Perspectives
In this service our youth will explore how each of us has a unique and different perspective on life—and how it is through exploring these differences that we also find our underlying commonalities.
Services
Confessions of the Ordinary Kind
What are your deepest, darkest secrets, those you shared with no one? It may be a “regret, fear, betrayal, desire, confession, or childhood humiliation”—these are the secrets sought by the amazing mail art project called post-secret. We’ll explore such secrets, and what might happen if we do share them. (Kristina Spaude, our guest minister, recently … Continued
Failure
There is no such thing as a life without failure. Failure is inevitable in both big and small ways. And there is an inextricable link between risk-taking, failure, and success. What can we learn from failure and how do we apply those lessons to our individual lives and our communities? (The Chothani family won the sermon in … Continued
Julia Ward Howe: American Feminist
Julia Ward Howe (for whom Howe Elementary School in Mt. Lebanon was named) was an early Unitarian feminist and social justice trailblazer whose life and legacy can teach us a lot about moving forward in life despite adversity and personal challenges.
Coming of Age Service
Credo is a Latin word, which is generally translated as “I believe,” but its literal meaning is closer to “what I set my heart to.” Sunnyhill’s Coming of Age (COA) class will share what is close to their hearts in this service, which is a capstone of the COA curriculum.
Courage and Improvisation
Jazz legend Miles Davis once famously said: “It’s not the note you play that’s the wrong note – it’s the note you play afterwards that makes it right or wrong.” Jazz encourages and requires moving forward without entirely knowing where you are going. How might this kind of thinking play out in the rest of … Continued
Earth Day
On this Earth Day, we will consider what we can do here and now to honor our sacred connection to the earth and our responsibility to take care of it.
Are Physical Limits in Our Head?
As athletes continue to break previously unbreakable records, some physiologists argue that our physical limits are determined by our subjective sense of effort rather than the metabolic state of our muscles. How can our internal dialogue affect our achievements as individuals and as a community?
Three Rules for Life
Although we are not often called to articulate them, our most deeply held beliefs about life and the nature of the world can have a profound effect on how we live our lives. We will explore three of these beliefs or rules and how they might guide the way we live our lives.
Rise Up
One of the central themes of Easter is the ultimate triumph of life over death. Even when everything around us seems cloaked in darkness, the potential of resurrection of various kinds still exists for us as individuals and for us as a society. How do we prepare to “rise up” when the time comes?