Tag Archives: Justice

All Bodies are Sacred (Hallelujah!)

Posted on February 5, 2024 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Hallelujah to the grace And the body and every cell of us all The Hallelujah of the body begins at birth. I have been present at two births in my life, (other than my own) neither of them my children’s. … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Age, Ageism, agency, Andrea Gibson, Autonomy, Beloved Community, Birth, Bodies, Bodily Autonomy, Body, body-image, body-shaming, Death, Disability, Disabled Justice, Embodied, Embodiment, Fat, Fatphobia, Holiness, Holy, Interdependence, Justice, Liberation, Life, obesity, Pluralism, Race, Racism, Reverence, Sacred, Sacredness, self-love, Sermon, Sermons, Somatic, Sonya Renee Taylor, Theological Anthropology, trans, Transphobia, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Universalism | Leave a comment

Choosing to Love, Anyway – Christmas Eve 2023

Posted on December 25, 2023 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Readings: Homily In Bethlehem tonight, the usual extravagant Christmas celebrations have been canceled. In place of Glorias echoing across the land, there is war and grief, all across Palestine and Israel, and in Gaza. As the Mayor of Bethelhem declared today, Christmas this … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Christmas, Christmas Eve, Faith, Hope, Hopelessness, Jesus, Journeys, Justice, Love, Sermon, Sermons, Vision | Leave a comment

Gather in Storms

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Reading – a combination of Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg’s 2022 and 2023 Hanukah reflections, which end with this reflection Hanukah isn’t just about what happened in the past, on the calendar. It’s about who we are capable of being. It’s about … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Beloved Community, blog, Christmas, Compassion, Conflict, Conflict Avoidance, Covenant, Empathy, Family, Gathering, Hanukkah, Hebrew Bible, Inherent Worth, Interfaith, Interfaith Dialogue, Jewish, Jews, Judaism, Justice, Listening, Non-Violence, Non-Violent Communication, NVC, Peace, Priya Parker, Religion, Sermon, Sermons, Television, The Bear, Trauma, Trauma-Informed, TV, TV Shows, Universalism, Vincent Harding, Violence, War | Leave a comment

Good Walls: Boundaries as Acts of Love

Posted on September 13, 2023 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Reading: From Prentis Hemphill, On Boundaries For me, there is a big love [that exists regardless of me]. [Which means,] there are people I have boundaries with that I’m like, “I don’t know if I love you but there’s a big … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Boundaries, Boundary, Change, Community, Covenant, Diversity, Justice, Liberal, Sermon, Sermons, Tolerance, Trump | Leave a comment

What Punishments of God Are Not Gifts? Job and the Hope of a Mysterious God

Posted on August 15, 2023 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

For a long time, Job agrees with Stephen Colbert. You know, Job. The one whose life was the epitome of #blessed. That is, until he lost everything. His money. His land. All ten of his children. Even his own health. By … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Awe, God, Hebrew Bible, Job, Justice, Pain, Punishment, Sermon, Sermons, Struggle, Suffer, Suffering, Theodicy, Theology | Leave a comment

The Hopefulness of History, written for the 125 year anniversary of the Foothills Unitarian Church

Posted on January 9, 2023 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Like a lot of people in the last few days, I watched the drama play out in the US House with both a little shock and not a little schadenfreude. When they hit the 11th vote, I called my mom … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Activism, Ancestors, Covenant, Future, History, Hope, Hopefulness, Justice, Living Tradition, Parker Palmer, Past, Rebecca Parker, Rebecca Solnit, Sermon, Sermons, Time, Unitarian History, Unitarian Universalist History, Unitarianism, Universalism, Universalist History | Leave a comment

Bearing Witness

Posted on October 23, 2022 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

This week, one of my parents’ friends experienced a tragedy. Their daughter – who was my age, died suddenly, from a hidden medical issue they failed to uncover in time. My parents live far away from me, as do their … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Bearing Witness, Change, Community, Compassion, ethics, Faithfulness, Global Justice, International, Justice, Network, Pain, Partnership, Resilience, Sermon, Sermons, Stories, Suffering, UUSC, Witnessing, World | Leave a comment

The Ethics of Eating Animals

Posted on September 4, 2022 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

It was Palm Sunday when the news came. Right as church ended, one of our members got a call. A baby calf had just been born on her farm, literally during the service. Maybe we would all want to come see … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Animals, Climate, Climate Crisis, Climate Justice, ethical, ethics, Inherent Worth, Justice, Sermon, Sermons, Veganism, Vegetarianism | Leave a comment

Our Partners in Finishing the World

Posted on August 8, 2021 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Text: Conversation with Rev. Nancy Bowen about the Five Jagged Rocks Homily: Our Partners in Finishing the World Last week, Rev. Nancy Bowen spoke about living in covenant with the whole world. It’s one of the first things that Nancy … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons, Theology | Tagged Covenant, Covenantal, Eschatology, Faith, Five Jagged Rocks, Heartbreak, Interdependence, Interdependent, Interdependent Web, Justice, Nancy Bowen, Partners, Partnership, Promises, Sermon, Sermons, Theology, Truth, Unitarian Universalist, Universalist, World | Leave a comment

The Choice to “Dress Up” – A Mother’s Day Reflection

Posted on May 9, 2021 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

A Conversation with Drag Kings Pastors A Conversation About Mom Jeans on Mother’s Day The Choice to “Dress Up” Mother’s Day – like motherhood itself can be really complicated. We come with so many different stories of our own mothers, of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Clothing, Drag, gender, Justice, Mom, Moms, motherhood, Performance, Performative, play, Playful, Queer, Sermon, Sermons, trans, Woman, Women | Leave a comment