Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto Sermons and Reflections

Daylight Savings Time begins today–set your clocks forward! “But you do believe in God . . . don’t you?” I get asked this question from time to time by people who don’t know much about us. But we UUs stumble all over ourselves trying to avoid ... read more .

It has been almost 24 months since the novel coronavirus–no longer so novel–took our lives around a sudden bend. And then another, and another. We’ll reflect on some things we’ve learned and decide on some to carry forward into the new normal. Worship leader: Rev. Amy ... read more .

The physical space that houses our congregation–its buildings, its gardens and patios, and even its parking lot–is a kind of silent partner to all we do here. A cathedral evokes a longing for a God high above; a Puritan meetinghouse conveyed its inhabitants’ philosophical commitment ... read more .

We are inheritors of a long history of Unitarians and Universalists acting on our convictions in the social, political, and environmental realms. More than that, UUCPA has added its own chapters to this heritage. Continuing the anniversary theme running through this winter and spring’s Adult ... read more .

Diana and Shay followed very different paths to Unitarian Universalist ministry, beginning with the fact that Shay was raised Catholic and Diana was raised UU. They’ll share their journey, and explore what this means about the stories each of us brings to our Unitarian Universalist ... read more .

One of the hallmarks of Unitarian Universalism is the conviction that deeper wisdom and understanding will make us more free and fulfilled. All of the leaders of today’s service have recently engaged in “Beloved Conversations,” believing that understanding racism so that we can help end it is essential to our personal and spiritual development. It has affirmed their faith that even when the truth...

Someone asked this question recently, and it’s such a good one! Like many good questions, it has more than one answer, and they have the power to change your life. With today’s service, we kick off this year’s stewardship campaign (a.k.a. the pledge or canvass campaign), and to make it an extra special celebration, we will gather together in person once again! We have some special guests for this...

Many of us go to nature for healing and happiness. At the same time, because we worry so much about the fate of the natural world, being in nature reminds us of our sorrows. What can we do? Let’s see what our home-grown nature religion, Transcendentalism, has to tell us. Worship leader: Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern Special music: Veronika Agranov-Dafoe, piano Follow along in the order of service bi...

Dwell on the past or focus on the future? The Sankofa bird, an image from the Akan people of West Africa, suggests a third option. Perhaps their wisdom about history can guide us as we grapple with our own, nationally, personally, and collectively. Worship leader: Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern Special music: Sarah Kirton, violin Follow along in the order of service: bit.ly/uucpa_oos_20220109 . Photo...

That’s how an increasing number of US Americans describe themselves, and many of them find their way to our congregation. What does “spiritual but not religious” mean? What does it mean to make a spiritual community together without being “religious”? And can we also be a home for those who are “religious but not spiritual”? These cutting-edge questions welcome us to a year of exploration and cele...

It’s that time of year! We tell the Christmas story in keeping with our Unitarian Universalist heritage and with everyone who wishes to join in becoming characters in the story. And for the first time since March 2020, we have two services in person, indoors in our Main Hall. If you participate online — When the ministers call for the different characters, put on the correct costume, and turn on y...

We’ve had our holiday of thanks, and now we have the season of giving. Giving might seem simple–you like someone, so you give them something they’ll enjoy–but it’s anything but. Giving can be motivated by affection, duty, obligation, gratitude, ingratiation, indebtedness, even fear; gifts can be received with gratitude, suspicion, delight, exasperation, indebtedness, even fear. How can we disentan...

In a series of services that explore the purpose and significance of different aspects of the service, we come today to our centering words, centering bell, and the silence that follows. As potters and dancers tell us, centering is what makes possible the art that follows. What does centering in our services do for us–and what more can it do? Worship leader: Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern Worship Ass...

9:30 am service: outdoors and in-person only (weather permitting). 11 am service: online only. There is one person each of us tends to dump on: we criticize them, withhold kindness and compassion because we don’t think they deserve them, and reach for the stick instead of the carrot so they’ll improve. That person is each of us. The research is clear: being compassionate and encouraging towards ou...

Awake, enlightened: they might sound as if they are much the same thing, or at least close kin. But in two movements of the 18th century, they represented a conflict: between the emotion-driven “Great Awakening” and the reason-saluting “Age of Enlightenment.” Unitarianism and Universalism grew up in that conflict, and we are shaped by it to this day. How can we resolve the internal struggle betwee...

Today’s service is the first in a series: Why do we do that in the service? Let’s consider Caring and Sharing, our name for what many congregations call “pastoral prayers” or “prayers of the people.” Why do we share our joys and sorrows? And especially, given that prayers evidently frequently go unanswered, what is the point of the silent prayer or meditation that follows our sharing? Worship lead...

Sometimes a single, simple change can illuminate a very big problem–and what we can do about it. UUCPA’s own single-use plastics policy, implemented for the first time last month, provides a case study in how to make lasting change. Let’s follow a piece of plastic and see where it leads. You may be pleasantly surprised. @VonWong, used by permission. Benjamin Von Wong is an artist whose goal is to...

A man named Itaru Sasaki missed his deceased cousin, so he set up a phone booth in his garden in Ōtsuchi, Japan. Although the phone was not connected to anything, he found it comforting to pick up the phone and speak to his cousin. After the devastating tsunami of March 2011, Sasaki invited anyone to use the 風の電話 ( kaze no denwa ), the “wind phone,” and tens of thousands have found it healing...

Our annual, intergenerational Water Communion restores our sense of connection with all beings, as we pour our different waters into one vessel. Please do not think your water has to have come from “someplace special.” It is special because it comes from you and from the planet. Do read this information for 9:30 and 11 a.m. attendees on how to prepare: https://www.uucpa.org/water-communion-is-octo...

This week’s service is at 10:30 am. Next week there are two services, one at 9:30 am, in-person and another at 11 am, online only. The pandemic has shaken the world of work. Many businesses are finding it impossible to bring back employees under their former conditions. In three months of this spring alone, 11.5 million U.S. workers quit their jobs, a wave called the Great Resignation that may sti...

September 23 is Bi Visibility Day, which by rights ought to be a Unitarian Universalist holiday. Why? Because no matter what your sexual orientation, the existence of bisexuality models both/and thinking, which is so important to our journeys as spiritual seekers engaged in a “free and responsible search for truth and meaning.” Without both/and thinking, we’re confined to boxes; with it, we can no...

Yesterday marked 20 years since the tragic events of September 11, 2001. The attack and its aftermath invited us into the stories of each others’ lives, often in heartbreaking ways. Let’s reflect together on how such sharing can bring us greater life and richer meaning. How good it is to be together, creating the beloved community that is our best hope for a better world. Worship leader: Rev. Amy...

Last week we talked about time. This week the topic will be money, and the following week, the series will wrap up with a service on work. It’s said that you have to spend money to make money. We get that when it’s applied to, say, production in a factory, or to marketing. But does it apply to giving? Does giving money make money, like the magic penny that if you “lend it, spend it,” returns itsel...

There’s just so much to do, and the 24 hours in a day never seem to be enough to catch up. Even retired folks find it hard to get to the end of their to-do list. And the stress seems to set in earlier and earlier in life, with even pre-adolescent children feeling the crunch. Is there any way out? You’ve heard methods from time management gurus–now hear what famed time-management-school flunkout Am...

Our guest speaker this morning is Leika Lewis-Cornwell (they/she pronouns) who is the President of the UUHA and a UU minister in formation. Over the course of a career as an organizational, policy, and cyber security consultant, Leika has helped public, private, and nonprofit organizations explore what matters most and discover what to do next. Worship Leader: Leika Lewis-Cornwell Worship Associat...