David Dean presents
a sermon written by
Rev. Andrew L. Weber
Minister of Thomas Paine UU Fellowship in Collegeville, PA
“No Struggle, No Progress”
Caitlin Regan, Worship leader
Dr. Gary Smart, Accompanist
Mike Ludwick, Guitar and Vocals, Special Music
In 1857, Frederick Douglas gave a speech concerning emancipation in the West Indies where he famously stated that “If there is no struggle there is no progress.” The sentiment of struggle for progress holds true not only for broad social justice concerns, but also for smaller communities and even for personal growth. As we look to renewing our national, congregational and personal faith, we also acknowledge the necessary struggles and hardships.
About our Speaker:
David Dean, BBUUC member and an integral part of our Worship Team, is an Emmy-nominated editor who works as Senior Editor/Post-Producer for the PBS series “Samantha Brown’s Places to Love.” David is also a presenter, writer, and storyteller, who volunteers his time as the editor of our worship videos and contributes his other talents in the worship arts to our ministry.
About the Sermon Author:
Rev. Andrew Weber grew up in the Philadelpia Main Line region, where he and his family were members of Main Line UU Fellowship. He has a Master of Divinity degree from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He was the Lead Youth Advisor for the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor in Ann Arbor MI from September 2009 to May 2012. He served as minister of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Newark, DE from 2013 to 2017, and served as Pulpit Supply and Pastoral Coverage minister for local Unitarian Universalist congregations until contracting to serve the Thomas Paine UU Fellowship in Collegeville, PA in 2022. Andrew, his wife and their two children currently live in Newark, Delaware.
About our Member-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 the moral universe toward justice, love, and peace.