http://www.austinuu.org/wp At First UU Church of Austin, we gather in community to nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice. Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:05:54 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 As an inclusive religious and spiritual community, we support each individual's search for meaning and purpose, and join together to help create a world filled with compassion and love. First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin no First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin webmaster@austinuu.org webmaster@austinuu.org (First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin) 2000-2009 At First UU Church of Austin, we gather in community to nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice. http://www.austinuu.org/wp/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://www.austinuu.org/wp/category/sermons/former-ministers/cathy-harrington/ http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2003/07/bread-for-the-journey/ http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2003/07/bread-for-the-journey/#comments Sun, 20 Jul 2003 14:49:23 +0000 tom http://www.austinuu.org/sermon/?p=1068 http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2003/07/bread-for-the-journey/feed/ 0 Cathy Harrington  July 20, 2003 - The text of this sermon is unavailable but you can listen to the sermon by clicking the play button. - As I began preparing my final message to you I wanted this to be the very best one but how do you top "A Goat in a... Cathy Harrington  July 20, 2003 The text of this sermon is unavailable but you can listen to the sermon by clicking the play button. As I began preparing my final message to you I wanted this to be the very best one but how do you top "A Goat in a Tree." Truely, the fact that I'm here in this moment is nothing short of miraculous... First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin no http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2003/06/looking-for-love-in-furry-faces/ http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2003/06/looking-for-love-in-furry-faces/#comments Sun, 22 Jun 2003 16:10:47 +0000 tom http://www.austinuu.org/sermon/?p=1001 http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2003/06/looking-for-love-in-furry-faces/feed/ 0 © Cathy Harrington 22 June 2003 First UU Church of Austin 4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756 www.austinuu.org - Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button. - God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, © Cathy Harrington 22 June 2003 First UU Church of Austin 4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756 www.austinuu.org Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And She said that it was good. - Genesis (1:25); Meister Eckhart wrote, "Apprehend God in all things, for God is in all things. Every single creature is full of God and is a book about God. Every creature is a word of God. If I spent enough time with the tiniest creature - even a caterpillar - I would never have to prepare a sermon. So full of God is every creature." "Jesus was [obviously] very aware of the animal world. In Matthew's gospel alone on 27 separate occasions he introduces us to: Locusts and birds and dogs and pigs and sheep and foxes and snakes and doves and sparrows and vipers and fish and camels and donkeys and colts and hens and chicks and vultures and goats and a cock. Jesus enlists the animals as fellow evangelists. They tell us of God's providence, God's presence, and God's peace." [1] "Jesus' parables that include animals reveal how humble he was toward them. He sensed the harmony and the interdependence that we share with all living things." [2] "Look at the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them." Matthew (6:26); Including the creatures that inhabit the planet with us in our blessings and in our moments of reverence for life seems to be the least we can do. Biblical teachings are clear about our responsibility to animals, stating that we humans have been given "dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." "Dominion over" contains a sense of responsibility to ethical human beings. I believe it comes with the added task of being the STEWARDS of the creation. Common sense tells that because we humans have been given superior brains to animals (or so it seems) along with the ability, however, to destroy the natural habitats of animals, to abuse them, eat them, over-fish the oceans, and hunt them for pleasure, we are ultimately and collectively responsible for what happens to them. Abraham Lincoln once said, "I care not for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not better off for it." I don't have to tell you that we are not living up to the stewardship deal very well. There is much to be done in the world to make it safer for both animals and people. In my opinion we humans are NOT acting very superior to animals. Have you heard the story of the wild geese as told by Albert Schweitzer? "A flock of wild geese had settled to rest on a farm pond. One of the flock was captured by the farmer who clipped its wings before releasing it. When the geese started to resume their flight, this one tried frantically, but vainly, to lift itself into the air. The others, observing his struggles, flew about in obvious efforts to encourage him; but it was no use. Thereupon, the entire flock settled back on the pond and waited. They waited until the damaged feathers had grown sufficiently to permit the goose to fly. Meanwhile, the unethical farmer, having been converted by the ethical geese, watched with joy and awe as they finally rose together and resumed their long flight. [3] Imagine a world where people treated each other as geese treat each other. Just imagine.  So when I was asked to do a Blessing of the Animals service, and after Davidson had a hearty laugh which made me even more inclined to agree without a clue about how to go about it, I saw it as an opportunity to expand the role of minister to include creatures in the web of existence that we hold most sacred. Sort of a way to awaken the parts of us that sleep through the injustices in the world of animals. Make amends and pledge to make the world a better place for ALL living things. And, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin no http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2003/06/behind-the-scenes-2002-2003/ http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2003/06/behind-the-scenes-2002-2003/#comments Sun, 08 Jun 2003 16:32:23 +0000 tom http://www.austinuu.org/sermon/?p=1012 http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2003/06/behind-the-scenes-2002-2003/feed/ 0 Davidson Loehr and Cathy Harrington 8 June 2003 First UU Church of Austin 4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756 www.austinuu.org - Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button. - (On the cover of the orders of service appeared a drawing and poem by t... Davidson Loehr and Cathy Harrington 8 June 2003 First UU Church of Austin 4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756 www.austinuu.org Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button. (On the cover of the orders of service appeared a drawing and poem by the Danish poet Piet Hein, which serves as a leit-motif in the sermon. The poem is called "Circumscripture." The drawing is of a priest in long flowing robe walking along with a glowing halo hovering around his head a little below eye level. The poem says: "As pastor X steps out of bed  he slips a neat disguise on..  