UU Church of Annapolis Podcast

Love's Repercussions

On this special MLK Sunday we feature the singing of Precious Joubert, guest soloist, sharing some very familiar but moving spirituals. The message today looks at the other side of love.  We do all the good we can in life but sometimes we get back hate, malice and envy.  We wonder sometimes if the sacrifice is/was worth it.  Dr. King had these thoughts too but still chose to stand in faith, hope and love for all humanity.  Enjoy!

Wheel of Life

This annual service recognizes the life passages (birth, coming-of-age, move, marriage and union, and death) that occurred in our congregation during 2009.

The Meaning of Grace

With the New Year comes the feeling of a fresh start. The Christian tradition emphasizes grace as God's gift to humanity, grace as a fresh start. The New Testament tells us that it is through faith, grace, and good work that we are saved. "For the grace of God, which can save every person, has now been shown for all people, and it teaches us to have no more to do with godlessness or the desires of this world but to live, here and now, responsible, honorable, and God-fearing lives" (Titus 2:11...

Hope is a Good Breakfast

Several months ago we were elated with the election of Barack Obama.  Today many are cynical and wondering if they made the right choice.  Today I explore, from a religious perspective, what it means to hope and be hopeful in the midst of criticism, pain, grief, and loss.  Check it out...

Darwin's First Christmas

It’s been said that after Charles Darwin, everything changed.  November 24th marked the 150 anniversary of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and that’s when it all changed for him.  So much so that Christmas 1859 could be called his first.  Come join me to honor and celebrate this momentous anniversary

Our Thanksgiving Service

Join our ministers and Choir for a service of Thanksgiving.

Standing on the Side of Love & Justice

Our Intern Minister, Christina Leone, explores what standing on the side of love and justice means to UUs.

Hold On!

In ministry, sometimes these are the only words I can come up with hoping to provide solace to a weary soul.  Life throws so many strikes and it gets hard to get up to bat again. Today I'll be talking about getting up and holding on.

A Sacred Number

United Nations Sunday.

The Off-Center Church

Christina Leone, Intern Minister Why is the flaming chalice symbol off-center in the circles? And for that matter, why is the pulpit off to the side? Join UUCA's intern minister Christina Leone as she tackles these questions and learns to live with the questions that are the center of Unitarian Universalist faith.  

Tao of Water

"Be Like Water.  Adjust to the object."  --Bruce Lee In this sermon, Rev. John T. Crestwell, Jr. will explain why he shares Bruce Lee's philosophy that sometimes to gain we must let go, sometimes to find something we must allow it to be lost, and that sometimes we just have to be like water, lucid, fluid, and open to the Tao.  Before the sermon listen to a wonderful Piano Interlude and after the sermon the congregation sings "When the Spirit Says Do".  Listen in for more...

Multiculturalism Conference Part II

Part II we discuss privilege with more analogies and personal experiences...

Multiculturalism Conference part 1 Fred & John

In this message, John and Fred share frankly on what creating multicultural UU congregations will take, intentionality and patience.

A Place Called Life

In this annual Stewardship Sunday service at UUCA, the Rev. Dr. Fredric Muir, with great insight and humor, shares what it means to be a mission church.  He says we are not a service church that asks "What's in it for me?" rather we are a MISSION church that asks "How can I/we help serve?"  He explains that the mission church is made up of people who are gracious, generous, caring, and reverent. Stay tuned at the end for the hymn "Come and Go With Me". 

From the Inside Out

Our seven principles teach that we must live from the inside out not the outside in.  Listen in for more...

How to Hope (again)

Learning to forgive and ask for forgiveness is a simple but profound lesson Rev. Dr. Fred Muir shares today on this "high holy" Sunday at UUCA.  Rev. Muir says that if we learn this lesson well, we will not only have a positive impact on our relationships but we will also heal our own soul in the process.  Listen in for more...

