Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Greater Cumberland

April 5 – Barbara Hurd: “Consider the Lilies”

Emily Dickinson, the prolific poet and avid gardener who grew up in a religious household in the mid-1800’s, once confessed that the only Biblical commandment she ever obeyed was this from Luke 12:27: “Consider the lilies.”
Our discussion will begin with those lilies, common symbol of Easter, and go on to explore why Dickinson might have made that claim and what, if anything, we can learn by “considering” various plants in all their various forms. These questions, which we’ll explore through poetry and prose, have less to do with botany and food sources and more to do with what paying attention to the plant world can teach us about patience, aging, the problematic value of beauty, and living a full life.
Barbara Hurd is a widely published, award-winning author who writes mostly about the natural world. She has lived in Western Maryland for many decades.

April 12 – Rev. Paul Britner: “Who do others say I am?”

Because Jesus was a real person, no one “owns” him or his image in the same way, for example, an author may own a character in a story. This sermon compares the Christian image of Jesus with other images from other traditions. 

April 19 – JD Stillwater:  “Monkey Business – Jane Goodall & Other Animals”

Humans are special, right? We have tools, language, self-awareness, morality … or are we? Jane Goodall’s impressive legacy includes rescuing the science of animal behavior from its own religion-based dogma. Knowing we evolved, is it really so surprising that our cousins have qualities we once thought unique to us?

April 26 – Rev. Paul Britner: “Courage”

Courage is a virtue that, in some ways, is no different than any other virtue—love, forgiveness, and justice to name three—that can be nurtured and grown. It’s also different from other virtues in ways that Paul will share in this message.