HOPE – A 4-Letter-Word

Audio Recording

Hope-A 4-Letter-Word (MP3 file) – Recorded and edited on 4/21/2019. Please note that some of the audience responses had to be cut due to poor audio quality

Credit: Flickr User “Viv Lynch“, CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0 License

Order of Service for 4/21/2019

Prelude Music – Tam Kjer Murke Cveto

Lighting the Chalice

Opening words # 652 – Call and response

words by William Ellery Channing (Unitarian preacher)

Welcome & Greeting

Song # 1007 There’s a River Flowin’ in My Soul

Opportunity to Speak for Social Action

Joys & Concerns

Reading our Principles(front of hymnal)

HOPE—a “4-letter-word”
(presented by BHUU member Ken Hood)

  • Introduction
  • Parts 1 and 2
  • Reflection/Audience Feedback
  • Part 3

Song # 344 A Promise through the Ages Rings

Opportunity for Sharing Gifts

  • Music: Beautiful Dreamer, written by Stephen Foster

Extinguishing the Chalice

Closing Words # 691 (all recite)

Help us to be the always hopeful
gardeners of the spirit
who know that without darkness
nothing comes to birth
as without light
nothing flowers.

May Sarton (Unitarian poet)

Circle of Peace and Friendship (words written on the back wall say “Go well into life now, and when you need us, always remember that here you will find the hands of friends”)

Sources and Related Media

  • Danielle Muscato: “Humanism and social justice activism are inseparable. I do activism because I care about human welfare and meaning and health and happiness. I believe that humans are responsible for our own lives and welfare and that positive change comes about through human action. That’s the definition of humanism. Doing social justice activism is a foundational, integral aspect of being a humanist.”
  • Nontheism/Nontheist at WikiPedia
  • HG Wells (quoting from near the end of The Time Machine): “The darkness grew apace; a cold wind began to blow in freshening gusts from the east, and the showering white flakes in the air increased in number. From the edge of the sea came a ripple and whisper. Beyond these lifeless sounds the world was silent. Silent? It would be hard to convey the stillness of it. All the sounds of man, the bleating of sheep, the cries of birds, the hum of insects, the stir that makes the background of our lives—all that was over.”
  • Ryan Bell reflecting on his interview with Prof. John Gray, a noted critic of Humanism (transcript typed by Ken Hood): “I don’t think we need to decide between the optimist and the pessimist. The real challenge of post-theism is to be a realist. Sometimes reality gives us reason to hope and sometimes it does not.” Relevant audio begins at 50:53 in the video.
  • Sincere Kirabo: “I don’t think it’s possible to fully realize my ambitions for social transformation. At least not in the US. I don’t consider acknowledging this as being pessimistic. I’m a realist. I may think or dream big, but I’m grounded enough to accept that the legacies of oppression that shape our world, and the conditions that perpetuate these legacies, are extraordinarily difficult to dismantle. Regardless, the fight is necessary. All of the battles waged and little victories won along the way towards those seemingly unattainable end goals help inch marginalized communities that much closer to a freer tomorrow. This in and of itself makes the fight worthwhile.”
  • Recommended listening: “Broken and Really Broken,” by David Breeden, Humanist minister at First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis.