Tag Archive for: Rev. Leah Hart-Landsberg

Spiritual Wounds and How to Heal

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Spiritual Wounds and How to Heal
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by Rev. Leah Hart-Landsberg

Reflection and Special Music by Taizan Alford
Special Music: Only Love Can Heal by Taizan Alford, written for this service

This service was inspired by last summer’s annual question service, when someone in our community asked about how to make sense of the “squirm” they felt when hearing traditional religious language. Old spiritual triggers and wounds can be powerful, and sometimes they cause us great and continued suffering. Yet it is possible to face our hurt, and even reconnect (or maybe connect for the first time) with spiritual joy and meaning. Member Taizan Alford will offer some original music written specially for this theme.

Pesach, Pottery and Perfectionism

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Pesach, Pottery and Perfectionism
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by Rev. Leah Hart-Landsberg

The Jewish festival of Pesach, or the Passover, just ended but the themes of bondage and liberation are with us all year, Jewish or otherwise. The ancient story that gets told this time of year is about enslavement by an evil king. As modern people, which forces, habits or ideas force us to serve them in everyday life? Come to hear about one of Rev. Leah’s evil oppressors (spoiler alert: it’s in the service title) and how she tries to get free from it! You’ll have a chance to contribute to a special collection for Harbor House and enjoy the Schiller-Riggers’ family performance of the all ages story.

Chosen By Complexity; A David and Goliath Story

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Chosen By Complexity; A David and Goliath Story
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by Rev. Leah Hart-Landsberg

It’s popular in Unitarian Universalism to think about our religious movement as a “chosen” faith. But what does that really mean? Chosen by whom and from among which options? When we focus only on personal choice, we can inadvertently hide and even devalue some of the ways our world helps us decide how to live. If we take a broader and more intentional view, we can celebrate the rich complexity of our individual journeys and even learn how to sustain and strengthen Unitarian Universalism.

On Aging

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On Aging
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by Rev. Leah Hart-Landsberg

It’s Monster Month, so this week we will meet the hag, the ugly old woman character that embodies negative ideas about aging. But our other October theme is courage and so we will bravely explore the process of becoming an elder. Our service will contain ceremonies of child dedication because, after all, we all start out young. If we’re lucky, we are also given the opportunity to age. Despite its challenges, growing older has unique purposes and gifts.

Ready for Anything

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Ready for Anything
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by Rev. Leah Hart-Landsberg

Join lifelong Jewish Unitarian Universalists Rev. Leah and Fellowship member Jaclyn Kottman to consider September’s theme of welcome on Rosh Hashanah, the head of the Jewish year. How do we welcome who we wish to be? Maybe we hope to return to a former version of ourselves or to invite in a new phase entirely. In order to truly be ready for change, we need to accept our past and ourselves. This is hard work, best done in community. This service is for those from Jewish backgrounds and non-Jews alike and will include very special music by our own Mark Urness and Dan Van Sickle. At the end you will be invited to participate in a version of an ancient ritual called tashlich that helps us move on from the past and welcome the future.

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Into the Answer; Our Annual Question Box Service

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Into the Answer; Our Annual Question Box Service
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by Rev. Leah Hart-Landsberg

It’s that time! Come prepared to jot down a question (about Unitarian Universalism, the world or anything else), and Rev. Leah will spontaneously respond to as many as time allows. Our reading will remind us that our true life task is to live out our own questions. The rest of the service is up to you!

Skeleton Architecture of Our Lives: A Bridge Across Our Fears

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Skeleton Architecture of Our Lives: A Bridge Across Our Fears
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by Rev. Leah Hart-Landsberg

Poetry is an ancient global art form about which much has been made and said. There are probably as many opinions on and uses for it as there are poems and poets. Based on this month’s Wellspring Wednesday adult enrichment program (6:30 pm on February 8th; theme of poetry as a spiritual practice), Rev. Leah, worship leader Tina Main and local acclaimed poet Cathryn Cofell will reflect on the idea that poetry can be a skeleton architecture of our lives. This metaphor of skeleton architecture comes to us from Audre Lorde, who says that “poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change, a bridge across our fears of what has never been before.”

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To Be Cured

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by Rev. Leah Hart-Landsberg

When tragedy strikes someone we love, it can be hard to know how to respond. We might feel helpless to fix whatever happened, worried we’ll say the wrong thing or even concerned that the bereaved isn’t coping well. Spiritual teacher Louise Hay says that “grief is not a condition to be cured but a natural part of life” so let’s explore some essential practices and principles that we can use to accompany those who mourn. Join us if you have ever ached for someone when they have experienced loss…yet struggled to know quite what to do or say.

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Friendship: Its Puzzles and Promises

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Friendship: Its Puzzles and Promises
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by Rev. Leah Hart-Landsberg

The relationships we have with friends can be among our most formative life experiences, yet friendship itself can go remarkably unremarked upon. Our friendships deserve appreciation and celebration but that doesn’t always mean they are easy. We’ll recognize how hard and scary it can be when they go awry and hear a story about the complex friendship of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass. This service is designed for those of all ages who have friends or have longed for them; who have ever had to part ways with a friend or are themselves a friend to someone else.

Hold a Lantern

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Hold a Lantern
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by Rev. Leah Hart-Landsberg

Forgiveness is hard work, spiritually but also practically. Long ago the poet Rumi compared the process of taking responsibility, apologizing and making amends to holding up a lantern. In our second annual High Holy Days service, join us (Rev. Leah and Fellowship member Jaclyn Kottman, two lifelong Jewish Unitarian Universalists) as we shed light on these themes and how we might implement them in our lives. This service, a UU take on the Jewish High Holy Days traditions, is for those from Jewish backgrounds and non-Jews alike and will include very special music from our own Dan Van Sickle and Mark Urness. We will end by sharing the traditional snack of apples, honey, and challah (bread).

Hold a Lantern10 2 2016