First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on March 27, 2022. Our seventh principal affirms that we are all part of the physical world in both a physical and a spiritual way. The health of our planet and the health of other animals and humans affect the health of our own body/ mind.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on March 20, 2022. A year ago, during the freeze, many of us lost our water for many days on end. Others of us who had water filled up containers to give to our neighbors and friends. We bring water to the service and share a couple of sentences about about our experience of the freeze last year as well as what water means to us.

Assistant Minister Rev. Chris Jimmerson's sermon delivered on March 13, 2022. In challenging, sometimes scary times such as those in which we find ourselves, it can be hard at times to maintain our faith. Perhaps we can help each other retain our faith and resilience. Perhaps faith is to be found in our struggles for love, justice and a better world - a continual process of remembering that there...

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on March 6, 2022. The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; Our sixth principal is broad and demanding. How in the world do we promote this, much less make this happen?

Assistant Minister Rev. Chris Jimmerson's sermon delivered on February 27, 2022. Liberation theology helps us understand that we all can fulfill our greatest potential when we open ourselves and our institutions to all people - greater and greater perspectives. Unitarian Universalism proposes that walking together in covenantal community, in the ways of love, is our way toward widening that circle...

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on February 20, 2022. What makes a good goodbye? Our goodbye is going to be a long one. How can we talk about our gains and losses? How can we talk about the grief and the love that we share?

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on February 13, 2022. A New Year's resolution some years ago led me to the question: what if we were really loved. I have been pondering it since. So many people have that question underneath everything they do or say. Do you really love me? That is what they are asking.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on February 6, 2022. Animals help us understand and feel our connection to nature, that we are rooted in the being of all beings.

Assistant Minister Rev. Chris Jimmerson's sermon delivered on January 30, 2022. We tend to think of our identities as clearly defined and stable over time. Research shows though that our identities are complex, sometimes self-contradictory, and adaptable, as well as that they evolve over time. And that may be advantageous. We'll explore this and claiming our full identity as individuals and as a r...

Assistant Minister Rev. Chris Jimmerson's sermon delivered on January 23, 2022. What does it mean to be a prophetic religion? The prophetic is often thought of as having to do with predicting the future, and it can involve projecting what current circumstance might mean for the future, as well as offering a vision of a more just and peaceful future. Might the prophetic also involve speaking truths...

Guest Minister Rev. Lee Legault's sermon delivered on January 16, 2022. Lee Legault weathered the winter and summer 2021 COVID surges as a chaplain resident at Ascension Seton Medical Center of Austin, feeling privileged to walk beside patients and their families in the pandemic. She brings a grab bag of thoughts/advice/admonishments/assurances based on her time working with COVID patients and the...

Assistant Minister Rev. Chris Jimmerson's sermon delivered on January 9, 2022. We probably all would like to think we are living intentional lives, but how do we do that? Do we direct our sights toward goals for ourselves, our future and what we hope for our world? What about living with integrity and in congruity with our our deepest values and selves? We'll explore how living with intention may...

Assistant Minister Rev. Chris Jimmerson's sermon delivered on January 2, 2022. We will whisper the things we would like to let go of in the new year and release them to the wind.

Assistant Minister Rev. Chris Jimmerson's sermon delivered on December 26, 2021. We will explore how, even during challenging circumstances, we may experience and share joy in ways large and small.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on December 24, 2021. Come join our annual Christmas Eve worship service of Lessons and Carols. We will read from the Christian texts the story of Rabbi Jesus' heralded birth as well as sing Christmas carols and hymns for the holiday.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on December 19, 2021. We celebrate our annual Christmas Pageant.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on December 12, 2021. Perfectionism can be addictive and destructive. What is it about the holidays that brings out our sense that we should be living like the people on Instagram or in glossy magazines?

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on December 5, 2021. Are there difficult people in your family? At work? Do you have any suspicions that you might be the difficult one? Here are some thoughts about what to do.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on November 28, 2021. Today Rev Meg discusses "Right Concentration" which is the eighth part of the Eight-fold path in the Buddhist tradition. There are many ways to meditate.

Assistant Minister Rev. Chris Jimmerson's sermon delivered on November 21, 2021. On both an individual level and as communities and societies, the ways in which we tell or fail to tell our histories define who we become.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on November 14, 2021. Stacey Abrams, at the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly's Ware Lecture, said this: "I imagine what we need and then I demand what we must have and I don't do it alone because doing it alone means I will lose every time."

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on November 7, 2021. It is so easy to worry about the future, and it is easy to be weighed down by regrets about things you have said or done, or by anger at things that have been done to you. One cure for anxiety and regrets, the wisdom teachers say, is remaining in the now.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on October 31, 2021. Halloween Celebration this Sunday! Let's celebrate together. Meg reads a story from her book "Did I say that out Loud" and discusses how we build a strong community.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on October 24, 2021. Our fourth principle talks about the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. What does it mean to be responsible about the truth? What happens when the truth is suppressed? How do you lovingly tell your own truth?

Assistant Minister Rev. Chris Jimmerson's sermon delivered on Octover 22, 2021. As a faith without creed, covenantal relationship is one of our primary spiritual/theological resources. We'll examine some thoughts about how to cultivate relationship, whether it involves forming new relationships or sustaining and deepening existing ones - whether it is with family and other loved ones, together wit...