All Souls Unitarian Church

This sermon, part two of a three-part series, was delivered on Sunday, December 16, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Have you ever asked: “How can there be a God when there are innocent children starving to death, being abducted, sold into slavery, and treated unfairly because of their race, gender, and more?” Can...

This sermon, part three of a three-part series, was delivered on Sunday, December 16, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Tamara Lebak, Associate Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Have you ever asked: “How can there be a God when there are innocent children starving to death, being abducted, sold into slavery, and treated unfairly because of their race, gender, and more?” Ca...

Sermon delivered on Sunday, December 9, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Our nation is currently engaged in the longest war of our history. At the same time, it seems that for many Americans we barely feel that our country is at war. Somehow the prolonged conflict in Afghanistan has been made easy for the American...

Sermon delivered on Sunday, November 25, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION One thing I’ve learned since moving to Oklahoma is how to “bless people’s hearts.” This is not a phrase one hears often on the East Coast. I’ve discovered that you can say just about anything about a person here in Oklahoma as long as you beg...

Sermon delivered on Sunday, November 25, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Bishop Carlton Pearson, Guest Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Giving is something we do, given is something we are, or should be. One is an external act, the other is an internal fact. Deep within the soul and spirit of humanity is an innate and intrinsic virtue and valor to give as well as receive. It...

Sermon delivered on Sunday, November 25, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Barbara Prose, Assistant Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Do you remember the Lone Ranger? The iconic American hero, who rode into towns along the Western frontier, saved the day, and then rode away before anyone could thank him? As we leave Thanksgiving behind and head toward the great gift exchan...

The homily, explaining why everyone is welcome at the table of Love Beyond Belief, was delivered on Sunday, November 18, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SUBSCRIBE TO PODCAST: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/all-souls-unitarian-church/id193096943 VIEW ON YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/user/AllSoulsUnitarian?feature=mhee SUBSCRIBE...

Message delivered on Sunday, November 18, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Eric Banner, Intern Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION It's not hard to choose gratitude when times are easy, but it is even more important to choose gratitude when times are tough. In this message I explore what Oklahomans know about surviving hard times, like the Dust Bowl and having your house burn do...

Sermon delivered on Sunday, November 11, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Patrick Henry (in 1799) famously said, “United we stand; divided we fall. Let us not split into factions which must destroy that union upon which our existence hangs.” It is said in different words in the Bible, “A house divided against itsel...

Sermon delivered on Sunday, November 4, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Tamara Lebak, Associate Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Author and researcher Dr. Robert Emmons believes he has discovered what gives life meaning: Gratitude. Emmons is a professor at the University of California and supports his claim with research that suggests people who view life as a gift and...

Sermon delivered on Sunday, October 28, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Since Mitt Romney became the Republican nominee for president, many people have wondered, “What exactly is Mormonism?” “Is it Christianity? ”Do they really believe Jesus will return to earth in Missouri?" There are many questions and much inte...

Sermon delivered on Sunday, October 21, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Tamara Lebak, Associate Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION There is a wonderful scene in Alice in Wonderland where Alice is swimming in a pool of her own tears, and she encounters a mouse swimming along near her. Alice innocently tries to connect with the mouse around stories of her cat Dinah. Alice r...

Sermon delivered on Sunday, October 14, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Last Sunday, I changed my sermon topic to respond to a tragedy in our community. I want to thank everyone in the family of All Souls for rising to the situation and pulling together to respond with love and compas- sion. This coming Sunday, I...

Sermon delivered on Sunday, October 7, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION How can life be all right, when everything seems all wrong? When facing difficult, life-altering circumstances in our lives, when dealing with bitter consequences of choices that we or other people have made, and when wondering what to do and s...

Sermon delivered on Sunday, September 30, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Tamara Lebak, Associate Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Frederick Buechner writes, “What the word ‘home’ brings to mind, before anything else, is a special place that is clearly distinguishable from all other places. It is a place where you feel you belong, and which, in some sense, belongs to yo...

Sermon delivered on Sunday, September 23, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Is Evolutionism enough of a worldview to base one’s religion, or moral system of living? We will explore how the Theory of Evolution offers a moral way of understanding the world and our place in it and how the evolutionary worldview does no...

Message delivered on Sunday, September 16, 2012, during The Point, the Humanist service at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION In the course of a life, everyone faces at least a few really hard, sometimes heart-wrenching, and often life-changing decisions. When it is a clear, good-versus-bad proposition, it is not usually too...

Sermon delivered on Sunday, September 16, 2012, during the Contemporary Worship Service at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION In the course of a life, everyone faces at least a few really hard, sometimes heart-wrenching, and often life-changing decisions. When it is a clear, good-versus-bad proposition, it is not usually too...

Message delivered on Homecoming Sunday, September 9, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. MESSAGE DESCRIPTION The Point is a new Humanist service (every Sunday at 8:30 AM CST) that draws from history, philosophy, literature, poetry and nature. No robes, no hymns, no prayers or scriptures. Just a relevant message, inspiring music by Rick...

Sermon delivered on Sunday, September 2, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Gerald L. Davis, Adjunct Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION As we bid farewell to the sultry days of this record-breaking Oklahoma summer, we notice how we have gravitated toward states of being that do not move us to exertion. For sure, heat makes you weary. Our comfortable twenty-first century cond...

Sermon delivered on Sunday, August 26, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Have you ever noticed yourself getting very upset, very depressed, or very desirous about someone or something and wondered afterward, “What came over me?” In ancient times, we might have thought of these occurrences as possessions. Even today,...

Sermon delivered on Sunday, August 19, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Tamara Lebak, Associate Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Historical data from the last 30–50 years, according to sociologist Keith Hampton, shows that neighboring in America has declined. A current study found that only 25 percent of us know our neighbors’ names, and 8 percent don’t know any of them...

Sermon delivered on Sunday, August 12, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Pastor Randy Lewis, Student Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION It has been said, “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." The quote implies that for the sake of liberty, extremism can be justified. For liberty’s sake, we’ve seen passions inflamed,...

Sermon delivered on Sunday, August 12, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Gary Kowalski, Guest Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Back in town for his high school’s 40th reunion, Rev. Gary Kowalski (who grew up in All Souls) muses on what has changed for better and worse in the intervening decades – particularly in the department of race relations. Gary is minister emeritus...

Sermon delivered on Sunday, August 5, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Watching the Olympics can inspire a person to dream of success, achievement, recognition and the thrill of victory. It can also remind us of the pain of defeat, disappointment, or dashed dreams. Embedded in these modern games are many archetypes...