Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation's Podcast

Sermon delivered by Minister of Faith Development Rev. Emily Gage on May 6, 2018. And this is why we are here, isn't it? Because we are better together than apart. Because we need one another to deepen the meaning and experiences of our lives, even though being together is as challenging as it is rewarding. Because, let's face it: we're a little quirky. We're a little human. We're a little differe...

This worship service from April 29, 2018 was created 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 Development Rev. Emily...

Sermon delivered by Rev. Brian Sauder on April 22, 2018. In this Earth Day sermon, Rev. Sauder lifts up a Tillichian theme of mutual priesthood by sharing his journey as the President of Faith in Place. Our faith traditions provide the tools of emergence for personal spiritual transformation. It is this spiritual transformation that further allows people of faith to lead the environmental movement...

This Choir Sunday from April 15, 2018 features a performance of the Requiem by Gabriel Fauré. UTUUC Music Director Marty Swisher offers an introductory reflection and conducts the Unity Temple Choir with soprano soloist Henriët Fourie Thompson, a UTUUC member, and baritone soloist Jeffrey Ray. They are accompanied by UTUUC organist/pianist Peter Engel Storms on organ and Chicago area orchestral mu...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on April 8, 2018. In his last sermon before a sabbatical, Rev. Taylor highlights some of the defining moments in the congregation's past few decades. He encourages members to continue their spring "emergence," blossoming as a community, to unleash courageous love. The theme for April is what it means to be a people of emergence. To read about ou...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on April 1, 2018. On Easter morning, Rev. Taylor reflected on the faith of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the teachings of Jesus interpreted by Dr. King's mentor, Howard Thurman, affirming love as the most durable power in the world and the function of religious community to make paradise tangible. The theme for April is what it means to be a...

Sermon delivered by Rev. Scott Aaseng on March 25, 2018. Working for justice can sometimes seem like a matter of giving up what we want and acting entirely for the sake of others. But is there a way of looking at action for justice as something in which we have a stake in what happens – with our own skin in the game? Rev. Aaseng was a musician, a community activist, and a Lutheran pastor (among ot...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on March 18, 2018. Taking his family on a hike, Rev. Taylor stumbled on the metaphor of "the narrow ridge" for the faith journey. Drawing wisdom from Howard Thurman and Rabbi Martin Buber, this sermon provides a provocative perspective on the theme of balance.  The theme for March is what it means to be a people of balance. To read about our the...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on March 11, 2018. Do you struggle with staying centered? Reflecting on the Buddhist teaching of the Bamboo Acrobat, Rev. Taylor shares challenges and fruits of cultivating a sustained spiritual practice.  The theme for March is what it means to be a people of balance. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit  http://www.unitytemple....

Sermon delivered by Minister of Faith Development Rev. Emily Gage on March 4, 2018. All our lives we focus on balance whether we think about it or not. In the very beginning we master sitting up, standing up, walking -- they are, in part, all a matter of balancing. Later in life, it's often this kind of balance we focus on again, as we lose some of those abilities and need help. When the balance o...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on February 25, 2018. Reflecting on the #MeToo movement as a call for justice, Rev. Taylor explores how it is also a men's issue: how women and men willing to honestly address the painful reality of toxic masculinity can together change our culture by actively promoting the inherent worth and dignity of all.  The theme for February is what it me...

Sermon delivered by Intern Minister Kellie C. Kelly on February 18, 2018. In our own personal lives and in our communal work for social justice, the ability to persist and persevere is an important skill to build and strengthen. Sometimes, it is the only type of courage we need.  The theme for February is what it means to be a people of perseverance. To read about our theme-based ministry, please...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on February 11, 2018. What are the gifts and sacrifices that come with being who you really are and embodying your values? Rev. Taylor reflects on the journey of the Guatemalan man in our care, the story of the founder of the first LGBTQ human rights organization in Guatemala, and the role that severe depression played in the life of Martin Luth...

Sermon delivered by Minister of Faith Development Rev. Emily Gage on February 4, 2018. It's not often you hear about the day someone heard "no" for the seventh time and they just flipped out. Or the many days like that. It's not often that you read about the time they just sat down and sobbed and sobbed. Or the multiple times like that. It's not often you hear about the Herculean effort it took to...

Sermon delivered by Rev. Colleen Vahey on January 28, 2018. The sermon was preceded by "Imagine" by John Lennon, performed by the Unity Temple Singers. Rev. Vahey explores the importance of bold visions, moral courage and abundant love to see us through devastating times. She outlines the guiding principles of our growing Faith in Action Network, and shares upcoming calls to action to keep bending...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on January 21, 2018. What do the history of covenant and Rev. Taylor's favorite Star Wars movie have to do with one another? How does covenant, shared intention, transcend our present moment and connect us to the generations past and future? The theme for January is what it means to be a people of intention. To read about our theme-based ministr...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on January 14, 2018. As Unitarian Universalists we are engaged in a resistance movement for freedom that began exactly 450 years ago in the mountainous country of Transylvania. Freedom requires resistance to tyranny as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. so effectively demonstrated. Rev. Taylor reflects on the function of religious communities give...

Sermon delivered by Minister of Faith Development Rev. Emily Gage on January 7, 2018. Ellen Bass writes: "The thing is to love life, to love it even when you have no stomach for it, and everything you've held dear crumbles like burnt paper in your hands, your throat filled with the silt of it…. Then you hold life like a face between your palms, a plain face, no charming smile, no violet eyes, and...

Sermon delivered by UTUUC member Terry Kinsey on December 31, 2017. Terry suggests it's time to upgrade our "operating system" so that we will act from a more skillful responsive space and not a reactive "habit pattern." Our habit pattern space has evolved over time and if we want to upgrade it, we'll need to put into practice an intentional plan including "designing" the desired operating system...

This reading and homily from the Christmas Eve Pageant service were delivered by Minister of Faith Development Rev. Emily Gage on December 24, 2017. This is precisely why the Christmas story is so completely awesome: It is about following the star... and actually finding where it is leading you. It is about the impossible being possible. It is about miracles. The theme for December is what it mean...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor at the 11:00 p.m. service on December 24, 2017. In this Christmas Eve homily, Rev. Taylor reflects on the saving tradition of Unitarian Universalism that thrives in the congregational life at Unity Temple, acknowledging the beauty of being back in our space while lifting up the call to embody kindness, curiosity, and joy. The theme for December...

Sermon delivered by Minister of Faith Development Rev. Emily Gage on December 17, 2017. The sermon is preceded by the story for all ages, "The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming" by Lemony Snicket. Rev. Gage says, "This December, we are exploring the theme of hope. That sounds about right. I'm up for some more hope. Even that wasn't the theme, I'd be up here working on hope, preaching on hope, find...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on December 10, 2018. In this typically frenetic time, Rev. Taylor urges us to take time to find stillness. He explores the relationship between stillness and revelation, as there is often so much hidden from us, both exquisitely beautiful as well as horrific. The theme for December is what it means to be a people of hope. To read about our them...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on December 3, 2017. Rev. Taylor provides a sermon on seeking hope in a time of despair. Sometimes history and even our lives seem like Pandora's Box has been opened. How do we keep hope even when cultural forms of hope seem vacuous and irrelevant to the times? The theme for December is what it means to be a people of hope. To read about our the...

Sermon delivered by Intern Minister Kellie C. Kelly on November 26, 2017. Despite what society teaches us, we can create abundance when we give ourselves the gift of gratitude. The theme for November is what it means to be a people of abundance. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit  http://www.unitytemple.org/faith-development/soul-connections  on our website.