People's Church Of Kalamazoo

The Jewish and Christian traditions of our heritage include deep, rich and varied practices of meditation and prayer, which offer useful and perhaps surprising resources for our own spiritual practice and religious growth.

If UUs have anything like a liturgical calendar (a plan for Sundays which includes special celebrations and holidays) then Earth Day must be counted as one of our important observances. We welcome our newly re-constituted Green Sanctuary Committee this morning, to help us focus on right relations with the planet we are part of, and bring us up-to-date on our progress toward becoming a certified Green Sanctuary congregation. Please stay for a lunch of locally grown foods sponsored by the Green Sanctuary Committee.

Today is Commitment Sunday for our annual Stewardship Drive. All members and friends are encouraged to come, and to bring your pledge form so that we may gather our pledges together. The aim, of course, is for every member and friend of the church to turn in their annual pledge form. This lets us know that you are still part of the congregation, interested in its health and activities. If you can't come on this morning, please contact the church office to let us know your pledge is coming. Even with all of life's ups and downs and joys and sorrows, we are more blessed than we know, so we gather to celebrate the gifts we receive and the gifts we give to each other.

All ages join together to celebrate the season of renewal and rebirth, with stories and songs and sharing. Elementary-aged children can join in the traditional Easter Egg Hunt following the service, before re-joining the rest for a finger-food brunch. Please bring holiday goodies to share—muffins and breads, fruits, veggies and cheeses.

Many of the most important parts of the Jewish and Christian traditions for UUs, in my opinion, are the critiques and reforms articulated by feminist and liberation theologians. The modern work of this genre is a source of deep and strong inspi-ration for me, and gives me foundations for much of the social justice work I do. To help celebrate these movements, what could be better than the music of emma’s revolution? (sorry, audio has static interference)

Jill will welcome the Rev. Colleen Squires, who currently serves the oldest UU congregation in the city of Boston, First Parish Church in Dorchester, and the oldest UU ministry-at-large, estab-lished by the Rev. Joseph Tuckerman, known today as the UU Urban Ministry. Come learn about these vibrant ministries, and how they are positioned to serve future generations.

A few years ago, my mentor and former colleague Marcus Borg published a new book, written with his friend John Dominic Crossan, titled The Last Week. It urged readers of Christian scriptures and tradition to stay focused on the prophetic imperative, on what Jesus emphasized in his example and teaching, namely justice and compassion and a fair share for all—what Jesus called “The Kingdom of God.” That message remains at the heart of UU Christianity, which is a significant part of the Unitarian and UU movement around the world.