Looking Ahead at 2024

I don’t want to bum you out, but there is a fact that I think we all need to face: this is a presidential election year. The Iowa caucus made it a little more real, didn’t it? You may have, and I say this utterly sincerity, some post-traumatic stress from...

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Enriching Connections or “Come Join the Party!”

This past Sunday, we had our quarterly “Fed & Informed” potluck. Great food and great information was shared by all. And it was great to just have the chance to be together, you know? To eat together, chat, and catch up. We want to make more opportunities for connecting with...

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Resolution: Be More You

“Be true to your own act, and congratulate yourself if you have done something strange and extravagant.” — Unitarian minister, Ralph Waldo Emerson “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” — Dolly Parton It’s that time of year for fresh starts, making resolutions, and daydreaming about doing...

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Christmas Eve and the Ghost of Christmas Past

It was the “Candlelighting” video that broke me. Since we’re not going to have a morning worship service this Sunday (our Christmas Eve service will be that evening at 6:00 pm), I put together an online “best of Live Oak Christmas” videos from the past few years. Just a little...

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A Full and Joyful Week at Live Oak

Whew, what a wonderful week! Last week, Live Oak celebrated the holidays in all its diversity and complexity. Last Thursday was our annual Blue Christmas Vespers service. It’s a time for slowing down, and being real about the sorrows or challenges we are carrying at this time. We always have...

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ALL THE HOLIDAY THINGS!

This week, there is SO much holiday magic happening at Live Oak, and I’d hate for you to miss anything that interests you. First, on Thursday, Dec. 7, at 6:30 pm, we’ll attend to the somber side of the season with our “Blue Christmas Vespers.” This is a small, fairly...

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A Season for Renewal

One of the most helpful things I’ve heard in recent years is that “numbing” behaviors and actual rest are two different things. Sometimes, we need that numbing – to just zone out mindlessly into a tv series or on social media. But much of the time, it doesn’t do for...

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Feast of Breads (and Cider)

This Sunday is one of our most popular services … I mean, bread (literal bread) is at the center of the ritual. How can you go wrong, right? At Live Oak, we have 4 annual worship services that focus on an aspect of being an intentional community. They are: Flower...

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Live Oak Showing Up for Justice

Rev. Joanna and members of Live Oak participated in the Interfaith “Move the Monument” rally in front of the Williamson County courthouse this past Sunday. The purpose of the rally was to call for the statue of a Confederate soldier to be moved from its present position in front of...

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What Does “Community” Mean in 2023?

Last Sunday, I told the story about the “Dedham Decision” – a pivotal story in Unitarianism. In a very concrete way, the Dedham decision was about defining what it means to be a community. This is a question that we think about at Live Oak – how do we reach...

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