UUSLO

Persistence in Resistance - Audio

April 17, 2023 02:48 - 14 minutes - 5.24 MB

To 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 MB

From 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 MB

It’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 MB

Humility 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 MB

As 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 MB

Part 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.

The Monkey-Rope - Audio

March 05, 2023 19:48 - 14 minutes - 3.88 MB

There is a surprisingly powerful metaphor in Herman Melville’s whale of a novel, Moby Dick, which has something to say about vulnerability, interdependence, and community.

Start With Your Neighbor - Audio

February 19, 2023 21:47 - 15 minutes - 4.27 MB

The Golden Rule – love thy neighbor as thyself – appears in some form in just about every religion. Jesus took it a step farther and said we should love our enemies, which our culture particularly struggles with in these fractious times. So maybe our best bet is to start with our neighbors.

I <3 Darwin - Audio

February 12, 2023 21:28 - 13 minutes - 3.48 MB

Ok, it’s the anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birthday, but what does the theory of evolution have to do with love?

Kumbaya - Audio

February 05, 2023 17:51 - 21 minutes - 5.44 MB

A song that lends itself toward joining together in friendship and peace has become little more than a joke in our current times. Does that say something about this song? Or about these times?

The Messy Middle - Audio

January 22, 2023 22:03 - 16 minutes - 5.83 MB

“At the root of it all…” “At the heart of this matter…” Such phrases seem to suggest that if we trace something to its source or its center that we will find a singular clarity. Is that true?

Be Everywhere Now - Audio

January 15, 2023 21:58 - 14 minutes - 5.94 MB

This is the age of “multi-tasking.” Can’t we just add enlightenment, awareness, spiritual growth to the task list?

The Center Cannot Hold - Audio

January 09, 2023 01:14 - 17 minutes - 4 MB

in preparation for the January 8 service: read this brief, fascinating piece “About Article II: The Principles and Purposes of the UUA.” In 1919, poet William Butler Yeats wrote: Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world… Surely some revelation is at hand We, Unitarian Universalists, have often wondered what holds us together, with no creed, no single sacred scripture, no central governing authority. What is at our center? We (all UUs) are presently...

New Morning - Audio

January 02, 2023 01:34 - 12 minutes - 2.94 MB

What makes something “new”? Come celebrate the first day of 2023 in community and welcome in the “new” year!

Advent - Audio

December 12, 2022 01:55 - 15 minutes - 3.46 MB

In the Christian calendar, we are in the season of Advent. In a more general context, advent refers to an arrival, a beginning, a new thing entering our lives. What do you see on your personal advent calendar?

Changing our Ways / Weighing the Change - Audio

November 20, 2022 22:44 - 14 minutes - 6.48 MB

Today is the Transgender Day of Remembrance, mourning those who have died in acts of violence this past year and celebrating the strength of the transgender community. What changes are we called to make to put an end to the violence and help realize a beloved community of inclusion?

Crime and Punishment - Audio

November 13, 2022 20:58 - 15 minutes - 3.52 MB

Friday was the 201st anniversary of the birth of Russian novelist, Fyodor Dostoevsky. Inspired by the title of one of his most famous works, we will take some time to reflect on what leads humans to cause harm and, more importantly, what inspires us to take responsibility for our actions, make amends, and seek restoration. How do we truly change?

Keep the Change - Audio

November 08, 2022 17:45 - 15 minutes - 4.05 MB

One of the most popular political promises on the campaign trail is “change!” (even if it is sometimes expressed as changing what has changed so that we can go back to a time that we presumably enjoyed before everything changed!) The truth is: change happens. The question is: how do we direct change toward those things that speak to our highest aspirations and our deepest values.

The Courage to Keep On - Audio

October 31, 2022 20:41 - 14 minutes - 5.45 MB

As we celebrate the memories of loved ones who have died, we also celebrate that which allows us to continue living and experiencing joy, even amid the losses.

Looking for Home in all the wrong places - Audio

October 25, 2022 19:26 - 17 minutes - 4.03 MB

Wendy Lucas, vice-president of the yak tityu tityu yak tiłhini Northern Chumash Tribe of San Luis Obispo County and Region describes how her life has been shaped by Divine Guidance, Paying Attention, and Hope - the gift of her tribal roots and the ancestors' voices.

Hello, Goodbye - Audio

July 03, 2022 22:05 - 15 minutes - 7.3 MB

Saying hello and goodbye are such fundamental practices for humans that you might think we would be a little better at it than we are. This Sunday, we get to practice by giving an enthusiastic welcome to our new Music Director, John Knutson, and saying a deeply grateful goodbye to our previous Music Director, Alba Franco Cancel.

An Appropriate Response - Audio

June 22, 2022 01:35 - 19 minutes - 5.11 MB

It's Father's Day and Juneteenth. What is an appropriate response to being responsible not just to and for our own family but to and for others who are not "in our group" YET?

It's A Choice - Audio

June 12, 2022 18:28 - 13 minutes - 4.88 MB

"Your gifts--whatever you discover them to be--can be used to bless or curse the world...You must answer the question: what will you do with your gifts?" - Rev. Dr. Rebecca Ann Parker

Beauty Behind Me, Beauty Before Me - Audio

May 30, 2022 03:39 - 12 minutes - 2.83 MB

"What to do with beauty? or joy, for that matter — in the midst of tragedy, of violence, of cruelty?" Rev. Karen G. Johnston

Lovely to Look At - Audio

May 01, 2022 15:43 - 17 minutes - 3.91 MB

Many famous stories, songs, poems through the ages have paired physical attractiveness with inner beauty. How does that show up in our culture?

