First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin

Guest speaker Andrew Young's sermon delivered on December 30, 2012. Since the 1930s Unitarian churches have slowly moved away from God centered worship. In an effort to not offend newcomers and non-theistic members most of our congregations are unwilling to use the language of divinity in our services. Is there a place for God in Unitarian Universalism?

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on December 23, 2012. The holidays are an unmitigated delight for some, and a hard time for others. For most of us they are a mixture of feelings, memories, hope, beauty and family. The Blues express longing and determination. We'll talk about having the blues, and playing the blues.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on December 16, 2012. The Christmas Story. Costumes are laid out for our children to choose what role to play in the pageant.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on December 9, 2012. Hanukkah is coming, one of the many celebrations of the return of the light to the northern hemisphere... Whose light could you rekindle? Who rekindles yours?

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on December 2, 2012. In our culture we have to make straight As, be partnered up with an attractive person, raise children who are accomplished and useful, have a good job, and stay healthy and strong. What use is failure?

Marisol Caballero's service on November 25, 2012. Kermit T. Frog's famous ballad, "The Rainbow Connection," has had a profound impact on my life, my theology, and my call to ministry. As I age, I have begun to recognize that Jim Henson's words and characters have helped form so many of us in similar ways. This sermon will celebrate the wisdom of this unexpectedly prophetic man, who together with h...

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on November 18, 2012. One of the spiritual practices I enjoy is the practice of gratitude. I don't always remember to do it, but it's easy and, in my experience, it changes things immediately.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on November 11, 2012. Wynton Marsalis writes: "To improvise means to find your own way of intelligently using what you have in order to improve your environment; to swing means to maintain equilibrium with elegance, to be resilient; and to play the blues means that no matter how tragic a situation may be you have the capacity to conquer it with style." UU theo...

Guest Minister Brian Ferguson's sermon delivered on November 4, 2012. Albert Einstein was one of the great thinkers of the 20th century and knew a lot but said "Imagination is more important than knowledge." Our Unitarian Universalist religious tradition places great emphasis on the use of reason to interpret our experience to derive meaning in life. But the solutions to some of the most difficult...

Marisol Caballero's inter-generational worship service on October 28, 2012. The Day of the Dead (El Dia de los Muertos) is a Mexican holiday that celebrates the lives and personalities of our loved ones who have died. We celebrate and remember loved ones (pets included) who have died. A congregational ofrenda (altar) honors their memory. We briefly share the name of the deceased and our relationsh...

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on October 21, 2012. Using a story from an ancient Hindu text, we'll talk about how a faithful bitterness toward a person, a place or a religious tradition can keep you as connected as you would be if you loved that person, place or tradition.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on October 14, 2012. Another part of our Covenant of Healthy Relations says that we promise "to make our church a safe place to express our deepest fears and our greatest joys." What makes a place safe? How do you know abuse if you see it? What are its patterns and methods? How do you stop it?

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on October 7, 2012. The Springsteen song ends "Well this train carries saints and sinners... losers and winners...." Can First UU be that kind of train? What would it look like for our faith to be rewarded? What does it take for the bells of freedom to ring?

Marisol Caballero's sermon delivered on September 30, 2012. We pride ourselves in being open and affirming toward all, yet it seems many people still do not know of our existence. Why are UUs so shy about talking about where we attend church? This sermon challenges us to be more willing to share our faith.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on September 23, 2012. Years ago, Berkeley professor Robert Bellah wrote about the beliefs at the center of U.S. culture. These stories and symbols are a mixture of Puritanism, positive thinking, "the American Dream," and capitalism. With the upcoming election, we can see all of this is high dudgeon.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on September 16, 2012. In this first in a series of sermons on the First UU Convenant of Healthy Relations, Rev. Barnhouse talks about being a "covenant community," and how to nuture one another's spiritual growth.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on September 9, 2012. Magellan, Verrazano and Columbus were European explorers with three very different mixes of courage and caution, attention to detail and big-picture overview. So often a quality in a person that is useful in most situations is their downfall in others. What can we learn from these three?

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on September 2, 2012. As we come together for the start of First UU's program year, each of us brings to the service a small container of water from a place that refreshed our spirits this summer. We pour our waters together in a common bowl as we mingle our spirits in a common effort to nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice.

Guest speaker Marisol Caballero's sermon delivered on August 26, 2012. There has been much dialogue within our congregations and within our movement about working to become a more welcoming and a more multicultural/multiethnic faith. This is both exciting and challenging work that grows the humanity of all those who venture to undertake it with an open mind and in humility. What will this work req...

Starr King's President's Lecture delivered on June 20, 2012 at UUA General Assembly in Phoenix by Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker. "We must ground our activism in a spiritual experience of earth's goodness, life's beauties - we must begin with an epiphany of paradise."

Guest speaker Chris Jimmerson's sermon delivered on August 19, 2012. Sometimes we make things that are really not all that valuable more important than they really are. Paradoxically, sometimes we miss that the seemingly smallest of gestures can make all the difference. After spending this summer serving as chaplain at the largest level one trauma hospital in our area, these are among the many les...

Guest speaker Nell Newton's sermon delivered on August 12, 2012. We have a lovely mission for our church and it is the result of a tremendous amount of work! Now that we've had it on our walls for a couple of years, let's take a deeper look at what these words say about who we are and what we believe.

Guest speaker Dwayne Windham's sermon delivered on August 5, 2012. The Magic of I Am (you fill in the blank). Inspired by the Harry Potter book series, this sermon delves into the pensieve of words we use to describe ourselves.

Sermon delivered on July 29, 2012. First UU Church of Austin members Gillian Redfearn, Mike LeBurkien, Judy Sadegh, Carolyn Gremminger and Peggy Morton share their experiences at General Assembly with human interest stories from immigrants, undocumented workers, undocumented children, and UUs around the nation who are working for Social Justice.

Guest speaker Amanda Yaira Robinson's sermon delivered on July 22, 2012. The news is grim: war, hunger, poverty, global warming. Sometimes the scope of these challenges is overwhelming, and we wonder whether our efforts even matter. Jewish teachings remind us to focus on the distance between our experience of the world as it is and visions of what it could or should be. What do we do with these te...