Unity Church Sermon Podcasts

"It's my home/ one night I dreamt that I grew wings/ and found a place/ where they can hear me when I sing" writes singer songwriter Josh Ritter. Homes are a launching place into what comes next, and as we move into our next theme of disorientation, we reflect on the homes we have come from and the lessons we carry because of them.

Whether due to natural disaster, violence, or harmful family dynamics, home for many of us can feel more like a place we run away from instead of a refuge we return to. When "home" becomes complicated, do we uproot to become tumbleweeds or do we stretch out to find healthier soil? This sermon by Hallman Ministerial Intern Audrey McCann explores roots, trauma, and love — and invite us to remember h...

What happens when a place (physical, intellectual, or emotional) that used to feel safe and comfortable no longer feels that way? What do we do when "home" feels off somehow? Come explore how to know when it's time to leave home.

Join us on Celebration Sunday as we reflect on where we have been as a congregation, and what is coming next as we find our way towards the Beloved Community.

"Belong to your place," the poet Wendell Berry writes, "by knowledge of the others who are your neighbors in it… Found your hope, then, on the ground under your feet." Whenever we begin a journey, or transformation, we begin where we find ourselves, grounding our being in the good earth below and the community around us.​ This sermon podcast begins with a reflection by Worship Associate Nate Schul...

This Sunday we begin our six-week exploration of Home. What are the qualities of space and place that help create a sense of home and how do we know when it's time to make a change? How do we create home in the absence of physical, material things and where do we find refuge when at work in the ruins?   This podcast begins with a reflection by Worship Associate Dick Buggs.

Unity's annual Merging of Waters service marks the end of summer and the beginning of a new congregational year. Join us as we gather with ritual, words, and song to mark a new season and launch into our next chapter. 

Come with questions for Rev. Oscar and Rev. Shay. What do UUs believe about the afterlife? How are we called to meet this moment we are in? What is our go-to coffee order? We'll collect written questions at the beginning of the service, and construct a two-person sermon answering as many as we can with the time we have.

An embodied spirituality views the body, emotions, primary instincts and our experiences of breakthrough, intuition and ecstasy as equal partners in spiritual practice and growth. This service will explore worship as a blend of inward devotion and outward physical participation.

In early August, two dozen Unity Church members and staff travel to Hungary and Romania where they will visit Unity's partner church in Homoródszentpéter. This Sunday we'll share stories from that trip, as well as lessons from the long relationship between Saint Paul and Transylvania.   This podcast begins with a collage of voices from this year's pilgrims followed by a reflection by Meleah Housek...

This podcast begins with a reflection and reading offered by Worship Associate Anne Haley and concludes with a sermon by Worship Associate Ollie Stocker.

This sermon podcast begins with a reflection by Worship Associate Nate Schultz.

Come explore the prophetic and pastoral wisdom of the Harm Reduction Movement. We are in a societal crisis, when whole groups of people are redacted and fractured, reduced to behaviors and pathologies, and subsequently dehumanized. Harm Reduction theology is rooted in compassion, seeking people out, meeting them where they are, and inviting them into beloved community.   This podcast begins with a...

This podcast begins with a reflection by Worship Associate Anne Haley.

This sermon podcast begins with a reflection written by Worship Associate Mary Pickard and read by Worship Associate Estelle Brouwer. It continues with a sermon by Rev. Dr. Oscar Sinclair. 

This sermon podcast begins with a reflection by Worship Associate Ollie Stocker.

Political grief reflects the sorrow, pain and disruption experienced by individuals, families and communities when faced with loss or change due to political actions, events, policies and ideologies. It manifests itself in various forms, from personal feelings of despair and injustice to collective mourning observed during protests or commemorative events.   This sermon begins with a reflection by...

This podcast begins with a refelction from Worship Associate Raffie Parke and continues with a sermon by Rev. Andrea Anastos.

What does it mean to transform ourselves or our ways of being? What factors support such complete change from one thing to another? These are questions that have fueled spiritual seeking, activism, institutions and our own personal lives. Everyone who has tried to change a deeply held habit will know there's more to changemaking and transformation than making a simple decision. Come explore the wa...

Dan Hotchkiss reminds us that churches are transformational institutions. As we reflect on the church year in Saint Paul, what are the ways participation in Unity Church has changed us, and how has the church itself been transformed?​    This service begins with a reflection by Worship Asssociate Betsy Hearn, continues with a story by Rev. Karen Hering, and ends with a sermon by Rev. Shay MacKay.

How do we leave well when it's time to say goodbye? Life is filled with transitions, and not all of them give us the closure we need. Sometimes goodbyes are rushed or incomplete, leaving us to gather the quiet pieces of grief left behind. As I offer my final service at Unity Church, I feel called to honor this moment with intention and grace. Together, we will create space for reflection, gratitud...

Amid unraveling certainties and cascading crises, we witness the hollow grammar of innocence coming undone all around us. Euphemisms that anesthetize harm, official scripts that avoid responsibility, curated speech that protects us from truth and obstructs change. Yet within that collapse, the Spirit stirs, teaching the church to speech that opens memory, expands imagination, dissolves borders, an...

Unity's annual Flower Ceremony was developed over a century ago by Unitarians in Prague who created a ritual to affirm the beauty and diversity of community in a time of rising authoritarianism and fear. As we find ourselves in a world that feels hauntingly similar, let us celebrate the traditions that remind us we are in this together, believing in mutual flourishing and universal belonging.   Th...

Who, or what, determines belonging? On Mother's Day, we'll talk about what it means to be claimed by another person, a family, or a faith. In a place where all of who we are is welcome, how do we call ourselves to bring our best selves?   This podcast begins with a reflection by Worship Associate Meg Arnosti.

Coming of Age Sunday celebrates the signature yearlong journey of our ninth grade youth, transitioning from the inherited faith of childhood to the adult journey of faith, and marked by youth sharing their statement of faith or credo. Coming of Age gives us a glimpse of what is to come: a Unitarian Universalism that continues to embrace our vision of a community based not on shared beliefs, but a...