Sermon Archive

Unitarian Universalists often name the experience of "transcending mystery and wonder" as a foundational element of a spiritual life. This service will reflect on two contemporary stories about the intermingling of the sacred and the secular, inviting us to consider how we welcome mystery and wonder, within and beyond sanctuaries on Sunday morning. Presented by Rev. Heather Janules, UUA Congregational Life Staff in the New England Region.

Prior to taking on a part-time role on the UUA Congregational Life Staff in the New England Region, the Rev. Heather Janules (she/her/hers) served UU congregations for the 19 years as both an Associate and Solo Minister, first as the Associate Minister for Pastoral Care with Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Bethesda, Maryland and then as the Parish Minister of the Winchester Unitarian Society in Winchester, MA.

Heather shares her home with two spoiled pets. She finds solace in walking outside by water, whether it is Horn Pond in suburban Boston, her family's log cabin on a lake in the Deep North Woods of northern New Hampshire or by the Ashuelot River near her soon-to-be home in Hinsdale, NH. She also has deep appreciation for the absurd in life which, thankfully, is always available in abundance.

Online (Zoom) Only Worship

Sunday at 10:30 AM

Click here to join the virtual service on Zoom

Meeting ID:  275 194 110

Phone In:  (669) 900-6833

This service will explore how community can serve as a vital source of strength during times of struggle. We will reflect on how joining together to support one another in navigating life’s challenges is itself a form of resilience. Remembering our Interdependence  helps ward off isolation and fear. Come be together to nourish compassion, courage and hope. 

First-Sunday Monthly Potluck after Service!

Listen to the Service Recording

Multi-Platform Worship (both in-person & online)

Sunday at 10:30 AM

Click here to join the virtual service on Zoom

Meeting ID:  275 194 110

Phone In:  (669) 900-6833

When strong feelings are present among us in the congregation, we sometimes struggle to know what to do to support ourselves and each other. Luckily, there are specific tools that can help! Presented by Rev. Erica Baron, UUA Congregational Life Staff, New England Region.

Listen to the Service Recording

Online (Zoom) Only Worship

Sunday at 10:30 AM

Click here to join the virtual service on Zoom

Meeting ID:  275 194 110

Phone In:  (669) 900-6833

Activism can be an act of resistance, healing, and a form of spiritual practice. Join us for guest speaker, Edward Ball, sharing stories of his AIDS activism, reproductive freedom activism and queer activism from the inside.  We’ll reflect on how standing up for dignity and freedom can transform one’s sense of self, purpose, and connection to the sacred. This Sunday, we’ll honor how activism for justice calls us into deeper empathy and connection. Through personal stories and shared reflection, we’ll explore how the struggles for dignity and freedom transform our hearts, inviting us to live out our love and courage more fully.

Edward Ball is a veteran of the queer and AIDS activist movements of the previous millennium. He has a Masters of Divinity from The Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. In recent decades he has turned his attention to inter-religious organizing, writing workshops that unlock creative potential, and fundraising efforts for non-profit organizations. 

Special Collection: With Love

Listen to the Service Recording

Multi-Platform Worship (both in-person & online)

Sunday at 10:30 AM

Click here to join the virtual service on Zoom

Meeting ID:  275 194 110

Phone In:  (669) 900-6833

This Sunday immediately following Election Day we continue our exploration of personal spiritual practice. How do we stay centered and grounded in times of worry or uncertainty about what the future holds?

Online (Zoom) Only Worship

Sunday at 10:30 AM

Click here to join the virtual service on Zoom

Meeting ID:  275 194 110

Phone In:  (669) 900-6833

In a world that often feels polarized, many of us carry anxiety about the future. With the approaching election, many of us are attuned to Election high hopes and deep fears. In this time together, we’ll explore how to stay grounded and hopeful despite political turbulence. Drawing on Unitarian Universalist values and our community’s strength, we will create space to hold our anxieties and find ways to be agents of peace and positive change. This time together will offer warmth and calm, inviting each of us to discover healing in our collective presence.

First-Sunday Monthly Potluck after Service!

