For Just Such A Time As This - Rev. Marlin Lavanhar - 9/6/2015

At this summer's UUA General Assembly the Reverend Marlin Lavanhar preached a powerful sermon, in which he called for Unitarian Universalism to play a strong role in the world today.  This morning, via the modern miracle of good video recording, we will have Rev. Lavanhar with us on screen and hear his words, which include these: 

"This covenanted faith is an extraordinary contribution to religious life in America. In fact, it’s an incredible development in the history of human social evolution. I do not think America can ever be the country it can and must be, if Unitarian Universalism does not become what it needs to be. And I don’t think humanity will ever become what it needs to be until we, or some other group, achieves the promise that this covenanted tradition offers."

Rev. Dr. Lavanhar is the Senior Minister at All Souls Unitarian Church, Tulsa OK, one of the largest and most dynamic Unitarian Universalist congregations in the country.

Marlin Lavanhar grew up in Chicago and received a BA in Sociology from Tulane University. Upon graduation, he spent two years in Kyoto, Japan, after which he embarked on a three-year odyssey travelling 20,000 miles around the world on a mountain bike. He returned to the U.S. and entered Harvard Divinity School where he received his M.Div. Since 2000, Marlin has served All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, where, during his tenure, membership has increased by 80%.

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