Ipswich Unitarian Meeting House
Founded in 1699 – Still active
Category: Uncategorized
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Who was there? The Dramatis Personae of the Nativity.
I. Who was There: It is Advent, the time of preparation for the festival of Christmas. At its heart is the story of the birth of Jesus, as told in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, and it is a story retold in that great seasonal tradition, the Nativity play. Advent is the time for
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Banners, Poppies and the Meaning of Remembrance
I. I suppose Byron’s phrase “those bloody banners” might, today, have a rather different meaning from that which he intended! He was referring to the blood-soaked banners of war, today it might be used by someone who is upset by the current craze for tying Union flags to lamp posts. Flags, or banners or standards,
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THE HOLINESS OF HARVEST
READING: Psalm 65: 1-2; 9-13 Lammas, which actually falls on 1st August, is the oldest Christian festival, at least in England, which gives thanks for the harvest. It dates from Anglo-Saxon times and was celebrated through the Middle Ages, until it fell out of favour at the Reformation. Although the secular festivities of Harvest Home
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The Fiery Force
The most potent symbol of Pentecost is fire – the “flames like tongues of fire” that appear to the disciples of Jesus gathered in the upper room and which come “to rest on each one.” And the fire itself is the sign of the Holy Spirit with which the disciples are filled and so transformed
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V.E. DAY AND THE AMBIGUITY OF CELEBRATION
I. We have just had a week of celebrations for V.E. Day, marking the 80th Anniversary of Victory in Europe and the end of the war against Nazi Germany. It wasn’t the end of World War II, though. That had to wait until V.J. Day and victory over Japan three months later. There was still
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The Religion of Jesus
Today we tend to see our Unitarian movement as inclusive and diverse to a remarkable degree, but we should never cease to be aware that our roots are in Christianity, and that many Unitarians – of whom I am one – identify as Christian, albeit of an extremely liberal hue. There was a time, not…
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The Question of Divinity
“It has been said of Unitarians (usually by Unitarians) that they don’t sing hymns as well as they might because they are too busy reading the next line to see if they agree with it!”
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Angels Have No Memory
We cannot eradicate memory, nor would we really want to. But we can choose what to do with it. In our Remembrance of the war dead we express our sorrow at lives cut short, we give thanks for what they achieved in defending freedom and resisting tyranny, and we acknowledge with regret the death and…
Ipswich Unitarian Meeting House 