 | A Hardware Store as Proof of the Existence of God by The Reverend Dr. Daniel Kanter Come worship with the UU's! |
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Photo by: Janne Moren - Hardware store: Everything hardware in a few square meters. Hanoi, Vietnam. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jannem/10359526436/in/photolist-gMrhhL CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Photo by: Janne Moren - Hardware store: Everything hardware in a few square meters. Hanoi, Vietnam. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jannem/10359526436/in/photolist-gMrhhL CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Service Details
| Ringing the Bell Invocation & Opening Words Singing Together: Rainbow Connection |
| Sung by Kermit the Frog Songwriters: Kenny Ascher / Paul Hamilton Williams Why are there so many songs about rainbows And what's on the other side? Rainbows are visions, but only illusions And rainbows have nothing to hide So we've been told, and some choose to believe it | |
I know they're wrong, wait and see
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers, and me
Who said that every wish would be heard and answered
When wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that, and someone believed it
Look what it's done so far
What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing
And what do we think we might see?
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers, and me
All of us under its spell
We know that it's probably magic
Have you been half asleep, and have you heard voices?
I've heard them calling my name
Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors?
The voice might be one and the same
I've heard it too many times to ignore it
It's something that I'm supposed to be
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers, and me
La-da-da-de-da-da-do
La-da-da-da-da-de-da-do
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers, and me
Who said that every wish would be heard and answered
When wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that, and someone believed it
Look what it's done so far
What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing
And what do we think we might see?
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers, and me
All of us under its spell
We know that it's probably magic
Have you been half asleep, and have you heard voices?
I've heard them calling my name
Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors?
The voice might be one and the same
I've heard it too many times to ignore it
It's something that I'm supposed to be
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers, and me
La-da-da-de-da-da-do
La-da-da-da-da-de-da-do
Chalice Lighting
Welcome
Of Our Hearts
Pastoral Reflection & Silence
Excerpt from: Do Something Cool Finding the Beauty in Everyday Life by Steve Bloom
Have you ever watched the movie American Beauty? There’s a scene in the movie where a character is watching a plastic bag floating in the wind. The bag drifts back and forth and up into the air as the wind shifts direction.
As the character watches, he says, “sometimes there is so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can’t take it.”
It’s the rather humbling idea that beauty surrounds us. It’s here every day, only it’s hidden in the seemingly insignificant parts of our daily routine. How many of us would have passed by this floating plastic bag and never given it a second thought?
The character in the movie found immense beauty in an everyday item – a plastic bag floating in the wind. But can it really be that simple?
I think it is. There are many everyday things – things everyone else around me fails to notice – that make me feel as if the world is a very beautiful place.
He found everyday beauty in a plastic bag. I find beauty in my morning cup of coffee. It may sound strange, but if I pour my cup of coffee in the morning the right way, the contents swirl together into whitish foam that floats to the surface. If I do it just right, it looks beautiful.
How many times did I wake up in the morning, pour my coffee like that, but fail to notice it? For that matter, how many beautiful things are going on around me right now that I’m failing to notice?
And then I wonder more deeply about my coffee. I think about all the people it takes to ship the beans here, package them and sell them to me.
All so I can enjoy a good cup of coffee every morning.
These people, whether they intend it or not, make my life so much better just by being there.
That, to me, is a beautiful idea.
A lot of everyday beautiful things surround us – only most people never take the time to see them. They’re all too focused on the tasks ahead of them or the routines in their life to take time out and look for them.
It’s as if they have blinders on and can only see what is directly in front of them.
It’s for this reason that I’m fascinated with some Andy Warhol paintings especially the ones that include Campbell’s soup cans and bananas. By putting those ordinary objects front and center, he’s trying to show viewers the everyday beauty we all too often miss.
That’s why I’ve develop a simple habit. Every once in a while, I stop what I’m doing and take five minutes to just look around me. I shift my focus away from my daily routine and check out my surroundings.
It’s crazy what beautiful things you’ll discover.
I remember one time in college when I did this. While walking on campus, I looked – I mean really looked – at the trees growing on the grounds.
I never really noticed before how beautiful they were.
I must have passed by them hundreds of times, but never gave them more than a glance. It was only when I stopped and focused my attention on them that I could recognize just how beautiful they are.
That’s the big difference between the negative images happening around us and the beautiful ones. Negative and ugly imagery gets in your face and forces you to pay attention to them.
The beautiful things in life require you to seek them out. And when you do take the time to search for them, you can find there’s a lot more everyday beauty around you than you realize. It’s just one way to bring a little more brightness into a world that can often be too gray.
