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Rev. Erin Walter
January 18, 2026
First UU Church of Austin
4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756
www.austinuu.org
Rev. Erin Walter will hold space this Sunday through the words and music of the Rev. Meg Barnhouse, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Parker Woodland, and more. Come be in community as we hold the joys and sorrows of the world, the nation, and our own hearts.
Chalice Lighting
This is the flame we hold in our hearts as we strive for justice for everyone. This is the light we shine upon systems of oppression until they are no more. This is the warmth we share with one another as our struggle becomes our salvation.
Call to Worship
– Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King
from his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speechWe’ve been in the mountain of war. We’ve been in the mountain of violence. We’ve been in the mountain of hatred long enough. It is necessary to move on now. But only by moving out of this mountain, can we move to the promised land of justice and brotherhood and the kingdom of God? It all boils down to the fact that we must never allow ourselves to become satisfied with unattained goals. We must always maintain a kind of divine discontent.
Affirming Our Mission
Together we nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice to build the Beloved Community.
Anthem
I AM WILLING
– Holly NearI am open and I am willing
To be hopeless would seem so strange
It dishonors those who go before us
So lift me up to the light of changeThere is hurting in my family
There is sorrow in my town
There is panic in the nation
There is wailing the whole world roundMay the children see more clearly
May the elders be more wise
May the winds of change caress us
Even though it burns our eyesGive me a mighty oak to hold my confusion
Give me a desert to hold my fears
Give me a sunset to hold my wonder
Give me an ocean to hold my tears
Reading
HOW WE DIE
by the Reverend Meg Barnhouse
October 5th, 2022“Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it.” – Haruki Murakami
I was at the bedside of a man in my congregation. He was dying. “I don’t know how to do this,” he said. He had been a professor, a scientist. He’d been mean to his wife, mean to his grown kids, mean to the people in the congregation. I was surprised at the openness of this moment.
“I don’t either,” I said. “I’ve sat by a lot of people while they were dying. It looks like you just go farther and farther away, and your body shuts itself down. Maybe it’s like falling asleep. You’ve done that plenty of times, right?” He was fighting, kicking at death like he had kicked at life.
One thing I’ve noticed as a minister is that people seem to die the way they live. Some want to be no trouble; they slip away when no one’s looking. Some want to be surrounded by family and friends; some want to be sung to, read to.
The end of life is a threshold time, meaning that it is a time when things come up for review. Families can reconcile or break apart. Often, emotionally wrenching decisions have been made.
Some people’s thoughts are of the people they’re leaving behind. Some people haven’t made any plans, any arrangements. Everyone’s been talking to them about “fighting,” and no one has asked what they would like to have happen at the end.
It’s good to give it some thought; that way you get to pick readings that say something about you, songs you like. No one who is crazed with grief has to figure all of that out. It’s your final message to those who have loved you.
I’m asking you to think about these things. Talk about them with your family before you get sick. Take care of your relationships so you won’t have any regrets that could have been fixed. Practice accepting help so you will be graceful to your caregivers, rather than surly.
What do you enjoy in your life? What do you want to hold on to? Write them down. Me, I want the song Skylark at the beginning of my service. It’s a sad song, and it’s going to be a sad time. I want people to cry. Dying is scary, but we are brave, and we can talk about it together.
Prayer
Great Spirit of Love and Truth, let us remember that we are of the nature to die. No one gets to skip that part. Let me sink into the knowledge that my body will return to the trees. Earth is where I’ve come from, and to Earth I will return.
Peace. Peace. Peace.
Video
ALL WILL BE WELL
– Meg BarnhouseAll will be well, and all will be well, all manner of things will be well.
I said,
Julian, you are holy, you are holding my hand. (x 2)She said, “All will be well, and all will be well, all manner of things will be well.”
I said, “Julian, do you not know, do you not know about:
sorrow?
pain?
hunger?
shame?”She said, “All will be well, and all will be well, all manner of things will be well.”
I said, “Julian, do you not know, do you not know about:
loneliness?
disease?
cruelty?”I said “Julian, it’s too much. It brought me to my knees.
She said, “All will be well, and all will be well, all manner of things will be well.”
She said, “No one does not know, does not know about:
sorrow
pain
hunger
shame.”She said, “All will be well, and all will be well, all manner of things will be well.”
She said, “No one does not know, does not know about:
loneliness
disease
cruelty.”I know, it’s too much. It brought me to my knees, where I heard:
“All will be well, and all will be well, all manner of things will be well.”And so, All will be well, all will be well; all manner of things will be well.”
She said, “Babygirl, do you not know, do you not know about:
tenderness?
friends?
the Spirit?it’s only love that never ends and so,
All will be well, and all will be well, all manner of things will be well.” (x2)
Extinguishing the Chalice
We extinguish this flame, but not the light of truth, the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment. These we hold in our hearts until we are together again.
Benediction
Beloveds, thank you for your presence here today. Thank you for the gifts of love and beauty and humanity, truth, justice that you bring every time you walk in this door or roll in this door or crawl in this door and thank you for the ways you grab that mission to your heart and live it in the world every day.
You, you, we are a source of hope to each other and the world.
Love survives. Love survives.
From MLK to those we are grieving today, the love and the dreams still survive.
Please, please, please, ground yourself in hope as we go into this week. I am surrounding you, and the great mystery is surrounding you in so much love.
Amen, blessed be, and go in peace.
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