Sunday Mornings at Cedars

Rev. Barbara Cornell, Cedars Guest Minister Nancy Philip, Worship Associate In his book,  The Wild Edge of Sorrow , grief therapist Francis Weller says, “In our grief we are broken apart and reassembled. It is hard, painful, and unbidden work. No one goes in search of loss; rather, it finds us and reminds us of the temporary gift we have been given, these few sweet breaths we call life.” Join us t...

Chuck Walbridge, Cedars Guest Speaker Liz Motter, Worship Associate Within parts of the liberal left, there are voices that speak of men through the lens of toxic masculinity, hoping to name real harm but sometimes painting with too broad a brush. On the illiberal right, the manosphere often responds by amplifying the very traits it is criticized for. And in the space between these loud extremes,...

Rev. Barbara Gilday, Cedars Guest Minister Johanna Munson, Worship Associate Featuring music by Gretchen Yanover As we try to make sense of what is happening in our country, it is useful to look back at some past recoveries, and importantly, look at what successful strategies are being employed in our day.  We must not lose faith. We must not give in. And true to our Unitarian Universalist values,...

Rev.  Margo Rinehart, Cedars Minister Liz Motter, Worship Associate As spring turns into summer, Unitarian Universalists from around the world celebrate Flower Communion, a ceremony of celebration of each person's uniqueness and to honor how we flourish together. Flower Communion was created for his congregation in 1923 by Czech Unitarian minister, Nobert Capek.  Remember to bring a few blosso...

Rev. Bruce Bode, Cedars Guest Minister Nancy Philip, Worship Associate This is a companion sermon to Rev. Bruce Bode’s January 4 sermon titled “The Road Not Taken”, which was based on Robert Frost’s poem by that title. This follow-up sermon will look at the road we have taken in life, then explore how we go forward from where we are. NOTE: A print version of the January 4 service can be found at t...

Rev.  April Frazier, Cedars Guest Minister Nancy Philip, Worship Associate Have you ever felt like “feeling grateful” was one more thing on your to-do list? Or a cliche that makes you roll your eyes? Or maybe wonder if it is even possible to pay attention to gratitude when everything else happening in the world crowds it out? Let’s take a breath, take off the pressure and find an opening in the mu...

Rev.  Margo Rinehart, Cedars Minister David Thomas, Worship Associate Join us for this special Sunday morning service where Reverend Margo and selected congregants will be reading their favorite poems to uplift us and give expression to our deepest universal experiences. Reverend Margo Rinehart serves Cedars by welcoming people from diverse theological and religious backgrounds and spiritual belie...

Nancy Philip and Gregory Cook, Cedars Guest Speakers Our seasoned Worship Associates Gregory Cook and Nancy Philip share their perspectives on the topic of motherhood. Nancy Philip joined Cedars in 1997 with her partner Jeff and their children Marina, Lydia, and Archer. She has served as a Religious Educator, trustee, long‑time committee member, OWL facilitator (often co‑facilitating with Gregory...

Rev. Margo Rinehart, Cedars Minister Liz Motter, Worship Associate The poet Rilke tells us not to seek the answers to our questions, rather to live everything, to live the questions now.  In this service we will explore how holy curiosity helps us engage our underlying beliefs and yearnings, and the tangles that long to be unknotted in the search for meaning in our lives and wider world. Reverend...

Jennifer Alviar, Cedars Guest Minister Nancy Philip, Worship Associate Impermanence is difficult for the mind to grasp and the heart to accept. Come join us as we co-create an earth mandala together. May this nature-based community art form guide us in the spiritual practice of letting go with more grace. Rev. Jennifer Alviar  is a Unitarian Universalist minister who designs rituals for healing an...

Rev. Margo Rinehart, Cedars Minister Fran Korten and Michael Cox, Cedars Guest Speakers David Thomas, Worship Associate Come and celebrate Earth Day through ritual, song and poetry and feel how the precious and ancient earth renews and transforms us. Fran Korten, Michael Cox and Reverend Margo will be speakers at this service.

Alan Miller, Cedars Guest Speaker Gregory Cook, Worship Associate Learn more about her work at http://www.gretchenyanover.com/ Late second temple Judaism poses the question of God's fairness in the Book of Job, a question that is finally answered in Jesus' preaching of the coming Kingdom of God; The Bhagavad Gita presents the Hindu system of (hidden) fairness in the caste system and reinca...

