Rev. Babcock's sermons in 1996

Synopses for 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006

12/8/96	GREAT EXPECTATIONS	Reflects not only on seasonal expectations, but also on the expectations we might cultivate regarding our church and a possible building improvement/expansion program.
11/24/96	A CONTINUAL FEAST	a cheerful heart has a continual feast. Being thankful for what we are and have can free us to share our blessings with others.
11/10/96	A PLACE TO BELONG, A PLACE TO GROW	Harold tells us about his growing up in Maine, how we need places, even imperfect ones, where we can find acceptance, speaking also on the growth of the church.
11/3/96	SO SMALL A THING	Harold's sermon will explore some of the small things in life which aren't so small.
10/20/96	MAKING THE WORLD HABITABLE	...Every poem, every work of art, everything that is well done, well made, well said, generously given, adds to our chances of survival by making the world and our lives more habitable, - Philip Booth. The sermon will investigate.
10/13/96	THICK-SKINNED OR THIN-SKINNED?	Harold's brief sermon will explore whether it is better to have a "thick skin" or a "thin" one.
10/6/96	TO HAVE A FRIEND	to have a friend takes time, - artist Georgia O'Keefe
9/22/96	FORGIVING AND FORGIVEN	Through forgiveness comes the possibility of wholeness: the sense of being at one with ourselves and others.
9/15/96	TO SEE WITH OPEN EYE THE MYSTERY OF THE SOUL	The sermon will explore the legacy of Ralph Waldo Emerson.
7/28/96	THE PROBLEM OF EVIL	Is there evil?
7/21/96	HERE WE HAVE GATHERED	...we will regather our worshipping community from its summer hiatus...
6/30/96	SANCTUARY	We come to church not only for the brief respits it provides, but...also to be re-energized and re-inspired for our work in the world.
6/9/96	TO BEGIN THIS SUMMER WELL	For me, summer is a time to take stock and to consider the transitions I have experienced in the year just completed.
5/26/96	THE STRAYED DEAD	...a powerful holiday (holy-day) as we remember those we have loved and lost and are reminded of our own mortality.
5/12/96	BE SWIFT TO LOVE	Life is short...be swift to love, make haste to be kind. Amiel
5/5/96	TRANSITIONS	...how to accommodate, both spiritually and physically, everyone who wants to be a part of this community.
4/28/96	BE GLAD OF LIFE	It is not always easy to be glad of life...Yet even in the face of tragedy, there are reasons to be glad.
4/14/96	LET US PRAY...	What is prayer, really, and what can it actually accomplish?
4/7/96	ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS	...what does God look like? Would we recognize God if we saw her?
3/31/96	CROSSING THE THRESHOLD	This theme can serve as a metaphor for the passages of our lives.
3/17/96	THE REAL FUNDAMENTALISM: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM	I have long believed that religious freedom is the real fundamentalism.
3/10/96	EPIPHANIES	We all need them in order to "keep on keeping on."
3/3/96	FAMILY VALUES?	Whose family are we talking about? Were those "traditional" values as wonderful, as they're cracked up to be, indeed, are those values traditional at all?
2/11/96	THE BELOVED COMMUNITY	...I will investigate the idea of community...as it might apply to this particular community, the First Religious Society of Newburyport.
1/28/96	POWERFUL BEYOND MEASURE	Unitarian Universalists have long held to the idea that human nature has an almost unlimited potential for growth and improvement.
1/21/96	ETERNITY, NOW	There is eternity - now - you are sunk as deep in it, wrapped as close in it, as you will ever be. write Charles W. Ferguson.
1/14/96	PILGRIMAGE TO ATLANTA	Given at First Parish Church on Martin Luther King Sunday.
1/7/96	LETTING GO	Letting go is never easy, but as Thoreau reminds us, "...a man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to leave alone."