There is certainly religious and spiritual value in telling difficult truths. But is there spiritual truth to be found in indulgence of fantasy? How can we live through our most difficult moments if we do not have an idea of what something better would look like?

All congregations are built on love. Love takes many forms, but it is the secret ingredient that is always required to make a church community happen. Each of us has love to offer in some way. How can each of us work towards bringing more of the love that we have to offer into the spaces we occupy?

There are moments when gathering together in Beloved Community is itself a creative, change-making, even subversive act. As Unitarian Universalists, we create positive change in our world and gather together in a spirit of welcome and celebration; this week we will be examining the connections between these two activities.

Poet William Butler Yeats once asked, "Was there ever dog that praised his fleas?" My answer is yes, probably. And, if not, there should be. What can sometimes feel to us like fleas are often a new way of thinking and creating. If we are lucky, we even had a hand in inspiring this new way.

Attention is the beginning of devotion, says poet Mary Oliver. It is one of the pieces of living deeply, fully and well in this world. How do we bring our attention to what is most needy in the world? How do we cultivate resilience in our paying of attention?

The first sermon in a new series called “Turn the World Around.” This month we will also be discussing the poetry of William Butler Yeats. This week we ask, how accurate is our sense of nostalgia for the world we think we remember? How can that nostalgia help and hurt us? What would it look like to move forward?

Poet Mary Oliver says that attention is the beginning of devotion. It is one of the pieces of living deeply, fully and well in this world. How do we bring our attention to what is most needy in the world? How do we cultivate resilience in our paying of attention?

A new year and a new decade is upon us! The world is changing rapidly, some say it's the apocalypse. Are you going to roll with the chaos or resist? Come, let us discover how Unitarian Universalists have an opportunity to be bright shining beacons of hope as we strive for liberation. Guest Preacher, Sarah Osborne, gave today’s sermon.

We have arrived in the final week of Advent 2019. This week, we will hear Church of the River member Katy Spurlock share testimony about her work with Moms Demand Action to fight gun violence in Memphis. In the homily, Rev. Sam will talk about when love gets fierce.

For the third week of Advent, we hear from Church of the River's Betty Turner, who shares testimony about her work with MIFA, the Metropolitan Interfaith Association, followed by a homily from Rev. Sam about laughing through storms.