He is Not Here - Audio

April 17, 2022 15:16 - 17 minutes - 6.24 MB

One of the earliest Easter messages to the women who came to Jesus's tomb was simply this: he is not here.

Gradually and All at Once - Audio

April 10, 2022 14:23 - 16 minutes - 3.85 MB

As I understand it, there is some debate among the many Buddhist paths about just how awakening happens. Is there a flash of enlightenment or does it occur over time?

Pulling Apart (So We Can Join Together) - Audio

April 03, 2022 22:17 - 16 minutes - 3.98 MB

We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote: journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.

Faithing the Facts - Audio

March 27, 2022 18:50 - 15 minutes - 6.17 MB

Some have suggested that we should understand faith, not as a noun, but as a verb. How would that change our understanding?

Nearly New - Audio

March 20, 2022 18:54 - 14 minutes - 5.66 MB

My mother was passionate about rummage/garage sales and visiting thrift shops and secondhand stores. I began to wonder if there may be a message about renewal for me in (the name, I remember, of one of her favorite stores) the "nearly new."

Renewal Limit - Audio

March 06, 2022 19:51 - 12 minutes - 5.08 MB

Do you ever see that message for a book you've checked out from the library? More importantly, do you ever feel that way when we're talking about physical, emotional, spiritual renewal?

We Share - Audio

February 20, 2022 18:23 - 17 minutes - 6.56 MB

How has the congregation used this time to deepen connections and widen our circle of concern?

Opening the Circle - Audio

February 13, 2022 17:03 - 16 minutes - 3.74 MB

It is all well and good to widen the circle, but a circle is still--geometrically speaking--closed. How do we go about opening it so that people may enter?

Intentions or Goals? - Audio

January 30, 2022 16:12 - 23 minutes - 7.19 MB

When we set goals, the future is always the focus. Is it the same or different with our intentions?

In/Tension - Audio

January 09, 2022 22:46 - 16 minutes - 3.75 MB

Parker Palmer defines the tragic gap as "the gap between the hard realities around us and what we know is possible — not because we wish it were so, but because we’ve seen it with our own eyes."

With the Best Intentions - Audio

January 03, 2022 01:39 - 19 minutes - 6.34 MB

More and more, we are becoming aware that there can be a distance between intention and impact. How do we bring those closer together, as we move into this new year with the best intentions?

The Laundry - Audio

December 26, 2021 19:11 - 16 minutes - 3.84 MB

There is a saying: “After ecstasy, the laundry.” After those peak experiences, those moments of joy…then what? How do we carry enlightenment into the everyday?

Glad Tidings, Good News, & Great Joy - Audio

December 20, 2021 02:04 - 12 minutes - 5.96 MB

For some, this is the season of 3G: the glad, the good, and the great. What do these phrases mean? And what form might they take in our individual and communal lives?

Inspiring Joy - Audio

December 12, 2021 19:49 - 13 minutes - 5.67 MB

It’s right there in our mission statement: we will deepen connections by (among other things) inspiring joy. So how, exactly, do we do that?

Joyful on Command - Audio

December 05, 2021 22:55 - 11 minutes - 2.61 MB

Happiness, I have heard, is a choice. If we assume that is so, does that apply also to joy? And, if not, what is the difference?

Living Through History - Audio

November 28, 2021 22:37 - 14 minutes - 3.43 MB

We are living through a time that history--whatever forms it may take in the future--will record. What will you remember about this time? What stories and reflections will we pass along to future generations?

Please and Thank You - Audio

November 21, 2021 16:47 - 16 minutes - 3.83 MB

It's the phrase--the practice--many of us learned as children. As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, this is an opportunity to look at the first word in that phrase: please.

I Don't Remember It That Way - Audio

November 15, 2021 01:45 - 13 minutes - 3.03 MB

George Santayana is purported to have said something like: "Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it." But is the problem that we don't remember? Or is it how we remember?

When Hope and History Rhyme - Audio

November 08, 2021 00:58 - 16 minutes - 5.85 MB

The poet Seamus Heaney once wrote: “History says / Don’t hope on this side of the grave / But then, once in a lifetime / The longed-for tidal wave / Of justice can rise up / And hope and history rhyme.”

You Know What's Really Scary? - Audio

October 31, 2021 15:56 - 12 minutes - 2.92 MB

Halloween is all about scary. But today, we will hear a variety of ways to finish this thought: "You know what's really scary?....

Guest at Your Table - Audio

October 25, 2021 00:39 - 8 minutes - 2.05 MB

It is a program sponsored by the UU Service Committee each year for as long as I can remember. More than that, it is a practice of cultivating relationships. More than that, it is a practice of unleashing the power of kindness and compassion.

Admirable Friends - Audio

October 17, 2021 21:42 - 14 minutes - 3.41 MB

Good friendship, in Buddhism, means considerably more than associating with people that one finds amenable and who share one's interests.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T - Audio

October 03, 2021 19:47 - 15 minutes - 3.58 MB

"...find out what it means to me." We all may think we know what respect means. But it may serve us to be more curious. What are the expectations about respect across generations, across racial/gender/sexual identities and cultures, among the disabled community...A big piece of respect means finding out what it means to the person or people with whom we are in relationship.

No Peace, No Justice! - Audio

September 26, 2021 14:27 - 18 minutes - 4.24 MB

We are used to hearing "No justice, no peace!" at the many demonstrations that have taken place over the years. What would it mean to also turn that around (as Martin Luther King, Jr. did) to say, "No peace, no justice!"

On the Other Hand - Audio

September 12, 2021 17:01 - 17 minutes - 3.95 MB

To say something is possible necessarily implies that something else is possible. Right? Possible and possibly not, How do we best lay the groundwork for our most hoped-for possibilities to flourish?

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