Welcome and listen to the engaging sermon of our guest, Rev. Cedrick Jackson, who is the Dean of Students at St George's Independent School and has a Masters of Divinity from Memphis Theological Seminary.

Working towards the peace that Jesus described is something we carry within us and give to others. It's different from world peace. Where do we get peace?

Is the light in us the presence of God? Learn about love and the power of the light that shines within us.

This week is the second week of Advent and second of our Advent sermons. Today, the sermon is about joy. So, when in this week’s sermon Rev. Teitel shared, “That is a kind of presence and fulfillment that spiritual seekers dream about,” what did he mean? Find out!

This sermon about hope is the first of a series of the four themes that represent Advent; they include hope, joy, love, and peace. If it’s ok to feel however you need to feel at any time, including the holiday season, how do we honor these feelings about the holiday season without being a total bummer?

This sermon was delivered by member, Lisa Jennings who explains at one point: At our table, we have a certain approach to life in a cycle of rituals throughout the year. Week after week, we are present with each other. We embrace a language of reverence, forgiveness, and hope. We keep such language alive and hold it in our hearts. For almost 125 years in Memphis, TN, at this church, we have created a sanctuary where people can find their way home.

What are we trying to accomplish here? How is what we are trying to do similar to Moses parting the Red Sea for his people? Does Unitarian Universalism come through for you?

Chrysti Hogan was our guest speaker on Sunday. Raised as a catholic, Chrysti Hogan did everything that was expected of her and said that ‘following the rules of the church was my truth’. As Chrysti grew up, she realized that she could make different choices than how she was raised. Through her life experiences, Chrysti came to understand herself through introspection, found love, and now knows what her values are and how she chooses to live her life. All of this led her to find her religious community, one that understands, accepts and loves Chrysti for who she is, and that is Neshoba Unitarian Universalist Church. Listen to Chrysti’s moving testimonial to love and faith and her reminder to all of us to ‘reach deep within and work to change the world with the love you have inside of you’.

As a new minister, Rev Teitel took us on a kind of archaeological dig through the church’s history. Peering through drawers and closets, he learned more about the church and about its people. Rev. Teitel reminisced about the processional hymn, “Rank and Rank, again we stand”, as he talked about the ministers who have all served at the church. Things are moving at the Church of the River. We have every reason to be happy and proud. This is about all of us asking ourselves, “How can we best occupy our world?” We bring with us the people and the traditions that we have always held dear. UU is changing everywhere. People are doing new and exciting work such as the work being done for social justice. Important conversations are going on about what it means to be a UU in the 21st century. We are here for only a moment in our church’s history. What gifts to do we bring? When, in the future, people do their own inevitable archaeological look through our drawers and filing cabinets, I wonder what they will find.

What is the concept of ‘othering’? According to social scientists, we have put people in categories for many years. Now, it serves a different purpose--It divides us. We didn’t choose some of our differences; they just are. What we can control is how we live as adults and how we treat others. As UUs, we can find a better way.