW AND JUSTICE. What is legal is often not just. 100 years ago children were employed in dangerous industries. Women and African Americans could not vote. Bosses paid workers whatever they wanted. Industrialists used police to beat up strikers, and lawyers, judges, and legislators enforced laws that we know now were terribly unjust. In the struggle for social justice, be prepared to be misunderstood and criticized. This is your purpose-filled life. (Excerpts from Quigley letter, read to music.)
Transcribe →05.10.02 Choose To Bless The World – Rob Hardies
Oct 1, 2017Tap to summarizeAs Hurricane Katrina has reminded us, inspite of our ‘melting pot’ national image, race still matters. As we strive to be an ‘evermore diverse’ congregation, how do we see and talk about the differences between us? http://s3.us.archive.org/05.10.02-Choose-To-Bless-The-World-kqj0fv/05.10.02ChooseToBlessTheWorld.mp3 Sunday, October 2, 2005 at 10:50am: ‘Choose to Bless the World’ — Rev. Robert M. Hardies
Transcribe →04.06.06 Found In Translation.mp3
Sep 27, 2017Tap to summarizeWhat’s on my mind these days? What do I see in the world? What does it mean? Sunday, June 6, 2004 at 10:50am: ‘Found in Translation’ — Rev. Robert Hardies
Transcribe →