Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation's Podcast

This sermon is from a service that was streamed on September 5, 2021 and led by Ministerial Intern mandi huizenga. This Labor Day weekend let us engage in the revolutionary practice of care. The theme for September is embracing possibility. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit http://www.unitytemple.org/faith-development/soul-connections on our website. For the safety of all in lig...

This sermon is from a service that was streamed on August 29, 2021 and led by Rev. Dawn Cooley. Rev. Cooley is the new Interim Minister at UTUUC. She introduces herself to the membership and describes what she hopes to accomplish together with the congregation during her "pre-fired" tenure. The theme for August is what it means to be a people of journey. To read about our theme-based ministry, ple...

This sermon is from a service that was streamed on August 22, 2021 and led by Minister of Faith Development Rev. Emily Gage. Rev. Gage reflects on how the pandemic has presented a series of experiences that have tested the limits, of us as individuals and as a faith community. The theme for August is what it means to be a people of journey. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit http...

This sermon is from a service that was streamed on August 15, 2021 and led by Rev. Dr. Lisa Presley. Life is all about getting from here to there, that "hyphen" between the dates on our headstone. Right now, you at Unity Temple, are on the path from here to there is so many ways. So how do we do it, going from here to there? A life-long UU, Rev. Dr. Lisa Presley is a Congregational Life Consultant...

This sermon is from a service that was streamed on August 8, 2021 and led by Unitarian Universalist Church of Princeton Seminarian Pauline E. Nijander. The Hindu faith tradition believes that the holy resides within each of us and in every living being. How can we use this knowledge in how we interact with those around us? Or with those we don't agree with? Or with the living world around us? Join...

This sermon is from a service that was streamed on August 1, 2021 and led by Ministerial Intern mandi huizenga. Unitarian Universalists long ago rejected the concept of sin and embrace the power of love. Can sin still be a relevant concept for us? How does love intersect with sin? And how can we fully live into the word love as a transformative practice? The theme for August is what it means to be...

This sermon is from a service that was streamed on July 25, 2021 and led by Ministerial Intern mandi huizenga. Unitarian Universalism has the power to transform our lives, not just provide us a home for unorthodox beliefs. How have we been and how can we be transformed by the power of Unitarian Universalism? The theme for July is what it means to be a people of journey. To read about our theme-bas...

This service was streamed on July 18, 2021 and led by Ministerial Intern mandi huizenga. Picking weeds, planting seeds, and harvesting produce might not seem like a glamorous or fulfilling job. Yet, tending a garden is full of lessons for our lives. Let's explore some of those lessons together. The theme for July is what it means to be a people of journey. To read about our theme-based ministry, p...

This service was streamed on July 11, 2021. Rev. Emily Gage reflects on how these uncertain and challenging times call for traveling lightly, asking us to open our hearts and minds and hold each other's hands tightly. The theme for July is what it means to be a people of journey. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit http://www.unitytemple.org/faith-development/soul-connections on o...

This service is from a live stream on July 4, 2021, led by UTUUC members Terry Kinsey and Jay Cohen. Terry is the founder of UTUUC's Mindful Reflection Community (MRC) and Jay is a co-facilitator with the MRC. They reflect on engaging mindfulness practices, including awareness, spaciousness and compassion, as we navigate our transition to a new minister and navigate our lives in general. The theme...

This service is from a live stream on June 13, 2021, led by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor. For his farewell sermon, Rev.  Taylor reflects on the call to forge new paths in a time of change. He imagines a fabulous future for UTUUC because of the willingness to listen deeply and to be uncomfortable. For that is what it means to be a people of faith. The theme for June is what it means to be a peo...

This service is from a live stream on June 6, 2021, led by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor. Sharing how ministry is something we do together, Rev. Taylor reflects on the deep graciousness he has encountered at UTUUC over his 18 years here, and how the congregation has long had a spirit of play and the willingness to take leaps of faith. The theme for June is what it means to be a people of play....

