LifeStream @ First Unitarian

Rev. Dr. Larry Peers - Do you remember when selfie sticks first appeared? Do you remember when people first started to take selfies of themselves with beautiful vistas behind them?  Well, do you know how to take a “soulfie”?  Let’s reflect together on ways to engage more fully and imaginatively in what is unfolding both within ourselves and in the vista of our larger world. In his book, Love and the Soul: Creating a Future for the Earth, Robert Sardello offers this insight: “Soul now needs to free itself from the limitation of confinement to individual life alone, and develop the capacity to feel itself in everything in the outer world.”

Rev. Dr. Larry Peers - On this Sunday, Rev. Dr. Larry Peers leads our Flower Ceremony (sometimes referred to as Flower Communion) an annual ritual celebrated by Unitarians and Universalists around the world that celebrates beauty, human uniqueness, diversity, and community. The Flower Ceremony was created in 1923 by Unitarian minister Norbert Čapek of Prague, Czech Republic.

Rev. Dr. Larry Peers - The mindset we adopt when approaching challenges has a significant influence not only on the outcome but also on how others will engage. We will draw insights from Robin Wall Kimmerer’s recent book, “The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World,” and from Derek Thompson and Ezra Klein’s new book, “Abundance.” All propose that “scarcity is a choice” and provide examples from contemporary social, economic, and ecological challenges. The point remains: What mindset are we approaching things? How does that impact the choices we are even able to see?

Rev. Dr. Larry Peers - What can we learn from someone who has “sat on the precipice of death” with a thousand people? In this service, we will draw some insights from the cofounder of the Zen Hospice Project and pioneer behind the compassionate care movement. One lesson that Frank Ostaseski explores in his book, The Five Invitations, is that:” Death is not waiting for us at the end of a long road. Death is always with us, in the marrow of every passing moment. She is the secret teacher hiding in plain sight, helping us to discover what matters most.” From this lesson, there are also “five invitations” that can become practices that inform and inspire us. What are those invitations?

Rev. Dr. Larry Peers - This is an excerpt of Rev. Peers' Sermon celebrating Easter and Earth day , focusing on apsects of the story of Jesus that Unitarian Universalists cary forward as part of our legacy.

Rv. Dr. Larry Peers - This year, Easter and Earth Day coincide closely. Join us in this celebration that explores universal meaning in the traditional Easter story and celebrates our connection and responsibility for the Earth. “Earthrise” is the name of the famous photo that astronaut William Anders took during the Apollo 8 mission. For many people, the image captures the wonder and fragility of our earthly home.

Rev. Dr. Larry Peers - reflects that we might experience a variety of relationships to the unknown. Sometimes it can feel like a foe and a source of paralyzing fear and uncertainty. At other times, we can recognize when we “don’t know” that it can be a starting point for growth and transformation. We will use the metaphor of the Passover story to reflect on our own relationship to the unknown and the wisdom of not knowing.

Rev. Dr. Larry Peers - We tend to think joy depends on our life or world circumstances. Does this have to be the case? Dr. Laurel Mellin, a health psychologist and researcher, says we are “wired for joy.” How can joy be part of the resistance to some of the “dis-ease” in our world today? You might want to add this song to your playlist: Joy in Resistance by the Resistance Revival Chorus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAIKKBRkK24

Jeffrey Lott - The malignant tactics of fascism are corrupting our democratic process and threatening our freedoms. Unitarian Universalists have a long history of opposing fascism, but we remain vulnerable to moral injuries caused by generations of complicity in systems of oppression. How can we break free and create a new democracy?BIO: First Unitarian member Jeff Lott is an activist for nonviolent social change through organizations such as the UU Delaware Advocacy Network, Peace Week Delaware, Nonviolent Wilmington, Pacem in Terris, and the church’s Human Rights Task Force.

Rev. Dr. Larry Peeers and Keri Morton-Wiedner - George Gershwin once said, “Life is a lot like jazz…it’s best when you improvise.” We will make some connections between improvisation and life. We will also invite you to explore how improvisation practices can enrich our everyday lives. Keri Morton-Wiedner is a member of City Theater’s Fearless Improv Comedy team. She is also a member of First U and serves on the Board of Directors.

