Reverend Dennis McCarty’s topic will be Lebanese film director Nadine Labaki’s acclaimed movie, Capernaum. Though set in a particular time and place, Labaki uses generations-old cinematic theory to express human concerns that are ancient and universal. As Rev. Dennis will explain, it’s about more than just Beirut as a horrible place. It’s about people like … Continue reading “Capernaum”

Reverend Dennis McCarty’s topic will be “Diversity and The Shape of Water.” Mexican director Guillermo del Toro’s masterpiece is more than just a gorgeous fantasy/monster movie. Although it’s set in 1962, it is very much about national affairs in the United States today. It even speaks to controversies within the UUA in our own time. … Continue reading “The Shape of Water”

Reverend Dennis McCarty will speak about “The Uplifting Movies of Oscar Micheaux.” In the unrepentantly racist 1920’s and 1930’s, when some movie houses did not even allow Black citizens to enter, so-called “race movies” were made by and for Blacks. The first—and arguably the greatest—Black film director in the United States was Oscar Micheaux. A … Continue reading “The Uplifting Movies of Oscar Micheaux”

Reverend Dennis McCarty will present the first of four analyses, from a liberal religious viewpoint, of classic motion pictures. We begin with legendary director D.W. Griffith’s silent Civil War epic, The Birth of a Nation. Though more than a century old, this movie—and Griffith’s defensive reaction when it was criticized—can still enlighten us about White … Continue reading “The Birth of a Nation”

Unitarian Universalism’s greatest theologian of the twentieth century, James Luther Adams, wrote that “there is no such thing as the immaculate conception of an idea.” That is, everything we say or do, as a religion, evolved from something else. Rev. Dennis will explore the history of our Seven Principles, along with other aspects of our … Continue reading “The Birth of our Seven Principles”

Presidents Day.  Both political liberals and political conservatives are quick to talk about our nation’s Founders, and how their religious beliefs supported ours—whatever our current belief happens to be! The real history isn’t that simple. Rev. Dennis McCarty will explore how General—then President—George Washington handled religious controversy in his own time. Click to view service: … Continue reading “How Religious Was George Washington?”

Rev. Dennis McCarty will observe Super Bowl Sunday and Valentine’s Day by exploring “The Shadow Side of Love: Domestic Abuse.” Domestic abuse takes many forms. It hides in plain sight all around us. There is never a good time to talk about domestic abuse—yet it is imperative that we do talk about it. Rev. Dennis … Continue reading “The Shadow Side of Love: Domestic Abuse”

Unitarian Universalists talk about covenants all the time. But many of us cannot actually explain what the term really means, or how it evolved. Rev. Dennis will give a basic introduction to a topic which is basic to a full understanding of twenty-first century Unitarian Universalism. Click to view service: https://youtu.be/j9hTcz7EbMk

  There’s a great deal to learn about “race” before we even approach the topic of “race-ism.” Our ideas about race are rooted in ancient European history, rise out of attitudes about language, culture, and geography, and have little or nothing to do with our genetic makeup.