Dr. Mark Yount presents
“The World Tells Everyone to Shut Up”
Sydney Crisp, Worship Leader
Dr. Gary Smart, Accompanist
Mike Ludwig (Guitar and Vocals), Special Music

That title is a therapy insight into a conflict at the root of human character. We each need to become the unique person we are. But we also need to belong, and we don’t always feel accepted for who we are. My service in this church for over 20 years has served me in working through that challenge, and not because I always feel accepted. The more interesting truth is that while church isn’t always a sanctuary, it does offer a “harbor” between ourselves and the world – where we find comfort, but may also be challenged to grow beyond past comfort zones. So, a psychological reflection about lifting our voices becomes a sermon about… church, and our church at that.

About our speaker:

Since joining BBUUC in 1997, Dr. Mark Yount has given over 125 sermons, chaired several committees, served on Leadership Development, on the Board as Trustee and Vice President, and as Youth Advisor for most of the past 20 years (one of his great passions). Mark has a Ph.D. in Philosophy and taught college philosophy courses full-time for 12 years, before a second career in addiction treatment administration and helping homeless/at-risk people apply for disability benefits. He is now retired and writing a book entitled Wisdom on the Way: Seeing Ourselves Whole through the Worldview Wars.

About our musician:

“Firepit” Mike Ludwick taught himself to play guitar as a teenager, cutting his teeth on the Beatles and Bob Dylan. During the 2011 Occupy Movement when Robert E. Lee Park (now Emancipation Park) in Charlottesville, Virginia, was being occupied by citizens, he played around a firepit until the park was cleared by police, leaving him with his nickname. Music has been a life-affirming spiritual practice for him, dedicated to bending the arc of moral universe toward justice, love, and peace.