Dedicated to Human Liberation: Thoughts on Our Collective Existence in this Moment

Facilitator: Wade Marbaugh
Musician: Jean Heinrich

Thinking About the Unthinkable: Contemplating End of Life

This is difficult stuff. We’re asked to consider practical matters and emotional matters all in the setting of having no idea how it will happen or when we’ll have to be ready. Perhaps the best way to prepare is to think deeply about the kind of end of life we most want for ourselves. Sara will introduce Advanced Directives, thoughts about attending a recent Final Exit Network workshop, and the concept of a “good death.” There will be opportunity for discussion.

Facilitator: D. Patton White
Musician: Mick Kinney

The Mothers We Claim Made Us For These Times

As we live through these perilous times, we have access to the wisdom of the ages. In honor of Mother’s Day, I am going to focus on just a few of the many ‘mothers’ who have informed how I live in this world, how I engage with its challenges, and how their work inspires me to live more fully, more aligned with my integrity and commitment to core values that sustain and encourage me. Simone de Beauvoir, Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Loretta Ross, and Pema Chodron are the ones that will be the focus this time. This might spawn multiple sermons on the topic of “The Mothers We Claim Made Us For These Times.” 

Facilitator: Rev. Marsha Mitchiner
Musicians: Janna Nelson, Scott Hooker, Jeff Crompton and David Nelson-Hooker 

Going Where No One Has Gone Before

What might the search for the divine look like if extended to other planets? Could understanding religious practices and reincarnation beliefs on alien worlds change the shape of many belief systems on Earth?

Facilitator:  Marti Keller
Musician: Snake Oil Medicine Show Band with Craig Rafuse

Love Crosses Borders

Anton Flores-Maisonet will explore how love transcends even the harshest immigration policies. Drawing on his work at Casa Alterna—where radical hospitality provides housing, solidarity, and community to hundreds of vulnerable immigrants from over 50 countries—he will share how love breaks through political and geographic walls to demand justice, accompany those caught in the deportation pipeline, and renew hope in the Beloved Community.

Facilitator:  Libby Ware
Musician: Bill Chelton

I Am One But I Am Not Alone

Facilitator:  Wade Marbaugh
Musician: Mick Kinney

Coping with Uncertainty

In these distressing, chaotic times, it can be hard to maintain balance and a reasonable hope. A discussion of the challenges, various ways to cope, and how to rise to the occasion.

Facilitator:  Cindy Lou Who
Musician: Charli Vogt

Resistance and Resilience: A Call to Courage in Times of Crisis

In a world that often feels overwhelming, where injustice and fear seem to hold power, how do we find the courage to resist? How do we cultivate the resilience to keep moving forward? This Sunday, join Rev. Phoenix Bell-Shelton Biggs for a powerful exploration of Resistance and Resilience—how we can face the challenges of our time with boldness, faith, and collective strength. Through reflection, storytelling, and a call to action, we will honor the spiritual practice of resistance and the sacred necessity of resilience.

Come ready to reflect, recharge, and remember that we are never alone in the struggle for justice and love. Together, we build a sanctuary of hope.

Facilitator:  D. Patton White
Musician: Craig Rafuse

Love Your People

Inspired by Mother Teresa, adrienne maree brown, and her work as a hospital chaplain, Sara will talk about our most important duty and reward: to love our people. When despair seeps in it can get easier to lose our focus on what is right in front of us, but maybe what is right in front of us will sustain us through the hardest days – if we can keep those connections strong. 

Facilitator:  Jan Lister
Musician: Mick Kinney

Emil’ Keme

Emil’ Keme is an Indigenous K’iche’ Maya scholar from Iximulew (Land of Corn, and the K’iche’ name for Guatemala), and professor of English and Indigenous studies at Emory University. He is a first-generation college graduate and professor. His teaching and research focus on contemporary Indigenous literatures and social movements, Central American-American literatures and cultures, and postcolonial and subaltern studies theory.

Facilitator:  Rev. Marsha Mitchiner
Musician: Bill Chelton