Sermons from UUCP

A homily by Rev. Mykal Slack as part of a service on transformational inclusion.

A homily by Zr. Alex Kapitan as part of "Radical Isn’t a Dirty Word: A Two-Part Working Service on Transformational Inclusion."

What does it mean to be part of an intentional faith development community -- to have agency in your learning? How do we inspire exploration? Our congregation has the answers: the kids! Come hear how we as a whole community Grow UU Identity, Equip Our Kids, and step into our roles as religious educators for one another.

Why am I a Unitarian Universalist, and how does that identity shape my life? What does it mean to live into a faith that is founded on covenantal relationship and commitment to community? How do I create new possibility? As we open these deep questions, all answers are questioned and explored.

As the northern hemisphere turns the corner into spring, all are invited to bring a flower to share for Flower Communion. Growing our garden of community, we consider the commitment to covenantal relationship, and all the ways our covenant shapes the hopes, dreams, choices and actions of our lives.

In February, I attended a dance workshop, “Shake Your Booty for Salvation.” People close to Dr. Martin Luther King say that they were always singing and dancing. Did that full body dive into joy recharge their important work? Have you sometimes lapsed into exhaustion in trying to bring more justice to this world? How would our movement transform if we loosened up, jumped in and danced?

Together we create beloved community, founded upon the connections we share, the covenants to which we commit, and all the ways we lead and participate to co-create more than any one of us can achieve alone. As we dedicate children into this faith community, we consider anew the meanings of mission, love and connection.

How do we live out our covenant of commitment to ourselves as members of the UUCP community and congregation, and respect the shared ministry of each congregant, staff member and minister? We commit to each other to see differences as opportunities for growth, and to assert our own individual position with directness and with humility.

“The truth is this: If there is no justice, there will be no peace…If we cannot bring justice into the small circle of our own individual lives, we cannot hope to bring justice to the world.” How might we build relationships that bring justice to our localities and our state?

Each year, Unitarian Universalists gather at “GA” to connect, to learn, and to engage in the democratic processes that govern our faith movement. We will hear from those who have attended GA in recent years, and learn how everyone can be part of the adventure!

The late 1960’s, when Dr. Martin Luther King was at his most influential, was a turbulent, polarized period in the U.S., and the 2020’s are likely to be even more so. In this service, we’ll consider how Dr. King's prophetic words and deeds can continue to guide us.

William Ellery Channing (April 7, 1780 – October 2, 1842) was the foremost Unitarian preacher in the United States in the early nineteenth century. Channing said, “No preaching, I believe, is so intelligible, as that which is true to human nature, and helps men (and women) to read their own spirits.”

Throughout the world, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) works with local partners to advance human rights, dismantle systems of oppression, and uplift the inherent worth and dignity of all people. We are all part of this historic justice work, foundational to our UU presence in the world.

At this sacred time, we honor our connection with the spirit world, celebrating the rich heritage, the legacy and gifts of our ancestors. All are welcome in this multigenerational service to bring a photo or memento of a beloved who has died to place upon the ceremonial altar.

The “original sin” of racism is our heritage in America, deeply woven into even our Unitarian and Universalist faith and theology .How can we change our trajectory to individually and collectively repent the sin of racism? Let us re-imagine our ever-evolving faith to build the world we dream about.

Living into our vision to be radically inclusive, we learn to use our language and structures in ways that respect people of all identities and abilities. Let us embark with courage and openness on the learning path as we become truly welcoming to all.

Transitions raise many questions about how we live into our potential, learning to respond to changing times. This is especially true as this congregation articulates your dreams for the future ministry here. What does it mean to be on the cusp of change, living a liberal faith responsive to our time?

Asking for what you need is the beauty of community. Needing one another is the beauty of community. Bringing your gifts is the beauty of community. Sharing your weaknesses is the beauty of community. Anthony shares his spiritual journey and addresses the question: Who is that new dude in the pulpit

Water is universal, eternal, ever-changing. Each year we celebrate a new program year with the ritual of Water Communion. Flowing in continuity and change, returning to familiar spaces, we welcome the new into our lives. Bring water to share from home or summer travels, or use water we provide here.

When life throws us nasty curve balls it can feel like things are falling apart. That curve ball, calamity, or loss changes our lives. The mosaic of our lives is altered. The spiritual work is to access personal, communal and transcendent resources, reshaping that altered mosaic to once again reflect balance, joy and hope.

What does it mean to be justice centered in different contexts, in different times of our lives? Members of the UUCP Justice Teams share their stories – what they have experienced, what they have learned, what inspires them as they live into their call.

We talk a lot about elephants as a metaphor for something large and mysterious – the elephant in the room, or perhaps perceiving parts of the elephant without understanding the whole. How do we learn to embrace, to cherish, to engage with the elephants in our lives?

Unitarian Universalists have been called “freethinking mystics with hands” – faithful people who will not be bound to a static creed, and who commit to a practical religion, a religious practice of making a difference. What does it mean to be part of a religion that is beyond belief?

Summer is a time for renewal — a time to change the pattern, to replenish our resources, to re-create ourselves. The Jewish mystical Kabbalah tradition speaks of Tikkun olam, which translates as “repairing the world.” As people of faith, we are called to repair the brokenness of the world, which begins with healing our own lives.

The morality of Dr. Seuss as seen in his imaginary Truffula trees and Sneetches is supported by some real universals, such as how all living cells harness energy. Honesty, which is fundamental to science and morality, is also a universal … and as Dr. Seuss wrote: Fun is good.

Have you ever looked out your window and asked “what am I missing?” What if you stepped outside your normal routine and experienced life through the eyes of a stranger? A man named Max asked himself these questions and created an app that led him randomly out into the world

What is “pilgrimage”? Jan will share some reflections from her recent walking pilgrimages through Spain and Portugal. We’ll look at pilgrimage as an allegory, and how it might be relevant to all of our life journeys and renewal.