Listen to the Service Recording

Multi-Platform Worship (both in-person & online)

Sunday at 10:30 AM

Click here to join the virtual service on Zoom

Meeting ID:  275 194 110

Phone In:  (669) 900-6833

What can UU congregations learn from an international toy company? Plenty! Like how to reinvigorate an experience steeped in tradition by making it more appealing to younger generations—without diminishing the essence of the original. 

Phillip Lund has twenty years experience serving congregations in the areas of faith formation and spiritual growth, first as a religious educator in Bloomington, Indiana, New York City, and Chicago, Illinois, and most recently as a congregational life consultant working for the MidAmerica Region of the Unitarian Universalist Association. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago and a certificate in InterSpiritual Counseling from One Spirit Learning Alliance in New York. Phil has received additional training in The Art of Hosting Conversations That Matter and Discerning Your Call: Dependable Strengths® for Congregations at Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota; he has completed the Mediation Skills Training Institute for Church Leaders sponsored by the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center, and is a Certified Practitioner of The MBTI® Step I™ and Step II™ Instruments. In 2013 Phil was named the Fahs Fellow for Innovation in Technology by the Fahs Collaborative at Meadville Lombard.

He currently lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with his wife, Julia, and their son, Henry David.

Listen to the Service Recording

Online (Zoom) Only Worship

Sunday at 10:30 AM

Click here to join the virtual service on Zoom

Meeting ID:  275 194 110

Phone In:  (669) 900-6833

In the second of our Social Justice Speakers centered in beloved community, Rev. Barbara Prose joins us to share more about the work of IMIrJ (Oregon’s Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice) to create a more just world for immigrants, migrants, and asylum seekers by building relationships, taking immediate humanitarian action and long-term collective, intentional action.

Rev. Barbara Prose currently serves as the Executive Director at IMIrJ and just recently accepted a part-time Minister role at the Mid-Columbia UU Fellowship in Hood River. She moved to Portland in 2023 from Tulsa, OK, land of the Cherokee, Muscogee Creek and Osage Nations, where she served as the Executive Director of Ministry for All Souls Unitarian Church. With a Rabbi and a Lutheran Minister, Barbara also co-founded and served as the co-chair of the board of El Centro: New Sanctuary Empowerment Center in Tulsa.

Listen to the Service Recording
 

Special Collection: IMIrJ - https://www.imirj.org

Multi-Platform Worship (both in-person & online)

Sunday at 10:30 AM

Click here to join the virtual service on Zoom

Meeting ID:  275 194 110

Phone In:  (669) 900-6833

Many spiritual traditions include practices of reflection and atonement, recognizing the importance of self-awareness and relationship-repair. Inspired by Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the Jewish year, we will explore this spiritual practice together. This year, the observance of Yom Kippur starts at sunset on October 11 and concludes on the evening of October 12 so it seemed timely to center the second of our services focused on exploring spiritual practice around the idea of atonement. What does this mean to UU’s and how might a spiritual practice of making amends for wrongdoing and repairing broken relationships fit into your life?

Listen to the Service Recording

Online (Zoom) Only Worship

Sunday at 10:30 AM

Click here to join the virtual service on Zoom

Meeting ID:  275 194 110

Phone In:  (669) 900-6833

In this service we will contrast indigenous wisdom and Buddhist philosophy with the dualistic worldview often found in Western thought with its sharp separation between humans and nature. This division often leads to an extractive relationship with the natural world, prioritizing short-term gains and technological advancement over ecological balance and long-term sustainability.

In contrast, indigenous worldviews tend to embrace a more holistic and interconnected perspective, where humans are seen as an integral part of nature. Buddhism reveres and honors all life, cultivating compassion for all living beings. These perspectives support us as Unitarian Universalists to live into our value of interdependence.

Listen to the Service Recording

First-Sunday Monthly Potluck after Service!

Multi-Platform Worship (both in-person & online)

Sunday at 10:30 AM

Click here to join the virtual service on Zoom

Meeting ID:  275 194 110

Phone In:  (669) 900-6833