Listen to Past Sermons

The inevitability of change can lead us to feel so many things at once. At times we feel that we need to control the process of change altogether, and, at other times, we feel helpless and held hostage by it. Join us this Sunday as we reflect on how change, creation, and bread teach us to be both humble and courageous in a world of impermanent things.

On All Souls Sunday we remember those in our church community who have died this year, as well as all the ancestors who’ve gone before us. We also reflect on what our mortality means for us and our lives. This morning we celebrate the ways that death can point us back to life.

We live much of our lives in the tension between “roots” and “wings,” between holding on and letting go, between freedom and restraint. How can these tensions propel us forward into an exciting future?

Many of us yearn for a change in our culture, our nation, and our world. Nothing short of a revolution will do: a revolution in our values, behaviors, and ways of relating to each other and the earth. Is love up to this revolutionary task?

We live in a culture that reveres perfectionism. And even when we know it shouldn’t be our goal, it can be hard to break out of ingrained patterns. How can we work to be good without trying to be perfect?

Resources from Rev. Keithan’s sermon:

In his sermon on imperfection, Rev. Keithan cited two resources related to race and racism that we want to share. First, the list of Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture that is being used at All Souls and hundreds of other UU congregations to help us build a more inclusive, justice-centered culture. As Rev. Keithan said, “It’s important to remember that they’re not listing characteristics of white people, they’re listing harmful characteristics of the dominant culture which impact everyone.” Second, he referenced that David Starr Jordan, one of the most prominent advocates of eugenics in the United States, was the number one selling author for the Unitarian Association’s Beacon Press in his day (1902-1913). According to his profile on the Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography, “During that period, Beacon published 19 of Jordan’s books, more than by any other single author.” Third, the TEDx Talk “How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Discussing Race” by Jay Smooth offers a very insightful perspective on perfectionism as well as the humorous and helpful “dental hygiene model” of race discourse. Although focused on race, most of his insights and suggestions are application to other identities and oppressions as well.

Every year on the Sunday closest to Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, we end our service with the words of our Litany of Atonement: “We forgive ourselves. We forgive each other. We begin again in love.” But what happens if we’re not yet ready to forgive? What happens when we’re not yet ready to be begin again in love? How do we prepare our hearts for forgiveness?

As Paula Cole Jones mentions in this sermon, she developed and presented much of this wisdom for the 2019 Sophia Fahs Lecture at the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly. Learn more and watch Paula’s lecture here.

Liberal religious people have made a mantra of love—a natural outgrowth of our Universalist heritage. Yet we find ourselves in an increasingly unloving country and world. What if we have been mistaken? Where and how might our faith lead us next? It’s time for a critical reappraisal of our most cherished value.

The Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt is president and professor of Unitarian Universalist Ministry and Heritage at Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, CA. 

Homecoming Sunday.

There’s a lot about life that we don’t get to choose. From the mundane challenges (like whether the metro is on time) to the major (like the presence of systemic oppression), much is beyond our control. This sermon will reflect on what we can change—ourselves.