Unity Church-unitarian's Sermon Podcasts

In the Christian tradition, the Sunday before Easter, Palm Sunday, marks a celebration of Jesus's entrance into Jerusalem, a moment when power and meaning were inverted. The power of the day existed, not with a political establishment or temple, but with a community gathered and proclaiming that a better world was possible. One where all of us are included.    This podcast begins with a reflection offered by Worship Associate Dick Buggs.

Let's talk about speculative fiction! When can pop culture and escapism inspire us and when does it offer only empty promises of relief and fulfillment?  This podcast begins with a reflection by Worship Associate Veronica Nordeng DeVillez.

Choosing to be alone is different from loneliness. Sometimes even in the midst of people, I feel a sense of loneliness. It often surprises me. I like spending time alone, but that is a choice I can make rather than feeling like I'm all alone. Many people at this moment feel all alone. Perhaps modernity has separated us even more? What is our call as Unitarian Universalists to respond to this feeling of loneliness? Let us worship and consider further.   This podcast begins with a refelction from Worship Associate Meg Arnosti.

Liz Slade, the leader of the Unitarian and Free Christian Churches in the UK, writes about finding a "god shaped hole" in her life, and finding her way to a church that did not ask her to fill it with anything she did not believe. We know people come to church looking for something, but how do we understand the hunger that brings people here?​​ This sermon podcast begins with a reflection and reading from Worship Associate Ollie Stocker.

In 2023, Unitarian Universalists decided to describe ourselves as a faith movement with love at the center. This Sunday, join members of Unity's ministry team in conversation as we consider how, three years after that decision, we understand love as an expression of our theology? This sermon is a series of reflections in order: Rev. Shay MacKay, Worship Associate Sarah Cledwyn, Hallman Ministerial Intern Amy Brunell, Rev. Dr. Oscar Sinclair.

"In the fullness of time, even the devil will be redeemed." Our Universalist ancestors preached that love was the most powerful force in the world — that God's love for humanity transcended and triumphed over any human capacity for wrong. How does this heritage find expression today, as we confront the brokenness around us with love?   This sermon podcast begins with a reflection by Worship Associate Betsy Hearn.

Join Rev. Shay and Dick Buggs for reflection on their personal experiences of sharing love — one conversation, one person, one moment at a time.   This sermon podcast begins with a reflection by Worship Associate Dick Buggs.

Is "evangelize" the most dangerous word in our themes this year? How do we grapple with it as Unitarians? Or is the danger hiding in plain sight, when we consider what is asked of us when we show up in love, in the world.​​

At pivotal moments in life, when change is no longer optional, we are confronted with a profound question: How do we find the courage to step into a new way of being? Let's explore the threshold moments when we choose to move toward transformation rather than retreat from it —allowing ourselves to be broken open, and forever changed.

Love breaks us open, not always in a single supernatural moment, but in a slow accretion of changes.  When we love, we loosen our grip on the self; what is good becomes more than just what is good for me. In love, we become the best versions of ourselves, together. Make a donation to our Sunday offering in support of The Jeremiah Program.

"No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear." C. S. Lewis's A Grief Observed, is a firsthand account of the months after his spouse's death.  In it, the 20th century theologian grapples with what it means to feel truly lost, unable to depend on the beliefs and certainties that shaped his life. Moments of grief change us, creating a dividing line in our stories between the time before, and the time after loss. ​

Sorrow endures for the night but joy comes with the dawn, writes the psalmist. Moments of joy, whether quiet moments over a cup of coffee, or life changing moments like the birth of a child, can open us to new experience and leave us transformed. As we begin a new year in an icy season, how can we cultivate our capacity for transformation?   This sermon podcast begins with a reflection by Worship Associate Ollie Stocker

This sermon podcast will consider how to cultivate faith to move forward into the new year and begins with a reflection from Worship Associate Anna Newton.

This sermon podcast, reflecting on what it means to tell, and retell a story over generations, begins with a reflection by Worship Associate Dick Buggs.      

"Roses love garlic." Gardens abound with stories of different plants that grow together, sometimes unexpectedly. Polyculture, or companion planting, uses that diversity to create more resilient, beautiful garden beds. The same might be true for our churches: rather than a monoculture of a single creed, Unitarian Universalists plant our diverse faiths side by side, and in doing so cultivate wild and resilient communities.

Without hope, how can we authentically evangelize love? Hope, however fragile,  can sustain us. It anchors our conviction and guides our commitment to serve with faith, compassion, and resilience.   This podcast begins with a reflection by Worship Associate Ollie Stocker and is followed by a sermon by Hallman Ministerial Intern Amy Brunell. 

What do you do when the life you had imagined for yourself is stuck in committee? Join us for the story of the Unitarian Universalist Hysterical Society… The practical joke that accidentally turned into a 300 thousand person Unitarian Universalist community on Facebook. It's a story of feeling lost, finding yourself, and UUism-outside-the-box.

Taking inspiration from the beautiful writings of Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, a renowned Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg musician, writer and academic — join Shay in exploring how water can inspire new ways of thinking about relationships, promoting a "vision of relationality that transcends traditional boundaries."  

Unity's new ends statements call us to "understand the interconnected roots of oppression." What tools do we have to see the complexity of interconnected, intersectional oppression, and how do we begin to dismantle it in our congregation and the broader world?   This service begins with a reflection from Worship Associate Carol Mahnke.

Join us for Unity's annual service of remembrance for the members of our community who have passed away in the last year. As we gather near the traditional observance of All Souls Day, we remember the stories of those who have gone before, and how they are intertwined with our own. Everyone will be invited to light a candle for someone they loved and lost in 2025.