Hope Unitarian Church - Tulsa, Oklahoma
Sunday, May 25th, 2025 Rev. Steven Leigh Williams
Sunday, May 4th, 2025Rev. Justin M. McCreary
Rev Justin M. McCrearySunday, April 30th, 2025
Sunday, April 6th, 2025 Rev. Justin M. McCreary
Rev. Steven Leigh Williams Sunday, March 23rd, 2025
Sunday, March 16th, 2025Rev. Justin M. McCreary
Rev. Justin M. McCreary Sunday, March 9th, 2025
Three Stories on Equity by Rev. Justin M. McCreary Sunday, February 9th, 2025
Rev. Steven Leigh Williams Sunday, January 26th, 2025This week has been a terrifying one for people in vulnerable communities in the US - immigrants, disabled people, and, closest to home for me, trans and nonbinary people and our families. Our current story - my community's, the one I have to tell - goes back 100 years, and of course, our larger story is as old as humanity. How we got here is important, and even more crucial is recognizing where we are now - the imminent dangers we are facing, and what others can do to help. Join guest minister and former Holocaust educator Rev. Steven Leigh Williams this Sunday for this timely topic.
Sunday, January 5th, 2025 Rev. Justin M. McCreary
Sunday, November 17th, 2024 Rev. Justin M. McCreary
Rev. Justin M. McCreary Sunday, November 3rd, 2024
Rev. Justin M. McCreary Sunday, October 20th, 2024 James Luther Adams once wrote that the, “role of the prophet [is] central and indispensable to liberalism.” This Sunday's service will continue the theme deep listening and will encourage us to listen to prophet voices past and present that help us better understand the world.
Rev. Justin M. McCreary Sunday, October 13th, 2024 Buddhist Leader Thich Nhat Hanh once said, “To listen is an art.” This means that listening is not always simple, it takes work, practice, and time. Listening is also spiritual practice. It is something that our soul is called to do in the face of a world that pushes us into more and more isolation. This Sunday we will talk about the practice of listening in a world that struggles to hear.
Rev. Justin M. McCrearySunday, October 6th, 2024Prayer and spirituality often go hand in hand. Prayer is an opportunity for deep listening and introspection. It connects us to something larger than ourselves and gives us the opportunity to reflect on days past, assessing the good and forgiving the bad. But if you are like me, your association with prayer has not always been so positive. Like many who have experienced religious trauma, when I became a UU, I had to relearn how to pray. This is that story.
We're All in This Together September 29th, 2024 Pastor Jamaal Dyer
Rev Justin M. McCreary September 15th, 2024 Unitarian Universalism is part of a heritage called, “The Free Church.” James Luther Adams once said, of the free church that, “It protests against routine conformity or thoughtless nonconformity that lead to deformity of mind and heart and community.” This Sunday I'd like to take a look at that Quote and consider the ramifications of being free.
Sunday, September 1st, 2024 Rev. Justin M. McCrearyWhen I was a kid, I loved the feeling of getting an invitation in the mail. It was usually someone's birthday, and I looked forward to every opportunity for birthday cake. Receiving an invitation can be a warm feeling, a feeling that will stay with someone for a long time. The act of inviting someone into our lives is important, especially to organizations like churches. With new people come new opportunities, new hopes, and new friends. So, during this season of ingathering, let's put our best foot forward as we practice hospitality.
Rev Steven Leigh WilliamsSunday, August 25th, 2024
Sunday, August 4th, 2024 Rev. Ren Pasco What makes us human? What makes us different from AI? One thing is our errors and the beauty of those mistakes.
Sunday, August 11th, 2024 Rev. Justin M. McCreary The last time I preached I highlighted the UU value transformation; this week I will be highlighting the UU Value Pluralism. As a liberal church in Oklahoma Pluralism is a very important value, and it isn't just about accepting different people of different spiritual identities in our circles. Pluralism is also rooted in our American System in our Bill of Rights, but even more importantly Pluralism is necessary for a free functioning democracy. I hope you can make it this Sunday when I share on Pluralism.
Sunday, July 14th, 2024 Rev. Justin M McCrearyDuring the summer I decided I would preach a series on the UU valuesrepresented in the UUA's article II. Last week we explored the value of Generosity, and this week we will be exploring the Values of Justice and Equity.
Rev. Justin M. McCreary Sunday, July 7th, 2024Often, the first thing that comes to mind regarding generosity is giving money and time. Generosity though, is something much bigger; it is a lifestyle. It involves a way that we live into our mutuality. Generosity is the balance between giving and receiving and the inherent understanding that all human beings deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Generosity reminds us that we are not alone in this world and that all our accomplishments are built on the work of others. To truly understand be generous, one must first be vulnerable and understand their own needs. Generosity is about how we live together.
