All Souls Unitarian Church

Every child asks the big questions eventually — where do we go when we die, why do bad things happen, what's actually magic and what isn't. Rev. Dr. Nicole Kirk's son had his own answer one August morning: the acorns in the yard were magic beans, obviously.She turns that memory into a reflection on wonder, growth, and nearly 200 years of Unitarian Universalists championing both public and religious education. Drawing on Horace Mann, William Ellery Channing, and mentor Rev. Dr. Laurel Hallman, she makes the case that the goal was never to hand our children — or ourselves — the answers. It's to help us stay curious enough to keep asking.KEY QUESTIONS TO SIT WITH:

• What big questions did you have as a kid that never got answered?
• Can you slow down and sit with hard questions instead of rushing past them?
• What if curiosity mattered more than having the right answers?
• Who taught you to find magic in everyday things?
• Could you explain your faith in a way a child would understand?

CHAPTERS:0:00 Opening Music0:30 The Magic Beans2:53 Why Education Matters3:55 Unitarians Who Founded Colleges5:24 Horace Mann's Fight for Schools6:14 Teach Kids to Question7:57 You Carry a Divine Spark8:26 Two Unitarians, One Legacy9:30 How Kids Invent Religion11:05 The Risk of Bland Faith13:41 Your Own Spiritual GPS14:12 What All Souls Nurtures16:46 Let's Climb Together17:06 Closing MusicGIVE A DONATION TO HELP US SPREAD THIS LOVE BEYOND BELIEF: https://www.allsoulschurch.org/GIVE or text AllSoulsTulsa to 73256LET'S CONNECT:Facebook: /allsoulstulsaInstagram: /allsoulstulsaAll Souls Church Website: https://www.allsoulschurch.org

#AllSoulsTulsa #AllSoulsUnitarianChurch #LoveBeyondBelief #Unitarian #Universalist #UU

#AllSoulsTulsa #AllSoulsUnitarianChurch #LoveBeyondBelief #ReligiousEducation #BackToSchool

What if life came with a GPS. Not for the roads you drive, but for the ones you're not sure how to take?In his message, 'Life is a Highway' Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar continues All Souls' summer series on living in America with a personal reflection on discernment, loss, and finding direction.Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar turns the mechanics of an actual GPS — receiver, transmitter, ground system — into a map for navigating life's biggest questions.Drawing on his own experience of grief after the death of his daughter Sienna, the story of a young man facing a life-altering diagnosis, and the practices that keep us grounded before crisis hits, he makes the case that finding our way isn't a solo drive — it's a system, built together, long before we need it.QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

• How do you know if you're headed the right direction?
• What helps you recover after a devastating loss?
• Who tells you the truth when you can't see it yourself?
• What practices reignite you when you're running on empty?

CHAPTERS:0:00 Opening0:48 The Road Trip1:21 Life's Big Questions2:14 The Spiritual GPS5:00 Bill's Diagnosis7:52 Losing Sienna11:15 Receiver, Transmitter, Ground13:06 Something Bigger15:05 Blocked Signal19:15 Time to Listen21:02 Who Tells You the Truth26:16 Recalibrate

What if the answer to lingering pain lies not in forced forgiveness, but in embracing acceptance and the honest acknowledgment of injustice? As we follow the unfolding questions about justice, accountability, and the lingering scars that remain, explore how far the road to genuine healing can stretch when we stop demanding forgiveness and start bearing witness.

The message was delivered on Sunday, August 2, 2026, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Randy Lewis, Assistant Minister.

SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH OTHER VIDEOS:

@allsoulsunitarian

WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/all-souls-unitarian-church/id193096943

GIVE A DONATION TO HELP US SPREAD THIS LOVE BEYOND BELIEF:

https://www.allsoulschurch.org/GIVE

or text AllSoulsTulsa to 73256

LET'S CONNECT:

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/allsoulstulsa

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/allsoulstulsa

All Souls Church Website:

https://www.allsoulschurch.org

What does it mean to carry both grief and joy on the same road home? Rev. Dr. Nicole Kirk reflects on a solo drive down Route 66 this summer — and what 19 months of grief have taught her about memory as something we tend, together.Rev. Dr. Nicole Kirk traces a single road trip into a reflection on grief, home, and belonging. Drawing on John Steinbeck's "Mother Road," a poem by Joy Harjo, the history of Tulsa's Council Oak, and stories from members of this congregation, she makes the case that memory isn't something we carry alone — it's something a community holds with us.KEY THEMES:

• What do we choose to remember — and what do we let go?
• Can grief and joy travel the same road?
• What does it mean to "guard" a memory on purpose?
• How does a community help each other remember?
• Where is home, if it's a direction and not a place?

