Unity Church Sermon Podcasts

This sermon podcast, reflecting on what it means to tell, and retell a story over generations, begins with a reflection by Worship Associate Dick Buggs.      

"Roses love garlic." Gardens abound with stories of different plants that grow together, sometimes unexpectedly. Polyculture, or companion planting, uses that diversity to create more resilient, beautiful garden beds. The same might be true for our churches: rather than a monoculture of a single creed, Unitarian Universalists plant our diverse faiths side by side, and in doing so cultivate wild an...

Without hope, how can we authentically evangelize love? Hope, however fragile,  can sustain us. It anchors our conviction and guides our commitment to serve with faith, compassion, and resilience.   This podcast begins with a reflection by Worship Associate Ollie Stocker and is followed by a sermon by Hallman Ministerial Intern Amy Brunell. 

What do you do when the life you had imagined for yourself is stuck in committee? Join us for the story of the Unitarian Universalist Hysterical Society… The practical joke that accidentally turned into a 300 thousand person Unitarian Universalist community on Facebook. It's a story of feeling lost, finding yourself, and UUism-outside-the-box.

Taking inspiration from the beautiful writings of Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, a renowned Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg musician, writer and academic — join Shay in exploring how water can inspire new ways of thinking about relationships, promoting a "vision of relationality that transcends traditional boundaries."  

Unity's new ends statements call us to "understand the interconnected roots of oppression." What tools do we have to see the complexity of interconnected, intersectional oppression, and how do we begin to dismantle it in our congregation and the broader world?   This service begins with a reflection from Worship Associate Carol Mahnke.

Join us for Unity's annual service of remembrance for the members of our community who have passed away in the last year. As we gather near the traditional observance of All Souls Day, we remember the stories of those who have gone before, and how they are intertwined with our own. Everyone will be invited to light a candle for someone they loved and lost in 2025.

Yoking is not a solo endeavor. To be yoked is to be joined in a team, each pulling together in a common effort. Community organizing teaches us the power of organized people, each giving up some level of autonomy in order to effect change together. How do we navigate our Unitarian Universalist tradition's emphasis on individual conscience with the need for collective action in these times?

Building on the work of Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone, how can we possibly yoke ourselves to joy in times like these? What happens when we let our grief for a broken world direct the plow? Resiliency and creativity are not only tools of the joyful, but are also honed by what we've lost.

For the last several years, Unity's Board of Trustees has been considering the work of reparations as a moral imperative, partnering with the Saint Paul Reparations Commission and other activists in the community to imagine how the church can engage in work to address historic harms. This Sunday we'll consider where that work has led us, and what might come next. ​ This service begins with a refle...

On Celebration Sunday we begin Unity's annual pledge drive with a reflection on joy. What does it mean to choose to be yoked to joy, to commit ourselves to institutions and ways of being in the world that call us to deeper meaning, rather than transient happiness?   This podcast begins with a reflection by Worship Associate Ollie Stocker.

This Sunday we welcome Unity's 2025 Hallman Ministerial Intern, Amy Brunell, to the pulpit. The podcast begins with a reflection offered by Worship Associate Dick Buggs.

What toll does it take on our souls when words are used against us? What grief cripples us, stops us from letting go of, or reclaiming, dangerous words? Only in naming, in dialogue with, in expression of our grief and hurt and anger can we fully embrace the power our words have in the world – and freely learn to (again) to use dangerous words. This sermon podcast begins with a reflection from Wors...

2025 is a dangerous time in the world. When the foundations of so many of institutions and assumptions shake, we embrace the power of words to heal, as well as to harm. Even as we recognize the danger in language used to hurt, we use our own dangerous language to imagine a different way of being.    This service begins with a reflection by worship associate Veronica Nordeng DeVillez.

We begin our congregational year joined by representatives from our partner church in Homoródszentpéter. Together we reflect on the long journey from our first meetings to now, and look forward to what comes next in our friendship.  This podcast begins with a reflection by Rev. Dr. Oscar Sinclair and is followed by a refelction from Rev. Kinga Réka Székely, the minister of Unity's partner church i...

A hot cup of coffee. A firm handshake. A sincere conversation. As we continue to wade in the waters of polarization and binaries, the temptation to let our differences keep us apart is strong. Yet our Unitarian Universalist roots ask us to continue rethinking and reimagining what Beloved Community can and should look like. Could being foolishly vulnerable and honest with each other provide us with...

In the last of our series on membership at Unity Church, we consider our work beyond the congregation, as we ask each other to "let the compassion that rises from doing your work within and among lead you to bless the world." In this anxious age, what does it mean to be a blessing?   This sermon podcast begins with a reflection from Worship Associate Ollie Stocker.

The second expectation of membership at Unity Church is that our members will "develop the skills of small group intimacy that let you go deep quickly with strangers." Among this community, the skills of connection deepen our ties and begin to connect our personal practices and lives with the broader world.   This sermon podcast begins with a reflection by Worship Associate Sarah Cledwyn.

Members of Unity Church are asked to "develop a personal practice that helps you find and keep your balance." What is it about practice that improves balance? Is there value to these practices outside of an instrumental result? How does personal practice set up the rest of our lives together as a community?

What does it mean to be Unitarian Universalist in this moment? In an anxious age, it is not sufficient for us to retreat from the world into intellectual contemplation. Instead, our faith calls us to engage, fully, with our souls, each other, and the world around us.

Alana Howey | Anna Newton | Lisa Burke Unity's Act for the Earth Community Outreach Ministry Team With chaos all around us, action grounded in spiritual practice can help us move forward. Anna Newton, Alana Howey, and Lisa Burke, members of Unity's Act for the Earth Team, will share their approach to this work.   This service begins with a reflection by Anna Newton which is followed by a collage o...

The question we need to be asking in our justice efforts is what are we building together, not what are we doing. Weaving relationships, growing capacity, grounding in our values — these are what build power and make a difference over the long-haul of change. Rev. Terri Burnor (she/her) is Executive Director of MUUSJA (the Minnesota Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Alliance). She also serves...

As the world around us changes at a rapid and discouraging pace, how do we keep ourselves grounded and continue to build resilience for the years ahead? What practices both spiritual and otherwise do we need to establish and maintain in order to continue to live lives of integrity, service, and joy?

This sermon podcast begins with a reflection by Worship Associate Dick Buggs.   Most summer Sundays, Peggy Lin can be found at "dirt church": digging around in the dirt in her home gardens. Called two winters ago by Act for the Earth to overwinter pollinator perennials, she hasn't looked back. This Sunday, she'll reflect on the spiritual practice of noticing what you notice and how that practice c...