Intransitive Hope



Hope is dangerous. We can become attached to particular outcomes. The best sort of hope is not a bet on outcomes, but an intransitive “orientation of the spirit,” as humanist Vaclav Havel put it. To operate in the realm between faith and love is also to learn to practice non-attachment to the fruits of right action. We’ll sing, with the help of the choir, a hymn that speaks of “hope, all other hopes above.” We’ll also hear the haunting song, “An Only Hope,” from the film, "A Walk to Remember", and an anthem by poet Elizabeth Alexander that speaks of sustaining hope “while pulling every weed.”



Rev. John Buehrens, Senior Minister

Alex Darr, Message for All Ages

Susan Anthony, Worship Associate

Reiko Oda Lane, organ

Wm. Garcia Ganz, piano & conductor

Elliott Etzkorn, piano

Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Worship Archives/Podcast