{"id":136619,"date":"2022-09-12T10:06:34","date_gmt":"2022-09-12T16:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/?p=136619"},"modified":"2022-09-12T10:06:35","modified_gmt":"2022-09-12T16:06:35","slug":"is-this-the-light-or-the-tunnel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/is-this-the-light-or-the-tunnel\/","title":{"rendered":"Is this the Light or the Tunnel?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_6324\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-136619-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/www.austinuuav.org\/audio\/2022-09-11_Light_or_tunnel.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.austinuuav.org\/audio\/2022-09-11_Light_or_tunnel.mp3\">http:\/\/www.austinuuav.org\/audio\/2022-09-11_Light_or_tunnel.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.austinuuav.org\/audio\/2022-09-11_Light_or_tunnel.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/?powerpress_pinw=136619-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/www.austinuuav.org\/audio\/2022-09-11_Light_or_tunnel.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"2022-09-11_Light_or_tunnel.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button above.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Rev. Erin Walter<br \/>September 11, 2022<br \/>First UU Church of Austin<br \/>4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756<br \/>www.austinuu.org<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Rev. Erin Walters reflects with us on spiritual and artistic resources for getting through hard times (or any time!).<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr align=\"center\" noshade=\"noshade\" size=\"4\" width=\"300\" \/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><b>Chalice Lighting<\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">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 that we share with one another as our struggle becomes our salvation.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\"><b>Call to Worship<\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">THE ATHEIST PRAYS<br \/>By Barbara J Pescan<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">I am praying again <br \/>and how does one pray<br \/>when unsure if anything hears? <br \/>In the world I know as reliable and finite <br \/>when time and matter cycle back and forth <br \/>and I understand the answers to so many puzzles <br \/>there are moments when knowing is nothing <br \/>and I <br \/>this accumulation of systems, histories <br \/>repetitions falls from me- <br \/>how does one who is sure there is nothing <br \/>pray? <br \/>I <br \/>dark gathered around my eyes <br \/>sit in this room cluttered with my certainties <br \/>asking <br \/>my one unanswered question <br \/>holding myself perfectly still to listen <br \/>fixing my gaze <br \/>just here <br \/>wondering.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Source: &#8220;Becoming: A Spiritual Guide for Navigating Adulthood&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\"><b>Affirming Our Mission <\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">Together we nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice to build the Beloved Community.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><b>Meditation Reading<\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">GO TO THE LIMITS OF YOUR LONGING <br \/>by Rainer Maria Rilke<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">God speaks to each of us as he makes us, <br \/>then walks with us silently out of the night. <br \/>These are the words we dimly hear: <br \/>You, sent out beyond your recall,<br \/>go to the limits of your longing. <br \/>Embody me. <br \/>Flare up like a flame <br \/>and make big shadows I can move in. <br \/>Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. <br \/>Just keep going. No feeling is final.<br \/>Don&#8217;t let yourself lose me. <br \/>Nearby is the country they call life. <br \/>You will know it by its seriousness. <br \/>Give me your hand.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr align=\"left\" noshade=\"noshade\" size=\"4\" width=\"300\" \/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">GONE FROM MY SIGHT<br \/>by Henry Van Dyke<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side, <br \/>spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts <br \/>for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength. <br \/>I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck <br \/>of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Then, someone at my side says, &#8220;There, she is gone.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Gone where?<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast, <br \/>hull and spar as she was when she left my side. <br \/>And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port. <br \/>Her diminished size is in me &#8212; not in her.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">And, just at the moment when someone says, &#8220;There, she is gone,&#8221; <br \/>there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices<br \/>ready to take up the glad shout, &#8220;Here she comes!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">And that is dying&#8230;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\"><b>Sermon<\/b><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Text of this sermon is not yet available.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr align=\"center\" noshade=\"noshade\" size=\"4\" width=\"300\" \/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/category\/sermons\/indexes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>SERMON INDEX<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Most sermons during the past 22 years are available online through this website. Click on the index link above to find tables of all sermons for each year listed by date (newest to oldest) with topic and speaker. Click on a topic to go to that sermon.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/podcast\/first-unitarian-universalist\/id372427776\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>PODCASTS<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Podcasts of this and other sermons are also available for free on iTunes. You can find them by clicking on the podcast link above or copying and pasting this link. https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/podcast\/first-unitarian-universalist\/id372427776<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button above. Rev. Erin WalterSeptember 11, 2022First UU Church of Austin4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756www.austinuu.org Rev. Erin Walters reflects with us on spiritual and artistic resources for getting through hard times (or any time!). \u00a0 \u00a0 Chalice Lighting This is the flame we hold in our&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[19,170,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio-available","category-erin-walter","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136619"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":136640,"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136619\/revisions\/136640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}