The “Wise Silence,” is what Emerson called it. Lao Tzu called it the “Tao,” Plato called it the “Good and the Beautiful”, Aristotle called it “Being.” In Zulu they call it “Moya.” In Judaism, some call it “Ein Sof”, that which is everything and is nothing. Is the Soul, in fact, separate from us? This … Continue reading You Do Not Have a Soul; You ARE a Soul
What does it look like to belong to a community? What does it feel like to belong to a community? Can you say that you belong to a community? Whose are you? A community may be defined as a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality and often have a … Continue reading Belonging to a Community
We look forward to returning to in-person services on Sunday, September 12 at our previous home at the JCSVV (Jewish Community of Sedona and Verde Valley) located at 100 Meadowlark Lane in Sedona, with Reverend Anthony Johnson presiding as our new minister. Please click on the title for today’s service for more details, including our new safety protocols for Covid-19.
An Omnist, in contemporary terms, has come to describe a person who recognizes and respects all religions or lack thereof. The Oxford dictionary defines an Omnist as one who “believes in all faiths or creeds, a person who believes in a single transcendent purpose or cause uniting all things or people.” This sermon shall ponder … Continue reading Are You an Omnist?
In this month of our country’s “Independence“, this sermon shall reflect upon the words of Frederick Douglas; “the rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth … Continue reading A Day Later
What is play and how can it influence our ongoing free and responsible search for truth and meaning? . . . especially in our current time of cultural and societal tumult? It has been said that to truly laugh, you must take your pain and play with it . . . View this service … Continue reading Shall We Play?
Across time and all cultures, it is the story that has been and continues to be an agent of personal transformation. This sermon will remind us of the power of stories and the power within our own story. Our stories motivate and challenge us to reevaluate our world and our place in it. So, we … Continue reading The Power of Story
This sermon asks us to ponder and to reflect upon this tangled, tumultuous journey of our present time and ask ourselves, what are we becoming? It will also challenge us to consider the words of Albert Schweitzer, who said; “The path of awakening is not about becoming who you are. Rather it is about unbecoming … Continue reading A New Becoming
This sermon will explore the meaning of commitment and our ability and our willingness to keep the commitments that we make. How has our ability to keep our commitments changed during our present time of tumult? Or has it? How do we maintain the quality of being dedicated to a congregation, to a cause, or … Continue reading Making and Keeping Our Commitments
We put the spotlight our newest generation, whom we may choose to call “Kids These Days,” those between the ages of 3 and 23. Most of these young folks are still too young to have had a significant impact on our society but the older ones may be fighting our war in Afghanistan. Instead of our … Continue reading Kids These Days
