Not only is art a process of transformation but so is life. When we talk about spirituality we are talking about our inner life. Each of us has our own inner journey that we are traveling along that is filled with our own thoughts and feelings and experiences that only we have full access to. Most people have some stories or experiences that they never share because they are afraid that no one will understand or that people will reject them for it. One of the gifts of transformation is to take something that is difficult or unfinished or burdensome […]

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Hope begins with honesty about what is real in this moment and yet it is not settled or complacent with the status quo. In this way hope involves living in this world without denying or escaping the present circumstances but with a strong sense of call and anticipation of something better.

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Call to Action: Contact Governor Stitt in support of a mask mandate. Call to Caring: Write a note of encouragement and gratitude to the staff at our local hospitals during the holiday season to help lift their spirits. Senior Minister Rev. Marlin Lavanhar was interviewed on December 1 for a piece on the Governor’s call to “pray and fast” to stop the spread of Covid in our state. Here is what Marlin had to say about the interview. As you know, I’m all for praying… but I’m also for taking action.  America is facing the largest health crisis in living history […]

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We are a divided nation. But that is not unusual. The recent election did not create the divisions; it just made them more evident. Neither division itself nor the differences among us are really our problem, because beneath and beyond all of our differences there are some things that unite us as Americans and as human beings. Or at least, there are some basic values that ought to unite us. I am not talking about what makes America great, but about what makes America work. Democracy has been called the worst form of government, except for all the other forms […]

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In this spirit and our covenantal tradition, we will be deciding in the coming weeks and months how and when to resume in-person church activities and services. In the course of this pandemic, the balance of our decisions are weighted toward the common good.

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REMARKS: TREE OF LIFE MEMORIAL SERVICE B’NAI EMUNAH SYNAGOGUE, TULSA OCTOBER 30, 2018 By:  Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar Senior Minister, All Souls Unitarian Church, Tulsa My congregation and I come with our broken-hearts to grieve with you. We at All Souls consider the Jewish community of Tulsa to be family. Before we had a church building, in the early 20’s we worshipped at Temple Israel downtown for a couple of years. Then in the 1990’s congregation B’Nai Emunah worshiped at All Souls for two years when you were remodeling. When you live with people they become family! We are here to affirm that anti-Semitism […]

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