Last week the Austin Chronicle named Reverend Davidson Loehr “Best Minister/Spiritual Leader” in its recent round up of the “Best of Austin.” Davidson, who recently had a blogging stint on [1] Jesus Politics, has now been called “the Austin faith community’s best-kept secret.”

Having already authored the thought-provoking and profound Jesus Series, Dr. Loehr delivered an incendiary sermon titled “Living Under Fascism” after the botched 2004 presidential election, and inspired standing ovations in the sanctuary. A Vietnam veteran and former photographer, Loehr strips religion of its rhetoric and offers a clear-eyed look at the issues that divide us today, remind us that it is possible to have faith and use your brain at the same time. A collection of his sermons is now available from Chelsea Green, titled [2] America, Fascism and God. First Unitarian Universalist Church, 4700 Grover, 452-6168.