The homilies were delivered on Sunday, December 17, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Barbara Prose, Bishop Carlton Pearson, and Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar. DESCRIPTION Join us for one celebratory service, uniting our congregation which attend our three services, with uplifting music from our choirs. Marlin, Barbara, and Carlton will share their messages about the love which unites us as one community of All Souls – a diverse community with varying perspectives and ex...
Dec 17, 2017•27 min
The message was delivered on Sunday, December 10, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister, at the Humanist Service. MESSAGE DESCRIPTION During the darkest times in our lives, we look for hope and often find it in some of the most unusual places. As the winter solstice approaches, we are in the darkest season of the year and it is a time of celebrations that involve a lot of lights and symbols of hope. Our ministers and musicians have b...
Dec 10, 2017•18 min
The sermon was delivered on Sunday, December 10, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Bishop Carlton D. Pearson, Affiliate Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION “They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.” ―Tom Bodett Hope basically means happy anticipation of good. For some, hope means happy anticipation of God! Hope evolves and involves—aspirations, desires, wishes, expectations, ambitions...
Dec 10, 2017•32 min
The sermon was delivered on Sunday, December 10, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION During the darkest times in our lives, we look for hope and often find it in some of the most unusual places. As the winter solstice approaches, we are in the darkest season of the year and it is a time of celebrations that involve a lot of lights and symbols of hope. Our ministers and musicians have been working to create servi...
Dec 10, 2017•18 min
The message was delivered on Sunday, December 3, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Barbara Prose, Executive Director of Ministry, at the Humanist Service. MESSAGE DESCRIPTION “Hope is a duty. In the context of a planet and people in peril, we have an obligation to our own being and to our descendants to study our life and our condition, searching for the authentic underpinnings of hope. If we look carefully, these underpinnings can still be found.” - Wendell Berry, ...
Dec 03, 2017•27 min
The message was delivered on Sunday, November 26, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister, at the Humanist Service. MESSAGE DESCRIPTION Nobody gets through this life without hurting others and being hurt. Yet we need to get up each day and live into the future. Figuring out how to free ourselves from hurt, so we can meet the day unafraid, without anger, and with a sense of our own wholeness is complicated. Join me to reflect on what ca...
Nov 26, 2017•24 min
The sermon was delivered on Sunday, November 26, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Bishop Carlton D. Pearson, Affiliate Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION "If you can't forgive and forget, pick one." -Robert Brault Forgiving doesn't mean forgetting. Forgiving doesn't mean you've given the message that what someone did was okay. Forgiveness means to let go of the anger or guilt towards someone or towards yourself. But that can be easier said than done. If forgiveness was easy, ...
Nov 26, 2017•43 min
The sermon was delivered on Sunday, November 26, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Nobody gets through this life without hurting others and being hurt. Yet we need to get up each day and live into the future. Figuring out how to free ourselves from hurt, so we can meet the day unafraid, without anger, and with a sense of our own wholeness is complicated. Join me to reflect on what can free us from the bonds of...
Nov 26, 2017•27 min
The service was delivered on Sunday, November 19, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar & Rev. Barbara Prose. SERVICE DESCRIPTION Come together in gratitude to celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday. Our Cherub, Children's, Youth, YAVE, New Dimensions, and Adult Choirs will share their gifts of song. We'll experience an interactive presentation of the heart and soul of our church. Join us to watch our Simple Gifts, Too painting by P.S. Gordon come to...
Nov 19, 2017•28 min
The message was delivered on Sunday, November 12, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Barbara Prose, Executive Director of Ministry, at the Humanist Service. MESSAGE DESCRIPTION November is American Indian Heritage Month, and Oklahoma is in the news, with Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. David Grann’s non-fiction book is on Best Seller lists across the country and the story happened here. The names of the towns are familiar: Pawh...
Nov 12, 2017•46 min
The sermon was delivered on Sunday, November 12, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION This month, 500 years ago, Martin Luther’s 95 Theses sparked the Protestant Reformation. What he began in Wittenberg, Germany continues to influence us today. Every generation since has wrestled with his challenge - What is the role of the Bible in understanding truth? How are you, I, and All Souls related to this struggle for r...
Nov 12, 2017•30 min
The sermon was delivered on Sunday, November 12, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Barbara Prose, Executive Director of Ministry. SERMON DESCRIPTION November is American Indian Heritage Month, and Oklahoma is in the news, with Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. David Grann’s non-fiction book is on Best Seller lists across the country and the story happened here. The names of the towns are familiar: Pawhuska, Fairfax, Gray Horse. ...
Nov 12, 2017•43 min
The message was delivered on Sunday, November 5, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister, at the Humanist Service. MESSAGE DESCRIPTION This month, 500 years ago, Martin Luther's 95 Theses sparked the Protestant Reformation. What he began in Wittenberg, Germany continues to influence us today. Every generation since has wrestled with his challenge - What is the role of the Bible in understanding truth? How are you, I, and All Souls rela...
Nov 05, 2017•37 min
The sermon was delivered on Sunday, November 5, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Bishop Carlton D. Pearson, Affiliate Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Forgiveness is an art form. Accomplishing it takes practice, skill, training and transformation. If, in fact, it means to stop feeling angry or resentful toward (someone) for an offense, flaw, or mistake, then it should begin first with self-forgiveness, eh? We are only as hard on others as we are on ourselves. If you don't f...
Nov 05, 2017•38 min
The message was delivered on Sunday, October 29, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Barbara Prose, Executive Director of Ministry, at the Humanist Service. MESSAGE DESCRIPTION Many of us have seen our family rituals around death change in our lifetimes. A generation ago, Dr. Wolf was fighting against the corruption of the local funeral home industry. More and more Americans today are comfortable with cremation, while there’s a growing interest in green burials. This ...