When, as a small child, I visited my grandmother, she would come to the bedroom to tuck me in and would always remind me to count my blessings before I dropped off to sleep. Then snap, out went the light, she was gone, and I was left to wonder what that meant. I’m still wondering.

Participating joyfully in the sorrows of the world, Earle Canfield, founder of the NGO “ANSWER Nepal” explores the concept of happiness. Now going into his eighth decade, he realized that in following his bliss, his life from academics to medicine to educating children in Nepal was simply a quest to explore what makes him happy.

Where have we come from, what are we becoming, where are we going? In the past months we have journeyed through the first phase of this transitional time, honoring the past, looking forward to adventures ahead. How do we stay open to possibility as the future unfolds before us?

What are the discoveries, the complexities, the challenges of living in time? We are shaped by the times in which we live, even as we shape them in our living, and if we are paying attention, we soon learn there are no easy answers. May our journey be a blessing.

On this weekend of Memorial Day, dedicated to remembering the lives of those who have died in military service, we remind ourselves that the act of remembering is, in itself, a sacred act that weaves the larger ongoing pattern of life.

Continuing to explore our challenge to White Supremacy, we explore the systems of socialization that condition us to be, act and perform to keep oppression in place. This service, and the workshop that follows, engage us in going deeper to be justice-centered in a complex and changing world.

Near the end of our week-long youth camps at DeBenneville Pines, the campers stay up all night and create “Top Ten” lists that capture the highlights from the week, some serious but mostly comical. For his final sermon, Emrys will offer his own Top Ten reflections from his time at UUCP.

Trying times such as these are also the ideal environment for the emergence of countervailing power. This morning, Rev. Nathan Hollister will speak to the unique role we are called to, as Unitarian Universalists, in building the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible. Rev. Nathan Hollister is a third generation Unitarian Universalist who leads the ministry of Sacred Fire UU, which plants and grows covenanted communities with mostly unaffiliated young people. He is a social transformation trainer, working with clergy, community organizers, and other leaders to increase our collective impact toward justice, peace, and ecological sustainability. He lives in the mountains of North Carolina.

The powerful vision of this congregation inspires and challenges us, calling us to imagine new ways of thinking, doing, being in the world. We rise to the challenge of moving beyond the familiar to create new possibility, a new reality we can barely imagine, our promise to the world.

Ministry is the act of putting into action our programs, desires and commitments — an act of leadership and service to a higher good. As this congregation elects the Ministerial Search Committee, we consider, what is the ministry to which we are called, and to which we commit ourselves?

Martin Buber famously declared that we human beings are the “promise-making, promise-keeping, promise-breaking, promise-renewing” animal. What are the promises we make to each other in this community of faith, and how do we balance and integrate the promises of the past and an emerging future?

Thriving faith communities offer a balance of connection and commitment that both sustains our lives and offers opportunities to serve. On this Connection Sunday, we celebrate those who lead and serve, and explore the love that binds us into creative and sustaining community.

A core principle in traditional philosophies is the inherent and healthy balance between the forces of darkness and light, feminine and masculine, assertive and receptive. How do we create balance in our lives so that we are both active and nourished by sources of outer and inner darkness and light?

Unitarian Universalists provided leadership in reaching moral victories such as abolition, women’s suffrage, equal marriage; however, since the election, policy changes affecting race relations, climate change, income inequality, immigration, and more assault us continually. How can we sustain ourselves as we resist divisiveness and hate? How can we remain resilient?

What are the impacts of being in a “never give up” society? A look at the ways we internalize the expectation and glorification of perseverance.

Join the children of our community and the children’s ministry team to explore how Superheroes fit into our principles and values. Does Batman always defer to inherent worth and dignity? Are villains just pursing their independent search for truth and meaning? We’ll tackle some really big questions, as the kids of UUCP always do, but this time we’ll be wearing capes!

The focus of this transitional time is preparing for the future. That includes understanding the rich heritage here, preparing for new ministerial leadership, electing the team to conduct the search on behalf of the congregation, and supporting the search. Every voice, every perspective, is vital to a successful search process.

UUCP is shifting our typical Sunday services and encouraging a multi-gen presence at this year’s Women’s March. A multi-faith, women-led service will be held at 8:30 AM at First Church UCC, followed by carpooling to the march. Emrys, Benjie and Katie will be present at the state capitol at 10:00 AM to organize our presence with chants, songs, and signs. Rev. Margret will lead the two Sunday morning services at UUCP for those who are unable to attend the march.

The work of combating white supremacy culture is a critical engagement for Unitarian Universalists, as we seek to live into our values and principles. This multigenerational conversation continues the ongoing work of this congregation to be fully present to the realities of our world, working to recognize, disrupt and heal from the impacts of racism.

In January we look forward and back. Today we look way back to nuggets of wisdom from traditional religious sources that we rarely make use of. While the mechanics of life have changed dramatically, the difficulties of living a good life in human society have not. Let’s go digging.

Human communities throughout the northern hemisphere celebrate the winter solstice as a reawakening of the light – here in the desert, the quality of the light is subtly different as the longest night approaches. Together let us celebrate this ancient recognition of light returning to a darkened world.

When challenging times leave us stony and closed, joy may not find a place to nest within us. Opening our hearts In this season of hope and love, we seek to deepen our capacity for emotional response to welcome all that life may offer.

In this time of Advent, we feel the stirrings of hope below the surface, as in the growing dark we await the return of light to the world. Dedicating children into the care of this congregation, we celebrate the light that glows within.

As a spiritual community that welcomes all, we focus this morning on contemplative practices and reflection on our home within the universe.