Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation's Podcast

On this special Choir Sunday on April 14, 2019, the Unity Temple Choir under the direction of Marty Swisher, Unity Temple Music Director, performs John Kramer's "The Immigrant Experience," a choral cantata in seven movements. Scored for full chorus, soprano, baritone and tenor soloists and chamber ensemble, the work describes the journey and struggles of immigrants coming to America to realize the...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on April 7,2019. How could a worship service in 1987 where the minister distributed condoms be nearly forgotten? Rev. Taylor shares reflections of Rev. Mark DeWolfe, the first openly gay minister in Canada, whose brilliant career was cut short by AIDS and the prophetic witness of his colleague Carl Titchener whose prophetic witness should be cel...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on March 31, 2019. When we discover that we've lost our way, a new journey potentially begins. Rev. Taylor reflects on how one's journey is often unclear, tentative, and in need of "pendulating" between engaging the world and seeking refuge in a safe place. The theme for March is what it means to be a people of journey. To read about our theme-b...

Sermon delivered by Rev. Scott Aaseng on March 24, 2019. In a world where everything seems like it's coming apart, we are called to make connections - between humans and the earth, between faith and action, between ourselves and others - and live out the interdependence we claim. Introductory music sung by Isabella Carrasquillo, sophomore at Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. She was one of three winne...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on March 17, 2019. The Spiral Journey - reflecting on how our spiritual journeys often take the form of a spiral where we re-learn certain things again and again, Rev. Taylor shares his learnings around white male oppression and how the goal in this work is not perfection but progress. The theme for March is what it means to be a people of journ...

Reflections delivered in this Chalice Ceremony for 4th graders delivered by Minister of Faith Development Rev. Emily Gage. Following an address to the participants by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor, Rev. Gage offers further thoughts. She says, "When I was in fourth grade, I was lucky enough to be part of a Unitarian Universalist congregation, and there were people there who were devoted to helpi...

Our Unitarian faith heritage draws significantly from both Transylvania and the United States. In this podcast from March 3, 2019, Intern Minister Zsolt Elekes shares from his Transylvanian heritage and Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor reflects on the early New England Unitarianism and the Transcendentalists. Significant similarities are found when reflecting on the questions "What saves us?" and...

Sermon delivered by Intern Minister Zsolt Elekes on February 24, 2019. Our everyday lives are constructed around stories that we trust and share among each other. These stories, philosophies shape our worldview and give meaning to our activities. Zsolt, our Intern Minister from Transylvania, shares how some of the stories under the communist dictatorship were tragically harmful to an entire societ...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on February 17, 2019. The media has long represented Albert Einstein as an absent-minded brilliant scientist, but he was  a highly engaged, compassionate activist for human rights, for the ethical guidance of technological innovation and, unbeknownst to many because so rarely publicized, for racial equality. Rev. Taylor reflects on how his relig...

Sermon delivered by Minister of Faith Development Rev. Emily Gage on February 10, 2019. We tend to think of trust as a big word, and it is--it's big in its meaning and impact. But trust in relationships is also about everyday moments. The theme for February is what it means to be a people of trust. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit  http://www.unitytemple.org/faith-development/s...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on February 3, 2019. In what do you place your trust? What sustains you when you are in crisis? Where do you turn? Rev. Taylor reflects on Universalist and Unitarian responses and shares of his own faith position.  The theme for February is what it means to be a people of trust. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit  http://www.un...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on January 27, 2019. Many of us are reticent about prayer. If you have wondered whether prayer might have a place in your UU existence, Rev. Taylor shares how prayer ushers forth a trust in what we cannot see, and opens us up to change - both change within ourselves and to change in which we can participate amidst our wider world.  The theme for...

Sermon delivered by Minister of Faith Development Rev. Emily Gage on January 20, 2019. Rev. Gage writes, "The story has been told as though there is an ending. And that's not entirely wrong. Some of those stories do have an ending. A happy ending, even. A story that we saw a wrong, we worked to change it, and it got changed. Happy ending. I believe this is kind of how we think of the civil rights...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on January 13, 2019. What if hope is a state of the mind rather than a state of the world? Then hope is not the same thing as optimism nor the conviction that something will turn out well but that something makes sense. Rev. Taylor explores how this kind of hope makes way for possibility. The theme for January is what it means to be a people of...

Sermon delivered by Intern Minister Zsolt Elekes on January 5, 2019. Zsolt shares stories on what it means for him to be a liberal Christian and possibilities for us all to do the work of justice, love and compassion in 2019. The theme for January is what it means to be a people of possibility. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit  http://www.unitytemple.org/faith-development/soul-...

Sermon delivered by Intern Minister Zsolt Elekes on December 30, 2019. Zsolt shares his thoughts about the importance of the Christmas story and the importance of continuing to do the work usually done just around Christmas. The theme for December is what it means to be a people of mystery. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit  http://www.unitytemple.org/faith-development/soul-conn...

Homily delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2018.  The theme for December is what it means to be a people of mystery. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit  http://www.unitytemple.org/faith-development/soul-connections

Sermon delivered by Minister of Faith Development Rev. Emily Gage on December 23, 2018. Things happen like that, sometimes. We're just going about our daily business, and then boom--our hearts crack open and our worlds become bigger, and suddenly there's more good all around us. The theme for December is what it means to be a people of mystery. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit ...

This service from December 16, 2018 features the Unity Temple Choir under the direction of Music Director Marty Swisher performing "Luminous Night of the Soul" by Ola Gjeilo, accompanied by pianist Peter Storms and assisted by a string quartet . Reflections by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor and Marty Swisher precede the musical offering. The theme for December is what it means to be a people of...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on December 9, 2018. What meaning does Hanukkah have for us today, especially in the wake of emerging hateful incidents? Rev. Taylor explores this question through story, poetry, and reflection.  The theme for December is what it means to be a people of mystery. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit  http://www.unitytemple.org/fai...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on December 2, 2018. Howard Thurman calls us to listen for the sound of the genuine as our one true guide. During this Advent sermon, Rev. Taylor reflects on the importance of taking pause to wait and listen, to enter that place of mystery where the divine is waiting to be born and reborn in our lives. The theme for December is what it means to...

Sermon delivered by Ministerial Intern Zsolt Elekes on November 25, 2018. Zsolt briefly relays the history of the 450-year old Transylvanian Unitarian Church and their struggle with being a theologically liberal religious institution in a more conservative society. He shares what he learned from its history that can help us find the hope and faith necessary for our future mission and being in this...

Reflection delivered by Minister of Faith Development Rev. Emily Gage on November 18, 2018. Linda Hogan reminds us: "Suddenly, all my ancestors are behind me. 'Be Still,' they say. 'Watch and listen. You are the result of the love of thousands.' Thoughts on memory, Thanksgivings pasts, and the practice of gratitude in hard times. The theme for November is what it means to be a people of memory. To...

Sermon delivered by SeniorMinister Rev. Alan Taylor on November 11, 2018. On Veterans Day and the centennial of the end of World War I, Rev. Taylor reflects on trauma, recovery and how we all might cope and respond.  The theme for November is what it means to be a people of memory. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit  http://www.unitytemple.org/faith-development/soul-connections

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on November 4, 2018. Which of the two wolves will we feed—the one of fear and hatred or the one of love and connection? Rev. Taylor reflects on how hate is a not an answer to hate.  The theme for November is what it means to be a people of memory. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit  http://www.unitytemple.org/faith-development/...