Rev. McKinley L. Sims, M.Div.

The most recent mass shooting in Parkland, FL struck me in two distinct and horrifying ways. The first is that a dear friend from college sent out an email to everyone who meant something to him. He’s a Marjory Stoneman Douglass alumni, and he grew up around the corner from the school in Parkland. He…

I grew up with guns. I grew up with conservative politics. I grew up with the right to bear arms. I am a gun owner. I love my guns, because of what they symbolize and what they remind me of. And I’m sick of our cowardice and our love of guns over human beings. I’ll…

So, what’s the deal with that logo? Isn’t it a little, too, you know….Christian? Yep, it definitely is….too Christian. It’s soooo Christian, in fact, that it’s not even Christian in the way you might think it is. Cue the Princess Bride quotes: “Christian!” “I think you should stop using that word…I don’t think it means what you think…

So I’ve started playing around with recording podcasts of my sermons, writings, thoughts, and adventures in the psych ward. I hope you find them funny, informative, moving, and goofy. Hopefully, the quality will improve over time and the stories will get deeper and more meaningful as we move through life together. You can check them…

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking here at the 2018 UUMA Center Institute in Tampa, Florida. The theme of the conferences is Faith Inspiring Innovation. We’ve had phenomenal worship leaders and the collegiality of the ministers in attendance reminds me of what it means to feel inspired to seek innovation. Innovation is something I…

*(manuscript from sermon given 1/14/18 at Bull Run Unitarian Universalist in Manassas, VA) I work in a mental hospital. A supermax security facility, in Southeast DC near the Anacostia neighborhood, where the average resident is a 60 year old Black man committed their by DC criminal court.  Think about what that brings up in you.…

Sneak peak of my sermon at Bull Run Unitarian-Universalists on Jan. 14th, 2018! Liberation begins with an Exodus, and ends with a….. “Our physical and spiritual liberation is bound up together. There is no liberation for one unless there is liberation for all, and even though we might view the Holy in different ways, we…

It was cold and gloomy in DC today, even in my heated basement apartment and my cozy (if slightly lumpy) quilted bed. I rolled over when my alarm went off on my phone and literally prayed for a notification from work that I might be able to sleep a few more hours, or (gasp!) have…

So….Easter. The most important holiday in the Christian church year, usually corresponding to the Jewish festival week of Pesach/Passover, celebrates the story of Jesus of Nazareth’s miraculous resurrection three days after a horrific public execution. The words of the Christian scriptures illustrate how a group of women went to the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea…

Being a minister is everything I hoped it would be. I love getting to help plan worship, meet with parishioners, attend conferences and budget meetings….well, maybe not the budget meetings. Everything feels exciting and nourishes my soul as I start down the road that I hope will become my life path. I’ve got my toes…