All Souls Unitarian Church

The sermon was delivered on Sunday, April 7, 2013, during the traditional service at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION In my April article in the Simple Gifts Journal, I said, “God, please save us from having to endure the arrogance and pity of your believers who think they know how and why the rest of us need to be saved.”...

The sermon was delivered on Sunday, April 7, 2013, during The Point at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION In my April article in the Simple Gifts Journal, I said, “God, please save us from having to endure the arrogance and pity of your believers who think they know how and why the rest of us need to be saved.” Even when I tr...

The sermon was delivered on Sunday, March 31, 2013, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Last year at this time our city was chilled by the tragic events that involved five of our citizens being gunned down in the streets of their neighborhoods in what by all accounts was an act of calculated killing based on race. It was Go...

This is a repost of the sermon, delivered on Sunday, August 15, 2010, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/all-souls-unitarian-church/id193096943 VIEW ON YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/user/AllSoulsUnitarian?feature=mhee SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH OTHER VIDEOS: http://www.youtube.com/subs...

The sermon was delivered on Sunday, March 17, 2013, during the contemporary service, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Tamara Lebak, Associate Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Sometimes when we want to be seen, even by those we care about the most, we still put on layer after layer, hiding ourselves beneath our various roles. Join me, as we look at John, chapter 20, where there...

In leu of Youth Sunday, which took place at All Souls Church on Sunday, March 10, 2013, we are reposting sermon "Universalism," delivered by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister, on September 20, 2009.

The sermon was delivered on Sunday, March 3, 2013, during the contemporary service, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Have you ever tried to tell someone to “Let it go!” who is mad at you? I’ll bet it didn’t go over very well. Why is it so hard to let go of anger, assumptions, fear, control, people who drain us and activi...

The sermon was delivered on Sunday, February 24, 2013, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Randy Lewis, Student Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION “What a Fool Believes” is the title of a song, popularized by 70’s punk group, known as the Doobie Brothers. The hook of this song helps to set the stage for our reflection. The song says, “What a fool believes he sees; No wise man has the po...

The sermon was delivered on Sunday, February 17, 2013, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Three of the most controversial and significant figures of the 19th century celebrate birthdays this week. Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were born on the same day in the same year - Feb. 12, 1809. Frederick Douglass was born Feb....

The sermon was delivered on Sunday, February 10, 2013, during the contemporary service at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Kathleen Rolenz, Guest Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Unitarian Universalists have an ambiguous and complicated relationship with Jesus. We may be okay with “God,” but when it comes to “Jesus,” we may feel that his message has become so compromised as to re...

The sermon was delivered on Sunday, February 10, 2013, during The Point, the humanist service at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Eric Banner, Intern Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Every worship service at All Souls begins with our covenant, which proclaims that “Love is the Spirit of this church.” Many of us learned at an early age that love was a passive thing – something that hap...

The sermon was delivered on Sunday, February 3, 2013, during the contemporary service at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Barbara Prose, Assistant Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION The case against prayer isn’t hard to make. Everything we hope for (and some of us pray for) doesn’t come true. But what if prayer is more about being changed than changing other beings? Prayer is an an...

The sermon was delivered on Sunday, February 3, 2013, during the traditional service at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Barbara Prose, Assistant Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION The case against prayer isn’t hard to make. Everything we hope for (and some of us pray for) doesn’t come true. But what if prayer is more about being changed than changing other beings? Prayer is an anc...

The sermon was delivered on Sunday, February 3, 2013, during The Point, the humanist service at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Barbara Prose, Assistant Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION The case against prayer isn’t hard to make. Everything we hope for (and some of us pray for) doesn’t come true. But what if prayer is more about being changed than changing other beings? Prayer i...

The sermon was delivered on Sunday, January 27, 2013, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Since Lance Armstrong finally admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs, there has been a lot of discussion about why people cheat. Athletes cheat to win, citizens cheat on their taxes, spouses cheat on each other, students cheat o...

The homily was delivered on Sunday, January 20, 2013, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Tamara Lebak, Associate Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION This Sunday, in honor of MLK weekend, we will be highlighting stories from members of our Bridging Team. The Bridging Team is a task force focused on helping All Souls live out its vision of being an interculturally competent community...

The sermon was delivered on Sunday, January 13, 2013, during the contemporary service at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION It’s been said, “Time is the most valuable commodity.” Do you feel like you have time to do the things that are most important to you? Who determines how you spend your time: your children, your employer...

The sermon was delivered on Sunday, January 6, 2013, during the contemporary service at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION I’ve always been intrigued by Jared Tyler’s song titled “Questions." As we enter 2013, it may be a good time to try to answer some of the song’s questions. I hope you’ll join Jared and me as we explore in...

The sermon was delivered on Sunday, December 30, 2012, during the contemporary service at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Eric Banner, Intern Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION As the year draws to a close, many of us are struggling to find a place to put all our things. But our faith teaches that it is not what we have that is most important, but who we are, and how we live. In our ch...

The sermon was delivered on Sunday, December 30, 2012, during the humanist service, The Point, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Eric Banner, Intern Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION As the year draws to a close, many of us are struggling to find a place to put all our things. But our faith teaches that it is not what we have that is most important, but who we are, and how we live. I...

This homily, part four of a four-homily series, offering various perspectives on the Winter Solstice, was delivered on Sunday, December 23, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION When light and dark are out of balance, how do we stay balanced and centered? For millennia the winter solstice has been a special time filled...

This homily, part three of a four-homily series, offering various perspectives on the Winter Solstice, was delivered on Sunday, December 23, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Randy Lewis, Student Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION When light and dark are out of balance, how do we stay balanced and centered? For millennia the winter solstice has been a special time filled with de...

This homily, part two of a four-homily series, offering various perspectives on the Winter Solstice, was delivered on Sunday, December 23, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Barbara Prose, Assistant Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION When light and dark are out of balance, how do we stay balanced and centered? For millennia the winter solstice has been a special time filled...

This homily, part one of a four-homily series, which offers various perspectives on the Winter Solstice, was delivered on Sunday, December 23, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Eric Banner, Intern Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION When light and dark are out of balance, how do we stay balanced and centered? For millennia the winter solstice has been a special time filled with d...

This sermon, part three of a three-part series, was delivered on Sunday, December 16, 2012, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Tamara Lebak, Associate Minister. SERMON DESCRIPTION Have you ever asked: “How can there be a God when there are innocent children starving to death, being abducted, sold into slavery, and treated unfairly because of their race, gender, and more?” Ca...