CHAPTERS:0:00 Introduction and road trip context1:05 Measuring distance between Oklahoma cities2:30 Route 66's 100th anniversary and Tulsa's role3:26 Steinbeck's "Mother Road" from The Grapes of Wrath5:28 Grief, 19 months after her husband's death6:50 Joy Harjo's poem "Remember"9:19 The Council Oak and Muscogee history12:10 A conversation about guarding memories13:35 A memory her son gave back to her15:00 Bluegrass music and collective memory17:07 Closing reflection and blessingSUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE: @allsoulsunitarianGIVE A DONATION TO HELP US SPREAD THIS LOVE BEYOND BELIEF: https://www.allsoulschurch.org/GIVE or text AllSoulsTulsa to 73256LET'S CONNECT:Facebook: /allsoulstulsaInstagram: /allsoulstulsaAll Souls Church Website: https://www.allsoulschurch.org

What if the love you need most right now is love for yourself? Rev. Cathey Edwards names the habit she calls "spiritual amnesia" — forgetting our own worth — and offers a simple two-word practice to interrupt it.Guest minister Rev. Cathey Edwards, part of the All Souls community since the 1980s, explores what it means to turn Love Beyond Belief inward. In this message, delivered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Rev. Edwards makes the case that self-compassion isn't a self-help detour from justice work, it's the foundation of it.KEY THEMES:- Self-compassion as a spiritual practice- The "just like me" practice for dissolving judgment- Naming "spiritual amnesia" as forgetting our own worth- Sharon Salzberg's "but I love you" technique- Truth-telling as an ethical, not just emotional, stance- Holding our own contradictions and multitudesSUBSCRIBE TO WATCH OTHER VIDEOS: @allsoulsunitarianWANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1TOSFe2QQ0Di7zeiwlcZgv and Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-souls-unitarian-church/id193096943GIVE A DONATION TO HELP US SPREAD THIS LOVE BEYOND BELIEF: https://www.allsoulschurch.org/GIVE or text AllSoulsTulsa to 73256LET'S CONNECT:Facebook: /allsoulstulsaInstagram: /allsoulstulsaAll Souls Church Website: https://www.allsoulschurch.org#AllSoulsTulsa #AllSoulsUnitarianChurch #LoveBeyondBelief #SelfCompassion #Tulsa

The reflection was delivered on Sunday, July 12, 2026, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Randy Lewis, Assistant Minister.

Explore how everyday objects become silent keepers of love, loss, and hope, and discover what unseen stories emerge when we open a forgotten chest or a sealed letter. What would happen if the treasures we hoard were actually mirrors reflecting the lives of those we’ve never met? Dive into a journey that reveals how letting go can uncover deeper connections and inspire a legacy far beyond material possessions.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/all-souls-unitarian-church/id193096943

https://youtu.be/Zn7LKgJhwwc

https://www.allsoulschurch.org/GIVE or text AllSoulsTulsa to 73256

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allsoulstulsa
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allsoulstulsa
All Souls Church Website: https://www.allsoulschurch.org

What is the 4th of July to someone who was never free to celebrate it? In 1852, Frederick Douglass posed that very question to a nation still holding Black Americans in bondage — and the answer he gave still cuts just as deep today.

Subscribe:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/all-souls-unitarian-church/id193096943

Watch this message on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/qzC6LDiTrek

Give a donation to help us spread Love Beyond Belief:

https://www.allsoulschurch.org/GIVE or text AllSoulsTulsa to 73256

Let's connect:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allsoulstulsa

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allsoulstulsa

All Souls Church Website: https://www.allsoulschurch.org

250 years ago, a group of rebels signed their names to words that could have gotten them killed — words that have never stopped being dangerous. What does it really mean to be a conservative in America today? And what if everything you thought you knew about that word was backwards? From Frederick Douglass to Abraham Lincoln to Martin Luther King Jr., generation after generation has reached back to the same founding promise — not as a relic, but as a lifeline. And buried inside that promise is a radical idea about happiness that may be more urgent now than ever.

Subscribe:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/all-souls-unitarian-church/id193096943

Watch this message on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/qzC6LDiTrek

Give a donation to help us spread Love Beyond Belief:

https://www.allsoulschurch.org/GIVE or text AllSoulsTulsa to 73256

Let's connect:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allsoulstulsa

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allsoulstulsa

All Souls Church Website: https://www.allsoulschurch.org

One night. One stage. One choice that kept a city from burning. And a question that has been following us ever since, hidden in a song we thought we already knew.

What does it cost to love something honestly, after you have seen the whole of it? And what are we quietly handing down while we look the other way?

The reflection was delivered on Sunday, June 21, 2026, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Randy Lewis, Assistant Minister.

Subscribe:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/all-souls-unitarian-church/id193096943

https://youtu.be/qzC6LDiTrek

https://www.allsoulschurch.org/GIVE or text AllSoulsTulsa to 73256

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allsoulstulsa
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allsoulstulsa
All Souls Church Website: https://www.allsoulschurch.org

Watch this message on YouTube:Give a donation to help us spread Love Beyond Belief:Let's connect:

What does it truly take to change not just laws, but hearts? History has shown that the most powerful social transformations don't happen overnight — they unfold through years of patient, courageous, sometimes uncomfortable work done together in community. From a two-spirit love song honoring ancestors to the story of an elderly woman who stumbled into the wrong classroom and walked out transformed, this is a story about what it looks like when a community refuses to leave anyone behind. As headwinds grow stronger and hard conversations become harder, one question remains: can love — not just policy — be the foundation that makes change last?

Subscribe:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/all-souls-unitarian-church/id193096943

https://youtu.be/3QwV-BEDP8Y

https://www.allsoulschurch.org/GIVE or text AllSoulsTulsa to 73256

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allsoulstulsa
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allsoulstulsa
All Souls Church Website: https://www.allsoulschurch.org

Watch this message on YouTube:Give a donation to help us spread Love Beyond Belief:Let's connect: