UU Church of Annapolis Podcast

In this auction sermon dedicated to UUCA member Sofia Blom, Rev John will examine Carl Jung's shadow concept and why a poem by William Ernest Henley provides the perfect context for understanding and overcoming our shadows which leads to spiritual transformation. Delivered Sunday April 28, 2024

In this sermon, Rev. John looks at the book of Genesis in The Bible and discusses why we need to reinterpret what it teaches as it relates to our relationship with other living beings. (Delivered: Sunday April 21, 2024)

Many come to religious communities seeking support in becoming their best self. Change is more than just understanding how you want to be, it is based on new behavior. Spiritual practices can be a powerful means for this process of becoming. Let's consider the transformational value of spiritual practice. (Delivered: Sunday April 14, 2024)

As we process, Rev. Anastassia's pending departure from ministry at UUCA, what are the important things we have to say to one another?

Reverend John explains the meaning and importance of UUCA's Flower Communion tradition. (Delivered: Sunday, March 31,2024)

Join Reverend Anastassia as she explores the idea of improbable hope and how it relates to miracles and new beginnings.

In this sermon, Rev John discusses his journey as a UU, why his faith has stood the test of time, and why he continues giving his financial resources to the UUCA community. (Delivered Sunday March 10, 2024)

Human beings are meant to belong, to experience the commune of life, yet so many of us struggle to find belonging. Sometimes we, almost miraculously step into a community of belonging, but more often, Beloved Community is something we mutually create through acts of contribution. This Sunday, as we launch for pledge drive, let us consider how contributions unlock community and life within us. (Del...

It has been nearly a decade since marriage equality became a legal right, but this was so much more than a Supreme Court decision. Let's review this movement, its power, its people, its values, and its impact. What might we carry forward as we think about the creation of equity and the Beloved Community beyond it. (Delivered: February 25, 2024)

In this sermon, Rev John reviews a new book that chronicles the story of mental health abuse and why repair is needed today to make amends for past sins. (Delivered: February 18, 2024)

In this sermon Rev John discusses fear and why it prevents humanity from creating a more just and. Equitable society.  (Delivered: Sunday February 11, 2024)

William Ellery Channing, one of the founding leaders and theologians of our faith, was kept awake at night by a particular concern: have we missed the message about caring for people particularly, as we care for humanity universally? How much has this theology helped us engage more deeply in practicing care and inclusion with a more particular focus? Rev. Anastassia preaching.

In this sermon, Rev. John will discuss what being radically welcoming means to him and how this equitable approach in life leads to more authentic relationships. (Delivered: Sunday Jan. 28,2024)

In this sermon, Rev. John discusses the number 2, the human body and brain and why making 2 into 1 is the key to peace, equity and unity in our lives.  (Delivered: Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024)

Martin Luther King, Jr. perhaps is most famous for his "I Have a Dream Speech," but he wasn't the originator or the last owner of this dream. This MLK Sunday, let's consider the history and future of the collective movement of dreamers. Rev. Anastassia preaching,

During this intergenerational service, we will create the Beloved Community by honoring the sacramental transitions and celebrations in the lives of our members through poetry, music, and naming. Help us mark the joining of new members, coming-of-age advancement, the passage into adulthood, gender renaming, member departures, weddings, and deaths. (Delivered: Jan 7, 2024)

  On this last worship service for 2023, and in this season of Kwanza, what do you need more and less of to get into your positive flow for 2024? This is a participatory service with a homily and congregational sharing. https://youtu.be/icK0zLKEgWY

In this week's Christmas Eve sermon, Reverend Anastassia highlights the parallels between the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus and present day events in Palestine and Israel. (Delivered: Sunday evening December 24, 2023)

We are called by our faith to honor the interdependent web of all existence. In fact, it is one of our most central truths. With reverence for the great web of life and with humility, we acknowledge our place in it. Let us explore what living this belief and reality looks like. Delivered: Sunday Dec. 17, 2023

In this participatory worship service that will include a short reflection, members will reflect on what they are giving and being given as a part of the interdependent communal web which ground all in faith, hope, and love.

In this service, your ministers will answer questions about their shared vision for our congregation, their hopes for Unitarian Universalism, and why interdependence is one of our most cherished values.

With war around the globe and the rise in hate, how do we turn the world around? (Delivered on Sunday, November 19, 2023)

Interdependence means there is support between and among groups of people. The story of the Buffalo shows us the opposite and reminds us of our willingness to dehumanize and forget that we are connected to all living beings. (Delivered: Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023)

With the violent and heartbreaking loss of life in Israel and Gaza, how are we as Unitarian Universalists called to respond? What do our theology and the philosophy of Beloved Community have to offer us during this time?  (Delivered by Rev. Anastassia Zinke, Nov. 5, 2023)

Sunday's sermon will connect our UU Beliefs to the beliefs of our ancestors via their relationship to nature and the stars. Where did we come from? Who are we? The answer may be in Astrotheology. (Delivered: October 29, 2023)