Rev. Frank Hall Services Archive

Opening Reading: Journey of the Magi, T.S. Eliot “A cold coming we had of it, Just the worst time of the year For a journey, and such a long journey:   The ways deep and the weather sharp, The very dead of winter.” And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory, Lying down in the melting snow. There […]

What would Christmas be without Charles Dickens’ wonderful  story about Scrooge? The first four ‘staves,’ as Dickens called the chapters in his story, led up to the fifth stave when Scrooge wakes up – I doubt that Dickens had the Buddha in mind, but it strikes me as an example of the kind of ‘waking […]

A friend of mine tells the story of little boy who made a Christmas present for his parents at nursery school — a ceramic dish with his hand-print in the middle. When he brought the dish home from school he was so excited that he came charging through the door, carrying his precious gift, knowing […]

Opening Reading: The Pasture, Robert Frost I’m going out to clean the pasture spring; I’ll only stop to rake the leaves away (And wait to watch the water clear, I may): I sha’n’t be gone long. — You come too. I’m going out to fetch the little calf That’s standing by the mother. It’s so […]

The Biblical story in the book of Exodus, the book about Moses leading the Israelites who were in bondage across the Red Sea to freedom, says that a voice came to Moses out of a burning bush telling him to go back into Egypt and free the Hebrew people. Moses resisted, at first, but then […]

Emerson acknowledged that sermons can be deadly dull, including, presumably, his own. His genius was in the written word – his oratory skills were limited, but effective enough to attract audiences to his lecture circuit. So he included himself when he said, “I am not ignorant that when we preach unworthily, it is not always […]

Opening Words:  Every Day, Caroline Joy Adams Every day We are given a thousand waking moments A thousand opportunities to learn, to grow, to choose Thus, in as many of those moments as you can, Choose Wisely. Choose understanding and calmness rather than anger… Gratitude rather than envy…. Compassion rather than judgment…. Awareness rather than […]

The proposed Mission Statement says: “The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport is a diverse and welcoming religious community, free of creed and dogma, and open to people of all backgrounds and beliefs.” “We inspire and support individual spiritual growth. We connect through worship, music, learning, and caring ministries. We act in the service of peace […]

Opening Words: In this season of turning, the new year, Rosh Hashanah, and of repentance and renewal, Yom Kippur, I’m reminded of the story of the rabbi in Russia who had become disillusioned and despondent and in the middle of the night wandered aimlessly and inadvertently trespassed into a military zone. A guard called out […]

Our Homecoming Service should include ‘a faith statement.’ As we rededicate ourselves to our Unitarian Universalist faith we do well to remind ourselves of that which we hold in common. So I will comment ever so briefly and carefully on the Muslim Community Center/Mosque controversy, and the deep-seated prejudice it has unearthed. We’ll begin with […]