Sermons-First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco

"The First Steps" (March 28, 2021) Worship Service Both Passover and Palm Sunday coincide this week. Different and also with one thread that pulls through them both, about the power of the monumental first steps. And the human drive for commitment and consistency on which so much good (and evil) often rests. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Meg McGuire, Ministerial Intern Richard Davis-...

"Sabbath Redux" (March 21, 2021) Worship Service One of the first sermons I preached here at UUSF was a sermon on the ancient idea of Sabbath. I think, strangely, it is time to preach it again as work and life merge even more than before and we need a way to reground and refresh spirit and body. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Don Wiepert, Worship Associate Dolores Perez Heilbron and D...

"Giving it Up for Lent" (March 14, 2021) Worship Service I am not one for giving up chocolate or ice cream.  Those kinds of punishing practices never work for me -- I once "gave up soda" for a week and drank more soda in that week than the previous month. But there are some things I'd like to give up. How about you? Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Sam King, Worship Associate...

"Times Like These" (March 7, 2021) Worship Service To stand in important moments, in the midst of historic chapters is to do our part. And to wonder about all those historic chapters, and generous, courageous shoulders that came before ours. Meg McGuire, Ministerial Intern Gayle Reynolds & Keith Hollon, Annual Operating Fund Drive Reiko Oda Lane, organist Mark Sumner, conductor/pianist Michele Ken...

"Love and Accountability" (February 28, 2021) Worship Service Accountability can sound unpleasant, even scary, but what if it didn’t have to be? Disability justice educator and writer Mia Mingus offers a dream of what accountability can be- one that might support us in living into our work as a congregation. Meg McGuire, Ministerial Intern Carmen Barsody, Worship Associate Daniel Jackoway, Worship...

"Being Ready" (February 21, 2021) Worship Service This month the Minister's Book Club is reading John Lewis's Memoir (written with Michael D'Orso) "Walking with the Wind" and it has me thinking about the idea of being ready. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Meg McGuire, Ministerial Intern Richard Davis-Lowell, Worship Associate Reiko Oda Lane, organist Mark Sumner, conductor Leandra Ram...

"Lessons of Love" (February 14, 2021) Worship Service Years ago I read an article in some low-brow magazine in which a woman was reflecting on what she had taken away from all the past relationships that were long gone. Broken hearts (or breaking hearts) was only part of the story. Learning French, because she fell in love with a Frenchman, was one. There was a laundry list of how love had changed...

"The Year of the Ox" (February 7, 2021) Worship Service Lunar New Year, begins next week Friday, February 12th. Although I am not in a family that has celebrated Lunar New Year,  many in our community do which is such a gift.  Especially this year, this Year of the Ox. Reading about this figure -- hardworking, reliable, honest and loyal -- am I the only one who finds herself th...

"The Wonder of Being Alive" (January 31, 2021) Worship Service Being alive is more than just existing, more than not being dead. Adjectives abound when we talk about being alive. We can be animated. Lively. Alert. Awake. Being alive, to me, is about being in relationship. For some of us, we feel most alive when we are with other people. Others find their aliveness in nature. Many find it in art, p...

"The Nature of Religious Experience and the Power of Knowing" (January 24, 2021) Worship Service William James in his classic text, "The Varieties of Religious Experience" outlines the qualities common to so-called religious experiences. One of them is knowing. It may be the hardest for UU's to reckon with and it may be the quality that we most need to get in touch with now in our life as a nation...

Saying "I'm Sorry" (January 17, 2021) Worship Service What is a "good apology" one with grace and authenticity of the kind that makes it land and gives it the power, or just potential power, to heal. It's always relevant, and more so perhaps today to have this skill at hand. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Meg McGuire, Ministerial Intern Dennis Adams, Worship Associate Reiko Oda Lane,...

“Homosexuality and the Bible" (January 10, 2021) Worship Service So much harm has been done in the name of religion and for many of us, in our lifetimes, that means messages about what it means to be LGBTQ and Christianity, grounded, we are told, in the Bible.  Hmmm.  I invite us to dig a little deeper to know the truth and understand our liberation from the lies, and maybe tak...

