February 26, 2012 Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Montgomery © 2012 Paul Britner One of the popular quotes making its way across Facebook the last few weeks is this one from Albert Einstein: “Everyone is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life [...]
MoreJesus in Other Traditions
On December - 19 - 2011
December 18, 2011 © 2011 by Paul Britner In the Christian tradition, this is the time of Advent, which means a time of anticipation, which should not be confused with mere waiting. It is a time of faith, and hope, and eagerness—while waiting. Yet, while all Christians may share this time of anticipation, if we [...]
MoreLiving With Hope
On December - 12 - 2011
December 11, 2011 © 2011 by Paul Britner This morning, I continue my occasional series on hope with a message about living with hope. My premise is that it is easier to stay hopeful than it is to become hopeful in a moment of despair. So, my focus will be less on understanding the nature [...]
MoreAn Unreasonable Faith?
On November - 5 - 2011
October 30, 2011 Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Montgomery © 2011 by Paul Britner I’ve titled my sermon this morning “An Unreasonable Faith?” with a question mark as if to question whether Unitarian Universalism lives up to its reputation as a “thinking person’s” religion or even whether that is a good thing. My answer is, “we [...]
MoreDon’t Quit Before the Miracle
On October - 23 - 2011
October 23, 2011 © 2011 by Paul Britner October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and it has become my practice to offer a sermon during this month on this topic. This year, I will reflect on a statistic that’s well known among people who work in this field and that is that the average woman [...]
MoreStealing Hope
On October - 16 - 2011
October 16, 2011 Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Montgomery © 2011 by Paul Britner My mother, bless her heart as they say down here, was a firm believer in the proposition that high hopes inevitably lead to disappointment, and, therefore, if you don’t want to be disappointed in life, you shouldn’t hope for much. When I [...]
MoreThe Art of the Apology
On October - 16 - 2011
October 9, 2011 Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Montgomery © 2011 by Paul Britner Judging from the signs in front of other churches and the websites of my Unitarian Universalist colleagues, I think every minister has given at least one sermon with the exact title, “The Art of the Apology”. Perhaps it is because of the [...]
MoreOur Differences Matter
On October - 16 - 2011
September 25, 2011 Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Montgomery © 2011 by Paul Britner A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of hearing Naomi Tutu speak. She is the daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu from South Africa. She talked about a gardener who spent years carefully arranging flowers by colors, size, type, and so [...]
MoreWe Came to Believe
On October - 16 - 2011
September 18, 2011 Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Montgomery © 2011 by Paul Britner This morning, I begin a 5-part series on hope that I will present about once a month for the next several months. I hope you enjoy it. That would be an example of hope as wishful thinking. Wishful thinking is to hope [...]
MoreJonah and Answering Your Call
On June - 26 - 2011
June 26, 2011: Ask Me-William Stafford Some time when the river is ice ask me mistakes I have made. Ask me whether what I have done is my life. Others have come in the slow way into my thought, and some have tried to help or to hurt; ask me what difference their strongest love [...]
More