UUSLO

There Is Beauty in Flawed Authenticity - Audio

January 26, 2020 14:12 - 18 minutes - 4.34 MB

Perception is under our control and this is a good thing.

Caught and Tied - Audio

January 19, 2020 15:34 - 19 minutes - 4.47 MB

As we consider our highest aspirations, what relevance might the phrase "collective liberation" hold for us? To what is it pointing?

You Do You - Audio

January 12, 2020 14:47 - 16 minutes - 3.66 MB

Integrity seems to have something to do with identity. Finding out who I am and staying true to myself. Why is it hard to be me?

Get Real! - Audio

January 06, 2020 15:15 - 16 minutes - 3.8 MB

In a cultural climate that seems to question the very idea of a shared reality, how can we be expected to "get real"?

The Religion of Your Great Grandchildren - Audio

December 29, 2019 14:29 - 35 minutes - 8.11 MB

This talk will speak to the future of religion and the ways that technology will shape the religion of our great grandchildren. Dr. Stephen Lloyd-Moffett is an internationally known Religious Studies scholar and Professor of Religious Studies at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He is a dynamic and popular speaker who has graced our pulpit many times.

It's Not the End of the World - Audio

December 22, 2019 14:35 - 16 minutes - 3.75 MB

When darkness comes--not the restful, healing darkness, but the dark nights of the soul, when we are not able to see our own light or the lights of others--it can feel like the end of the world.

Where Were You? - Audio

December 08, 2019 15:14 - 15 minutes - 3.59 MB

The Book of Job is not considered a...well, festive book. It is harsh. Almost cruel. So what can it teach us about awe? And, as Human Rights Day approaches, what might it have to say about justice?

How Can We Keep from Singing - Audio

December 01, 2019 15:11 - 8 minutes - 1.84 MB

A celebration of the season with special music, favorite hymns, and reflections on wonder.

That I Might Know Your Mind - Audio

November 17, 2019 14:43 - 17 minutes - 4.08 MB

"Come sing a song with me, that I might know your mind" we sing from our hymnal. Just how does singing a song together give us any hard data about another person's mind??

At Attention - Audio

November 10, 2019 14:30 - 14 minutes - 3.31 MB

"Attention!" is a military command to arrange the body in a particular posture. Other commands include "at ease" and "rest." How might we position ourselves to invite attention, ease, rest...?

Bearing Witness - Audio

November 03, 2019 14:23 - 19 minutes - 4.37 MB

"Peacemaking is the functioning of bearing witness. Once we listen with our entire body and mind, loving action arises." Bernie Glassman

Sailed the Ocean Blue - Audio

October 13, 2019 13:41 - 19 minutes - 4.46 MB

As the commemoration of Columbus Day rolls around, let's take a look at what history--as it has been taught--tells us about who really belongs.

Awesome! - Audio

October 06, 2019 13:16 - 17 minutes - 3.92 MB

This period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is known to some in the Jewish tradition as "Days of Awe." It is also known as "Days of Repentance." Pray tell, what is so awesome about repentance? And what does that have to do with a feeling of belonging?

Looking Forward to Meeting You - Audio

September 29, 2019 13:36 - 18 minutes - 4.25 MB

How is it that we form opinions, assumptions, conclusions about other people...sometimes even before we have met them? What do we carry into those first moments of meeting, and what can we set aside?

Expecting Fairness - Audio

September 22, 2019 13:33 - 16 minutes - 3.82 MB

What happens when others receive more than they deserve?

Beloved Conversations - Audio

September 15, 2019 13:40 - 13 minutes - 2.99 MB

Beloved Conversations is a guided series of seminars which invites people to have open and honest conversations about how race and ethnicity shape their lives. Today, we will hear reflections on these sessions from the participants.

Well, What Did You Expect? - Audio

September 08, 2019 13:39 - 15 minutes - 3.48 MB

Expectation is a tricky thing. Should we expect the best and simply deal with anything less? Should we expect the worst and be pleasantly surprised at anything better? How do our expectations shape what we do in this moment?

