To set the tone for the inauguration tomorrow, President-elect Biden led a memorial to remember and honor lives lost to COVID-19. He asked for churches to turn on their lights and ring their bells on Tuesday, January 19 at 5:30 p.m.

First Church Unitarian participated. You can watch the video above (just click on the arrow in the image). Sexton Henry Whitcomb, Jr. rang the bells (16:06). After the bells rang, I said the names of loved ones (18:17) that members and friends of FCU have lost to COVID-19 : Bud Hunt * Fernando Torres * Jean Champagne * David Friedman * Gail Whittle * Barbara Fleming * Meredith Price * Peter Overby * Yolanda Bartlett * Barbara Anthony * Reed Anthony * I then concluded with a prayer.

Today was Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday at church. I always love this Sunday. Every year, I am amazed again at King’s words and ideals and prescience. If you wish, you can watch the service (click on the arrow in the picture below). If you watch on YouTube, click “show more” to see the Order of Service.

I tried to put King’s ideas into our 2021 context. One thing is for sure… King always challenges us. And he always inspires me.

This Sunday, my homily title was “Imagine a More Perfect Union”. I began to gather my thoughts about what happened at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. If you want to listen to my homily, it is here on YouTube (it starts at 24:27):

We are not out of the woods yet. One of my colleagues noted that the most dangerous time in an abusive relationship is when you try to leave it. That’s how this feels to me. We are trying to leave an abusive relationship with our would-be-dictator, and therefore our very safety is threatened. I am quite concerned about events which more reactionary insurrectionists are apparently planning for next week and the Inauguration. Some fear another attempted coup, and it’s (tragically) hard to rule that out.

We are indeed responsible for what happens next. I pray that democracy prevails.

I wrote the previous post on January 6 before the attempted coup by white supremacists, in case you were wondering. Today I will attempt to capture some of my thoughts in my homily, though my head is still spinning, like everyone else’s.

The annus horribilis 2020 has finally ended. May 2021 be better! So far, with the election of Rev. Raphael Warnock, it’s looking up!

Meanwhile, First Church Unitarian had its (virtual) year-end services, the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service and Potpourri Sunday. This past Sunday we had our traditional year-starter, the Remembrance Service. The rest of January will follow the Soul Matters theme of imagination. I’m looking forward to it!

I must recommend to you this incredible vocal performance by the 4-year-old daughter of our Music Director. It’s one minute and 8 seconds of time incredibly well spent, so do yourself a favor and listen! Video: