Can Objects be Sacred?

An address by the Minister, Rev. Rob MacPherson - recorded on Sunday, 10th February, 2019 in the Unitarian Meeting House in Adelaide. Rob talks about the excess of "stuff" in our lives. Post-war consumerism and mass-produced goods have been changing our culture since the Industrial Revolution. But the rise of supercharged industrial manufacturing and the use of the modern mass media by the Advertising Industry since World War 2 have greatly increased demand and affordability, prompting people to want even more. Shopping has become a leisure activity if not the dominant cultural activity. Globalisation has seen manufacturing shift to India and China where "stuff" could be made even more cheaply.
However, a reaction away from mass-produced "stuff" has seen the resurrection of "crafted" (hand-made) goods - with something bordering on the spiritual. The previous week's blessing of the school bags left Rob wondering about our relationship with objects, how they might be blessed and how we might bless them - even common everyday things. Can the objects we use in our lives become truly sacred? How may we become more aware of the spiritual dimension of objects?