This sermon podcast begins with a reflection by worship associate Anna Newton.

What can we say, in the aftermath of an election? How have the church’s commitments changed, or have they? How do we balance the uncertainty of this moment with the certainty of faith?

“Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?”  “A republic, if you can keep it.”  Benjamin’s Franklin’s words at the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention in September 1787 have obvious relevance in 2024. The first Unitarians and Universalists in the United States came from the first generation after the American Revolution, and from that first generation, our tradition has been actively involved in the democratic process. How does that legacy speak to us today?

We have heard it said, the only constant is change, and that there is no growth, no growing forward without letting something go and embracing change. Sometimes a door must close in order for a window to open, but how do we navigate this kind of loss, these decisions about what and when to let go in order to be open to new possibilities? Anatole France wrote, “All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves. We must die to one life before we can enter another.” But, this doesn’t mean we throw everything out the window and start from scratch over and over! So, what can we hold onto that is solid and true, what can we trust as a constant in our lives when the ground shifts and change happens? 

This sermon podcast begins with a reflection by worship associate Betsy Hearn.

Dan Hotchkiss writes, “Congregations create sanctuaries where people can nurture and inspire each other — with results no one can predict. The stability of a religious institution is a necessary precondition to the instability religious transformation brings.” How do we balance the tradition and change in our lives together? How do we embrace the future we imagine while holding onto the traditions that define us?

Join us for Celebration Sunday, as we gather to celebrate Unity Church and commit to a joyful year together. Unitarian Universalist congregations depend on the support of their members for everything from religious education and kitchen volunteers to legacy giving and ongoing financial support. How do we root our gifts to the church in our spiritual practices? 

Pop culture is full of dystopian stories. In a time of climate change, war, and political uncertainty, dystopia feels near at hand. Even as they grapple with the consequences of the suffering and destruction, authors from Octavia Butler to Becky Chambers can help up to imagine a better world. What are the tools of storytelling that might help us imagine ourselves into a sustainable, joyful future?​ 

This sermon podcast begins with a reflection by Chris Russert, worship associate.

In 1348, a community of monks in Sienna opened the doors of their abbey to serve as a hospital during the plague. Seven hundred years later, the abbey exists as a picturesque ruin, popular with tourists and filmmakers. What are the risks of hospitality, and why do we do it anyway?

This sermon podcast begins with a reflection by worship associate Meg Arnosti.

The ancient question, “Who am I?” inevitably leads to a deeper one: “Whose am I?” because there is not identity outside of relationship. You cannot be a person by yourself. To ask, “Whose am I?” is to extend the question far beyond the little self-absorbed self, and wonder: Who needs you? Who loves you? To whom are you accountable? To whom do you answer? Whose life is altered by your choices? With whose life, whose lives is your own all bound up, inextricably, in obvious or invisible ways? 

This sermon podcast begins with a reflection by worship associate Anna Newton.

Unitarian Universalists are rightly proud of width and breadth of our institutional welcome. But who decide who is welcomed? Who belongs? What are the systems that we can either critique or build to deepen our understanding of welcome? 

Rev. Sinclair offers a reflection on belonging, and how we are drawn to faithful life in community, sometimes in spite of ourselves.

Is making a meal or baking or creating art or music an expression of your love? Let us lift up the many labors that go unsung, the under appreciated and maybe uncompensated work of people for others that enrich our lives in priceless ways.

This podcast begins with a reflection by worship associate Lorelee Wederstrom.