Rev. Tony Lorenzen preaches a sermon in the Unitarian Universalist tradition about why it is so difficult for white people to talk openly and honestly about race. He reflects on the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity and offers suggestion for white people on how to deal with the discomfort, fears, and anxiety that arise when confronte…

Rev. Tony Lorenzen preaches a sermon in the Unitarian Universalist tradition reflecting on growth and rebirth, why quitting is not the same thing as giving up, how to walk out of failing systems and walk on to new life, and how to liberate ourselves from things that drag us down so we can get to work on what lifts us up, even if that means leaving …

Karen Gehm and Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflect on creating heartspace to enter into another's Truth.By Karen Gehm, Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on the romance of science and how our acceptance of science saves us from idolatries of the heart and mind.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on the difference between Restorative Justice and Retributive Justice and how this difference affects our view of forgiveness from parenting to our penal system.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Mona Ives offers a primer on Islam and reflections on interfaith work, forgiveness, and being Muslim in America.By Mona Ives

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on why forgiving yourself can be so difficult. He explores the practice of humility as a tool for knowing when to go easy on yourself and when to hold yourself accountable.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on the phrase "service is our prayer" found in many UU congregational covenants. He compares service being the prayer of Unitarian Universalists to various concepts from other religious traditions such as Tikkun Olam, Engaged Buddhism,The Reclaiming Tradition, the concept of the Active-Contemplative.…

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on what qualities make something a spiritual practice. Discipline, dedication,and depth are among the qualities that differentiate spiritual practices from other activities.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev, Tony Lorenzen reflects on the concept and practice of prayer, and how it is so much more than oversimplified wishful thinking. He explores the need for a "language of reverence" as well working definitions of God, Spirit, Soul, and Prayer. He agrees with Anne Lamott that there are only three basic types of prayer: Help, Thanks, and Wow OR Need…

Rev. Tony Lorenzen shares stories of well known and unknown people who acted with uncommon courage. He reflects on how they were able to be so brave and how we might follow their example.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony Lorenzen's Christmas Eve homily explains why neither Nazis nor Grinches can stop Christmas from coming.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony Lorenzen shares thoughts on finding inner peace, Bodhi Day, and the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge into a Bodhisattva.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony Lorenzen's shares the song Get Me Through December during our annual Holiday Music Sunday. He reflects on the season of Advent, holy waiting, and preparing for tough times.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on the presidential election. He notes that the American experiment has always been a long journey of expanding We the People to include everyone. This continuing journey requires building community across differences while at the same time standing against hatred and bigotry.…

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on what it means to live out our Unitarian Universalist principles as citizens in a democracy. What values do our principles call us to exhibit and practice as we engage our fellow citizens politically even - and especially - when our disagreements are strong and conflict is high?…

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on the deadly issue of opioid and other addictions and what we can do to better respond to addiction as a deadly health issue instead of a criminal issue and how our response might more life giving to our friends, family, and neighbors battling additions.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on the Adin Ballou, the Hopedale Community, and how religion and resilience are two resources for meaningful change that justify hope and foster optimism in both our individual lives and the life our congregation.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on our culture's discomfort with death and dying, how it leads to so many death dealing aspects of our culture, and how Love is stronger than death.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on the cultural change that accompanies becoming a LGBTQIA Welcoming Congregation. It requires moving from a culture of tolerance to a culture of radical hospitality.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Parisa Parsa of The Public Conversations Project/Essential Partners reflects on how we might hold to the call of the spirit in a nation that feels like it is tearing apart at the seams. What signals do we need to practice and send to find each other and begin to tell a different story?By Rev. Parisa Parsa

Rev. Tony Lorenzen and Hopedale Unitarian Parish welcome three guests from Speak Out who share their stories and experiences as people who identify as gay, bisexual, queer, genderqueer, and pansexual.By Sue Czepiel, Paul Meoni, Kay Gordon, Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on how the covenants we make with each other to practice healthy communications keep our relationships and our congregation healthy.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

"Working Class Community" - Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on how the shrinking presence and influence of unionized labor has affected American community life.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on the process of blending his calling to ministry with the congregation's call to ministry and how this requires practicing healthy communication skills important to any committed relationship.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on the life and work of Rev. Norbert Capek and how his ministry during the Nazi occupation of Prague might inspire us in living out our own faith today.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Hopedale Unitarian Parish's Coming of Age class share their credos - or personal faith statements - with the congregation as part of their Coming of Age ceremony. Analogous to a Christian Confirmation or a Jewish Bar/t Mitzvah, the Unitarian Univeralist Coming of Age process is seen as a first major step into becoming an adult and being more respon…

