UUSLO
251 episodes - English - Latest episode: 10 days ago - ★ - 1 ratingSermons from the Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Built By Association - Video
April 14, 2024 17:56 - 30 minutes - 172 MB VideoThe familiar phrase is "guilt by association", but today we take a look at what it means to be part of the UU Association of congregations and how that relates to interdependence. (Worship participants will also share experiences from Camp de Benneville Pines.)
Built By Association - Audio
April 14, 2024 17:56 - 30 minutes - 13.8 MBThe familiar phrase is "guilt by association", but today we take a look at what it means to be part of the UU Association of congregations and how that relates to interdependence. (Worship participants will also share experiences from Camp de Benneville Pines.)
Just As We Are - Audio
April 01, 2024 01:05 - 13 minutes - 3.2 MBTransformation sounds like it involves changing into something new. It may be the process of revealing what is already true.
What Transformation Means To Me - Video
March 27, 2024 17:27 - 22 minutes - 152 MB VideoMembers sharing transformation stories - Jamie Woolf, Steve Kadin, Dorothy Pitkin with Gina Whitaker as worship associate.
What Transformation Means To Me - Audio
March 27, 2024 17:27 - 22 minutes - 10.1 MBMembers sharing transformation stories - Jamie Woolf, Steve Kadin, Dorothy Pitkin with Gina Whitaker as worship associate.
When Muhammad Went to Heaven and Jesus Went to Hell - Audio
March 17, 2024 18:26 - 18 minutes - 4.22 MBMiraculous stories surround the lives of great prophets, teachers, and figures of religious importance. What do these stories tell us about these people? And what do they tell us about ourselves?
In Formation - Audio
March 03, 2024 21:30 - 9 minutes - 2.24 MBInform. Conform. Reform. Perform. Transform. All of our lives, we are forming and being formed by our experiences, our relationships, our realizations and reflections. With every breath, we are in formation.
In Mortal Fear - Audio
February 19, 2024 04:00 - 18 minutes - 4.14 MBWhat in the world does death have to do with justice and equity? And how might fully acknowledging our own mortality empower us to work for those things?
Working Together - Audio
February 11, 2024 17:33 - 17 minutes - 3.93 MBBoth science and religion have played pivotal roles in the work toward justice and equity...and both have been used in ways that thwart that work. How can we be sensitive to this history and challenge those tendencies in the present time?
Partway There - Audio
February 04, 2024 17:44 - 14 minutes - 3.29 MBThe Pagan holiday, Imbolc, falls exactly halfway between Yule (Winter Solstice) and Ostara (Spring Equinox). It strikes me as important that we develop ways to celebrate "partway" points, especially in relationship to our ongoing struggles for justice and equity.
The Power of Gentle - Audio
January 28, 2024 20:49 - 20 minutes - 4.71 MBWe recognize that there are many kinds of beautiful lives if we step outside the self and walk beside it with humble nonjudgmental curiosity about the many other selves on their own paths.
Freedom's Just Another Word For... - Audio
January 22, 2024 02:08 - 16 minutes - 3.86 MBFreedom has traditionally been identified (along with reason and tolerance) as central characteristics of Unitarianism. But...does that sufficiently capture our most deeply-held values? Is freedom the same as liberation? And how does it relate to love? The lyrics to the song Rev. Rod refers to at the beginning are here.
Find the Cost of Freedom - Audio
January 14, 2024 21:40 - 14 minutes - 3.43 MBThough freedom is generally understood to be something that people embrace, psychologist, Erich Fromm pointed out that there is also a basic human urge to "escape from freedom."
Coming and Going - Audio
December 17, 2023 18:03 - 8 minutes - 2.06 MBEach Sunday we welcome you in and...about an hour later, send you forth. Which mirrors the way we welcome new members. Enter, rejoice, and come in! we say. Make yourself at home...Now, come and go with me to that land where we're bound!
Riddle Me This - Audio
December 03, 2023 18:23 - 13 minutes - 3.01 MB"Life is a riddle and a mystery..." So says our hymn. And ain't it the truth?
Bless You - Audio
November 26, 2023 22:42 - 19 minutes - 4.43 MB"Bless you," can often be heard post-sneeze. In some parts of the country, they "bless your heart." Rebecca Parker encourages us to choose to bless the world. What is a blessing and how do we bless one another?