We are the stories we tell. Not just the stories we tell of ourselves but also thestories we tell about one another. This narrative is made up of perspectives that we form from the experience of both joy and our sorrow. It is easy to forget that the world we see, though real, is perceived only through our senses, the eyes, the ears, the hands. That there are colors and sounds that we will never know, and narratives, no matter how much we wish it, can never be truly known. But if the stories we tell make up who we are the inverse is all true, we are also defined by the stories we choose to shelve. Empathy then, makes up the space between.
It is our tradition to celebrate Mother's Day at Hope Unitarian Church with a flower communion. Flower communion itself though held at different times of the year in different churches dates to Prague in 1923 and was created by Norbert Čapek and was brought to the United States by his wife Mája Čapek following World War II. This tradition gives us an opportunity to focus on the beauty of the world around us, and the beauty that we find with each other. Please bring a flower to share during this communion.
Tulsa CARES helps to transform the lives of clients and serve as the leading voice of HIV and Hep C in the community.
Pluralism is seldom understood by those who do not value it, yet these are the people who generally define it. Unitarian Universalism is a liberal, pluralistic religion. It is important for us to define and understand this value for ourselves. Come and learn about it this Sunday.
By Steven Leigh Williams Sunday April 28th, 2004 Wyrd, in Norse pagan and related traditions, is essentially the woven fabric of reality, and each being/power in Existence has a thread in it. This service, we're going to get a little wyrd and explore how everything, everywhere, is connected and concurrent, from mycelial networks to star nurseries to you and me and our neighbors across the world. Please join me, and bring your weirdest self!
In Ancient Egyptian Mythology the heart of the dead is weighed against Ma'at, the goddess of harmony, justice, and morality. Ma'at is represented by a feather and the heart must be lighter than Ma'at's feather if the spirit wants to pass into the afterlife. Though we may no longer fear this judgement, we still come to one another with heavy hearts, loaded down with the baggage of resentments. When left unchecked, these heavy hearts weigh us down in the life that we lead together. In a divided world, how do we lighten our hearts?
The Learning Center at Euchee Butterfly Farm helps improve the lives of Native people, plants and pollinators through innovative community-based programs that emphasize capacity building, cultural preservation, and sustainability.
Sermon by Justin M. McCreary APRIL 14TH, 2024 - 11:00 AM Last week, I laid groundwork for my sermons on interdependence and the human need for connection by exploring suffering and the human condition. This Sunday, I will explore the Importance of interdependence during what Douglass Adams calls, “The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul.”
The Gospel of Subversion: Liberation in a Liberal Context REV. JUSTIN M. MCCREARY FEBRUARY 11TH, 2024 - 11:00 AM You might notice the similarity in titles between this week and last week's sermon. Last week I focused in on the theme of Justice and Equity through the idea of, Gospel meaning Good News. This week I will continue with this theme, expounding on the idea of preaching good news to the poor. This theological ride will hold in tension expressions of Liberal and Liberation theologies, and what it means for us as a faith.
Liberating Love Part 2: Throwing Stones (A Redux) JANUARY 21ST, 2024 - 11:00 AM REV. JUSTIN M MCCREARY This week I will be preaching the sermon I prepared for last week when we got snowed out. I did change the title because there will be no soup this coming week. Love can be complicated, and it has many dimensions. This past week we talked about the importance of Joy and Romantic Love. This week we will focus on an active nature of love, love which is expressed in what we do for one another. It is kismet that this topic comes up during Stone Soup Sunday. A Sunday focused not just on community, but how we provide nourishment for each other. This Sunday we will ask, “How do we express love in our community?
Understanding Alzheimer's and Dementia Dr. Garrett from Tulsa's Branch of the Alzheimer's Association. Speaking at Adult Forum on Feb. 2nd. Feb Generosity Recipient.
Podcast information about our generosity recipient for January 2024 Wild Heart Ranch.
Liberating Love Part 1: Embrace REV. JUSTIN M MCCREARYJANUARY 7TH, 2024 - 11:00 AM As a faith, Unitarian Universalism centers itself theologically around Love. This might sound simple; however, the meaning and expression of love is often debated. From Romantic Comedies to heartbreaking ballads, love is characterized as one of the simplest and most complicated concepts in the human collective unconscious. There is nothing that makes us feel more secure and dangerously vulnerable than love, which is why the writer of the Greatest Song encourages us, “Do not stir love until it is ready.” Rumi ,the 13th century Sufi mystic, would say “Love is a madman,” and, “Someone who does not run toward the allure of love walks a road where nothing lives.” This dichotomy makes me want to ask, “Which is it?” Yet there is no answer. This Sunday I'd like to walk the center line between the mystery and muscle of love, talking about both the desolation and healing power of love.
Burning Bowl CeremonyReadings Celebrating Endings and Beginnings
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