UUFairfax Sermons

In last week’s sermon Rev. David Miller asked congregants to let him know “what brings you hope?” This week’s sermon reflects on the congregation’s feedback. Full service rebroadcast Sun-Tue, 7pm, uucf.org/streaming.

Hope is often seen as a future pursuit. But in these times when despair is so easy to find, Rev. David Miller asks how we might engage in the kind of hope that the Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker calls "compassionate care for the present realities of suffering, injury, and injustice that call for an active response?  

Intern Minister Cara Fortner asks us to consider the difficult process of learning to trust. It requires an inward and an outward journey. It requires knowing when we can't carry the load alone and reaching out to others for support. The work is hard, but it can also be very rewarding.

In Sunday's sermon, Rev. David Miller posed a big question for this moment in time: How can we - in these times when we are out of joint and people have lost their reason - trust that we have the strength and commitment to come together to help move into a time of rebirth? Full service rebroadcast Mon-Tue, 7pm, uucf.org/streaming. 

Intern minister Cara Fortner asks us to make an intentional commitment to being in relationship with our authentic selves. In these times of great unknown, that genuine self exploration and love can lead to finding ourselves in other human beings.

With all the things we feel we can't control right now, Rev. David Miller asks that we  "put some trust in each other ... in the goodness that the world still has to offer ... beauty, joy, and being vulnerable to both pain and unbelievable moments of grace and love." Full service rebroadcast, Sun-Tue, 7pm: uucf.org/streaming.

Can a crisis be an opportunity? In moments of instability and fear, can we respond with clarity and courage? Can we leverage our resources, relationships, and collective power to defend democracy? Can we do all this and build resilient community? Rev. David A. Miller's sermon asserts that we can do all these things: "This is UUCF. This is who we are." 

In a time of increasing, officially sanctioned exclusion, how do Unitarian Universalists practice an inclusive faith based in love, justice, freedom, democracy, decency, civility, love of neighbor, respect, and basic humanity?

Those who practice the values of Unitarian Universalism are likely feeling the heavy weight of policy decisions made by our government this week. To anchor and support us for the times ahead, it's more important than ever that we listen to, hear, and love each other in this UU community. 

Rev. David Miller asks us to consider that this broken world is calling us to actively practice and live our UUCF mission with intention and passion: To transform ourselves, our community, and the world through acts of love and justice. Full service rebroadcast Sun-Tue, 7pm: https://uucf.org/streaming .

Guest preacher Michelle Saville asks: As we look to the future, how can we make sure that our stories - as individuals and as UUs - always put love clearly at the center? Michelle is a seminarian at Wesley Theological Seminary. 

Intern Minister Cara Fortner quotes Iain Thomas in her sermon about surrendering the things that don't serve us: “And every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, 'This is important! And this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!' And each day, it’s up to you to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say, 'No. This is what’s impor...

In his Dec. 15 sermon, Rev. David Miller reflects: If we spend too much time consumed with worries of the day - especially about things we cannot control - how do we also stay present for moments of meaning, fulfillment, joy, and awe?

Intern Minister Cara Fortner's sermon urges us to harness our passions, grief, and rage and exercise our prophetic imaginations to call out the wrongs in this world and work toward a more healed and whole expression of beloved community.

From Rev. David A. Miller's 11/24 sermon: In these times that are trying our resilience, "what if we instead kept a spirit of gratitude alive and thriving... By sharing our abundant gifts with each other, with our community, and with the world, this could become a time not dictated to us by outside forces, but instead a time of mutual support and collective brainstorming that breeds creativity, in...

Intern Minister Cara Fortner explores self reflection as a way of transforming ourselves to bring about the change we seek in the world. "Self examination is not easy, but knowing ourselves better will transform us; and transformed people transform the world." Full service rebroadcast Sun-Tue at 7pm: https://uucf.org/streaming

What comes next for Unitarian Universalists and UUCF? Whatever it is will certainly take deep spiritual work on all of our parts. It will take a connection to each other that must grow stronger. It will take centering love in our hearts and our minds even more vehemently than ever before. 

If what we pay attention to grows, then we must pay attention to our connections with each other and not on polarization - on nourishing our souls with beauty, joy, and gratitude and not on practices that leave us depleted. Full service rebroadcasts on Mon and Tue at 7pm: https://uucf.org/streaming .

In these times where words are so often superficial and filled with subtext and different meanings, let us commit ourselves to filtering the world through our Unitarian Universalist values - committed to deeper connection, understanding, kindness, and care. Full 10/13 service rebroadcast Sun-Tue, 7pm, https://uucf.org/streaming

"Ours is a free faith that welcomes questions and inquiry; a free faith that demands the engagement of our critical minds and a deep appreciation for learning ... ours is an active faith that demands we do what we can to make this place in which we live a better one." This and much more from Intern Minister Cara Fortner's 10/6 sermon "A Free and Active Faith. Full service rebroadcast Sun-Tue, 7pm...

In his 9/29 sermon, Social Justice Coordinator Andrew Batcher helps us Reimagine Together a future where we responsibly address climate change. "For people to thrive we need a planet that thrives." 

As we navigate today’s polarized environment, how do we use curiosity and deep listening to change the dynamics of “us” and “them?" 

In an age of deep concern over the growth of Christian Nationalism, Rev. David Miller's sermon asks us whether Jesus would even recognize many of the expressions of his ministry in today’s world? 

Ingathering Water Communion message from Rev. David Miller: At UUCF we practice a faith where individual rivers of joy and challenge flow forth to create a sea of hope, meaning, love, and transformation within our walls and through the waters that flow out and beyond. Full service, including music, streaming Sunday-Tuesday, 7pm, https://uucf.org/streaming