Why Does this Church Exist?Why does this church exist? Responses to this question were shared in a recent worship service in the form of a six-word memoir. Here are a few random replies that we collected: A place for seekers of truth Nurture community of love and acceptance Nurture OUR community, Transform our WORLD Here I can be … Continue reading Memo from MAM – March 27
PART I: LAST SUNDAY, MARCH 31I am sorry that those of you who normally join us via Zoom were unable to do so on Easter Sunday, March 31. Upon arriving Sunday morning, we discovered that we’d had a power outage at the church the night before (storms) and our internet was down and not cooperating. … Continue reading Memo from MAM – April 2
A Message from Reverend Mary Ann Macklin Companions Along the WayEarlier in the month, our Opening Words came from our very own, FirstULou member Kathie Johnson. Many of you commented on these words which say so much about this congregation, First Unitarian Church of Louisville. Several of you asked for copies, and I know many … Continue reading Memo from MAM – Mar 19, 2024
A Message from Reverend Mary Ann Macklin March 12, 2024 Blessing“Despite all the darkness, human hope is based on the instinct that at the deepest level of reality some intimate kindness holds sway. This is the heart of blessing. To believe in blessing is to believe that our being here, our very presence in the … Continue reading Memo from MAM – Mar 12
A Message from Reverend Mary Ann Macklin March 5, 2024 As I mentioned Sunday, transformation is our congregational theme for the month of March. It makes sense. The earth is beginning to transform as the spring season winks at us from the horizon. The Vernal equinox, Ostara, with its lively balance of nighttime and daylight will occur … Continue reading MEMO from MAM – Mar 5
A Message from Reverend Mary Ann Macklin February 27, 2024 On Sunday, I mentioned several definitions of the word Bible which has the following etymology: Middle English: via Old French from ecclesiastical Latin biblia, from Greek (ta) biblia ‘(the) books’, from biblion ‘book’, originally a diminutive of biblos ‘papyrus, scroll’ The Word Bible has several definitions including: 1. … Continue reading Memo from MAM – Feb 27
Yes, I am one of those ministers who still enjoys attending church when I am not in the pulpit. I so enjoyed last Sunday’s service—learning about this congregation’s history from Jenny Lavery, savoring the voices of the choir that filled the sanctuary in tonal textures, breathing in and breathing out, listening to the inviting words … Continue reading Memo from MAM – Feb 13
February 6, 2024 Here are the two books suggested by Quiana Denae Perkins, of the MidAmerica UU Region, in her recent article, Black History Month and Dismantling White Supremacy which I quoted in my sermon Sunday. It read in part: “We can lean into the teachings of Tricia Hersey’s book Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto to learn more about … Continue reading Memo from MAM – Feb 6
January 30, 2024 Greetings Good People of the Starship FirstULou,As a follow-up to Sunday’s Moment for All Ages about Nichelle Nichols who played Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Nyota Uhura, in the 1960s Star Trek: The Original Series, I wanted to share one more photo. When I met Nichelle briefly seven years ago, I had time for … Continue reading Memo from MAM – Jan 30
I recently received the gift of a wonderful book, Stillness Speaks by Eckhart Tolle. As I explore this book, I keep coming back to its first two sentences, “When you lose touch with inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself. When you lose touch with yourself, you lose yourself in the world.” These two lines might be worth memorizing, methinks. Those … Continue reading Memo from MAM – Jan 23, 2024