This service is from a live stream on May 23, 2021, led by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor. Reflecting on the disturbing Unitarian connection to the Tulsa Race Massacre a century ago, Rev. Taylor articulates a theology of grace for navigating a ruptured world. The theme for May is what it means to be a people of story. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit http://www.unitytemple.or...

This service is from a live stream on May 23, 2021, led by Minister of Faith Development Rev. Emily Gage. Rev. Gage reflects on both/and thinking, flower communion and all the true stories. The theme for May is what it means to be a people of story. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit http://www.unitytemple.org/faith-development/soul-connections on our website. For the safety of a...

This service is from a live stream on May 16, 2021 led by Ministerial Intern mandi huizenga. On this Sunday, Welcome Sunday, we celebrate the expansion of Unity Temple's interconnected web as we welcome the new members who are joining our community. We are also reminded that we must care and tend to our web, strengthening our bonds and caring for our community. The theme for May is what it means t...

This service from May 9, 2021 was created and presented by the Unity Temple Youth Group as part of the high school seniors' Bridging Ceremony. Youth Coordinator Justine Urbikas gives the background for the service. The graduating seniors then give their bridging talks followed by remarks from Minister of Faith Development Rev. Emily Gage and Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor. In order, the seniors...

This podcast is from the worship service live streamed on May 2, 2021 and presented by Dr. Elías Ortega. As a faith community, when we gather, we affirm our commitment to work towards a world shaped by justice and humanized by acts of compassion. To live our lives guided by our shared principles, we need to dare to live into a sacred community where we are shaped and transformed by our highest asp...

This worship service from April 18, 2021 was created and presented by participants in our Coming of Age program. These ninth graders spent the year exploring their Unitarian Universalist identity, history, spirituality, their feelings and their beliefs. Their work culminates in this worship service where each delivers a personal credo statement that they have developed. Minister of Faith Developme...

This podcast is from the worship service live streamed on April 11, 2021. Reflecting on the process of rebirth and renewal, Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor shares some of the congregation's extraordinary journey over the last 18 years as he approaches the end of the season of his ministry. The theme for April is what it means to be a people of becoming. To read about our theme-based ministry, ple...

This podcast is from the worship service live streamed on April 4, 2021. Viewing resurrection as rebirth after painful loss or period, Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor explores how love uncaged by death leads to an experience of the Kingdom of God, both within and among us. The theme for April is what it means to be a people of becoming. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit http://...

This podcast is from the worship service live streamed on March 28, 2021 and led by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor. Reflecting on the history of this congregation, it's faith heritage and the current pandemic, Rev. Taylor explores what it means for this congregation to build a new way here and now. The theme for March is what it means to be a people of commitment. To read about our theme-based m...

This podcast is from the worship service live streamed on March 21, 2021. Rev . Brian Sauder outlines the commitments of Eco-Justice that are practiced by Faith in Place in their daily work to advance environmental justice. Rev. Brian Sauder serves Faith in Place as the President & Executive Director (www.faithinplace.org). He was the Policy Director and organizer of the Springfield office until R...

This podcast is from the worship service live streamed on March 14, 2021. The two-part homily is presented first by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor and then Ministerial Intern mandi huizenga. They honor the one-year anniversary of Covid-imposed social distancing by reflecting on how challenging the spiritual work of grief has been during the pandemic, especially through our many losses. The theme...

This podcast is from the worship service live streamed on March 7, 2021. The service includes reflections from our fourth graders, and Minister of Faith Development Rev. Emily Gage considers what commitments are (as per Mary Oliver) like the "loyalty of water to the force of gravity." The theme for March is what it means to be a people of commitment. To read about our theme-based ministry, please...

This podcast is from the worship service live streamed on February 28, 2021. The sermon is presented Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor. Reflecting on the work of Bryan Stevenson, Rev. Taylor explores what it means to get close to people who are suffering, neglected or abused. For neither justice nor the Beloved Community are possible without people willing to do the uncomfortable work of becoming p...