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on the grace or blessing we receive when we are open to seeing the world through another's eyes and how privilege affects our ability and inability to hear and accept as valid the experience and perception of "the other."By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on the "Grace Scale", a sociological tool developed by the late Catholic priest and novelist Andrew Greeley that demonstrated strong positive correlations between people's image of God and world view, cultural attitudes, and political preferences. Rev. Tony suggests Unitarian Universalism is helping to generate a more gr…

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on the theological concept of Grace as understood by the early Christian Church, classical Universalists, and contemporary theologians such as Philip Gulley and U2. Grace is still a viable spiritual foundation for Unitarian Universalism in the 21st century.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony Lorenzen and Dona Neely reflect on the global climate crisis and how what seem to be like small changes in our individual and group behavior can truly turn the world around for the better and help to heal our damaged planet.By Dona Neely, Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on welcoming the stranger, the meaning of home and family, refugees, immigration and how radical welcoming requires treating new comers as family not as guests.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

The audio of the entire worship service installing The Rev. Tony Lorenzen as the 16th settled minister of Hopedale Unitarian Parish.

Rev. Josh Pawelek of Unitarian Universalist Society: East in Manchester, CT preaches shared missional ministry at the installation of Rev. Tony Lorenzen. Rev. Pawelek encourages Hopedale Unitarian Parish and Rev. Tony to move beyond the walls of the church, take the "red pill," wake up from the Matrix, and be a people on mission to create the belov…

Rev. Tony Lorenzen explains that transformation is not what we think it is. Transformation is allowing the process and the journey to change you- the way you think, the way you feel, the way you see the world.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony Lorenzen shares thoughts about how Unitarian Universalism reconciles itself to the Easter story by proclaiming resurrection without reanimation, a resurrection of renewal and the rebirth of hope.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Colin Bossen reflects on the lasting impact of global white supremacy, the possibility of racial reconciliation, and the role that religious liberals might play in bringing about a more justice filled world.By Rev. Colin Bossen

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on why and how we hold on to past hurts by creating narratives of resentment and indignation, and how these "Grievance Stories" can prevent forgiveness and healing. He discusses how we hold on to cultural grievance stories and how this leads to dehumanization and discrimination.…

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on what it means to have a right relationship with money and how stewardship of the congregation is not so much about how much money one gives as it is about the fact that we are all in this together.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

"Tough Love" Rev. Tony Lorenzen shares thoughts about how we handle situations where loving someone is difficult. Those who need love most sometimes seem to deserve it least. What we can do when someone is difficult to love?By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony Lorenzen and Michele Alves share thoughts about making church a safe place to talk about love and sex. The Our Whole Lives (OWL) human sexuality curriculum is introduced and Michele and Rev. Tony talk about the benefits of using OWL in the congregation using vignettes from their professional experience working with individuals, families, …

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on what love looks like lived out in community. What do we mean when we say love is the spirit of this church? How do we demonstrate our love and our covenant with each other?By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on climate justice, the recent Paris agreements, and the fact that our blue boat home is still sinking. Rev. Tony offers that we can use our current Green Sanctuary spiritual practices of recycling, composting, eating vegan and vegetarian diets, and monitoring water use to inspire us to further action on behalf of the en…

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on the life and work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and how celebrations of his life and work frequently ignore or minimize his fight against poverty and the war in Viet Nam.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony reflects on the interrelated nature of all oppression and where our LGBTQ Welcoming Congregation work fits in with and connects to other social justice issues.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony Lorenzen reflects on the science of dark matter and finding light in the darkness with help in song from members of the Hopedale Unitarian Parish Choir.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

With Rev. Tony away this Sunday, UU Ministerial Candidate Sierra-Marie Gerfao reflects on how at this time of year gratitude often intertwines with both hope and lament, and we need to hold sacred space for one another.

Rev. Tony reflects on the best gifts he's every received and the Advent Conspiracy to buy less, but give more, love all and worship fully.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony reflects on the mythology of the American Thanksgiving, and how to give thanks for our blessings while at the same time being honest about history. The congregation then shares cornbread and cider communion.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen

Rev. Tony reflects on what the Universalist, Christian, Socialist founders of our congregation would ask of us today.By Rev. Tony Lorenzen