Unitarian Universalist Church of Lexington's Podcast

For the last Sunday in April we have a special treat. A frequent Worship Associate and longtime member of our church Liz Caras volunteered to carry the brunt of delivering a homily so that our Rev. Brian Chenowith could take a day off. She shares with us a message of loving one's self and the hardships about taking that journey. The opening is a reading titled  Love Yourself  by Mark Nepo.  S...

Continuing in our monthly theme of Nature, our service opens with a reading from Dr. Ursula Goodenough's book "The Sacred Depths of Nature". This reading, performed by Steve Conger, was "Credo of Continuation". Rev. Brian Chenowith's sermon reflects on this kind of nature focused appreciation and where it firts into the religious calendar of UUs.  Support the show

In recognition of Ramadan, Rev. Brian Chenowith regales us with a story of young theology students attempting to fast in solidarity with Muslim classmates. This tale then unfurls into a broader consideration of the value of fasting and the difficulty of similar religious practices. The beginning of this episode is a reading,  Ramadan  by Kazim Ali.  Support the show

For this Easter Sunday, Rev. Brian Chenowith laments the content of Easter sermons and the sudden approach of this important holiday. The beginning of the podcast is  Mary Oliver's Journey , read by Mya Wade-Harper.  Support the show

This week was a special kind of service, since Transgender Visibility day is on March 31st, where one of our members came out as Trans. Speaking to that, Rev. Brian Chenowith remarks on personal experiences in Seminary while also taking a moment to consider uncommon topics such as grammar and syntax.  Trans Rights. In Unitarian Universalism, you are radically welcome.  Support the show

At the beginning of this homily Rev. Brian Chenowith repeats a few lines from the poem "The Beauty and the Love" by Allama Iqbal, which was the reading for this service. I highly encourage reading of the entire work. For the first day of spring, Rev. Chenowith points our attention to the celebration of Nowruz, the Iranian (Or Persian) New Year which begins on the spring equinox.  Support...

For our service today we are happy to have Rev. Bruce Beisner visiting with us. Rev. Beisner can normally be found in Houston at the Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Church. Following a reading from Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, Rev. Beisner takes a moment to explore a common UU thread of interdependence, and a reminder that things are rarely "All about me".  Support the show

This week is a special service from one of our community ministers, Rev. Esther Hurlburt. Also featured are two people who are active in our larger community of Lexington : Sarah Williams and April Taylor. The first segment is a poem by Oriah Mountain Dreamer "The Invitation" being read alternating between Sarah and April. Following is a dialogue replacing a more typical sermon between R...

This week's podcast was recorded directly from our weekly Zoom service. For this weekend we are lifting up and acknowledging the celebration of Purim from this last week and the story as it was recorded in the book of Esther.  Rev. Brian Chenowtih shows us what we can learn from this story, and the importance of celebration.  Support the show

For our third service in February Rev. Brian Chenowith brings the attention to familiar territory for UUs, Transcendentalists.  Support the show

Continuing in a February theme, Rev. Brian Chenowith brings us a sermon on haiku, and a variety of haiku authors. Poets to visit and read are Santoka Taneda, Hosai Ozaki,  Jack Kerouac, Den Sute-jo, and Madoka Mayuzumi (Listed in order of appearance).  Support the show

It's the first Sunday of Black History Month, a topic that is brought up often in February, but where people erroneously only speak to some of the larger and most notable names. In this week Rev. Brian Chenowith speaks to the impact of some less well known people who also deserve recognition for their tireless efforts and struggles. Related readings from this service include Pauli Murray&apos...

For the final service in January, Rev. Brian Chenowith delivers a message on something which is often underappreciated and under utilized by adults: Imagination. When was the last time you checked in on your imagination? Support the show

This Week's sermon was recorded live during our Zoom service. We had visitors from several congregations around Kentucky. Rev. Brian Chenowith reminds all of us that our faith is not one that is beholdent to any fixed dogma. This is both a strength and a weakness of Unitarian Universalism. It only remains a strength when we work to adapt and accept change.  Support the show

For Martin Luther King day weekend, a day that would normally be punctuated at the end by many of us meeting in person to march downtown. This year we will not be making a presence there as a church, and instead are pushing to do service in other ways. This sermon also features a recording of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, whose advice holds up, as always.  Support the show

It has been a strange week, like so many of those before it. For this week our minister Rev. Brian Chenowith delivers a sermon live to Zoom, rather than a more rehearsed and more streamlined video message.  Support the show

For the first service of 2021, Rev. Brian Chenowith brings a story that might be familiar. But the message it carries bears repeating.  Support the show

For our final church service of December, and 2020, we have a guest from our congregation to speak. Nathaniel Hocker has been a member of UUCL since 2019, and has started down his own path to ministry since that time. There is a full introduction before he delivers his sermon.  Support the show

There was no podcast last week as that service was the Surprise Holiday Pageant reading and would not have translated well to audio. This week, part in acknowledgement of Yule, and of Christmas also approaching in the next few days, we hear a story from an unlikely voice. This is a story from the Warao people, who live in the Orinoco River Delta in Venezuela. Though our world is very different fro...

This weeks beginning of December service brings us to a strange and under celebrated creature in our local climate, the humble American opossum. Rev. Brian Chenowith shares a story of an encounter with one of these marsupials and what lessons we can take from them.  Support the show

For the final week of November, Rev. Brian Chenowith brings us a message of gratitude. In line with a widely recognized American holiday tradition, we turn to the wisdom of indigenous peoples, this time listening to Australian voices.  Support the show

This week's sermon addresses a misconception about Unitarian Universalism as a whole. Rev. Brian Chenowith speaks to what the principles mean to us, and how they are fundamentally different from dogmatic or creed based traditions.  Support the show

For this week's sermon, Rev. Brian Chenowith celebrates his fifth year of ordination by sharing with us more information about how the process is traditionally handled, and how the Unitarian Universalist take on this faith tradition diverges from our larger Christian heritage.  Support the show

For our service this week, our minister Rev. Brian Chenowith speaks on allowing ourselves to celebrate. The news of the president elect is a good thing, but over-indulging in that celebration is itself a folly. There is still much work to be done.  Support the show

This week is the first week that our Rev. Brian Chenowith has returned from his small but much needed break. For this service he discusses what it was that he did with his time off, and also speaks to the work we will have to do looking at the election and beyond. Please, vote if you have not already.  Support the show