Welcome
Of Our Hearts
Pastoral Reflection & Silence
Excerpt from: Do Something Cool Finding the Beauty in Everyday Life by Steve Bloom
Have you ever watched the movie American Beauty? There’s a scene in the movie where a character is watching a plastic bag floating in the wind. The bag drifts back and forth and up into the air as the wind shifts direction.
As the character watches, he says, “sometimes there is so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can’t take it.”
It’s the rather humbling idea that beauty surrounds us. It’s here every day, only it’s hidden in the seemingly insignificant parts of our daily routine. How many of us would have passed by this floating plastic bag and never given it a second thought?
The character in the movie found immense beauty in an everyday item – a plastic bag floating in the wind. But can it really be that simple?
I think it is. There are many everyday things – things everyone else around me fails to notice – that make me feel as if the world is a very beautiful place.
He found everyday beauty in a plastic bag. I find beauty in my morning cup of coffee. It may sound strange, but if I pour my cup of coffee in the morning the right way, the contents swirl together into whitish foam that floats to the surface. If I do it just right, it looks beautiful.
How many times did I wake up in the morning, pour my coffee like that, but fail to notice it? For that matter, how many beautiful things are going on around me right now that I’m failing to notice?
And then I wonder more deeply about my coffee. I think about all the people it takes to ship the beans here, package them and sell them to me.
All so I can enjoy a good cup of coffee every morning.
These people, whether they intend it or not, make my life so much better just by being there.
That, to me, is a beautiful idea.
A lot of everyday beautiful things surround us – only most people never take the time to see them. They’re all too focused on the tasks ahead of them or the routines in their life to take time out and look for them.
It’s as if they have blinders on and can only see what is directly in front of them.
It’s for this reason that I’m fascinated with some Andy Warhol paintings especially the ones that include Campbell’s soup cans and bananas. By putting those ordinary objects front and center, he’s trying to show viewers the everyday beauty we all too often miss.
That’s why I’ve develop a simple habit. Every once in a while, I stop what I’m doing and take five minutes to just look around me. I shift my focus away from my daily routine and check out my surroundings.
It’s crazy what beautiful things you’ll discover.
I remember one time in college when I did this. While walking on campus, I looked – I mean really looked – at the trees growing on the grounds.
I never really noticed before how beautiful they were.
I must have passed by them hundreds of times, but never gave them more than a glance. It was only when I stopped and focused my attention on them that I could recognize just how beautiful they are.
That’s the big difference between the negative images happening around us and the beautiful ones. Negative and ugly imagery gets in your face and forces you to pay attention to them.
The beautiful things in life require you to seek them out. And when you do take the time to search for them, you can find there’s a lot more everyday beauty around you than you realize. It’s just one way to bring a little more brightness into a world that can often be too gray.
Pastoral Hymn: #21 For The Beauty of the Earth
(John Rutter) by SJPS Chamber Choir & Christmas Concert Choir
(John Rutter) by SJPS Chamber Choir & Christmas Concert Choir
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Offering and Invitations
Offertory Music by Sky
Story for All Ages: A Hat for Mrs. Goldman by Michelle Edwards
Offertory Music by Sky
Story for All Ages: A Hat for Mrs. Goldman by Michelle Edwards
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Sermon: A Hardware Store as Proof of the Existence of God ~ Rev. Dr. Daniel Kanter
via the First Unitarian Church of Dallas
via the First Unitarian Church of Dallas
Musical Interlude by Sky
Let’s Talk About It
Let’s Talk About It
What plan can you make now to remind you to seek out beauty
in your everyday life through ordinary objects?
in your everyday life through ordinary objects?
Closing Song: What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
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Benediction and Extinguish the Chalice
Beauty is everywhere, even still. Even with the heartache, trauma, tragedy, every terrible thing. You’re not fashioned only by what happens to you, but by how you continue to love through it all. By how you’re willing to keep going, keep giving, opening, softening.
Beauty isn’t only in moments of triumph, glamour, or scenery so divine it takes your breath away.
Beauty is in the crack in the sidewalk, in the short stretches of silence, at that moment when there’s no distance between you and the person you love.
(https://healingbrave.com/blogs/all/quotes-beauty-is-everywhere)
Beauty is everywhere, even still. Even with the heartache, trauma, tragedy, every terrible thing. You’re not fashioned only by what happens to you, but by how you continue to love through it all. By how you’re willing to keep going, keep giving, opening, softening.
Beauty isn’t only in moments of triumph, glamour, or scenery so divine it takes your breath away.
Beauty is in the crack in the sidewalk, in the short stretches of silence, at that moment when there’s no distance between you and the person you love.
(https://healingbrave.com/blogs/all/quotes-beauty-is-everywhere)