Vocabulary of Kindness - Audio
November 20, 2023 00:44 - 14 minutes - 3.24 MBHow do the very words we use display generosity? What does it mean to learn a vocabulary of kindness and inclusion?
We Need Help! - Audio
November 13, 2023 00:15 - 13 minutes - 3.08 MBNo, I mean it…all of us. I’m not talking right now about our congregation or a particular activity or a community organization, I’m talking about us—all of us.
Listening Deeply - Audio
November 05, 2023 20:11 - 14 minutes - 3.42 MBListening is a profound expression of generosity.
In Rememberance - Audio
October 29, 2023 23:00 - 15 minutes - 3.53 MBRemembering those we love who have died. Recommitting ourselves to engaging the truly awesome power of love within ourselves, our community, and our world.
Roots Hold Me Close - Audio
October 15, 2023 19:29 - 15 minutes - 3.51 MB“If asked when and where Unitarianism was first organized the average person would be likely to answer that it was in America, or perhaps in England, about the beginning of the 19th century,” writes Unitarian historian Earl Morse Wilbur. I think he’s wrong. If asked when and where Unitarianism was first organized, the average person would not have a clue.
I and Us and We and Me - Audio
October 08, 2023 19:23 - 13 minutes - 3.17 MBIt has been pointed out by countless coaches that "there is no 'i' in 'team.'" Alas, there is an 'i' in 'community' (and in 'congregation,' for that matter). Which leads me to wonder about how we balance the individual and the community.
Those Who Came Before Us - Audio
October 01, 2023 21:00 - 13 minutes - 3.2 MBIt is something of a leap to think of myself as an "ancestor," but we will all fall into that category at some point in the future. What do we wish to be our legacy?
Go With the Flow: A Water Ceremony - Audio
September 25, 2023 00:48 - 13 minutes - 3.1 MBThe Water Ceremony reminds us of our connection to--and complete dependence upon--this most precious of earthly resources: water.
Here We Have Gathered - Audio
September 17, 2023 23:40 - 13 minutes - 3.1 MBWe pledge to replace barriers with ever-widening circles of solidarity and mutual respect. We strive to truly welcome all persons and commit to structuring congregational and associational life in ways that empower and enhance everyone’s participation. -- Words from the Article II Proposal
The Welcome We Crave - Audio
September 11, 2023 00:40 - 18 minutes - 4.14 MB“Let’s be the welcome we crave— enriching, understanding. Let us embody the community we crave…” — Rev Dr. David Breeden
Welcome.... to Work! - Audio
September 03, 2023 22:33 - 17 minutes - 4 MBOn this Labor Day weekend, we will take a look at ways we approach the work of the congregation.
Just For the Enjoyment… - Audio
August 27, 2023 20:22 - 15 minutes - 3.56 MBWe’ll take a look at why the word “just” appears in that common phrase.
Embracing Our Mortality - A Celebration of Life - Audio
August 20, 2023 21:51 - 24 minutes - 5.62 MBMost of us, consciously or subconsciously, avoid thinking of our mortality, but are we missing out on a fuller life when we do that? Can embracing our mortality lead to a richer, Less anxious experience of life at any age?
Trust in the Future - Audio
August 13, 2023 20:24 - 17 minutes - 4.04 MBWhat can we trust in recreating a future that serves us all? Can we trust that a future with love and creativity at the center is even possible? Individuals and institutions are guiding the way, including Unitarian Universalism.
Begin Again - Audio
August 06, 2023 23:45 - 12 minutes - 2.91 MBRecreation — in both of its meanings — provides opportunities to “begin again.”
Falling Short / Standing Tall - Audio
July 30, 2023 20:44 - 21 minutes - 4.82 MBWinston S. Churchill is said to have said, “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” If his words are true, the success of my spiritual venturing is guaranteed. Let’s explore what pluses can be taken away from our minuses and miscues.
Loyal to a Fault - Audio
July 24, 2023 03:21 - 13 minutes - 3.2 MBLoyalty is generally considered a virtue. Does it depend on the subject of one’s loyalty? The manner in which one displays loyalty? Can one ever be loyal to a fault?
Indivisible - Audio
July 17, 2023 03:08 - 17 minutes - 3.98 MBMany are saying that “we are more divided” in this country than we have ever been. Is that true? What are the implications of this statement? And what is to be done?
Are You With Me? - Audio
July 09, 2023 17:53 - 14 minutes - 3.25 MBThough it may sound, at first, like an easy question to answer, we will take a little time to explore what it means to ‘be with’.
Allegiance - Audio
July 02, 2023 17:50 - 18 minutes - 4.19 MB“Pledge” has a specific meaning in the congregational context, but what is it that inspires pledges? And, as July 4 approaches, it’s worth asking what it means to “pledge allegiance.”
Some Are Born to Sweet Delight - Audio
June 18, 2023 16:51 - 15 minutes - 3.55 MB“Every night and every morn, some to misery are born. Every morn and every night, some are born to sweet delight.” Familiar lines of poetry from William Blake…Is it true?
Hiding Delight Under a Bushel - Audio
June 04, 2023 20:17 - 15 minutes - 5.17 MBWhat is it that causes me to sometimes hide my delight? What are the accepted ways to show delight? And who taught us those?
Striking a Chord: Music Sunday - Audio
May 21, 2023 20:33 - 7 minutes - 4.52 MBWhat is it about music that speaks to us in such a unique and profound manner? What can we learn about ourselves as we learn about our responses to the artistry of composers and musicians?
Shaping Our Lives - Audio
May 14, 2023 17:45 - 14 minutes - 3.4 MBIn shaping our own lives, we look back on those who helped to shape us, especially those who gave of themselves with generosity and compassion.
There's a Story Being Told - Audio
May 07, 2023 18:28 - 10 minutes - 4.81 MBCreativity, we may think, is about producing a work of art–composing a piece of music; painting a landscape; writing a story. But there’s a story being told with every moment and we all participate in its creation.
Resistance is Fertile - Audio
April 30, 2023 19:53 - 18 minutes - 6.21 MB“Resistance is futile,” says the Borg in Star Trek. Taken out of its science fictional context, the phrase sometimes seems disturbingly relevant to our times. But what if we viewed resistance through a different lens?
Bridging Ceremony Preamble at PSWSAA - Audio
April 24, 2023 00:50 - 8 minutes - 1.99 MBRev. Rod Richards gives a talk about the meaning of the upcoming bridging ceremony for three youths at the Pacific SW Service Area Assembly.
Persistence in Resistance - Audio
April 17, 2023 02:48 - 14 minutes - 5.24 MBTo resist is to tense up, harden our resolve, strain against the forces we reject. How do we maintain that over time? How do we avoid exhaustion? Can resistance also provide a soft place for our spirits to land? Can it provide restoration?
Resisting Resurrection - Audio
April 09, 2023 16:31 - 12 minutes - 4.67 MBFrom Beloved by Toni Morrison: Then she did the magic: lifted Sethe’s feet and legs and massaged them until she cried salt tears. “It’s gonna hurt now,” said Amy. “Anything dead coming back to life hurts.” A truth for all times, thought Denver
The Path of Least Resistance - Audio
April 02, 2023 23:49 - 14 minutes - 3.73 MBIt’s a little hard to welcome our monthly theme–The Path of Resistance–when many of us are used to searching out the path of least resistance.
The Power of Cultural Humility and Apologizing - Audio
March 26, 2023 18:01 - 17 minutes - 4.74 MBHumility is not mentioned explicitly in the eight principles of Unitarian Universalism. Yet, humility is central to many faith traditions in which we are grounded, as well as the faith traditions some of us continue to practice in addition to Unitarian Universalism. Cultural humility, in particular, is essential to our commitment to becoming a more diverse and inclusive community. But it asks us to be vulnerable, and to apologize often and sincerely. So, how can practicing cultural humility a...
Getting It Right - Audio
March 19, 2023 19:36 - 14 minutes - 3.97 MBAs we have come together this weekend to dream, plan, and engage with our vision(s) for the current and future vitality of our congregation, there is an understandable urge to “get it right.” What does that mean? How does it relate to engaging our mission?
I'm Not a Joiner - Audio
March 12, 2023 22:19 - 13 minutes - 3.57 MBPart of my resistance to becoming part of a group, gathering, or community is that it can make me feel…yes, vulnerable. Join with us in celebrating the people who have become members of this community in the past two years as we welcome them into our mission of deepening connections.