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A note on audio files: The above sermons are presented in MP3 format, which most systems should have no trouble with.
Links designated "streaming audio" are configured so that your system
may be able to begin playing immediately. Links
designated "audio download" point directly to the MP3 file; you'll probably have to wait for the entire file to transfer before
hearing anyting, but there are fewer things to go wrong. Use what works best for you.
If you wish a MP3 copy of any of the following sermons request it from Rev. Carl Thitchener carlt@rochester.rr.com and we'll be happy to send it to you at no charge.
Having My Way Versus Having My Say -by Rev .Carl Thitchener
"I Did It My Way," proudly proclaims the popular song. But in the effort to
make things happen "in our own way" we sometimes find that we end up being
IN our own way. Today we'll explore winning and losing and their ultimate
consequences. -Carl
The Days of Forgiveness - by Rev. Maureen Thitchener
For ten days, those between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in the Jewish calendar,
we will hear a lot about forgiveness. But, will we really understand and embrace
the idea for the other days of our lives? This is where it gets harder. Our
society isn't really geared toward forgiveness. We often have to swim against
the tide. Let's learn how to perfect our strokes. -Maureen
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Praising With Faint Damns - by Rev Carl Thitchener
Are we more likely to affect positive change in others by praise or criticism?
When, if ever, is it our responsibility to try to change others at all? My
topic today will be the potential and pitfalls of persuasion. -Carl
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The United Nations: Our One Last Hope - by Rev. Maureen Thitchener
The pioneer psychologist William James coined the phrase: "the moral equivalent
of war." He was searching for an alternative to armed conflict as a way to
settle differences between nations. He wasn't naive. He felt there would always
be differences, but he also felt we could not continue in our mad, relentless
pursuits for power with the increase in sophistication in weapons of destruction,
without the end of humanity, as he knew it, being the result. His dream was
never realized, but his ideals lived in the formation of the United Nations.
Today, let's support that dream. -Maureen |
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?- by Rev. Carl Thitchener
Conspiracy theories abound. They are out to get us. They meaning creatures from oter space, the CIA, the FBI the
Tri-Lateral Commision, terrorists, muggers and a potpouri of perpetrators of miscellaneous malice. I have some sugggests
on surviving in this dangerous world. -Carl |
MURDER IN THE KITCHEN - by Rev. Carl Thitchener
No, I"m not trying to compete with Agatha Christie or Earl Stanley Gardner. This is a sermon about what we eat and the
consequences thereof both personal and global...."food for thought" you might say. -Carl |
"MAY I BE OF SERVICE" - by Rev. Carl Thitchener
My very first paid employment was in the food service industry, first as a bus-boy and later as a waiter. It was then that I
learned some important lessons that have lasted to this day. I'll share some of them with you in this service on service. -Carl |
CURBING THE PROPHET MOTIVE- by Rev. Carl Thitchener
Unlike most religious groups, Unitarian Universalism has no single founder,
no one leader to whom we look for answers to life's ultimate questions. Some
claim that this may be our greatest strength. Others say that it is our greatest
weakness. What do you think? -Carl |
LOVING THE QUESTION- by Rev. Maureen Thitchener
We are sometimes difficult people to be around. Where much of society looks for answers, we look for questions, for our
journey to freedom. Certainly, our world is full of questions, and recent events have added to the list, so our appetites are
well wetted. Do we carry it too far? Can't we sometimes just relax and let others tell us what to do, and what to think? What
do you think? I'll tell you what I think today, at least for today. - Maureen |
THE STRUGGLE ENDS, THE STRUGGLE BEGINS - by Rev. Maureen Thitchener
On December 18, 1865, the 13th amendment to the Constitution declared an end to slavery in this country. The struggle is
still not over for African Americans. Today we'll see what that call to go forward really meant in 1865...and to where it has
brought us. -Maureen |
BORED IN THE USA - by Rev. Carl Thitchener
Recently I enjoyed seeing the movie Groundhog Day in which the main character gets stuck in a time loop and has to re-live
February 2 over and over and over again. Although it was pure fantasy, of course, it reminded me that for many of us, much
of the time, each day often seems very much like the day before. We all, like the legendary Sisyphus, are caught in a time
loop of our own. Today we'll look for a way out of these holes we dig for ourselves. - Carl |
"GROWING UP WITH GOD"- by Rev. Maureen Thitchener
Surrounded by some of my non-church going relatives, at a memorial service, I found that God language, as we had all
known it, was now alien to us. It made me wonder what had happened in our lives and experiences that had changed us so
radically. Today, I will look at the problem of God, and God-language. |
"SEASONINGS FOR OUR SPIRITS" - Rev. Maureen Thitchener
This is a wonderful and wonder-filled month.
Solstice, Hanukkah, and Christmas are fast approaching. In our over-commercialized
world we can often feel stressed sooner each year, it seems. This Sunday we
will take some time to refresh and renew ourselves with the beauty of the
music and tastes of the season. -Maureen
"THE GOOD SEED" Rev. Maureen Thitchener
Are people born good or bad? Do some of the seeds
we plant fall on bad soil, or is the potential always there for goodness and
harvest? This Sunday we'll explore the fantasy or fact of our first Unitarian
Universalist principle. -Maureen
"THE RELIGION OF ANDREW CARNEGIE: THE
GOSPEL OF WEALTH" -Rev. Carl Thitchener
By a strange coincidence, today we officially
kick-off our annual canvass I thought this would be a good time to take a
look at the subject of money through the eyes of a man who had a lot of it
as well as to check our own values about lucre, labor and love. -Carl
"IS IT TIME FOR A FAITH LIFT?" Rev.
Maureen Thitchener
Today is Palm Sunday, celebrated by our Christian
friends, and Tuesday, the 6th is Passover, celebrated by our Jewish
friends. Traditionally, these special days are meant to once again rekindle
the flame of their separate faiths. I've often wondered what we should be
doing, beyond recognizing the meaning and value behind their celebrations,
to rekindle our own flame of faith. Let's look at some values that may be
unique to us, and which we too should be celebrating. -Maureen
"ON THE THIRD DAY: A MEANING FOR EASTER"
-Rev. Carl Thitchener
Not the meaning of Easter, for there
have been thousands of different interpretations by the religious and secular
as well. Our mission today is merely to provide a meaning for this
celebration which can be meaning-full to each of us in our lives today regardless
of our different theological perspectives.
"THE GIFT OF FLOWERS" (part 1) - Rev.
Carl Thitchener
"THE GIFT OF FLOWERS"(part 2) - Rev.Maureen
Thitchener
This Sunday's service will be based on the "flower
communion" begun by Norbert Capek in Czechoslovakia, during World War II,
and which has become a tradition in many Unitarian Universalist Churches today.
We'll focus, not only on our diverse theologies and philosophies, but on diverse
lifestyles, as well. All are asked to bring a flower to church this Sunday,
and take one from the vases as a symbol of our sharing with each other, and
caring for each other.