Trigger warning: sexual assault is mentioned
Dear Church,
After service today (April 3), I arrived home to a news reports of rape as a war crime in Ukraine. The horror of war is real and few escape being wounded or scarred in some way. … read more.
Presented at Cincinnati’s Jan. 6th Remembrance at City Hall, Jan. 6, 2022.
Fear is too much with us.
For all of us, no matter who you voted for.
It is the emotion that we share.
After the election, many among us were made afraid … read more.
Dear St. John’s,
As you may know, I have enrolled in a Doctorate in Ministry program at Lexington Theological Seminary. In August, I will be taking a class called Building Capacity for Transformative Ministries. I just ordered the books for that class and … read more.
As the called and settled minister of this congregation, I have responsibility for worship. While I have the privilege of working with and learning from wise members of the congregation, it is my holy obligation to provide some guidelines for use of the pulpit. … read more.
Dear Church,
I would like to invite you into a new experience with me. The next three sermons will be on a related theme. Sometimes we need to be very intentional in telling stories about racism here.
Let’s begin with song.
You may have … read more.
My parents told me that the only thing I would ever really own was my name. My name, ordinary in other contexts, is still odd in America.
Earlier this week, I came across two powerful poets who share the story of navigating the cultures and … read more.
Some of you have asked for the little blessing I wrote for this year’s Water Communion and the list of dates for other outdoor Sundays. Both are below. I want to thank you all for creatively re-imagining a way to be together.
Many stories of faith retail the pain of exile, of forceable removal from the land we call home. These days of responding to a global pandemic finds exile reimagined: we are exiled from the church building, and from being physically together.
For those who … read more.
In the early 1970s, the Unitarian Universalist at General Assembly made a public statement against the death penalty. At St. John’s, the effort to end the death penalty found an echo in a congregation-wide resolution on peace and a more recent resolution against racism. … read more.
The message and prayer below can be viewed on St. John’s YouTube channel.
Good morning. I am the Reverend Mitra Jafarzadeh and I am gathered with lay leaders at St. John’s Unitarian Universalist Church.
Joetta Prost, Phyliss Flanagan-Cox, Anjali Dutt, and I want … read more.
