Sermons Online at Other Sites
(alphabetical by author)

Reverend John Marsh on the Death Penalty
from Religious Organizing Against the Death Penalty

There is No Other
(video)
by Rev. Nate Walker was the John Murray Distinguished Lecture at the 2009 General Assembly of the UUA

Note: these sermons are copyrighted and are the property of the author. Please contact the authors if you wish to print or otherwise utilize them.

Ban Unjust Death spacer

Resources for People Seeking an Alternative to the Death Penalty

The Unitarian Universalists for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (UUADP) is honored to share messages that communicate the need for alternatives to capital punishment. Our resources include:

Books, essays, plays, and cogent arguments

 

Declaration of Life

Statement of your request that the death penalty not be imposed, should you die as a result of a violent crime.
More »

Frontiers of Justice, Volume 1: The Death Penalty


Seven years ago, my uncle was murdered. My uncle's killer is still alive, serving a life sentence. I thank God that the brutal, irrational crime that ended my uncle's life did not result in another senseless killing.

— Julie Zimmerman

Julie Zimmerman is the editor of Biddle Press, and wrote this as a foreword to this book which deserves an honored place on the bookshelves of abolitionists everywhere. It is a fine collection of essays examining the death penalty issue from many points of view.

To order contact:

Biddle Publishing Company
PO Box 1305 #103
Brunswick, ME 04011
207.833.5016

The Executioners

A play in one act by Ellen H. Showell.
More »

The Execution of Elroy Chester

The story of Elroy Chester, a mentally retarded man who was executed by Texas in 2013, written by Susan Orlansky, Elroy's death penatly appeal attorney.
More»

Ideas for Your Skeptical Friends

A reasoned challenge to those who continue to support capital punishment.

More »

Just Mercy

by Bryan Stevenson (2014, Spiegel & Grau, an imprint of Random House).
Stevenson, a founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, has dedicated his legal career to defending those who are trapped by an often capricious, political, and willfully unjust criminal justice system - poor people, people of color. The book speaks to justice, mercy, and compassion, themes of concern to us as Unitarian Universalists and as human beings.
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations "Common Reads" discussion
guide on the book

Kelly Gissendaner: An Unlikely Friendship Blossoms Between a Killer and a Scholar

CNN Story on the relationship between German theologian Jurgen Moltmann and deathrow inmate Kelly Gissdaner. Kelly was executed by the state of Georgia on September 30, 2015.

Kill the Death Penalty

Letter to the Editor by Rev. Dave Hunter of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Greater Cumberland
(pdf file)

Moratorium Information

View or print a sample moratorium

Groups that have adopted a moratorium

The Rev. Cathy Harrington

San Francisco Chronicle interview with Rev. Harrington about her plans to speak at the sentencing of her daughter's murderer and Rev. Harrington's sentencing statement. (pdf file)

Sightings Report from the Martin Marty Center of the University of Chicago DivinitySchool

May, 5, 2014 review of current trends against the death penalty.
More »

"Tonight" by Jason Guard

Essay written following after the August 20, 1998 execution of Lance Chandler in Virginia.

More »

Virgin Unite Videos

Three videos (Animation, Conservative Perspective, & Lethal Injection Re-enactment)

"Why I Come to This Church"

Talk by Tim Stanton, First Unitarian Church, Richmond, Virginia on Sunday, October 11, 1998, which was Amnesty International's Faith in Action on the Death Penalty Day.

More »

Back to Top

Sermons

 

Madelyn Cambell Blog Post

"Killing Me Softly"

Service by the Rev. Alison Cornish

Service conducted at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Bellport.

Sermon by the Rev. Natalie Fenimore

Service conducted at the Davies Memorial UU Church, Camp Springs, MD

Two sermons by Rev. Nana Kratochvil

Rev. Kratochvil is minister at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan, and a murder victim family member.

Service by Rev. Dave Hunter

Rev. Dave Hunter is from the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Greater Cumberland

Sermon by Jayson Lydon

Sermon by Jean Rabenold

Jean was a member of the Palomar Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and was a member of the Board of the Unitarian Universalists for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

Sermon by Rev. Carol S. Rudisill

Rev Rudisill preached at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Northern Nevada where she was the Interim Minister
Why Do We Kill People? October 15, 2006


Two sermons by Robert P. Tucker, Ph.D.

Rev. Dr. Tucker is the minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Lakeland, Florida

  • Therefore Be It Resolved...
    Argues for abolition of the death penalty on the basis of civil and religious facts
  • An Eye for an Eye
    Argues against capital punishment using biblical exegesis, historical memory, and an unexpected personal anecdote

Sermon by Rev. Nate Walker

A sermon offered by Reverend Nate Walker on behalf of the Joseph Priestley District of the Unitarian Universalist Association at the General Assembly in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Service by Rev. Judy Welles

A service offered at the Unitarian Universalists of the Cumerland Valley.

General Assembly Handouts

Back to Top