Why I am a UU

After Rev. Fred's meditation and the responsive hymn "Motherless Child", Rev. John tells members his reason for choosing Unitarian Universalism

Whatever Happened to Sabbath

Sometimes we just have to slow down, put down our latest gadget and breathe in the freshness of life.  Listen in to Rev. Dr. Fred Muir tell us how we can get back in touch with the meaning of Sabbath.

It's In the Name

We make sudden judgements and quick decisions when we hear the words that people use.  Words and names shape opinions and set direction.  Join me this morning as I reflect on the power of naming.

Speak Up

"Speak Up" by Bryant Brown - Summer Minister - "Silence is important to our spiritual growth as individual practice and as a congregation.  We say we "affirm and promise"  our Principles and Purposes, so speaking up is also part of being UU.  This is Bryant's last service at UUCAnnapolis.

let's Hear It For Silence

"Let's Hear it for Silence" - by Byrant Brown - Summer Minister - Learning is connected with talking and watching and reading and doing, and yet, there is so much that only silence can teach.  Fully realizing the irony of the project, Bryant will talk about silence.

Letting Go

"Letting Go" - Rev. Russ Savage - I have enjoyed my year here with UUCA and would like to remember it with you.  Since this will be our last Sunday service together, it is time for us to let go of one another in a way which affirms the past and looks forward to the future. 

Ground Zero

"Ground Zero" Rev. Bryant B. Brown - Summer Minister - Ground Zero gets used frequently to mean any place of catastrophe.  Bryant has been to several sites on this planet bearing the original, military meaning of ground zero, and places we have come to refer to that way.  Maybe there is something to learn from places we have destroyed. 

The Structure of Forgiveness

The Structure of Forgiveness" - Rev. Russ Savage - Forgiveness is not a simple social act, but a complex psychological and spiritual process with a definite structure and necessary steps.  Let us examine this structure in light of our own personal needs to forgive and be forgiven, and in light of the current world situation. 

New Wine in Old Wineskins

"New Wine in Old Wineskins"  Rev. Bryant Brown, Intern Minister There are about as many Unitarian Universalists now as when the Association came into being in 1961. Much has changed in the world since then, demographically, technologically, culturally…. If the principles we proclaim are to have an important place in our world, we UUs need to examine truths about

Edges

Rev. Bryant Brown, Intern Minister Topic: "Edges" We constantly come to edges in our lives. Changes are part of life – some we choose to make, some just happen. Each moment we stand between what has been and what may be; our memories and anticipations can be distracting. Each moment has its own reality to be appreciated.

Running on Empty

Are you running on empty?  This message is for you!

In Motion

'In Motion'   Rev Lynn Cox In the early twentieth century, L.B. Fisher wrote, "Universalists are often asked to tell where they stand.  The only true answer to give to this question is that we do not stand at all.  We move." 

It Matters What We Believe

"It Matters What We Believe" These are words Sophia Fahs spoke some years ago & they are apropos as we meet today.  Some beliefs lift us & others up while others depress or diminish us & others.  It truly matters what we accept, value& cherish in our lives.  

Let It Be -- Coming of Age

Statements of Conscience presented by our youth in their Coming of Age Service

The Honor of Service

Rev. Russ Savage - Interim Associate Minister - On this Memorial Day Sunday, we will observe the tradtion of honoring those who served or now serve in the Armed Forces of the US.  You may want to wear a poppy or other flower on this Sunday.  If you now serve or ever served in our Armed Forces, you are invied to wear your uniform to this service.

From Dumaquete With Direction

I recently had the opportunity to learn first hand of the excitement that some outside the U. S. have for President Obama.  As we complete the "First 100 Days"  of new Presidential leadership (what a reporter suggested feels like a ("100 years") this morning I'll share with you how my time with the UU Church of the Philippines has shaped and given.  

My Mother, Our World

Striving for independence of space, spirit, & emotion feels inherent to life; some, it appears, spend a lifetime seeking the distance of independence. There are those that go about it very consciously, while there are those who have no idea how they sound & look.  On this Mother's Day, it feels right to lok at the shaping influences on our lives....