Oct 29, 2017•12 min
The sermon was delivered on Sunday, October 29, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Bishop Carlton D. Pearson, Affiliate Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION The mystery, or missed story, of death has been a pre-occupation to humans since we recognized we were alive. Looking to Newton’s 3rd law - For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction - we can assume death is an equal and opposite reaction to life, and vice versa. In a sense, life is death in another form and su...
Oct 29, 2017•32 min
The sermon was delivered on Sunday, October 29, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION As we conclude the poignant theme of Death, we’ll focus on ways that love never dies and how people continue to live on within the lives of those who love them long after they are gone. For the last few years, member Eduardo Ramirez has helped us celebrate Dia de los Muertos. Everyone is invited and encouraged to bring a photo or...
Oct 29, 2017•12 min
The sermon was delivered on Sunday, October 22, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Bishop Carlton D. Pearson, Affiliate Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Life and death, like faith and doubt, are not necessarily enemies, just cooperative opponents. Opposition means having a position on the other or further side of something. Life is in a “face off” with death. The older I get, the more I realize everything is relative and in some strange, mystical, and scientific way, everythi...
Oct 22, 2017•36 min
The sermon was delivered on Sunday, October 22, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Barbara Prose, Executive Director of Ministry. SERMON DESCRIPTION The one thing you can count on is change. One friend is pregnant, a nephew is moving to take a new job, a daughter is getting married, a son is getting divorced. The headlines are new each day and with their focus on conflict, can often feel destabilizing if not debilitating. How can we stay calm and centered when change...
Oct 22, 2017•27 min
The sermon was delivered on Sunday, October 15, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION There is an old idea that something in us must die so that we can fully live. Has this ever made sense to you? Are you aware of how the death of certain attitudes, ideas, dreams, relationships and other things must end in order for new life to emerge? The relationship between death and life is more than about the death of a perso...
Oct 15, 2017•20 min
The message was delivered on Sunday, October 8, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister, at the Humanist Service. MESSAGE DESCRIPTION "Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time." - Pink Floyd, excerpt from Time. Do you ever feel this way? We all have competing priorities and opportunities and it can be hard to know how to use the limited time we have. Rick Fortner and David B. Smith created a special version of the son...
Oct 08, 2017•25 min
The sermon was delivered on Sunday, October 8, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Bishop Carlton D. Pearson, Affiliate Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Could death be another form of life or of living? From the day we are born, the process of death or dying begins. The Apostle Paul in scripture wrote that he figuratively died daily. Does death in life make practical sense to us? And is the presumed "ultimate" or final death anything more than a transition to another form of l...
Oct 08, 2017•40 min
The sermon was delivered on Sunday, October 8, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION "Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time." - Pink Floyd, excerpt from Time. Do you ever feel this way? We all have competing priorities and opportunities and it can be hard to know how to use the limited time we have. Rick Fortner and David B. Smith created a special version of the song, Time, by Pink Floyd to a...
Oct 08, 2017•27 min
The message was delivered on Sunday, October 1, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Barbara Prose, Executive Director of Ministry, at the Humanist Service. MESSAGE DESCRIPTION This Sunday we consider the many ways water shapes our lives. Long-time member Jean Ann Fausser, who won this sermon in last year’s Gala, will have an original piece of art entitled, A River Runs Through Me, featured in the sanctuary. Water is the source of life. It also destroys life. Water is ...
Oct 01, 2017•25 min
The sermon was delivered on Sunday, October 1, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Gerald L. Davis, Affiliate Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION There are times when we think in binary ways about complexities of life. If we fall into the trap of an either/or solution, we discount the vast creative impulses of this thing we call life. Some people say to be vulnerable is to be courageous, while others think being vulnerable is not showing courage. I want to apply another way ...
Oct 01, 2017•31 min
The sermon was delivered on Sunday, October 1, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Barbara Prose, Executive Director of Ministry. SERMON DESCRIPTION This Sunday we consider the many ways water shapes our lives. Long-time member Jean Ann Fausser, who won this sermon in last year’s Gala, will have an original piece of art entitled, A River Runs Through Me, featured in the sanctuary. Water is the source of life. It also destroys life. Water is a human right. It is also b...
Oct 01, 2017•22 min
The message was delivered on Sunday, September 24, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister, at the Humanist Service. MESSAGE DESCRIPTION We are all storytellers. We not only tell other people stories, we tell ourselves stories. Some of the stories we tell ourselves keep us captive. Giving credence to a story is a kind of faith. In that way, we all have faith in something. However, it’s important to be careful what stories we believe. S...
Sep 24, 2017•18 min
The sermon was delivered on Sunday, September 24, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Barbara Prose, Executive Director of Ministry. SERMON DESCRIPTION When I grow impatient, beneath the surface, I am often angry with the current state of affairs – whether they are political or personal. But Jesus taught us that the Kingdom of Heaven on earth is here and now, within our own hearts, minds, and souls. If peace lies within, our impatience can be a problem, even an obstac...
Sep 24, 2017•46 min
The sermon was delivered on Sunday, September 24, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION We are all storytellers. We not only tell other people stories, we tell ourselves stories. Some of the stories we tell ourselves keep us captive. Giving credence to a story is a kind of faith. In that way, we all have faith in something. However, it’s important to be careful what stories we believe. Some stories open our world ...
Sep 24, 2017•18 min
The sermon was delivered on Sunday, September 17, 2017, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION My message is a celebration of the ties that unite us across our freedom to believe. It is fascinating and important how our congregation at All Souls stays united with so many different ways of believing. Come explore what holds us together and why it's so important in these times. SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST: WATCH THIS SERMON...
Sep 17, 2017•31 min
