Unitarian Universalist Church of Lexington's Podcast

"Side With Love" If you would like to learn more about us, please visit https://www.uucl.org/ where you can find information about our grounds, staff, and upcoming events. You can also subscribe to our eNews there and learn about our virtual service offerings. Support the show

The 5th principle. If you would like to learn more about us, please visit https://www.uucl.org/ where you can find information about our grounds, staff, and upcoming events. You can also subscribe to our eNews there and learn about our virtual service offerings. Support the show

Service auction sermon. Finite and infinite games. "What's your approach to life? How do make decisions? Day to day? Rooted in somethin deeper? How do we shift the way we live toward more intention, joy, and hope?" If you would like to learn more about us, please visit https://www.uucl.org/ where you can find information about our grounds, staff, and upcoming events. You can also su...

 MLK Weekend, using the speech "Our God is Marching On!", story of Jericho from Joshua: "Another Martin Luther King Jr. Day is upon us. How is MLK speaking to us in this moment? What new dreams are coming alive in oppressed communities? We'll explore another lesser known speech from MLK and how we can live those values in our lives." If you would like to learn more about u...

 Christmas Eve. If you would like to learn more about us, please visit https://www.uucl.org/ where you can find information about our grounds, staff, and upcoming events. You can also subscribe to our eNews there and learn about our virtual service offerings. Support the show

Information, updates, and news are available to us 24/7. Many people struggle with balancing all of that information in their lives. We might think this is a new problem for human beings, but it isn't. It's just different. We'll explore how we can manage the deluge as well as engage all of it with intention. If you would like to learn more about us, please visit https://www.uucl.org...

Darkness is not always something to be avoided. What can we learn by embracing darkness in our lives? What does that even look like? If you would like to learn more about us, please visit https://www.uucl.org/ where you can find information about our grounds, staff, and upcoming events. You can also subscribe to our eNews there and learn about our virtual service offerings. Support the show

What is the role of joy amidst everything the world is throwing at us? How do we intentionally seek out joy? If you would like to learn more about us, please visit https://www.uucl.org/ where you can find information about our grounds, staff, and upcoming events. You can also subscribe to our eNews there and learn about our virtual service offerings. Support the show

We are in a liminal space and it's exhausting. We're waiting, wondering, and grappling with more bad news. On top of it all, we're in a season that asks us to wait - both Hanukkah and Advent. Many of us are done waiting. What can we do? If you would like to learn more about us, please visit https://www.uucl.org/ where you can find information about our grounds, staff, and upcoming e...

Our third principle asks us to encourage spiritual growth in our lives and in our community. How are we doing with that? What do we even mean by spiritual growth? And what is community spiritual growth? If you would like to learn more about us, please visit https://www.uucl.org/ where you can find information about our grounds, staff, and upcoming events. You can also subscribe to our eNews there...

What does it mean to be an imperfect church? A place that wrestles with our imperfections? Will we discover in embracing imperfection we are a risk-taking people? If you would like to learn more about us, please visit https://www.uucl.org/ where you can find information about our grounds, staff, and upcoming events. You can also subscribe to our eNews there and learn about our virtual service offe...

With several celebrations honoring saints and ancestors behind us, what does sainthood look like for a Unitarian Universalist? Is that even a concept worth exploring? We'll look at these questions against the backdrop of a new community in the United States that asks these very same things. If you would like to learn more about us, please visit https://www.uucl.org/ where you can find informa...

For the next few Sundays Rev. Brian Chenowith will be out of town. For this week we have one of our wonderful community ministers, Rev. Diana Hultgren. Today's reading is "Begin" by Brendan Kennelly.  In this week's sermon, Rev. Diana Hultgren covers a difficult topic on everyone's mind. Adapting to the changing world and renewing after over a year of unprecedented difficu...

* A warning for this podcast. This particular sermon will touch on some subjects of existential dread, so if that isn't what you need right now, feel free to listen to something else. * This sermon covers the topic of the climate. The reading for today is “Characteristics of Life” by Camille T. Dungy. Yes, the climate is in a crisis. Yes it is real and it is scary. But what if there was also...

Today's reading is "Covenant" by Rev. Alice Blair Wesley. For today's service, Rev. Brian Chenowith looks deeply into this statement often uttered simply at the start of Unitarian Universalists services across the world- Ours Is A Radically Progressive Theology. If you would like to learn more about us, please visit https://www.uucl.org/ where you can find information about our...

Apologies for the lack of episodes, our entire tech team took a greatly needed break for the first two weeks of July and our congregation paid visits to other churches in that time.  The reading for today was  What Kind of Times Are These?   by Adrienne Rich.  This week, Rev. Brian Chenowith remarks on the meaning of Place- where we happen to be at any moment but also particularly our church build...

For the end of June we have a service dedicated to the history of the celebration of Pride. This is also a landmark week for our socially distanced services as our Music Director and Minister were in the sanctuary together today for the first time in so many months. The reading for this week is Ordinary Time by Tim Dlugos. Rev. Brian Chenowith recounts the history of Pride celebrations and the rea...

For this week we spent time recognizing and lifting up celebrations of Juneteenth. Our reading was taken from this video which I encourage you to watch (or listen to) as I will not be including it within the podcast. Free At Last , as written and narrated by Sojourner Kincaid Rolle.  Rev. Brian Chenowith teaches us of the history of this holiday which marks the end of slavery- but emphasizes that...

For this Sunday it is the time of year once again for the Flower Communion service. Our Reading is “The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee” by N. Scott Momaday. This week Rev. Brian Chenowith was elated to be bringing us the sermon from within the church building. We return to remember the story of the Flower Communion service and why it is that we celebrate this unique service each year. If you are join...

This podcast begins with a reading from Rev. Joanna Fontaine Crawford entitled  Every Third Thursday.  For this week's podcast Rev. Brian Chenowith returns to the topic of two weeks prior, What Good is a Church? It's a big enough question to think about for a few weeks. This installment focuses on aspirations and goals of what our church could be.  If you would like to learn more about u...

This episode begins with a reading from Frank X. Walker entitled "Stormy Forecast". This week Rev. Brian Chenowith closely examins a horrible event in American History that is often overlooked. On May 31st in 1919 the Tulsa Race Massacre, also known as the Black Wall Street Massacre, or as the Greenwood Massacre began. The eyewitness accounts and many of the references used in this podca...

This week our Rev. Brian Chenowith tells us a story of a unique aspect of Ministry. That it isn't something that ends at the pulpit. Which begs the question of what a church actually is.  Support the show

This week we honored our high schoolers who will be graduating in the following week. The reading is from Hakuin Ekaku, titled "Praise Song for Meditation". This week Rev. Brian Chenowith shines a light on a unique connection between Unitarian Universalism and a specific sect of Buddhism- RRK Buddhism. There was a slight technical error in the middle of the homily, but nothing was lost....

For this week's service Rev. Brian Chenowith brings us an area of content that is contentious material for Unitarian Universalist sermons- the reading of the entire bible. But you don't have to take my word for it. The podcast opens with a reading from Brother Richard Rohr. Support the show

(Or: Help, Thanks, Wow, This stinks) For this first weekend in May we are fortunate to have lovely musical visitors from Providence Rhode Island, Aubrey Atwater and Elwood Donnelly. They regale us with all manner of stories and songs to celebrate and contemplate this time of year and the new world we are slowly traversing. Also speaking is our community minister Rev. Diana Hultgren. This is a more...