Hard Times

Hard Times by Rev. Bryant Brown, Intern Minister         The music & literature from The Great Depression of the 1930s is full of instances of people coming together & helping each other.  What was a time of scarcity and fear was also a time of sharing and caring .  There are lessons we learn about real worth when the illusions of materialism are taken away...

New Words For Old

"New Words for Old" by Rev. Russ Savage  - Assoc. Minister- Over the past 100 years our faith tradition has produced four hymnals.  In each one of them, we've added some new hymns & readings, dropped some old ones, & kept some of the old ones but changed the words.  A look at the trajectory of these hymnals provides a fascinating view over the years.

The Gift of Partnership

Members of our YRUU traveled to our sister church in Rava, Transylvania and shared their experiences with the congregation.

Easter Sunday -- Tell Me the Old, Old Story

This Easter Sunday we'll observe our annual Flower Communion in an intergenerational service.  So remember to bring a flower or a favorite sprig of nature to share with others.

Resurrecting Jesus

In this sermon Rev. Dr. Fred Muir discusses what role there is for Jesus in Liberal Religion.

Giving It All Away

What does it mean to give it all away?  Rev. Fred Muir explains...

Star Stuff

"Starstuff"  by Bryant Brown - Intern Minister:  Looking at the night sky can take us far beyond our usual thoughts.  The billions and billions of specks of light bring awe and lofty ideas and wild imaginings, some wonderful, some dangerous.  We humans can learn and speculate about time and space and matter; gazing at the sky.

Justice Is Flowing

Charlie Clements, President and CEO of UU Service Committee (UUSC) will be preaching at both services.  He will explain how the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is having an effect in almost every corner of the world every day for 60 years and how it forms the foundation of UUSC's work here and abroad. 

Questions of Ethics

"Questions of Ethics"  by Rev. Russ Savage - Many situations we encounter in our complicated lives bring up questions of ethics, and how is our response to ethical questions informed by our religious faith?  Let us examine these matters together at this complex and confusing time in our history.  

UU Church of the Philippines and Us

Join us to welcome the Rev. Rebecca Quimada Sienes, former President of the UU church of the Philippines and daughter of martyred UU minister Toribio Quimada.  

Silent Women

How Darwin Will Save the World (As We Know It)

"Starting with his "Voyage of the Beagle" (1845), Charles Darwin gave us a plan for sustainable living.  His description has gone by many names, but it continues to be misunderstood and revolutionary.  Join me this morning during our annual Darwin Sunday Celebration as I articulate..  

It All Depends Upon How You Look At It

Bryant Brown Sermon title:  It All Depends Upon How You Look At It."  - In antiracism and other areas, our church has been making major efforts to intentionally change how we look at our world, our ministry, and ourselves. Intern Minister Bryant Brown will be looking at pictures, poems, and parables that invite us to change perspectives  

Hearing One Another -- Covenant Groups

"Hearing One Another" - Rev. Russ Savage, Interim Minister and Covenant Group Partipcants - When we sit quietly in a Covenant Group meeting with a half a dozen or so people we have come to know and trust, when can tell some of our own story and hear some of the stories of others, we can begin to know ourselves in a new way.

The Politics of Promise

Sermon Title:  "Inauguration Sunday: The Politics of Promise"  - Monday is King Day;  Tuesday is the Inauguration.  Today we'll reflect on the messages of promise as articulated by Dr. King and President-elect Obama.

Living Your Legacy

On this first Sunday of 2009, let's take a deep breath, get out from under the "tryanny of immediacy" and take a look at your New Year.  We'll let Gary Pausch, author of the best-selling book  "The Last Lecture"  and a Unitarian Universalist (First Unitarian in Pittsburgh) lead the way. 

Year Ender

Rev. Bryant Bossler looks at the past year.