Sunday morning worship at First Parish of Norwell Mass.

It has been a tradition for centuries for New England preachers to give a sermon on the pertinent issues facing the nation on the eve of Election Day. This sermon assumes that you already know the issues and have probably already made a commitment to one of the candidates. So today, I’ll be reflecting on Adlai Stevenson’s quote, "Who leads us is less important than what leads us."

The death of comics George Carlin and Bernie Mac this summer deprived us of great irreverent genius. Religious communities are not known for their devotion to laughter, but they should be. Hear more about the Gospel According to George and Bernie, and explore the humanizing power of humor.

This summer, I met with a group of First Parish women to teach them a Quaker process called Clearness Committee, which is centered on the practice of communal discernment. We all have to make many decisions in our lives; how can we bring spiritual groundedness and wisdom to those moments? Learn the difference between deciding and discernment.

Commentary on the Sermon "On Liberals and Labels"

Danish philosopher and theologian Soren Kierkegaard observed, “Once you label me, you negate me.” Today we will remember the victims of the shooting at the Unitarian Universalist congregation in Knoxville, Tennessee, the question of what happened there, and clarify how religious liberalism differs from political liberalism.

The heart and soul of ministry is presence, or is it? Self importance is an illusion and it traps us very early. We are all treasured in our presence, but perhaps we are also useful where we are not. Looking forward to and planning my sabbatical.

Our fourth Unitarian Universalist Principle offers us total freedom to pursue the quest for truth unencumbered by creed or doctrine. It all sounds like a great ride until the search takes the seeker somewhere surprising and profoundly uncomfortable. What do we do then? Is there room in Unitarian Universalism not only for seeking but for arriving?

In the context of Veterans Day, we will look at our second Unitarian Universalist Principle, "we covenant to affirm and promote justice, equity and compassion in human relations." How is justice different from charity, the old biblical virtue? And what's the subtle difference between "equity" and "equality?"

Yom Kippur, the high holy day of the Jewish year, invites the faithful to tshuvah, turning the heart and mind to more virtuous life. This is, in fact, the work of the religious person and the religious community. Hashivenu, Adonai eilecha vena tshuvah. (Turn us toward You, and we will return.) Have you ever tried to turn from dysfunction toward wholeness? Have you ever tried to change a character defect? Why is it so hard?

In the final sermon of her fifth year with our congregation, and close to the tenth anniversary of her ordination, our minister goes "off-script" for the first time in her preaching career. She reminds us that ministry is not about being an expert and not even about knowing what we're doing, exactly. It is about being willing to show up, to give the answer given by Isaiah: "Here am I, Lord, send me."