Sunday morning worship at First Parish of Norwell Mass.

How do we want to be known? What commitments do we need to make individually and institutionally for that to happen?

Joseph of Nazareth is definitely a supporting player in the story of Jesus’ birth, but a fascinating character for our reflection. How do you stay in the story when you have no idea what’s going on?

The religious search is a search for integrity. It is a search for that peace which the world can neither give nor take away.

On the anniversary of the founding of our congregation in 1642, we reflect on spiritual friendship and the inspiration and challenge we get from each other. I will share some passages written between two very dear Unitarian friends, James Freeman Clarke and Margaret Fuller.

Commentary on the Sermon: Faithful Friends: Founders Sunday

Contagious

The season of Advent is all about finding the spirit of the child within. Philosopher Paul Ricouer coined the phrase "second naivete" to describe the religious faith we can develop after we have passed through the critical dismissal of literal beliefs.

Commentary on the Sermon: Second Naivete: The Mystical Way of Faith

On this All Soul’s Sunday we will share thoughts about what it means to say that final goodbye, and how we can say goodbye even if we were not able to say it to the deceased when they were alive.

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds," wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. We’ll explore what happens when our "little minds" expand, and we change in ways that surprise, or even contradict, our idea of ourselves.

It has been a tradition for centuries for New England preachers to give a sermon on the pertinent issues facing the nation on the eve of Election Day. This sermon assumes that you already know the issues and have probably already made a commitment to one of the candidates. So today, I’ll be reflecting on Adlai Stevenson’s quote, "Who leads us is less important than what leads us."

The death of comics George Carlin and Bernie Mac this summer deprived us of great irreverent genius. Religious communities are not known for their devotion to laughter, but they should be. Hear more about the Gospel According to George and Bernie, and explore the humanizing power of humor.

The heart and soul of ministry is presence, or is it? Self importance is an illusion and it traps us very early. We are all treasured in our presence, but perhaps we are also useful where we are not. Looking forward to and planning my sabbatical.

Our fourth Unitarian Universalist Principle offers us total freedom to pursue the quest for truth unencumbered by creed or doctrine. It all sounds like a great ride until the search takes the seeker somewhere surprising and profoundly uncomfortable. What do we do then? Is there room in Unitarian Universalism not only for seeking but for arriving?

In the context of Veterans Day, we will look at our second Unitarian Universalist Principle, "we covenant to affirm and promote justice, equity and compassion in human relations." How is justice different from charity, the old biblical virtue? And what's the subtle difference between "equity" and "equality?"

Yom Kippur, the high holy day of the Jewish year, invites the faithful to tshuvah, turning the heart and mind to more virtuous life. This is, in fact, the work of the religious person and the religious community. Hashivenu, Adonai eilecha vena tshuvah. (Turn us toward You, and we will return.) Have you ever tried to turn from dysfunction toward wholeness? Have you ever tried to change a character defect? Why is it so hard?

In the final sermon of her fifth year with our congregation, and close to the tenth anniversary of her ordination, our minister goes "off-script" for the first time in her preaching career. She reminds us that ministry is not about being an expert and not even about knowing what we're doing, exactly. It is about being willing to show up, to give the answer given by Isaiah: "Here am I, Lord, send me."

It is a little bit strange when Palm Sunday falls on April Fools Day, but here it is, and it gives us an opportunity to consider what Jesus had in common with mythological trickster figures and with the holy fool archetype.

Grief is not rational. If it is repressed, it may manifest sideways as rage or sickness or depression. Of all the human emotional experiences, grief is one most deeply feared, because it reminds us that no matter what we do to ensure our security, we are ultimately not in control

You could spend all day at the office on Sundays taking the Lord's name in vain, but the third and fourth commandments warn you that to do so is a very bad idea. Why? Why does God impose a day of rest on us when we're so very busy, and what harm could a little superfluous invocation of God's name be? Part II of the Ten Commandments Series

I don't know any pastor who doesn't constantly hear the refrain, "I'm hurting, but compared to so many other people, I have nothing to complain about." Suffering and complaining are two different things. In this sermon we try to understand a little bit better how to honor suffering such as it is, without comparing it to anyone else's.

Commentary on the sermon

"Hospitality as a global virtue is being eclipsed by security as a national interest." In her response to First Parish member Bev Gardner's "Faith Journey" reflection on supporting the education of twins from our Transylvanian Partner Church, Rev. Victoria Weinstein reminds us, and herself, that hospitality is a religious virtue, and a fast-disappearing one.

In the first of a series on contemporary takes on the Seven Deadly Sins, we look at pride, the first of the bunch. We’ve heard that pride cometh before a fall, but life experience tells us that pride, legitimate pride, can also come after failure.

In her second sermon in the Seven Deadly Sins series, our minister looks at perhaps the most truly emotionally non-productive of the 7, Envy.

The Victorian artist and founder of the Arts and Crafts movement William Morris said, "Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." We reflect on beauty, work and creativity as spiritual expression.

Environmentalist Bill McKibbon's latest book, Eaarth, suggests that our planet has changed so much, it needs a new name. We will reflect on the changes and commitments we can make in our own lives to walk more lightly on our planet.

Commentary on the Sermon "On Liberals and Labels"

Danish philosopher and theologian Soren Kierkegaard observed, “Once you label me, you negate me.” Today we will remember the victims of the shooting at the Unitarian Universalist congregation in Knoxville, Tennessee, the question of what happened there, and clarify how religious liberalism differs from political liberalism.

This summer, I met with a group of First Parish women to teach them a Quaker process called Clearness Committee, which is centered on the practice of communal discernment. We all have to make many decisions in our lives; how can we bring spiritual groundedness and wisdom to those moments? Learn the difference between deciding and discernment.