SERMON ARCHIVES

The Rev. Kirk Loadman-Copeland writes: “It is not clear if life is joy punctuated by tragedy, or tragedy punctuated by joy.” We live forever between the poles of existence, between desolation and consolation, but the Rev. Dr. John Buehrens tells us that the way we live in that space “matters forever.”

Each day we may walk into the unknown, into unseen growth, challenges, and mysteries. As we depart 2020 and step into unseen experiences awaiting us in 2021, we can pause for a moment, gather our breath, reflect on what we have learned, and prepare to welcome the new year.

As we end one year and move into a new one, I find myself asking what I would commit to doing to enhance my own life and to reify my vague longing to do my part to make the world a better place. I am reminded of what the great storyteller, Aesop, said: “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

What is the symbol of a rose blooming in the winter cold trying to tell us? Using stories and music, this will be a Christmas reflection on giving and receiving. Sometimes we are the giver of gifts – sometimes the recipient – and both can lead to deeper understandings, healing, and joy.

Although we do not have our choir back yet, our Music Director, Debby Bullins, has inspired Connie Jahrmarkt, violin, Rev. Terry Sims, cello, and Kent Trostel, piano, to join her in creating music for the holidays. In this service, traditional Christmas music will be interwoven with the spoken word about the healing we and the world need now.

You will not want to miss this inventive, fun, and educational story on the themes of Hanukkah; the struggle to overcome adversity, freedom from oppression, and moving from darkness to light. The children in our RE program will dramatize and sing the story for us, and you will hear lively, traditional Jewish klezmer music; all to begin our holiday season.

Having an abiding sense of what fills our spirits seem to come naturally to children, but adults seem to have to make time to rediscover it. When we do, it can feel that we are returning to a place we know, that feels like the only home we ever had or will ever need.

Holidays have a way of focusing us on something that could be with us throughout the year, but often is not. As we approach Thanksgiving, we will look at how the spiritual qualities of awareness and appreciation might stay with us not only this week, but throughout our lives.

Can a joke lead to spiritual enlightenment? Many spiritual leaders and teachers rely on clever riddles, koans, and short stories to help us break out of rigid thought patterns and gain insightful breakthroughs. We will explore some of these ancient teachings and some modern ones. Until then, you can contemplate the famous Zen koan, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”

What do we mean when we use the word “spirituality”? There are many definitions, of course. Maybe the reason we fail to agree on what we mean is the same reason we can never adequately tell others about whom and what we love; we know the feeling, but it wears a different face for each of us.

Daniel Goleman, author of the book Emotional Intelligence, says: If your emotional abilities aren’t in hand, if you don’t have self-awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can’t have empathy and have effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far.” This sermon will explore how understanding our emotions can help us come closer to living the lives we are longing to live.

In 2001, our church was certified as a Welcoming Congregation. We are hoping to be recertified this year. The renewal process invites us again to consider how truly welcoming we are to all people, regardless of whether they are like us. As part of that process, this service will challenge us and remind us that we can always grow into the next stage of who we can become.

Two centuries ago, Unitarian minister, Ralph Waldo Emerson, famously remarked that our chosen religion was “corpse-cold”. The fact is that many of us are much more comfortable with ideas than we are with our feelings, but Emerson and others have pointed the way to a theology that recognizes what we really yearn for is a spirituality that lets us feel more alive.

In other words, why on earth would we talk about emotions in church? The questions suggest their own answers, don’t they? If our souls encompass the whole of who we are and call us to the fullness of life, we might want to pay attention to the emotions that figure so prominently in how we live.

This video will focus on getting us excited and involved in voting our UU values in this most important election on November 3, 2020.

Unitarian Universalism is a “Covenantal Tradition.” What does that mean? What are we covenanting to do together? Why does it matter? We will talk about how important covenantal relationships are anytime, but particularly now when we’re in a pandemic.

I spend a lot of time thinking and talking about all the positive aspects of affirming and promoting the inherent worth and dignity of every person. I want to consider what happens when we do not practice our First Principle because I believe that, too, can reinforce our commitment to it.

Affirming and promoting the inherent worth and dignity of every person, our First Principle is not settled, not easy, not unquestionable, not inevitable. It is the “every person” part that hangs us up. In this service, we will ask ourselves whether we actually believe our First Principle, and, if we do, whether we can practice it toward everyone, including those we dislike the most.

