Why All Souls?
There was a time in our faith tradition’s history when All Souls was the second most common name for our congregations, behind First Parish/First Church of Whatever City. It was a reflection of the Universalist strand of our merged faith–our belief that all souls are held in God’s unceasing love.
The Difficult, Miraculous Gift of Compassion
Last week I spoke at length about surviving in today’s world without being swamped with compassion fatigue, about the two steps I believe will buoy us up even as our days and hours are filled with situations demanding our compassion, that will protect our hearts while allowing us to participate in the healing of the unending sorrow that surrounds us.
What Does It Mean for Us?
I started this month with its Soul Matters theme of The Gift of Liberating Love, three weeks ago, talking about how that gift, which I understand to be the gift of Universalism, is that it releases us from the fear of what might happen to us after death.
Sort of the Definition of Universalism
When I was hospital chaplain many years ago, I received a phone call one day from someone who begged me, sobbing, to go visit her grandmother- in-law. The caller was terrified that that woman would die without having accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior, and thus not go to heaven.
The Universalist God
As I see the blooming tulip-trees around town I’m reminded of my favorite mnemonic device from my divinity school days: TULIP.
Total depravity;
Unconditional election;
Limited atonement;
Irresistible grace; and
Perseverance of the saints.