Rev. Margo Rinehart, Cedars Minister Johanna Munson, Worship Associate Featuring music by pianist Nicholas Colletto and vocalist Moira McGregor At this time of year, Lent, Ramadan, and Passover fill the spring days with opportunities for contemplation, meditation, and even prayer. What can we learn from the great religions about paying attention and bringing our emotional and spiritual growth into...

Rev. Rose Edington and Rev. Mel Hoover, Cedars Guest Ministers Nancy Philip, Worship Associate Featuring music from Kids in Concert In the present, we can look back and see how the seeds of thoughts and actions — both positive and negative —planted back then are now part of our lives. We might have influenced someone or an event without even knowing it. What kinds of seeds that we plant now would...

Rev. Margo Rinehart, Cedars Minister David Thomas, Worship Associate Humanists and Unitarians have been in conversation for over a century, learning from one another and partnering to create a belief system that strives to create circumstances in which all might flourish. Let's explore together how Humanism might guide our daily practices and increase our capacity for wonder, awe, gratitude, a...

Nate Kremer-Herman, Guest Speaker  Gregory Cook, Worship Associate Artificial intelligence is the latest in a long line of tools that shape how we relate to our world and to each other. As we grapple with how AI is changing us, it is important to ground ourselves in our uniquely human experiences to cultivate closer communities and a healthier planet.  Nate Kremer-Herman teaches computer science...

Rev. Tessie Mandeville, Carrie Koehnline and Judith Kaftan, Guest Speakers  Su Livingston, Guest Musician Nancy Philip, Worship Associate Our speakers will share a recently rediscovered story, "Grandmother Waits." They'll reflect, as the elders they are now, on its messages of autonomy, depth, creativity, and what it takes to be a healthy, diverse community. Led by Carrie and Judith...

Rev. Deanna Vandiver, Guest Minister Johanna Munson, Worship Associate Join us in co-creating worship that skills us up and roots us sustainably in place for faithful living within the context of the Holocene extinction and the violence of empire. Rev. Deanna Vandiver is affiliated with the Church of the Larger Fellowship, Unitarian Universalist, as a Community Minister of Love and Liberation. She...

Rev. Margo Reinhart, Minister Liz Motter, Worship Associate Music by: Rick Barrenger On this Presidents' Day weekend, we will explore the commitment by many of our Founding Fathers to the separation of church and state and the imperative of protected religious expression. From atheism to theism, let freedom ring! Reverend Margo Rinehart serves Cedars by welcoming people from diverse theologica...

Rev. Margo Rinehart, Minister Nancy Phillip, Worship Associate Through the work of grief guide Frances Weller, and the practices of Buddhist Pema Chodron, we will explore how to prevail in a life that is for more than ourselves. Reverend Margo Rinehart serves Cedars by welcoming people from diverse theological and religious backgrounds and spiritual beliefs on their journeys to learn from one anot...

Rev. Bill Comfort, Guest Minister Gregory Cook, Worship Associate An exploration together of some of Russian painter and art theorist Wassily Kandinsky's thoughts about how spiritual and emotional truths are communicated through shapes and colors in painting. We will reflect together about how these spiritual and emotional truths might manifest in our own experience. Reverend Bill Comfort is a...

Rev. Margo Rinehart, Minister David Thomas, Worship Associate Thich Nhat Hanh and Martin Luther King, Jr. came from different cultures and religions and from countries at war with one another. Let us experience how they influenced one another through deep friendship and a shared commitment to justice and peace.

Rev. Jennifer Alviar, Guest Minister Liz Motter, Worship Associate How do we hold the bittersweetness of life in all its beauty and pain? “Days of honey, days of onion,” as an Arabic proverb puts it. Come join us as we explore the spiritual practice of ritual and renewal as a healing balm in troubled times. Rev. Jennifer Alviar is a Unitarian Universalist minister who designs rituals for healing a...

Rev. Bruce Bode, Guest Minister Johanna Munson, Worship Associate As we embark upon 2026, we will explore how to step into the new year through Robert Frost’s familiar poem “The Road Not Taken,” which – hint, hint! – is not titled “The Road Less Traveled By.” Bruce A. Bode is Minister Emeritus at the Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (QUUF) in Port Townsend, Washington, from which he retir...

Rev. Margo Rinehart, Minister Johanna Munson, Worship Associate Join us for an early Christmas Eve service full of music, singing, and a reminder that the kindness we bestow assuages fear and creates hope.