"When a child is hungry, he oughta be fed." Those are the opening words of soul singer Naomi Shelton's song "Am I Asking Too Much," this week's inspiration for Rev. Ken Beldon's message. In a competitive culture where many of us feel we're in survival mode, how do we continue to see clearly so that we can love deeply?
Allow yourself to be surprised by joy. Rev. Ken Beldon is inspired by the Sean Staples song "Joy Comes Back" as he reminds us to prepare ourselves to feel joy, even when it seems very far away indeed.
Sunday Message
Sunday Message
"Scabs are mercy. New skin is grace." A little scrawl on the street inspired ministerial intern Lee Paczulla in this message about the Christian rock song "Worn" by Tenth Avenue North. She discusses her own wounds, scars, and the gifts they have to offer.
How do we heal from painful legacies? Leonard Cohen sang these words: "Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything; that's how the light gets it." Rev. Ken Beldon says at midlife, we can make better sense of what we inherited and leave behind a legacy of healing.
At midlife, we reflect on Emily Dickinson's insight: "Because I could not stop for Death, Death kindly stopped for me..." How has the awareness of your mortality, or the mortality of those you care about, deepened your spiritual journey? Rev. Ken Beldon quotes Lou Reed and Neil deGrasse Tyson in his message, "When I Leave This Joint At Some Further Point."
At midlife we often bump up against some frustrating limits. How can knowing our limitations at midlife teach us greater joy? Connection? Caring for our own life and the lives of others? In understanding the joy of limited possibilities, we can discover a more profound realization of our gifts.
In the '80s, the Talking Heads famously sang about a beautiful house and a beautiful wife and asked, "Well, how did I get here?" No matter where we are in life, we are not where we once were. And we don't know where we are going to be. Is midlife a crisis or an opportunity? Rev. Ken Beldon talks about faith in the midst of our lives.
In our daily lives, are we really seeing people? Or are we seeing them as objects? Rev. Ken Beldon encourages us to reach for a deeper understanding of self, community, and the world.
"Your heart is a drum keeping time with everyone," musician Beck sings. In this week's message, Rev. Ken Beldon reminds us all of how much we share in this world.
What do we do in the face of fear or pain? How can we work with the hard things in our lives? Ministerial intern Lee Paczulla delivers this week's message, "We Share the World."
Moved by the death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rev. Ken Beldon talks about the wisdom of the phrase "here I am" in the process of recovering from addiction.
The world will not perish for lack of information; it may perish from want of appreciation, said Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. Explore playfulness, wonder, curiosity, and a story about how a blue balloon can help.
The most important question we can ask ourselves: Is the universe a friendly place or not? Paraphrasing Einstein, Rev. Ken Beldon continues his series "The Power of With" by exploring "cosmic friendliness" and the concept of "happification" as WellSprings celebrates its 7th birthday.
Inspired by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's teaching on interdependence, Rev. Ken Beldon discusses how we can move beyond "other" and see other people with love and compassion.
In his first installment of the message series "The Power of With," Rev. Ken Beldon invites us to take a New Year's inventory. Many religions tell us to be hostile to ourselves to grow. Instead let's cultivate humility and vulnerability to work with who we are and what we have.
To end our series about the regrets of the dying, ministerial intern Lee Paczulla asks how we can open our lives to be happier, even when life doesn't seem happy.
In his 2013 Christmas Eve message, Rev. Ken Beldon invites us to explore innocence as we commemorate the birth of Christ.
In this fourth message of the series Regrets of the Dying, Rev. Ken talks about losing and regaining connections with one's friends.
"I wish I hadn't worked so hard" is a painful deathbed regret. It's just one of the top five regrets of the dying listed in a book by a hospice nurse. How can we live a life so we have fewer regrets at the end? Rev. Ken Beldon brings in lessons from Dickens in his message series Un-Scrooge.
December's message series, "UnScrooge," is based on a book by a hospice nurse, "The Top Five Regrets of the Dying." The miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is a perfect illustration of them. What can we do to have a life without those regrets? Rev. Ken Beldon examines regret #1: "I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me."
Every November before Thanksgiving, members of WellSprings reflect on a poem by Mary Oliver and its final line: "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" Members from kids to seniors make us laugh and cry with the stories of their lives so far, and their lives yet to come. In part 2, we hear from speakers Cole Kerper, age 6, Chris Massi, who is in his 20s, Caroline Pelley, 40-something, and Kathleen Higgens, 60-something.
Every November before Thanksgiving, members of WellSprings reflect on a poem by Mary Oliver and its final line: "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" Members from kids to seniors make us laugh and cry with the stories of their lives so far, and their lives yet to come. In part 1 of these messages, we hear from Brian Scullion, 13, Vanessa Louis, 30-something, and Holly Beebee, 50-something
As we move into this season of Thanksgiving, Rev. Ken Beldon says to cultivate our spiritual lives, formation is more important than information. Curiosity, compassion, and openness are the fruits of character.
Life is full of tests: endurance, aptitude, "manliness." But as Rev. Ken Beldon shows us, the only tests that matter are those that reveal our character. He weaves together stories from his childhood, Dr. Seuss, and the current Miami Dolphins bullying scandal.
Rev. Ken Beldon explores the many ways we are created to connect. He talks about the "Hugging Point" and how beloved community can help us cultivate our character.
In his new message series "Sow Good Seeds," Rev. Ken Beldon challenges the idea that Unitarian Universalists can believe anything. Not if we want to grow spiritually, he says. Bigger than any belief is the content of our character.
How do we use our power well and wisely? In the wake of Coatesville, Pennsylvania school administrators caught sending racist and sexist texts, Rev. Ken Beldon calls a lack of empathy one of the great moral challenges of our time. In a powerful message, he pushes all of us to stretch closer to compassion.
On the date of the Breaking Bad TV series finale, Rev. Ken Beldon (a huge fan) explores why hurt people hurt people. How does faith deal with questions of pain, karma and forgiveness in the face of a monster like Walter White? (You'll hear some laughter when Rev. Ken notes how much Walter White resembles the church band's keyboardist.)
