Tag Archives: Freedom

Better Man

Posted on February 20, 2023 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

For at least a few moments, before we had children, Carri and I had this one perfect moment where we had a sense of control about who our kids would be. See, we adopted through foster care, and as a part of … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons, Sexuality | Tagged children, Feminism, Feminist, Freedom, gender, Genders, Kathryn Bond Stockton, Masculinities, Masculinity, Men, Parenting, Queer, Sermon, Sermons, Sex, Sexuality, Teenagers, Teens, Women, Youth | Leave a comment

Queer More Than Memory (or, the closets made from the words we didn’t yet have)

Posted on October 20, 2022 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

This post is a companion piece to a post I wrote in February 2015, “A Conversation Begins with a Lie…” Like a lot of moments in my life, I recently realized something important while listening to the Indigo Girls. Carri … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog Reflections, Personal Stories, Sexuality | Tagged Aging, Be More Gay, Bisexuality, Coming Out, Delight, Free, Freedom, Gay, Genderqueer, Growing Older, Indigo Girls, LGBTQ, Memory, Middle Aged, Monogamy, Non-Binary, Nostalgia, Poly, Polyamorous, Power, Queer, Queer Joy, Queerness, Sexualities, Sexuality | Leave a comment

Now is not a time for passing

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

With every new headline or “debate” about the latest wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation, I hear Audre Lorde: “My silence had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you.” In Florida, the literal intent of the law is silencing- to … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog Reflections, Justice, Personal Stories | Tagged Audre Lorde, Cis, Freedom, gender, Genderqueer, LGBTQ, Liberation, Non-Binary, Passing, Queer, Queerness, Straight, TDOV, trans, TransDayofVisibility, transgender, Visibility | Leave a comment

Real Life in Re-Entry

Posted on June 20, 2021 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

In the days and years and centuries of the “before times,” generation after generation of enslaved Black people learned to be careful when they sang about freedom. We mean freedom in the next life, not this one – they’d say regularly, just … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Change, Closing, Closure, Community, COVID, Freedom, Gathering, Healing, Normal, pandemic, Pause, Priya Parker, Real, Reality, Revelation, Sermon, Sermons, Slow, Social Change, Story, Transformation, Trauma | Leave a comment

Step Zero

Posted on December 31, 2018 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Story: Two Monks and a Woman Homily – for the New Year: Step Zero (co-written by Kristen Psaki) Here’s what I’ve always wondered, about that story. When the older monk asks the younger monk that question, about why he was still … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Addiction, Attachment, Buddhism, Buddhist, Freedom, Healing, Letting Go, New Year, New Year's, Recovery, Release, Resolutions, Sermon, Sermons, Shame, Story, Will | Leave a comment

Waking Up – Sermon 11/13/2016

Posted on November 14, 2016 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Audio podcast of this sermon is available here. Reading – For a Time Such As This by Jake Morrill Sermon As a part of our monthly theme, this Sunday, we were supposed to explore the question: when in your life … Continue reading →

Posted in Justice, Sermons, Theology | Tagged Church, Comfort, Courageous Love, Darkness, Democracy, Election, Freedom, Heartbreak, Hope, Hopelessness, Justice, Love, Martin Luther King Jr., Mission, Privilege, Risk, Theodore Parker, Vincent Harding, Vulnerability | 2 Comments

Anger, Love, and the Hope for Change

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

For a month about simplicity (our church monthly theme), the current cultural moment is anything but simple. Since the news broke on Sunday about the terrible shooting in Orlando, I’ve been back and forth with all sorts of emotions: angry, sad, … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog Reflections, Justice, Personal Stories, Sexuality | Tagged Brokenness, Courageous Love, Faith, Freedom, GLBTQ, Gun Culture, Guns, Homophobia, Hope, Injustice, Interfaith, Justice, Love, Prayer, Racism, Sexism, Sexuality, Violence | 3 Comments

My Precious – a sermon on liberation and will

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Here is the audio of this sermon. Reading: Paul’s Letter to the Romans, Chapter 7, verses 15-24 It was a recent blog post from Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project that made me think of Gollum for today’s service. … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons, Theology | Tagged Augustine, Brokenness, Choice, Christianity, Free Will, Freedom, Liberation, Revelation is Not Sealed, Sermon, Sermons, Shame, Sin | Leave a comment

Born this Way…?

Posted on July 14, 2013 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

First Reading – #592 The Free Mind by William Ellery Channing I call that mind free which masters the senses, which recognizes its own reality and greatness:Which passes life, not in asking what it shall eat or drink, but in … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons, Theology | Tagged Choice, Free Will, Freedom, Humanism, Humanity, James Luther Adams, Sam Harris, Theological Anthropology, Theology, William Ellery Channing | Leave a comment

We Have Not Come Here to Take Prisoners

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

“We Have Not Come Here to Take Prisoners” by Hafiz We have not come here to take prisoners But to surrender ever more deeply To freedom and joy. We have not come into this exquisite world to hold ourselves hostage … Continue reading →

Posted in Covenant, Sermons | Tagged Covenant, Freedom, Hafiz, Joy, Liberation, Promises, Sermon, Sermons, Theology | Leave a comment