Rev. Jim Magaw

Christmas Eve Intergenerational Service

This service will feature music, reflections, and readings celebrating Christmas. The 5:00 service will be inter-generational, featuring many of our children and youth, and the 7:00 service will be more contemplative in nature.

Longest Night

This special “Longest Night” vesper service, featuring the music of Leonard Cohen, is designed for anyone who is struggling or not feeling particularly cheerful during this holiday season. We will create and hold space for our individual and collective grief and longing.

Music of the Season

This service will include holiday­-themed music from various Sunnyhill members and friends, including the choir  and other individuals and groups in many different styles. Join us in celebrating music and the season!

Joy and Liberation

Christmas is celebrated as both a secular and religious holiday. We would do well to remember that two of the primary themes of Christmas as a religious holiday are joy and liberation–both of which are sorely needed today.

Hanukkah

Religious freedom and political resistance are major themes in the story of Hanukkah and the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire. In this service we will explore how and why these themes are just as relevant now as they have ever been.

Problematic Holidays

Although many of us have been looking forward to being able to gather with families and friends for holiday celebrations, the reality of these gatherings is often complicated and problematic. At a time of unprecedented polarization, how are we to celebrate with those whose values differ from our own?

Promises that Matter

What are the most important promises that we make to one another, and how do we call ourselves and others back to these promises when they are ignored or forgotten? This sermon will explore these questions and others related to the concept of covenant and how it might help us within our congregations and in … Continued

All Souls

In the Christian tradition, All Souls Day has been a time to remember everyone who has died, everyone who has been part of the gathered community. The phrase “All Souls” has a particularly Unitarian connotation because of something that one of our own “saints,” William Ellery Channing, said: “I am a living member of the … Continued

What We Need Is Here

It has been said that, if all of the earth’s resources were shared fairly and equitably, there would be more than enough for all. Is the same true of our spiritual lives? Is there enough for us and for all others? If so, how do we experience this sense of having what we need and … Continued

Why ‘Not Racist’ Is Not Enough

In his seminal work, “How to Be an Antiracist,” Ibram X. Kendi puts forth the idea that merely being “not racist” is not enough if we are serious about equity and justice for all. In this service we’ll explore why being “not racist” isn’t enough and what to do instead.