Heroes, Monuments, and the Theology of Public Grief ?

Rows of shoes along a river (Memorial)

As we honor Memorial Day this weekend, people across our country take time to engage in rituals of public grief and remembrance. As the national and global death toll of COVID-19 climbs, those who’ve lost loved ones yearn for public rituals to honor those dying today. What do our rituals of public grief tell us about the values in our culture concerning life and death? And as Unitarian Universalists, what is our moral vision for public memorial in this time?

Post-Service Balázs Scholar Conversation: Preaching from the Housetops
Each year we host a special event with the Balázs Scholar from the Starr King School for the Ministry. After the service, Rev. Előd Szabó, a Unitarian minister serving in Ürmös, Transylvania, will present a short sermon and proceed to a conversation or question and answer period. Rev. Szabó came to the United States last August with his wife and two children, aged 7 and 4. In Berkeley, he studied justice ministry, philosophy, and youth ministry.

You can read his sermon here.


Audio Only Version

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