Monthly Archives: November 2010

Living with the Texts: “The Year of the Lord’s Favor”

Here’s today’s sermon, reading Isaiah 61:1-4 in light of the tough economic times we’re going through here in Stockton, CA. Have a good Thanksgiving, all, even and especially now!

Peace,

Rev. Laura

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Living with the Texts:
“The Year of the Lord’s Favor”

The Rev. Laura Horton-Ludwig, Minister
First Unitarian Universalist Church of Stockton
November 21, 2010

Thousands of years ago, half a world away,
the people of Israel returned from exile
to rebuild the city of Jerusalem,
a city that had been devastated by war and decades of neglect.
The Babylonian conquerors had destroyed the Temple,
razed the city,
forced its inhabitants into exile.
Now, some fifty years later,
the Persians had conquered the Babylonians in their turn,
and the Persian emperor Cyrus allowed the Israelites
to come home and rebuild their city at last. Continue reading

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Filed under Hebrew Bible, Isaiah 61, lectio divina, Stockton, Unitarian Universalism

Did They Just Say That?!

Here’s a sermon I gave on Sunday on compassionate communication. Enjoy!

Peace,

Rev. Laura

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Did They Just Say That?!

The Rev. Laura Horton-Ludwig, Minister
First Unitarian Universalist Church of Stockton
November 14, 2010

Regardless of how you feel
about how the elections turned out this year,
I bet I’m not the only one
who was relieved to get the campaigns over with.
These days it seems every election season kicks up the vitriol. Candidates hurl accusations back and forth—
their opponent is a liar, too conservative or too liberal.
They argue over who’s racist and who’s not;
who’s trustworthy and who’s not.
All the while it seems the possibility of real communication
and cooperation recedes further and further.
We know where everybody stands,
but we have no idea how they’re all going to work together
and make things better for our country and our world.

Meanwhile, closer to home, the winter holidays are coming,
and if your family is anything like mine,
this is the time of year when the extended family gets together,
and that means the odds of getting into arguments—
about politics, religion, ethics, personal choices, whatever—
go up about a millionfold
with people you love
who may see the world very differently from you. Continue reading

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Filed under Marshall Rosenberg, Nonviolent Communication, Unitarian Universalism