Sunday, April 5, 2009

Sunday, April 5 - A GOOD WORD FOR JUDAS - A few years ago, my friend and professor Paul Trudinger published his book "A Good Word for Jesus" and, not surprisingly, I addressed this theme in my Christmas sermon that year. Well, as the Easter season approaches, is it possible to conceive of a good word for Judas? Recent scholarship has greatly expanded our knowledge of this shadowy figure, who is remembered for his betrayal of Jesus in the events leading to the crucifixion. Is it time to reassess our estimate of the ultimate traitor in the history of Christendom? Rev. Stefan M. Jonasson



Services begin at 11:00 a.m. at the Arborg Unitarian Church, Ingolfs Street at River Road, followed by light refreshments. Everyone welcome!

The Annual Meeting of both the Arborg Unitarian Church and the Gimli Unitarian Church will follow the service. A light lunch will be provided before the meeting.

March Services

March 1 – A Profile in Ambiguity – Although his tenure in the White House was consumed by domestic issues, most notably the Civil War, few historic presidents are as widely known or well-loved outside the United States as Abraham Lincoln. Born on the same day as Charles Darwin, 200 years ago, Lincoln has proven to be far less controversial in religious circles than the naturalist who shares his birthday. Every faith would like to claim him, it seems. This is strange, indeed, since Lincoln’s religious views were ambivalent, at best, or antagonistic, at worst, notwithstanding his clever invocations of the language of reverence. Rev. Stefan M. Jonasson

March 15 – The Possibility-Driven Life – Pastor Rick Warren was recently the centre of much controversy after he was invited to offer the invocation at the inauguration of Barack Obama in January. For many, this may have been the first they ever heard of Rick Warren; for others, he is well-known as the author of The Purpose-Driven Life. As it turned out, his inaugural prayer was rather pedestrian; so is the theology behind his book! I’m sceptical of people who believe they have a foreknowledge of their life’s purpose, or anyone else’s for that matter. Our lives are driven by our responses to the possibilities we encounter, rather than the fulfillment of some preordained purpose. Rev. Stefan M. Jonasson

Services begin at 11:00 a.m. at the Arborg Unitarian Church, Ingolfs Street at River Road, followed by light refreshments. Everyone welcome!

February Services

February 1 – Hold On to Your Hats: All of Unitarian Universalist History in Just Under Two Thousand Words – “Our uncle asks about the new-fangled questionable religion we’ve stumbled into—he’s never heard of it before—and it sounds a little sketchy to him. The guy across the hall thinks we’ve joined a cult that someone dreamt up ten minutes ago. The mom of our child’s friend wants to be supportive—or maybe just tolerant—but not supportive enough to recognize a religion that has no grounding in history—that’s her impression, anyway.” Well, Rev. Jane Rzepka of the Church of the Larger Fellowship answers back with her distillation of our history into about one word per year! Lay Service

February 15 – From So Simple a Beginning – Two hundred years after his birth, Charles Darwin remains a controversial figure, especially among people of faith. However, evolution is a fact and Darwin’s theory concerning its mechanism remains a milestone in our modern scientific understanding of the world in which we live. Having articulated his theory of natural selection, Darwin himself marveled that, “from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” Rev. Stefan M. Jonasson

Services begin at 11:00 a.m. at the Arborg Unitarian Church, Ingolfs Street at River Road, followed by light refreshments. Everyone welcome!

January Services

January 4: no service today.

January 18: A Prayer for Spiritual Diversity - This day marks the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Now, I have no objection to Christians everywhere seeking that spirit of unity in faith which brings people together in pursuit of holy ends. But our capacity for religious chauvinism has always troubled me, so I fear that, for some, their aspirations for Christian unity will be confused with their desire for doctrinal sameness. As a corrective, I will pray for spiritual diversity, knowing that a deeper unity can grow only from our awareness and appreciation of religious differences. Rev. Stefan M. Jonasson

Services begin at 11:00 a.m. at the Arborg Unitarian Church, Ingolfs Street at River Road, followed by light refreshments. Everyone welcome!

December Services

December 7: Imagine No Religion – While watching Bill Maher’s satirical documentary, Religulous, the words of John Lennon’s utopian anthem “Imagine” entered my thoughts: “Imagine there’s no countries. / It isn’t hard to do. / Nothing to kill or die for, / and no religion too. / Imagine all the people / Living life in peace.” Imagine no religion? In Maher’s view, religion seems ridiculous, at its best, and an incitement to violence, at its worst. On leaving the theatre, imagining a world without religion seemed like a good idea. Or is it? Rev. Stefan M. Jonasson

December 21: The Feast of Stephen (Colbert) – Christmas is such an ancient festival that it’s very easy to fall into a rut at this time of year. While the economic downtown may serve to curtail the worst of the season’s consumer excesses, there's no reason why merriment can't prevail. This year, humorist Stephen Colbert has reminded us what G.K. Chesterton meant when he wrote, "Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly!" Join us for a light-hearted celebration of the festival of light. As is our custom, we invite those joining us for this service to bring gifts for The Mitten Tree -- clothing, nonperishable food items, toys and gifts -- to be passed on to the Arborg Cheer Board. Rev. Stefan M. Jonasson

Services begin at 11:00 a.m. at the Arborg Unitarian Church, Ingolfs Street at River Road, followed by light refreshments. Everyone welcome!

November Services

November 2: The Slippery Path Called Life – In Angels of the Universe, Einar Már Guðmundsson’s protagonist laments, “I still don’t know why I didn’t manage to keep a better footing on the slippery path called life, why some people go through it straight down the main road while others wander endlessly around dim alleyways.” In affirming the worth and dignity of persons, we will ponder this slippery path. Rev. Stefan M. Jonasson

November 16: Seeking Our Universalist Self – Ever since Unitarians and Universalists merged into one religious entity in 1961, there has been confusion and discussion around our two-part name. It behoves us to redis­cover, understand and treasure our Universalist origins and to cele­brate our dual name. We should, with pride and conviction – and more often – say both words toge­ther: Unitarian Universalist. Dr. Donald A. Bailey

Services begin at 11:00 a.m. at the Arborg Unitarian Church, Ingolfs Street at River Road, followed by light refreshments. Everyone welcome!