PAST SERMONS
Starting in the Fall of 2023 we began posting the Weekly Announcements on the website, which included summaries of the sermons. If you are looking for sermons from before what we have here, you might check the Weekly Announcements Archives.
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“What Do You Know?” 2/9/25
And how do you know you know it? But even more important is “what difference does it make? Martin Luther King Jr said “shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.” And that “nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” The minister/writer Frederick Buechner once said “faith is not being sure where you’re going, but going anyway.” Which leads us to consider the relationship between knowledge and faith, which isn’t as simple as we might assume.
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“Where I’m From: Reflections on Black History” 2/2/25
For me, Black History Month is a time for intentionality, for reflection, for learning. I consider it to be a responsibility – not an option. I am dedicated to the creation and sustaining of an anti-racist multi-cultural society, even though I don’t always know what that means for me or what the next steps are. Like the song says – “One more step, we will take one more step….” I hope you’ll join me.
With Rev. Jill McAllister -
“Deep Energies Of Life: Wisdom of Imbolc” 1/26/2025
Here at the mid-point between Solstice and Equinox, here at the frontier of new assaults on freedom and democracy, here in the stirring of the season of new life, we can find wisdom and inspiration for how to live now by considering the ancient traditions of Imbolc. The life force is moving and growing as always, in many unseen ways. It is the creative force in everything that is getting ready to be born, sprout, bud and grow. What practices and perspectives can help us as we aim and strive to help life, justice, and freedom emerge?
With the Wheel of the Year team and Rev. Jill McAllister
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“The Most Dangerous Man In America” 1/19/25
The list of current choices for this label is long – where do we begin? Sadly, it was used for a person who was dedicated to freedom, equity, and love, who helped shine more light on the immoral foundations of so much of our society not so long ago. Those foundations remain strong, and seem to be being fortified as we speak. In those dangerous times he said: “There is an invisible book of life that faithfully records our vigilance or our neglect…. We still have a choice today.” We do still have choices today. How shall we live now? We’ll revisit some of the legacies and present wisdom of the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Following the service, all who are interested are invited to join in a first conversation about entering into a ministerial transition, with Jill and members of the Board and Committee on Ministry.
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“Janus: Looking Back and Ahead ” 1/12/25
One the Roman calendar, the foundation for the Gregorian calendar we now use, every January was a crossroads between past and future – the end of the old year and the beginning of the new. The month is named for Janus, the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. (Wow – that’s a lot of responsibility!) The Fellowship is at a crossroads in this January; to begin with, with the rest of the country (and much of the world) we’re about see what new government leadership will mean for our lives. And we’re renewing part of our building in preparation for…. the future! Some of this will be hard, some of it will be nourishing. All of it will be change. What tools, practices and skills do we already have for navigating these changes, and what do we need to learn?
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“Why Religion Matters, Now” 1/5/25
Though arbitrary in many ways – calendars are human creations- the beginning of this new year feels momentous. Certainly we are called to continue to be present to the world in ever more careful and effective ways. As always, this kind of presence requires strengths and courage which come from being grounded and centered.
This first Sunday in January is a good time to remind ourselves of the meanings of religion, spirituality, grounded-ness, and centering.
With Rev. Jill McAllister
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Holiday Brunch and Sharing 12/29/24
We are between and amidst winter holidays – Christmas and Yule, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s. There is quiet observing, celebrating, gathering, resting and contemplation. We’ll gather on this last December Sunday for short worship service for all ages – affirming our connections and acknowledging the realities of the world, followed by sharing in a Holiday(s) Brunch and intergenerational activities. Please bring finger foods to share, such as holiday breads, muffins, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, fruits, veggies, nuts, etc.
Activities may include drawing / coloring, origami, singing together, discussion groups (be ready to share about something you’ve read this year that really made a difference, or some action you’ve taken this year that really made a difference.)
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“Stories of Christmas” 12/22/24
From the first story – the birth story – have come millennia of stories about the origins of Christmas, the meanings of Christmas, the challenges and questions and problems with Christmas. Of Christmases past and remembered, of Christmases better forgotten.
To be human is to tell stories. What are the stories we can tell about Christmas today? In this service we’ll also welcome new members to the Fellowship, and share in the dedication of children.
With Rev. Jill McAllisterChristmas Eve Candlelight Services, Tuesday, 12/24/24
5:30 PM, Family-Centered Service – A re-telling of the birth story, with songs and candles.
9 PM, A quiet service of readings, carols, anthems and candles. -
“This Winter Season” 12/15/24
Each season brings its gifts, and challenges. Here is the unique beauty of the Pacific Northwest in winter – green and fog and cold. Here are the holidays of light and joy. Here is the time of waiting and wondering. Join us for a morning of music and contemplation of this season on the earth, this season in our lives.
With the UUFC Choir and Band, Music Director David Servias, Choir Leader Steven Evans-Renteria, and the Rev. Leslie Chartier.
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“And Also, Joy” 12/8/2024
“We were made for joy and woe, and when this we rightly know, through the world we safely go” wrote William Blake. Join with the Fellowship Committee on Ministry this Sunday to consider this truth – that joy and sorrow together are part of every human life.
with Mark Aron, Virgil Agnew, Gary Barnes and Alice Lyman
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“Be Not Afraid” 12/1/24
We enter into the traditional “Christmas Season” in the Christian tradition, with the first Sunday in Advent, Dec. 1. Part of that story, of Mary the mother of Jesus, is a common teaching that is mostly overlooked – the encouragement to “be not afraid.” It’s an old encouragement, part of many other stories, archetypal in many ways, given how much we humans tend to be afraid, and what we tend to do with that fear. So let’s start there this season, and see what we can learn.
With Rev. Jill McAllister Special music from Tim Hardin.
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“Connection, Gratitude, and Responsibility” 11/24/2024
The coming season is always a challenge, more and more each year. We find ourselves in-between in so many ways – between proclamations of peace and ongoing war, between holy days and (often mindless) accumulation, between stories of freedom and realities of oppression, between giving thanks and perpetuating pain. And this year, with heightened fear.
How do we begin to enter in, to be part of nourishing and helping, of both gratitude and responsibility? There are no easy answers, but we can enter in nevertheless.
With Rev. Jill McAllister
SUNDAY SERVICE VIDEOS
We have saved videos from most of the services from the past several years. Occasionally a service video doesn’t get recorded, or saved. If you can’t find a on the YouTube playlists, it might be in the Facebook live stream videos.
YouTube Playlist – Services from 2024
Facebook Livestream has videos of all the services that were livestreamed on Facebook (which is almost all of them). If you can’t find a particular service on the YouTube Playlist, it probably just hasn’t been added yet, but there is a good chance you can find it in the Facebook livestream videos.
YouTube Playlist – Services from 2023
Service Videos (January 2020 – March 2023): The link opens a pdf of an older method of storing links to service videos, before we started uploading them to YouTube.