First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on December 6, 2015. As the choir is singing Bach's beautiful Magnificat, the sermon will give background on Mary, her words, and the radical social, political and personal layers of this most ancient of Christian hymns.

Ministerial intern Susan Yarbrough's sermon delivered on November 29, 2015. Beyond focusing on gratitude once a year, how can we do more than simply be periodically grateful? How can we practice gratitude so consistently that we not only live into it, but actually become it?

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on November 22, 2015. Can we gain more understanding of our place within our family? Why are we the way we are? How can we love those around us more capably?

Assistant Minister Rev. Marisol Caballero's sermon delivered on November 15, 2015. Our Covenant of Healthy Relations emphasizes treating each other and visitors with hospitality and respect, but "respect" means many things to many people. As we move toward becoming a multicultural church, let's consider together various ways of treating others with respect.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on November 8, 2015. Another in the fairy tale sermon series, why do we sometimes feel that we donapos;t belong, that we donapos;t fit? What are the blessings and curses of being different from those around us?

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on November 1, 2015. What is it like being at the end of one's life? What do people think and write about it? On this All Saints Day, we'll say the names of loved ones we have lost.

Assistant Minister Rev. Chris Jimmerson's sermon delivered on October 25, 2015. Transcendence: to connect with wonder and awe of the unity of life. In this first of a series of sermons on the religious values that are the foundation of our religious community, we will explore the meaning and experience of transcendence.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on October 18, 2015. It has become more and more difficult to have fruitful conversations with people who are different from us in their view of the world. How do we talk to one another?

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on October 11, 2015. For Coming Out Weekend, we talk about the cultural and political statement of drag: men dressing as women to perform as entertainers. How is it subversive to the powers that be?

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on October 4, 2015. What is the historical context of the story of Samson and Delilah? Samson is the man whose strength was in his hair, and Delilah is the one he let cut that hair off.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on September 27, 2015. What are some of the ways people experience and express grief? What causes grief? How can we support those we love when they are grieving?

Assistant Minister Rev. Marisol Caballero's sermon delivered on September 20, 2015. This week marks Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement of sins in the past year. It calls to take an inventory of our "sins" not for the sake of returning to that familiar place of liberal guilt, but for finding collective, relational means of moving past it.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on September 13, 2015. As some of us along with our Jewish neighbors celebrate Rosh Hashannah, the Head of the Year, we will talk about making intentions for what we would like to call into our lives this year and letting go of what no longer serves us.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on August 30, 2015. There are many things we do to shape our lives that we don't realize are choices. How can we make better ones?

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on August 23, 2015. What do people do when someone starts acting differently? How did it feel to be the first person to eat a tomato? Who first thought of cooking and eating an artichoke? How do we treat people who try something new?

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on August 15, 2015. Which God don't you believe in? There are so many pictures of God that don't make any sense. Are there any that do?

Assistant Minister Rev. Chris Jimmerson's sermon delivered on August 15, 2015. Stories matter. Remembering matters. Black Lives Matter. We experience a few of the stories that have become a rallying cry for a new civil rights movement.

Ministerial intern Susan Yarbrough's sermon delivered on August 9, 2015. U.S. asylum-seekers and refugees have their faces pressed up against the glass of something they want with every cell of their being. When we remember the times of alienation and longing in our own lives, we begin to have compassion for ourselves and to understand the heartfelt joy of listening to and welcoming strangers.

Guest Minister Rev. Nell Newton's sermon delivered on August 2, 2015. We'll take a short tour of the history of our concept of "spirit" and examine the ambivalent ways that spirit might move or remain inert in our daily living.

Assistant Minister Rev. Marisol Caballero's sermon delivered on July 26, 2015. In many liberal activist circles, we hear the term "creating safe space" casually thrown about. Is "safe space" truly ever possible or is the notion a popular fiction of progressive rhetoric? Is being safe what will ultimately transform our world?

Assistant Minister Rev. Chris Jimmerson's sermon delivered on July 19, 2015. First UU has become a sanctuary church for an immigrant facing deportation to a country where her life would be in danger should she be returned to it. We will explore the tradition and the current state of the sanctuary movement. How might it transform her and our religious community?

Assistant Minister Rev. Marisol Caballero's sermon delivered on July 12, 2015. The dying give us many lessons and infinite wisdom about living. Rev. Marisol brings stories from film, literature, and her experience as a chaplain in reflecting on this topic.

Assistant Minister Rev. Chris Jimmerson's sermon delivered on July 5, 2015. The beginning of our Declaration of Independence lays out a set of values to which we aspire but have not always fulfilled. As our Standing on the Side of Love campaign and the recent Supreme Court decision establishing marriage equality demonstrate, our Unitarian and Universalist religious traditions have always been and...

Guest speaker Carolina Trevino's sermon delivered on June 28, 2015. Looking at mystical poetry, we explore how to keep our spirits alive in the modern world.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on June 21, 2015. In honor of Father's Day, we talk about this Sun holiday, the Summer Solstice. What is celebrated on this day? How does it relate to fatherhood and the balance of male and female in everything?