Anthony is currently Director for Congregational Life at the UU Congregation of Phoenix, AZ. A former US Army Office, he holds a MDiv from the Starr King School of Ministery and a Master’s  in Human Learning and Development. Anthony was born a Baptist in the South, raised as a Muslim in the North, and never accepting either, became a UU in 2012. He has 20+ years in creative media production and executive management experience while remaining active in social justice since the late 1960’s.

More momentous events occurred during this period. Among the most notable were the calling of the Rev. Dr. Walter F. Wieder as the second full-time, settled minister in 1996, the dedication of the current church building in 1999, the beginning of Religious Education in 2000 for a growing number of children – up to 25 on a Sunday by 2007 when RE began to flourish in earnest, and the calling of the Rev. Terry Sims as the third, full-time, settled minister in 2012.

The information in this sermon comes from the excellent history of the first 20 years of this church, written in 1995 by Doris Melleney Thompson. Among the most momentous events were the calling of the first full-time, settled minister, the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel P. Lauriet in 1985, and the renovation of a bank building in 1990 to serve as the first church home for the UU community.

Understanding (and avoiding) the call of the cult.

We live our life in layers, public faces protecting inner selves. Like nesting dolls, these layers each have a story and a purpose. Consider your own layers and how each feeds your innermost soul.

.

.

.

Water gives us life, it cleanses, refreshes, and offers adventures and moments of serenity. Explore the spiritual implications of water in our desert home.

.

.

.

During the unsettled, in-between times of life, we long for the security of what is known and trusted. But we don’t have a common creed to fall back on…only a common covenant. What is it we promise each other? Is this spiritual home without definite answers enough?

.

.

.

How to live a compassionate life…and not drown in our own tears.

.

.

We are all in a waiting room, living betwixt and between what was and what will be. But each of us is individually determining how we wait in this liminal space. What if we can choose to experience this liminal space and time, this uncomfortable now, as a place and state of creativity, of construction and deconstruction, choice and transformation? Sheryl Fullerton

.

.

Thoughts from the Past President of the Board of Directors at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Surprise, Arizona.

.

Experience the largest annual worship gathering of UU’s in the comfort of your own home. The worship service will include a collection for the Tomaquag Muscuem, an indigenous museum featuring an extensive collection and archive of Southern New England tribal communities.

.

In this service, we celebrate both Father’s Day and the summer solstice where Emrys Staton will explore the recent birth of his son and also the birth of a new identity as father. Looking to the Buddhist concept of reincarnation, we will explore how our own identities and experiences are constantly being reborn during our lifetimes.

.

Peace, liberty and justice for all, and even democracy itself are ideals. It’s imperative that we learn how to turn idealism into realism now.

.

Altars and canvases, ministers and muses,drawing and faith share common synergies. Explore how we draw our faith and how our faith draws us in to experience beautiful connections within and among us.

At this time as a nation, many of us have had a sabbath rest foisted upon us. We have not entered this sabbath rest as a religious observance, it is due to the coronavirus. What if we thought of this time as the Jews considered the Sabbath – the most sacred of times?

It seems that life would be simpler and greatly improved if we could just seek out what is good and avoid what is bad. But, as most of us know, life has never been simple like that. And that means that we need a spiritual understanding of, and a way to cope with, a complex life filled with both joy and suffering

Who bears responsibility for the state of the world? It is tempting to personify both good and evil. But our tendency to do so may only distract us from realities about the randomness of the universe and our own responsibility.

Language is not a neutral medium of communication. Words are not balls we toss back and forth. They are symbolic representations of our personal experience of reality. Our past experiences and cultural conditioning determine the meanings and interpretations we make as we encode and decode messages. All communication results in at least partial misunderstanding.

What do we mean when we say something is good or, probably more to the point, evil? Is it only actions that should be described with those adjectives or are people both or neither? Can we square our answer to that question with our First UU Principle, the inherent worth and dignity of every person? We will tackle those hard questions and more in this service.

When we’re splintered by distractions and torn by turmoil, it’s easy to lose ourselves and our focus. The impetus to “just be” doesn’t seem enough, yet at times its all we have and everything for which we strive. If we cannot just be, we cannot be anything else. This sermon will explore the quiet moments and constructive chaos when we may just be.

When I discovered Unitarian humanism, I thought that I had finally gotten hold of a religion I could believe in, in contrast to a God that I could not. But people have asked me, derisively, “What is a religion without God” Have we UU humanists dispensed with God?

Human beings have always searched for one god or many. We keep hoping to find ourselves in our gods, imagining that they have human characteristics raised to supreme level. Maybe we would be better served by searching for what is divine in ourselves and in in all that surrounds us.