“Whole Enough" (January 3, 2021) Worship Service It’s a new year. How does this season of intentions and fresh starts shape how we see ourselves- and one another? And how might we want it to? Meg McGuire, Ministerial Intern Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Michael Bossier, TWZ Player Lori Lai, TWZ Player Meg McGuire, TWZ Player Don Shearer, TWZ Player Leslie Trook, TWZ Player The Harmon...

“Let the End be the Beginning: A Meditative Service for the New Year" (December 27, 2020) Worship Service This service will be a time structured for meditative reflection on the year past and the year to come. Be prepared to sit with your own thoughts, take notes. It's a time to take stock, stand like Janus, the ancient god of transitions, a face pointed in each of two directions, forward and back...

“Christmas Eve Service" (December 24, 2020) Worship Service Join us for Christmas Eve, the familiar story, music, just bring your own candle and have it ready. After service we will also have a Zoom gathering for Caroling. It won't be like any Christmas Eve before but it will be familiar and a chance to usher in the night together. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Ass...

“The Wintering Season" (December 20, 2020) Worship Service The Winter Solstice is a time to celebrate the season with the hanging of greens and decorating trees. This year’s solstice service and celebration, we'll ring bells, sing seasonal songs, and tell winter tales too. Holidays and rituals are an invitation - an opening out of the ordinary into extraordinary. Join us for this intergenerational...

“The Soul of America: Worth Saving?" (December 13, 2020) Worship Service As we explore the wrongs and rights in American history and contemporary life questions arise: Can there be a faith that abides? Is Beloved Community possible or is it a dream inevitably deferred? Rev. Dr. Dorsey Blake, Guest Minister Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Reiko Oda Lane, organist Mark Sumner, conductor...

“The Perfect Body and Ladder" (December 6, 2020) Worship Service The second sermon in a series on our bodies as part of our religious journeys, that is to say of how we find and make meaning in this life. Poet and Movement-founder Sonya Renee Taylor writes and speaks and encourages others to do so about our relations to our bodies and one another. But more so she ties it to a larger notion, a spir...

“Coming to the Table" (November 29, 2020) Worship Service This time of the year is usually marked by gathering and breaking bread with friends, family and neighbors. As love for one another calls us to keep our gatherings limited, virtual, or non-existent this year, the moment is ripe to remember- and reimagine. Can we bring what’s at the heart of these gatherings out into the world in new ways? W...

“I Sing the Body Electric" (November 22, 2020) Worship Service There is so much to give thanks for, but what about this body that carries us through the world; the ones poets and scientists, photographers and even the Psalmists could not help but be astounded by.  So, a little tribute to the gorgeous miracle and mystery and work of art -- the human body. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senio...

“Now What?" (November 15, 2020) Worship Service As the weeks after the election unfold, so will the answer, of what next.  And so we will gather words of inspiration, clarity wherever we find them, and our own reflections on this moment in history.  To that end, if you hear of words worth sharing, if you have your own reflection you'd like to share, please send it to me as we w...

“Rebuilding Trust" (November 8, 2020) Worship Service Great damage has been done to social trust in recent years. Not only to trust in leaders, government, the integrity of elections, but also trust in facts, science, shared reality, and in our fellow citizens. Repair is a moral and spiritual project that will require almost superhuman effort. How and where can each of us begin? Rev. Dr. John Bueh...

“Healing and Hope" (November 1, 2020) Worship Service In this lead up to this election, which for many of us feels like the very future of our nation, of its best self, lies in the balance, let’s talk about what will be required of us on the other side. Let's talk about healing and hope. Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Reiko Oda Lane, organist Mark...

"The Ways We Grieve" (October 25, 2020) Worship Service This Sunday we are going to create an altar, a community one, filled with the portraits and stories of those we love and lost, who shaped us.  It will be our honoring of the spirit of what All Souls Day and Dia De Los Muertos has made space for for centuries -- paying homage, bringing the living spirit of life that endures back clos...

“Breathing Room" (October 18, 2020) Worship Service The atmosphere is toxic – from both the devastating fires across the west and the increasingly inflammatory political rhetoric - leaving us gasping for fresh air, fresh ideas – a fresh start. More than ever, we need open space to help us recoup, rejuvenate, and regenerate our spirits. How do we channel our energies to ensure that those physical,...