An award-winning preacher and musician, Rev. Fred Small is available to lead worship for your congregation, including leading congregational singing.

Among his sermons on responding to climate change:

The Peace of Trees. "The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence," wrote Trappist monk and peace activist Thomas Merton. "The frenzy of our activism neutralizes our work for peace. . . . It destroys the fruitfulness of our own work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful." As we work together for social and environmental justice, how do we remain grounded in a peaceful spirit? What can we learn from trees?

How to Love This World. In the face of intersecting crises like climate change, pandemic, and racism, it’s easy to become disheartened. How do we sustain our spirits in these challenging times? How do we know what action to take? How do we love this world?

In Defense of Hope. With escalating threats of violence, authoritarianism, and ecological and social breakdown, some argue that hope has become a harmful distraction—“hopium,” they call it. But the more we are tempted by despair, the more we need hope to sustain us through hard times.

Risking Joy. In times of suffering and danger, joy may seem unrealistic, even irresponsible. Yet in the face of injustice, violence, and ecological breakdown, joy may be indispensable. We can nourish and cultivate it.

Be Not Afraid. In the difficult decades to come, we will need courage, fortitude, and love. But we will also need equanimity: the ability to see things as they are, without attachment or aversion. We are most effective when we are calm and at ease, able to respond freshly and strategically to the challenges we face. How can we cultivate equanimity in challenging times?

Fred also performs rites of passage such as weddings, child dedications, funerals, and memorial services.

To engage Fred for preaching, worship leading, or rites of passage, please email him at fsmall@uuma.org.