That halo 'round his priestly head  is really his horizon.") Intro We decided to try something very different today. Cathy's ministerial student internship was completed the end of May. And while she'll be here through July, preaching several more times, she is now here as our summer minister. Her student days here are over. During this year, we have had a lot of communication behind the scenes, about ministry, religion, preaching, all the things involved in the business of being a liberal minister. These interchanges have all happened behind the scenes, things you didn't see or hear. We have met for about an hour a week of one-on-one supervision, but most of our interchanges have happened by e-mail. Some of them have been pretty heated. We have never attacked the other person, but have often disagreed about important issues, and sometimes it's been pretty heated. Cathy, shockingly, was rude enough to keep all these e-mails! And when she wrote her final theological reflection paper for her seminary a couple weeks ago, she showed me some of these e-mails - there are well over thirty pages of them. She put a lot of them in her final paper, which she shared with her classmates. And we decided there were some good things in these behind-the-scenes exchanges that might make a good sermon, and that would have a lot of topics to which many of you could relate from your own lives. So we will bring you - not the whole thirty pages, thankfully - but some excerpts from the discussions about religion and ministry that have been going on since last August, behind the scenes. PRAYER To give thanks is to have needed, and to have received, a gift for which we are too grateful to remain silent. To give thanks is to acknowledge that we have been given something precious that we did not earn. To give thanks is to use all five of our senses, but in new ways: It is to see the invisible things around us, and to rejoice in them: like the glow of warmth from those who care for us, the sparkle of laughter and love which surprise us with joy, or the glimpse of a fuller life, and a better world. To give thanks is to hear the silent things, and to learn their melodies by heart: like the quiet understanding of friends, or the sound of caring To give thanks is to smell of gratitude, or even to reek of it! -- it is to taste the immediate, seasoned with a dash of the infinite. To give thanks is to touch the deep and undoubtable presence of things which could not possibly exist: it is like grasping the most hopeful of possibilities, or feeling life itself passing through us, and blessing us as it passes, or holding and being held by memories still warm to the touch. To give thanks is to have learned how to say YES to life, in all the languages of the heart, mind, body and spirit. And more: it is finally to hear the YES of life, a YES which can unite all the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feelings of life itself into you, into me, into each of us. A medieval theologian named Meister Eckhart once wrote that if the only prayer we ever say in thank you, it will be sufficient. Let us give thanks for the manifold miracles of our lives. Amen. Sermon Cathy: My internship in Austin has been all that it should be, and then some. I was told that internships should be kind of like the "flowering" of a minister, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin no http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2003/05/the-goat-in-the-tree-and-other-miracles/ http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2003/05/the-goat-in-the-tree-and-other-miracles/#comments Sun, 04 May 2003 21:04:40 +0000 tom http://www.austinuu.org/sermon/?p=1038 http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2003/05/the-goat-in-the-tree-and-other-miracles/feed/ 0 © Cathy Harrington 4 May 2003 First UU Church of Austin 4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756 www.austinuu.org Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button. - The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience. © Cathy Harrington 4 May 2003 First UU Church of Austin 4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756 www.austinuu.org Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button. The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience. -Emil... First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin no http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2003/04/the-abcs-of-easter/ http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2003/04/the-abcs-of-easter/#comments Sun, 20 Apr 2003 21:12:26 +0000 tom http://www.austinuu.org/sermon/?p=1042 http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2003/04/the-abcs-of-easter/feed/ 0 Davidson Loehr Cathy Harrington 20 April 2003 First UU Church of Austin 4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756 www.austinuu.org - Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button below. - THE STORIES OF EASTER: Four Gospel Easter Stories Cathy Harrington ... Davidson Loehr Cathy Harrington 20 April 2003 First UU Church of Austin 4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756 www.austinuu.org Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button below. THE STORIES OF EASTER: Four Gospel Easter Stories Cathy Harrington The four gospel versions of Easter morning are very different. All four were compiled from stories that began as an oral tradition during the first decades following the death of Jesus. The first three gospels are called the Synoptic Gospels because they "view together" the events of Jesus' life. They shared common sources and it is apparent that Matthew and Luke used Mark as a "general outline". The fact that four very different Easter stories were placed in the canon is sufficient evidence that these gospel accounts were not meant to be historical. Based on events, maybe, but as the stories were told over and over with different viewpoints, they grew and changed and they were naturally embellished. The intent of four different stories is to convey to the reader the impact that Jesus' life and death had on his disciples, and