UU Fellowship of San Luis Obispo County

One of the things that a multi-generational community provides is the opportunity for renewal through interaction with people across many different ages.

I don't pretend to know exactly what poet, Walt Whitman meant when he wrote, "I contain multitudes," but I am sometimes struck by the multitude of memories that each of us hold in our minds and hearts.

Immortal love, forever full, forever flowing free.

A congregation brings together many different perspectives, preferences, and perceptions. This is a community which explicitly embraces pluralism...with all its gifts and challenges.

Busy intersections caused some amount of anxiety when I was a child, if not for me, certainly for my parents. They warned me to be careful. As we consider "intersectionality" in a wider context, that may still be good advice.

Earth Day Service The 2nd century bishop, Iranaeus, said, "the glory of God is the human being fully alive." In this sermon, I will be looking at how, from a Christian perspective, the human being fully alive is the whole planet (cosmos?) fully alive. Reverend Caroline "Caro" Hall ...has lived in Los Osos for over 30 years with her wife, Jill, whom she first met at Findhorn, a spiritual community in Scotland. She has been an Episcopal priest for 20 years, during which time she worked for full LGBTQ inclusion in the international church, locally helped to found and lead People of Faith for Justice, and has worked for environmental justice. Caro seeks to live lightly on the planet in harmony with all beings who are working for the highest good.

The familiar phrase is "guilt by association", but today we take a look at what it means to be part of the UU Association of congregations and how that relates to interdependence. (Worship participants will also share experiences from Camp de Benneville Pines.)

The familiar phrase is "guilt by association", but today we take a look at what it means to be part of the UU Association of congregations and how that relates to interdependence. (Worship participants will also share experiences from Camp de Benneville Pines.)

Transformation sounds like it involves changing into something new. It may be the process of revealing what is already true.

Members sharing transformation stories - Jamie Woolf, Steve Kadin, Dorothy Pitkin with Gina Whitaker as worship associate.

Members sharing transformation stories - Jamie Woolf, Steve Kadin, Dorothy Pitkin with Gina Whitaker as worship associate.

Miraculous stories surround the lives of great prophets, teachers, and figures of religious importance. What do these stories tell us about these people? And what do they tell us about ourselves?

We live in a society where (it is said) "Money talks." However, the transformative piece of this is that we have the power to tell it what to say.

Inform. Conform. Reform. Perform. Transform. All of our lives, we are forming and being formed by our experiences, our relationships, our realizations and reflections. With every breath, we are in formation.

What in the world does death have to do with justice and equity? And how might fully acknowledging our own mortality empower us to work for those things?

Both science and religion have played pivotal roles in the work toward justice and equity...and both have been used in ways that thwart that work. How can we be sensitive to this history and challenge those tendencies in the present time?

The Pagan holiday, Imbolc, falls exactly halfway between Yule (Winter Solstice) and Ostara (Spring Equinox). It strikes me as important that we develop ways to celebrate "partway" points, especially in relationship to our ongoing struggles for justice and equity.

We recognize that there are many kinds of beautiful lives if we step outside the self and walk beside it with humble nonjudgmental curiosity about the many other selves on their own paths.

Freedom has traditionally been identified (along with reason and tolerance) as central characteristics of Unitarianism. But...does that sufficiently capture our most deeply-held values? Is freedom the same as liberation? And how does it relate to love? The lyrics to the song Rev. Rod refers to at the beginning are here.

Though freedom is generally understood to be something that people embrace, psychologist, Erich Fromm pointed out that there is also a basic human urge to "escape from freedom."

Each Sunday we welcome you in and...about an hour later, send you forth. Which mirrors the way we welcome new members. Enter, rejoice, and come in! we say. Make yourself at home...Now, come and go with me to that land where we're bound!

"Life is a riddle and a mystery..." So says our hymn. And ain't it the truth?

"Bless you," can often be heard post-sneeze. In some parts of the country, they "bless your heart." Rebecca Parker encourages us to choose to bless the world. What is a blessing and how do we bless one another?

How do the very words we use display generosity? What does it mean to learn a vocabulary of kindness and inclusion?

No, I mean it…all of us. I’m not talking right now about our congregation or a particular activity or a community organization, I’m talking about us—all of us.

Listening is a profound expression of generosity.

Remembering those we love who have died. Recommitting ourselves to engaging the truly awesome power of love within ourselves, our community, and our world.

“If asked when and where Unitarianism was first organized the average person would be likely to answer that it was in America, or perhaps in England, about the beginning of the 19th century,” writes Unitarian historian Earl Morse Wilbur. I think he’s wrong. If asked when and where Unitarianism was first organized, the average person would not have a clue.

It has been pointed out by countless coaches that "there is no 'i' in 'team.'" Alas, there is an 'i' in 'community' (and in 'congregation,' for that matter). Which leads me to wonder about how we balance the individual and the community.

It is something of a leap to think of myself as an "ancestor," but we will all fall into that category at some point in the future. What do we wish to be our legacy?

The Water Ceremony reminds us of our connection to--and complete dependence upon--this most precious of earthly resources: water.

We pledge to replace barriers with ever-widening circles of solidarity and mutual respect. We strive to truly welcome all persons and commit to structuring congregational and associational life in ways that empower and enhance everyone’s participation. -- Words from the Article II Proposal

“Let’s be the welcome we crave— enriching, understanding. Let us embody the community we crave…” — Rev Dr. David Breeden

On this Labor Day weekend, we will take a look at ways we approach the work of the congregation.

We’ll take a look at why the word “just” appears in that common phrase.

Most of us, consciously or subconsciously, avoid thinking of our mortality, but are we missing out on a fuller life when we do that? Can embracing our mortality lead to a richer, Less anxious experience of life at any age?

What can we trust in recreating a future that serves us all? Can we trust that a future with love and creativity at the center is even possible? Individuals and institutions are guiding the way, including Unitarian Universalism.

Recreation — in both of its meanings — provides opportunities to “begin again.”

Winston S. Churchill is said to have said, “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” If his words are true, the success of my spiritual venturing is guaranteed. Let’s explore what pluses can be taken away from our minuses and miscues.

Loyalty is generally considered a virtue. Does it depend on the subject of one’s loyalty? The manner in which one displays loyalty? Can one ever be loyal to a fault?

Many are saying that “we are more divided” in this country than we have ever been. Is that true? What are the implications of this statement? And what is to be done?

Though it may sound, at first, like an easy question to answer, we will take a little time to explore what it means to ‘be with’.

“Pledge” has a specific meaning in the congregational context, but what is it that inspires pledges? And, as July 4 approaches, it’s worth asking what it means to “pledge allegiance.”

“Every night and every morn, some to misery are born. Every morn and every night, some are born to sweet delight.” Familiar lines of poetry from William Blake…Is it true?

What a bouquet of people we are!

What is it that causes me to sometimes hide my delight? What are the accepted ways to show delight? And who taught us those?

What is it about music that speaks to us in such a unique and profound manner? What can we learn about ourselves as we learn about our responses to the artistry of composers and musicians?

In shaping our own lives, we look back on those who helped to shape us, especially those who gave of themselves with generosity and compassion.

Creativity, we may think, is about producing a work of art–composing a piece of music; painting a landscape; writing a story. But there’s a story being told with every moment and we all participate in its creation.

“Resistance is futile,” says the Borg in Star Trek. Taken out of its science fictional context, the phrase sometimes seems disturbingly relevant to our times. But what if we viewed resistance through a different lens?

Rev. Rod Richards gives a talk about the meaning of the upcoming bridging ceremony for three youths at the Pacific SW Service Area Assembly.