UPCOMING WORSHIP SERVICES
Soul Matters Theme: Courage
October 4
Be And Be Not Afraid
10:30 AM
Rev. Clare L. Petersberger, Kara Tyler, Director of Religious Education, Andrew Greenwood, pianist
In thinking about October’s theme of “courage,” a colleague suggested that we might first want to reflect on what fear can teach us. The Jewish holiday of Sukkot, where worshippers leave their permanent houses and sit inside a fragile, temporary hut called a sukkah, invites vulnerability and reflection on what fear can teach us. Years ago, the singer, Tracy Chapman, concluded that “the nature of life is chaos and confusion” both of which are fear inducing. One can’t read headlines these days without agreeing with the truth of her observation. But Tracy Chapman did not end her song in a state of fear. She ended it with the admonition to “be and be not afraid” and, like Jewish people who study the stars through their temporary shelters at Sukkot, “reach for heaven.” What role does fear play in your life? Does it keep you safe? Does it keep you stuck in anxiety? Does it lead you to rejoice in temporality? Does it push you to reach for heaven? This morning we reflect on Chapman’s paradoxical invitation to “be and be not afraid.”
October 11
Courage, My Friend
10:30 AM
Rev. Clare L. Petersberger, Kara Tyler, Director of Religious Education, Lee Padock, Green Sanctuary Team, Kris Faatz, Music Director, and the TUUC Choir
Scot Nakagawa is a political strategist and organizer who has observed that Authoritarianism “works through specific, predictable moves: arrest a few visible people early, to create examples. Use legal and financial pressure to make resistance expensive. Isolate resisters from their institutions and networks. Then let fear do the rest.” The anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa knew that the antidote to this authoritarian strategy of making people fearful of each other was community. Neighbors would sing about courage; not walking alone; and singing each other’s spirit home as protesters were being taken to jail. We saw such courage in Minneapolis in January. We saw it more recently as thousands joined hands around the Kennedy Center. We saw it recently when ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox news suspended pooled television coverage of President Donald Trump in support of CNN’s right to be part of the pool. This morning we reflect on the courage that arises from being in it together. What is this courage is calling us to do?
October 18
Learning To Be Brave
10:30 AM
Rev. Clare L. Petersberger, Kara Tyler, Director of Religious Education, Kris Faatz, Music Director, and the TUUC Choir
The Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde spoke at the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly in June. She reflected on what she is most known for. She condemned President Trump ordering police to use tear gas to clear peaceful protestors from Lafayette Park in June of 2020 for a photo op of himself waving his $60 Bible. In January of 2025 she preached the homily at the interfaith prayer service following President Trump’s second inauguration. Her sermon called for compassion and mercy towards immigrants and marginalized groups. Some asked her how she had the courage to do either? She has written a book on “How We Learn To Be Brave.”
The poet, Anne Sexton, wrote about learning to be brave in her poem, “Courage:”
It is in the small things we see it.
The child’s first step,
as awesome as an earthquake.
The first time you rode a bike,
wallowing up the sidewalk.
The first spanking when your heart
went on a journey all alone….
When you trace the moments in your own life story when you learned to be brave what comes to mind?
October 25
Social Action Sunday
The Assistance Center of Towson Churches