to open the reader's heart to the possibility of going deeper than an intellectual or literal understanding. Something extraordinary happened. How was it that the followers of Jesus, who were portrayed in all four gospels as being rather stupid and clumsy, as just "not getting it" or even worse as cowards when they fled the crucifixion and deserted their master. How did these disciples begin again and come to a new understanding of the message of their beloved Teacher? This is the miracle of new life that springs out of the resurrection. As liberal theologians have said for at least two centuries, the resurrection happened in the mind of the believers, not the body of Jesus. The good news is that these stories don't have to be thrown away. These ancient stories carry within them a symbolic message of hope, as do stories of Buddha, Moses, Mohammed, or Krishna. The kingdom of God is within us and around us, we simply don't see it. Like the disciples of Jesus, we just don't get it. It has been accurately observed that the patron saint of the Unitarian Universalists, if we had one, would be Doubting Thomas. I invite you to open your hearts and minds to the possibility of hearing the Easter stories in a new way, as if you have come to hear "the good news" for the first time. We'll begin with Easter story from the gospel of Mark, the earliest and the shortest gospel. The First Easter Story After the crucifixion and death of Jesus, the gospel of Mark reveals that the body of Jesus was taken by the man named Joseph, who wrapped him in a linen cloth and laid his body in a tomb that had been hewn out of rock. He then rolled a stone against the opening of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid. Sabbath ended at sundown on Saturday. When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices so that they might go and anoint the body of Jesus. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb, worrying about who will roll away the huge stone. But when they looked up, they saw the stone had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, "He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you." And once the women got outside, they ran away from the tomb, because great fear and excitement got the better of them. And they didn't breath a word of it to anyone: talk about terrified.[1] "A proclamation of the good news (a gospel) that ends with the women saying "nothing to anyone, because they were afraid," is troubling."[2] First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin no http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2003/04/death-be-not-proud/ http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2003/04/death-be-not-proud/#comments Sun, 06 Apr 2003 21:28:23 +0000 tom http://www.austinuu.org/sermon/?p=1047 http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2003/04/death-be-not-proud/feed/ 0 © Cathy Harrington 6 April, 2003 First UU Church of Austin 4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756 www.austinuu.org Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button. - Unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, © Cathy Harrington 6 April, 2003 First UU Church of Austin 4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756 www.austinuu.org Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button. Unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grai... First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin no http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2003/03/nicaragua-some-reflections/ http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2003/03/nicaragua-some-reflections/#comments Sun, 02 Mar 2003 14:52:48 +0000 tom http://www.austinuu.org/sermon/?p=1072 http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2003/03/nicaragua-some-reflections/feed/ 0 Cathy Harrington  March 2, 2003 - The text of this sermon is unavailable but you can listen to the sermon by clicking the play button. - I want to talk to you about my trip to Nicaragua last month. I traveled to Nicagaua with "The Faithful Fools Stree... Cathy Harrington  March 2, 2003 The text of this sermon is unavailable but you can listen to the sermon by clicking the play button. I want to talk to you about my trip to Nicaragua last month. I traveled to Nicagaua with "The Faithful Fools Street Ministry." The Fools have been an important part of my life since my first semester of seminary... First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin no http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2002/12/happy-holy-days/ http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2002/12/happy-holy-days/#comments Mon, 23 Dec 2002 01:05:27 +0000 tom http://www.austinuu.org/sermon/?p=1168 http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2002/12/happy-holy-days/feed/ 0 © Davidson Loehr and Cathy Harrington 22 December 2002 First UU Church of Austin 4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756 www.austinuu.org - Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button. - READING: "Why is it easier to love from afar? © Davidson Loehr and Cathy Harrington 22 December 2002 First UU Church of Austin 4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756 www.austinuu.org Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button. READING: "Why is it easier to love from afar?" Some say... First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin no http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2002/12/blessed-to-receive/ http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2002/12/blessed-to-receive/#comments Sun, 01 Dec 2002 17:05:31 +0000 tom http://www.austinuu.org/sermon/?p=1314 http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2002/12/blessed-to-receive/feed/ 0 Cathy Harrington December 1, 2002 - Text of this sermon is not available but you can listen to the sermon by clicking the play button. Cathy Harrington December 1, 2002 Text of this sermon is not available but you can listen to the sermon by clicking the play button. First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin no http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2002/11/so-much-to-be-thankful-for/ http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2002/11/so-much-to-be-thankful-for/#comments Sun, 24 Nov 2002 16:51:55 +0000 tom http://www.austinuu.org/sermon/?p=1298 http://www.austinuu.org/wp/2002/11/so-much-to-be-thankful-for/feed/ 0 Davidson Loehr and Cathy Harrington November 24, 2002 - Text of this sermon is not available but you can listen to the sermon by clicking the play button. - Celebration of Thanksgiving 2002 Davidson Loehr and Cathy Harrington November 24, 2002 Text of this sermon is not available but you can listen to the sermon by clicking the play button. Celebration of Thanksgiving 2002 First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin no