About The Monk Library — The Monk Library

The Monk's Sermons

The Reverend Doctor Calen Rayne has presented worship services in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Connecticut, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Florida, and Virginia.

Worship service themes Calen has worked with the following:

Sermon themes have included:

An exploration of spiritual connections from two perspectives. Depending on travel distance, a main altar is created featuring a 19th-century statue of the Buddha and a 17th-century statue of the Black Madonna.
A discussion of mandalas and their significance from the Bon and Buddhist traditions.
A Mother's Day service weaving wisdom teaching"s on the feminine face of the Divine with words of women of country music.
A service for Memorial Day, making it possible for congregants to bring the name of loved ones and historical figures into the worship space.
A variation on our UU Flower Communion service with elements of a memorial service.
A message about our emerging wisdom culture in light of the work of Dr. Paul Ray and Biblical teachings on wisdom, including her proclamation in Proverbs 8:22, "The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works."
We explore the concept of a community of ministers, a congregation where each person assumes a responsibility to minister to each other and our global community.
Buddhist teachings on compassion combined with a reflection on our UU water service. As one congregant in Tennessee once remarked, "this is not your Daddy's Buddhism."
Reflection on sacred geometry, the Druids, and the need for all faith traditions to embrace the concept of reverence for each other.
In the beginning was the word, which transformed into both sound and light and compassion.
Reflection on wisdom and compassion from the viewpoint of our great mystics.
A service presented for Easter on the labyrinth (referred to as a Road to Jerusalem) and a resurrection of spirit. An 18-foot Chartres replica labyrinth is set up to walk before and after the service.
We look at work in light of our spiritual journeys. How can we turn what we do to earn a living, our "work," into a "prayer?" How can we best contribute to the "Great Work," that of building a more compassionate world?