UU Community Church of Washington County's Podcast

The sun is at its highest point in the sky and the longest, hottest days of the year greet us.  Ancient peoples celebrated this day as part of a sacred cycle of the continuing rise and fall of power.  These are long days, but they will shorten – and then lengthen again.  Let’s explore what this sacred cycle can teach us now.  

Mother's Day can be a complicated holiday, and mean many different things for each one of us.  In fact, every individual likely has numerous experiences and vantage points of mothering in their lives.  However, one thing is true: we all have mothers in our bones.  On this Mother's Day, we will explore the different aspects of mothering, for the word "mother" is both a noun and...

The number of people in the U.S. aged 100 or older jumped 44% between 2000 and 2014.  As we live longer, healthier lives how can we make intentional choices along the journey so our lives continue to be meaningful?  And how do we change the stereotypes that pretend our accumulated experience is no longer relevant?  Even those still young need to think about what kind of world to be creating for th...

Throughout religious history, revivals have marked periods of resurgence in people’s commitment to their faith traditions.  Classic American tent revivals took people out of the four walls of the church and into the world.  They brought the community together and served as a galvanizing force for the future, often during times of great change or anxiety.  In the midst of overlapping climate crises...

Gary Kowalski, delivered by Diane Larson Flower Communion symbolizes the light and color and fragrance of many creeds, many cultures, and many races joining together in a bright, living bouquet.  It is a testament to the power of love to withstand hate.  The flowers we share this morning bring us the assurance that warmth and kindness can pierce through frost of cruelty and indifference, that merc...

It is said that laughter is the best medicine… let’s find out if that’s true!  April rings in with its first day heralding pranks and silliness.  Come and enjoy a fun-filled Sunday with silly music, playful rituals, and some surprises.  

Jon Biemer will share Three C’s of Sustainability – and how we can make use of them. He draws stories and insights from his books Our Journey to Sustainability: How Everyday Heroes Make a Difference (2024) and Our Environmental Handprints:  Recover the Land, Reverse Global Warming, Reclaim the Future (2021). Jon is a member of the Wy’east Unitarian Universalist Congregation.

Like UUs, Dandelions are persistent, often flamboyant, and rooted in a growing future.  Join us and Ms Bloom as we consider spreading the seeds of our community.  

The meditation practice, “Be Still and Get Going,” was created by Rabbi Alan Lew, and can be found in his book by the same name. This practice weaves together the tradition of Zen Buddhism with Judaism, merging the wisdom of these spiritual teachings and anchoring them with meditation. The “Be Still and Get Going” meditation is a method that we can use to reconnect with our centers amidst chaos, a...

In my 20 years as a spiritual director, I have found nothing so effective in fostering personal change as gentle persistence and persistent gentleness.  As adrienne maree brown says, "Small is all."  When we treat ourselves with love and respect, it becomes more possible for us to treat others so.  When we come to one another with persistent love and gentle respect, we increase our capac...

Resting is the seedbed that blooms with the fruit of subversive imagination… and we must water this seedbed tenderly and disruptively. In the words of Nap Minister Tricia Hersey, “We are deeply committed to dismantling white supremacy and capitalism by using rest as the foundation for this disruption. We believe rest is a spiritual practice, a racial justice issue and a social justice issue…. This...

Since the beloved broadway musical "Wicked" hit the big screen, fans have taken a deep dive back into the music, and meaning, of the story.  Come to UUCCWC on Sunday, February 23rd, and enjoy a Wicked-themed service, complete with music from the show, and wear your favorite color: pink or green.  This Sunday's sermon will explore the understory of the Wicked musical, and reflect on...

Join us for lots of chocolate and love. Sometimes, you have to just stop and enjoy a piece of chocolate during hard times. Join us for a look into how our love differs, just like a box of chocolates, and how we can hold that box as a tool to give others the love they need most.  

Join us for an embodied exploration of trees as we honor Tu B'Shvat, the Jewish "New Year of the Trees," and uplift the legacy of the great tree planter and ecofeminist Wangari Maathai, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for mobilizing African women to counter deforestation and inspired the Green Belt Movement.

Join us for a special Imbolc celebration with the UU Pagans! This service honors the turning of the season as we celebrate light, renewal, and new beginnings. Imbolc, a time of hope and transformation, invites us to reflect on our inner growth and the promise of spring. Through ritual, music, and community, we will welcome the increasing light and the energy of creativity and change.  

Every January, we honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, the great leader of our Civil Rights Movement. And, too, there were other voices in the chorus of that movement that built, shaped, and sustained it. Join us for a morning of storytelling and remembering, as we honor history… and herstory.  

Come and make merry!  We will sing some favorite yuletide carols and reflect on the Unitarian history of Christmas through a modern retelling of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”  You just might get to see some UUCCWC thespians strut their stuff!  

At the end of the calendar year, we look to the past before turning to the future.  Three speakers (Lorie Clark, John Sharp, and Diane Larson) will tell the story of their ancestors, with the hope that it will inspire you to open to an ancestor of your own (whether of your birth or chosen family).  On this day, we open up a connection with those who came before.  

We just finished a difficult year and now we have the chance to think about our intentions for the new year ahead of us. What parts of our lives – what habits, behaviors, things, ideas, relationships – have become obstacles to our becoming the people we want to be? Maybe we carry around choices or experiences from our past as heavy baggage, and what we need is to open up space in our lives for som...

Please join us for a celebratory service that is sure to light your fire! This Sunday, we will explore the inner and outer lights that both guide and ignite us. If you have a chalice, be sure to bring it along for our chalice blessing ceremony (…and if you don’t have a chalice, don’t worry - we have one for you!). This will also be our Stewardship Sunday, with the theme of “Today’s Commitment - To...

From a Far Side comic strip to classic children’s books to contemporary novels, and from genealogy to history to current events, we’ll explore the beliefs and the motivations underlying the acts of giving and taking.  

Advent is a time of gestation, of preparation, of deep listening, of waiting.  Advent is aligned with the mysteries of deep winter: hibernation, rest, sleep, and luminous stars in the darkness.  As we enter the season of Advent, what can we learn from it about how to navigate liminal space?  What does Advent have to teach us about birthing something new?  And what the heck does this have to do wit...

In this season of thanksgiving, as we approach Thanksgiving Day, the sermon will explore how genuine gratitude can help mend the brokenness in our lives and in our world.

Join us as we explore autumn’s gifts of hope for ourselves and our church community, for new school beginnings, and for fall’s precursor of new growth. There will be music, a pocketful of trees, and our celebration of autumn’s unpredictable joy. And there may be a pile of leaves to jump in after the service.  

The Jewish High Holy Days, often called the "Days of Awe," take place between the new year of Rosh Hashanah and the holiday of Yom Kippur.  This time of reflection and forgiveness is fueled by a charge to mend and repair.  This Sunday's service will explore the wisdom of these holidays and offer the opportunity to apply these teachings to our own lives.