Unfolding Faith: Sermons from Foothills Unitarian

In this special episode of The Foothills Deeper Pod, we bring you an important update on the state of trans, queer, and non-binary rights, both nationally and within our local community. Reverends Sean Neil-Barron and Gretchen Haley, two influential voices advocating for equality and social justice, discuss what's happening at the policy and the personal level and why it should matter to us all. F...

Rev. Elaine guides us in meditation for spring, moving towards light, and hope.

Welcome to our new series Time Well Wasted. Together, we're exploring those things that help you feel alive, connected, and filled with joy – and yet have no real purpose other than that! Together, let’s lean into those things that take us entirely out of the producing mode and into fun mode. Let’s remember that our worth has nothing to do with our work.   In this episode, Rev. Gretchen will help...

Where does powerful and healing change begin? With a ten-point plan? Or in the sheer force of our individual will? The changes that rock our world the most often begin in a perhaps surprising realm: the imagination. Though it may be tempting to write off dreaming as naive or superfluous, our willingness to dream is critical if we are going to shape our world and our lives for the better. In this e...

We welcome special guest Kathleen Rude, author and senior facilitator of the Work That Reconnects (a group process that fosters resilience). Kathleen guides us in accessing our resilience and inner strength, shifting our overwhelm, fear, outrage, and grief in these challenging times into compassionate presence and inspired action. Even though we may feel that we don’t have enough or aren’t capable...

For week two of our Active Hope series, Rev. Sean takes us to our starting place. In the face of challenges and dreams that seem impossible, where do we begin?

This is the first episode of our active hope series, where we're exploring the work of environmental activist, author, and Buddhist scholar Joanna Macy. To kick things off, we're drawing on the story of Easter, Trans Day of Remembrance, and the recent expulsion of Tennesee state legislators to examine how we might move our society towards a pivotal moment of transformation by truly recognizing all...

We are called to serve, help, and work for justice. We dedicate time, energy, and resources to making our church, community, and world a better place. And, yet, our time is limited. Someone else will need to pick up the work someday. Someone will come next... won't they?   In this episode, Rev. Gretchen explores our responsibility for mentoring another generation who will take our place in the gre...

Rev. Elaine continues our exploration of how we serve one another, sharing how even when we might feel we have nothing to offer, there is a role for us to play. When our lives feel too busy, joining the team and serving may actually be the antidote.

We're kicking off our new series, Terms of Service: The fine print of community. In this episode, Rev. Sean shares how mutual aid is a powerful tool for care and an essential component of spiritual life. Then, Rev. Dr. Sheryl Johnson joins Rev. Sean for a conversation about how the finance and stewardship practices of many congregations espouse neoliberal values and entrench white privilege and wh...

Rev. Sean Neil-Barron, Rev. Gretchen Haley, and religious educators Lauren Farley and Eleanor VanDeusen answer questions about gender submitted by community members. Some questions we answer are: How can we center all the different needs in the fight for gender equity? Will we be targeted for taking a pro-trans and nonbinary stance? How are cis-gender kids affected by movements focusing on gender-...

In this episode, we empower you with talking points to counter right-wing gender propaganda. As Unitarian Universalists, we believe that we are all connected and that when the dignity and liberation of some are threatened, we are all called to act. So how can we respond to the wave of anti-trans, anti-nonbinary legislation that is sweeping the country? How can you, as one person, combat this wave...

Even those of us deeply committed to gender liberation can find ourselves stuck in the sticky web of gender roles. How might we move towards greater freedom – for ourselves and for all of us? Rev. Elaine explores the strangeness of gender roles: the things that don’t fit, the things that actually (and perhaps weirdly) do, and how we might move with our anger, our curiosities, and our pleasures.  ...

Let's talk about men. We know traditional conceptions of masculinity are outdated but there aren't any handholds for thinking about masculinity in a new way. So this week, we explore how we become better men - how we can invite ourselves into a more nuanced relationship with what it means to be a man. We also tackle WHY - in the midst of so many pressing contemporary issues - we're taking the time...

Leading queer theorist and nationally recognized author Kathryn Bond Stockton joins us to tell a strange story, with import for everyone. Why did a queer, trans-feeling, non-binary, going-to-be-gay kid need to become Evangelical for a spell so as to return to Unitarian values? Beginning with thoughts about what God is, this talk ties together words and kisses—for us all. Plus Rev. Sean welcomes gu...

As Unitarian Universalists, we proclaim that all genders are sacred and all people are worthy of love and belonging. But living that commitment requires us to learn, unlearn, and deepen our practice of true radical inclusiveness. This episode, we're kicking off our new series GenderFluent during which we'll work together to become more: Curious about gender – yours and other people’s – without jud...

How can we manage regret and the desire to have a do-over? Revs. Elaine and Sean guide us in navigating these human experiences.

Time is in us. We feel time. And yet, what if the way we experience time is not natural or objective? Time is not inherently linear and unidirectional, as is often experienced in the Western world. Standardized, uniform time was an invention, or rather, a construction during a curious confluence of 19th-century mechanical innovations and European colonial ambitions. So what purpose does the Wester...

A 7-minute mini-sermon on Dr. Martin Luther King's Beloved Community and Unitarian Universalists' ultimate commitment to love.

We're kicking off a new series called Time Management for Mortals. This week, Rev. Gretchen preaches on the 125th anniversary of our church and guides us in exploring the hopefulness that can be found in our shared history.    Learn more about Time Management for Mortals at foothillsuu.org/time .

A 15-minute ritual for releasing what no longer serves you and setting intentions for your path forward.

Rev. Sean explores the history of the American Christmas celebration.    Learn more by reading "How The Unitarian and The Universalists Invented Christmas" by Susan Jean Ritchie.

"The frontier of the rebellion is everywhere..." Rev. Sean kicks us off with a special star wars mini-sermon. Then, Rev. Gretchen draws on Hanukkah and the Maccabean Revolt to explore how making small choices to rebel daily can build our capacity to take a stand on a larger scale.

Revs. Sean and Gretchen guide us in exploring how by being present to the painful or challenging parts of our life, we can witness, allow, and partner with the transformative work that is always ongoing. Also, enjoy a bonus conversation between Revs. Gretchen and Sean about wrestling with which winter holidays to celebrate and the intersection of honoring pluralism and holding space for the religi...

This week we're kicking off a new series, Simple Gifts. Let's dive into some honest talk about this time of year and explore some tools for navigating the season. Together, let's remember the best gifts of this season arrive not when we add on but when we let go. This week, Rev. Gretchen explores how memory can be a tool for hope.