Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation's Podcast

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. 

Reflection delivered by Minister of Faith Development Rev. Emily Gage on November 19, 2017. 20th century Unitarian Universalist theologian James Luther Adams used to say that "Church is a place where you get to practice being human." We all – all of us – have to practice being human, because none of us – not even the grown ups – have it all figured out. The theme for November is what it means to b...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on November 12, 2017. Reflecting on the inspiring story Jose Antonio Vargas, Rev. Alan Taylor shares explores the implications of living with the kind of hope and courage exhibited by this Pulitzer prize winning journalist who is undocumented—and highly public about it. The theme for November is what it means to be a people of abundance. To read...

Sermon delivered by Rev. Nathan Hollister on November 5, 2017. Rev. Hollister, board member of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC), speaks to why he, as a lifelong proponent of culture change, believes the UUSC embodies our Unitarian Universalist values and is especially effective in meeting the needs of some of the most marginalized people all over the world. Rev. Hollister leads...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on October 29, 2017. Rev. Taylor shares poignant stories of delayed grief, immediate grief, the significance of grief, and the maturity that comes over time in coming to accept the losses that we have incurred. The theme for October is how to be a people of courage. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit  http://www.unitytemple.org...

Sermon delivered by Rev. Colin Bossen on October 22, 2017. W. E. B. DuBois posited that the United States faced a choice between abolition democracy and white supremacy. As part of the UUA-wide teach-in on white supremacy, we'll explore how the quest for abolition democracy is connected to our religious journeys as Unitarian Universalists. A text version of this sermon can be found on Colin's blog...

Sermon delivered by Rev. Scott Aaseng on October 15, 2017. The times we live in are difficult, distracting, troubling. Yet our faith is grounded in deep roots which enable us to not only withstand the storms, but to become stronger by living into the solidarity of interdependence. As Clarissa Estes puts it, we are indeed made for these times. Rev. Aaseng was a musician, a community activist, and a...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on October 8, 2017. Rev. Taylor explores what it means to be a people of courage and connects it to how we are called to give of ourselves generously, sometimes even when it feels like a sacrifice.  The theme for October is how to be a people of courage. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit  http://www.unitytemple.org/faith-devel...

Sermon delivered by Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray on October 1, 2017. Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, the newly elected first woman president of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), shares her vision for the UUA, of which Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation is a vibrant part. Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray was elected as the President of the UUA on June 24, 2017. Previously, she was the Mi...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on September 24, 2017. Exploring the wisdom of the Jewish High Holy Days, Rev. Taylor acknowledges how easy it is to forget who we really are and invites us to reflect on where we need to seek forgiveness and restoration in our relationships.  The theme for September is how to be a community of welcome. To read about our theme-based ministry, pl...

Sermon delivered by Minister of Faith Development ev. Emily Gage on September 17, 2017. "It makes me think of each of us, walking through the door here, sometimes bearing gifts or our lesson plans or supplies or cookies, but mostly just offering our presence to one another. We don't always do it as well or as kindly or as smoothly as we would like to (I certainly know this is true of myself), but...

Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on September 10, 2017. In this time of hurricane relief and the loss of security for DACA residents, Rev. Taylor reflects on the sacred call of sheltering one another. Would you harbor me? Would I harbor you? How can we protect one another? The theme for September is how to be a community of welcome. To read about our theme-based ministry, pleas...

Sermon delivered by Intern Minister Kellie C. Kelly on September 3, 2017. On this Labor Day holiday, Kellie shares the stories of 3 Unitarians whose hard work made our religious movement more welcoming and justice-seeking: Rev. Joseph Tuckerman, Dorothea Dix, and Francis Ellen Watkins Harper. The theme for September is how to be a community of welcome. To read about our theme-based ministry, pleas...

These reflections were given by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on August 27, 2017, the official first Sunday of the 2017-18 church year. In a worship for all ages celebrating Homecoming Sunday, Rev. Taylor shares his love of the water communion and his growing awareness of how to live into the question: "Who are you to think that you can change the world?" The theme for August is how to be a com...