Rev. Dr. Larry Peers - This is the second in a two-part series. Even in bewildering and “crazy-making” times, we can create islands of sanity where we aspire together to face reality and come alive. When all the forces around us and within us may lure us to retreat and withdraw, we can awaken together in community to hone perspectives and cultivate practices that strengthen our resolve to bring forth the qualities most needed to restore sanity.

Rev. Dr. Larry Peers - This is the first in a two part series. Even in bewildering and “crazy-making” times, we can create islands of sanity where we aspire together to face reality and come alive. When all the forces around us and within us may lure us to retreat and withdraw, we can awaken together in community to hone perspectives and cultivate practices that strengthen our resolve to bring forth the qualities most needed to restore sanity.

Rev. Dr. Larry Peers - A Holy Troublemaker is someone who stirs our soul and emboldens our spirit to not merely comply what is, but to imagine and bring forth what is possible. This morning we will reflect on the life and poetry of Maya Angelou, who, in her poem, “A Brave and Startling Truth” composed these verses: When we come to it/We, this people, on this wayward, floating body/ Created on this earth, of this earth/Have the power to fashion for this earth/A climate where every man and every woman/Can live freely without sanctimonious piety/Without crippling fear.

Rev. Dr. Larry Peers - Change is an inevitable part of life. In our own lives and in the lives of a congregation, transitions occur in at least three phases. In our culture, we may often forget that the visible changes are not the same as the concurrent inner work for each transition stage. What are those phases? What inner work is related to each phase? How do we, individually and collectively, appreciate that “moving on” is not the same as “moving through” a transition?

Rev. Dr. Larry Peers - Bayard Rustin (1912-1987), a civil rights leader, was called the “architect of the 1963 March on Washington.” It seems that he was eclipsed in his time as a gay man of African descent but is now the subject of films, plays, and books about his life and work.Growing up in West Chester, PA, and inspired by his Quaker grandmother, Rustin’s life is a testimony to non-violent resistance, pacifism, economic justice, and what might be called one of his guiding ideas: “the spiritual equality of everyone.” What wisdom does he offer us now?

Rev. Dr. Larry Peers - Sometimes, people assume that Unitarian Universalists aren’t that “spiritual.” This is often because some of the fixed criteria for “spiritual” may elude an understanding of our approach to what would best be called our “spiritualities.”Richard Higgins’s recent book about Henry David Thoreau, “Thoreau’s God,” explores Thoreau’s spirituality in a way that has eluded some previous scholars’ assumptions. Thoreau’s life demonstrates how his social action and a broader spirituality combined in a way that speaks to contemporary seekers. Moreover, Thoreau’s spirituality may resonate with a radically inclusive spirituality that we might not otherwise recognize within us and among us.

Rev. Dr. Larry Peers - We can’t avoid stress. Yet, can you imagine that we can each stress better than we do? Let’s explore some of the practical implications of the research by Elissa Epel and others on what creates the stress response and how we transform stress into strength. You may choose to join with others in engaging and supporting each other in these practices over this month.

Rev. Dr. Larry Peers, in celebration of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, urges us all to tell each other our dreams for American, and here is his offering by way of example. He was the first of three speakers offering their dreams during a Sunday service at First Unitarian Church of Wilmington, Delaware.

Rev. Dr. Larry Peers urges us to revisit our heritage and story of Unitarian Universalism. What are the enduring values and truths that can be our compass? What strength can we draw from our ancestors and our contemporaries as we seek to create a world and an earth transformed by our care? This Sunday we will welcome new members into our congregation.

Rev. Dr. Larry Peers offers that, as we embrace this new year, we have a choice on how to respond and how to cultivate our soul even in challenging times. In fact, there are some practices and routines that can keep us integrated in our personal and spiritual lives. There are practices to keep us vibrant, engaged, growing, and learning–at a time when we most need it. Rev. Larry will draw insights from Dr. Jeff Karp, PhD. a biomedical engineering professor at Harvard Medical School and MIT, and his new book, L.I.T.: Life Ignition Tools.