Tuesday, 26 July 2011, 01:46 am PDT
Featured Ministers
Sermon: "Speaking Honestly of God" (Delivered 7-24-11)
Opening Words[These words come from the book From Zip Lines to Hosaphones: Dispatches from the Search for Truth and Meaning by Jane Rzepka. ]What gods, if any, does a religious liberal look for? [â... [read more]
RevThom
Sermon: "The Promise Making, Promise Breaking, Promise Renewing Animal" (Delivered 3-6-11)
[This sermon was originally delivered on March 6, 2011]Each week at the beginning of the service we repeat these words:Love is the doctrine of this church, The quest for truth is its sacrament, And... [read more]
RevThom
Book Review: Death of the Liberal Class
I just finished reading Pulitzer Prize winning author Chris Hedges’ eighth book, The Death of the Liberal Class, which was published in October, 2010. It is the sixth book by him that I’ve rea... [read more]
RevThom
Sermon: "The Dark Side of Self-Reliance" (Delivered 2-20-11)
[This sermon was originally delivered on February 20, 2011]I do not tell this story because I think you are all that interested in stories about ministers. Actually, it’s probably healthier for ... [read more]
RevThom
The Good and the Interesting of 80/35
Over the Independence Day weekend Anne and I traveled to Des Moines to attend the 80/35 music festival, named for the Eisenhowerian intersection of the two interstate highways in central Iowa. The... [read more]
RevThom
Exporting Hate: Lethal American Meddling in Uganda
Lou Engle’s gravelly voice catches and his face contorts. He looks perpetually as if he is about to be overcome with emotion. He is wearing a yellow, short-sleeve, button-down shirt. He is the... [read more]
RevThom
Homily: "Prepare to Launch" [Delivered 5-15-11]
[This homily was preached as a part of our Coming of Age recognition service on May 15, 2011. ]When I was the age of our Coming of Age youth, I belonged to the model rocket club at my junior high s... [read more]
RevThom
When Prophecy Fails
To tell you the truth, I did not pay much attention to all the talk about the eccentric and rich minister who convinced a lot of people to believe that the rapture was going to occur last weekend. ... [read more]
RevThom
Feeling No Need to Comment on Bin Laden
On Monday, May 2, Anne and I started our morning, as we often do, with a brisk morning walk around Loose Park. On our way home we passed a Kansas City Star newspaper box and saw big bold black hea... [read more]
RevThom
Sermon: "Sustained by the Psalms or Something" (Delivered 4-17-11)
Reading“The Door” by Jane Hirshfield:A note waterfalls steadilythrough us,just below hearing. Or this early lightstreaming through dusty glass:what enters, enters like that,unstoppable gift. An... [read more]
RevThom
Book Review: "The Instructions" by Adam Levin
The truth is this: I love experimental fiction. Give me stream-of-conscious paragraphs that go on for pages. Give me non-standard usage and invented vernacular. Give me that feeling of finishin... [read more]
RevThom
Sermon: "Universalism: Free to a Good Home" (Delivered 3-27-11)
A few years ago I attended a lecture at William Jewel College in Liberty, Missouri. The speaker was Brian Mc Laren, a minister, author, leader, and theologian. Mc Laren is considered the grandfat... [read more]
RevThom
"'Illegal' means 'Illegal'" except when it doesn't
Meet Leeland Davidson: 95 year-old resident of Centralia, Washington. Decorated World War II veteran. Not a United States citizen. Mr. Davidson was born in British Columbia in 1916. Both of his... [read more]
RevThom
Sermon: "Marching in the Streets in the Middle East" (Delivered 3-13-11)
[Note: This sermon was delivered approximately a week before the United States, Great Britain, and France launched airstrikes against Libya. I have decided not to change my original sermon in ligh... [read more]
RevThom
Befuddled by the Bracket
On Sunday night the bracket for the NCAA “March Madness” Tournament was released. Last year I posted a number of my predictions for the tournament on my blog. I made my picks arrogantly. I o... [read more]
RevThom
Testimony: "I Stand with Planned Parenthood"
Yesterday I spoke at the “I Stand With Planned Parenthood” press conference and rally in Topeka. The Kansas legislature is considering numerous pieces of anti-choice, anti-woman’s health leg... [read more]
RevThom
Sermon: "Energy is Eternal Delight" (Delivered 2-13-11)
It is something that happens to every minister, I think. Until yesterday it had never happened to me. Yesterday I was flying home from the West Coast. I had spent the week on the Monterey Penins... [read more]
RevThom
Sermon: "Self-Reliance Revisited" (Delivered 2-6-11)
Before I tell you what I think I know about self-reliance, I want to know what you think you know. So, let’s start with a game. I want you to visualize a person or a type of person you would co... [read more]
RevThom
Emerson and the Occult: An Essay inspired by Jeffrey Kripal's "Authors of the Impossible"
Whenever I have had the opportunity to lecture on the Transcendentalists, which isn’t that often, I’ve always made it a point to mention how the Transcendentalists dabbled in the paranormal and... [read more]
RevThom
Message to the Community (excerpts from the memorial service for Jack Proctor)
Yesterday I co-officiated at a memorial service for a teen who took his own life. The service was held at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, and I was joined by Ka... [read more]
RevThom
"Remembrance Sunday 2011" (Delivered 1-23-11)
Click here for a list of notable people who died in 2011. Click here for a blog post about what music I listened to while I wrote this sermon. Reading by Lucille Cliftoni am running into a new year... [read more]
RevThom
Soundtrack to a Sermon
Last summer my friend Paul, a Unitarian Universalist in Rockford, Illinois, introduced me to the music of Bon Iver. He even ordered me a copy of Bon Iver’s only album and had it shipped to me. ... [read more]
RevThom
Notable People Who Died in 2010
As a part of our annual "Remembrance Sunday" service, I create and distribute a list of some well-known people who died in the past year. (Click here to check out my sermon from Janua... [read more]
RevThom
On Arizona: A Lament, A Plea, A Difficult Making Sense (Delivered 1-9-11)
It was my intention to speak about complexity. In a sentence, that sermon was going to be about one of the core characteristics that sets us apart as religious liberals, namely our awareness of li... [read more]
RevThom
No "Next Year" for the Kansas City Chiefs
A little "sports blogging" on a slushy, snowy Monday afternoon. .. I grew up as a fan of the hard luck Boston Red Sox. Every October, at least until 2004, a familiar phrase reverbera... [read more]