If You're Willing to WOrk - Audio

September 01, 2019 13:09 - 13 minutes - 3.06 MB

That's always been the American promise, right? If you're willing to work, you can expect to get somewhere in your life. Is the dream being realized? Or does it vanish upon waking?

Drawing on the Wide Side of the Brain - Audio

August 25, 2019 13:00 - 15 minutes - 3.59 MB

How do we open ourselves and our communities to provide a real (if raggedy) welcome? How do we move from perfection to practice?

Three's Company - Audio

August 18, 2019 14:11 - 16 minutes - 3.85 MB

"Triangulation" is a mathematical process, but also has a psychological meaning. How does it work, exactly? And what meaning does it have in creating community?

The Shape of Things to Come - Audio

August 11, 2019 13:28 - 17 minutes - 4.03 MB

The traditional ways in which we come together can, after a time, seem unchangeable. How can we step back and take a look at existing forms...and consider some new shapes?

What Is Love? - Audio

July 28, 2019 13:11 - 28 minutes - 6.63 MB

Love is one of the most misused and misunderstood words in the English language. This talk will clarify the true nature of love, the two key features of love, and the ways love manifests or does not manifest in our daily lives.

Intimate with All Things - Audio

July 21, 2019 14:09 - 14 minutes - 3.37 MB

To get close to our experience of things, we must first look into ourselves (it's called "into me I see") and check out what blocks us, like judgment and concepts.

Love Is a Choice - Audio

July 14, 2019 14:07 - 15 minutes - 3.56 MB

Nature vs. nurture is a debate that goes on in many arenas, though it is rarely answered once and for all. Though we are born, certainly, with the capacity for loving, it is up to us what we do with that inherent capability.

The Personal Is Political - Audio

July 07, 2019 13:23 - 17 minutes - 4.11 MB

...and the political is personal. It is tempting to want to step away from the messy world of politics altogether, yet it touches our personal lives in many ways. In just such a way, our personal lives inform our political action.

We're Even More Interconnected Than We Think - Audio

June 30, 2019 13:36 - 18 minutes - 4.17 MB

Our Seventh Principle keeps UUs focused on the “interconnected web of life.” Recent advances in biology are showing those connections are even more profound than we knew. A strong web of life is needed for both a healthy planet and a healthy body.

In Beauty It Is Begun ... - Audio

June 16, 2019 14:51 - 18 minutes - 4.28 MB

Today, we reflect on the complications, conflicts, and confusion that often circle around fatherhood in our present culture. What are healthy models of masculinity? How do we approach gender roles in parenting and simply being a person?

Eye of the Beholder - Audio

June 09, 2019 14:45 - 16 minutes - 3.75 MB

Beauty, the saying goes, is in the eye of the beholder. But how is it that we come to recognize beauty? What qualities does it hold?

Let the Mystery Be - Audio

May 26, 2019 14:40 - 19 minutes - 4.42 MB

As we remember loved ones who have died today, we can't help but wonder about the possibilities of what happens after death. Most of us join with Iris Dement's sentiment: let the mystery be. However, sometimes the mystery won't let us be.

Try Why - Audio

May 19, 2019 13:23 - 16 minutes - 3.7 MB

Curiosity, it is said, can be an antidote to cynicism. Rather than resting in our certainty of the worst, how can we be curious about even the most troubling things that are happening in our lives and in our world?

Back to Junior High - Audio

May 12, 2019 12:59 - 22 minutes - 5.13 MB

Oncology chaplain and popular guest speaker Michael Eselun will share some deeply personal reflections about junior high school -- a pivotal and often painful time that leaves indelible memories for many of us. In dialogue with some of those 13-year-old perceptions, what might be discovered about inherent worth, dignity and compassion?

What Happens Now? - Audio

May 05, 2019 13:08 - 15 minutes - 3.64 MB

Today, we welcome new members: a joyous celebration. But as much information as we have sought to provide, you can see the question in their eyes: what happens now?

Earth Day Celebration - Audio

April 28, 2019 13:15 - 13 minutes - 3.12 MB

Celebrate the 49th Earth Day with poetry, music, mime, storytelling, dance, unique decorations, insightful readings, and much more with your worship leaders, Susan Lara, Steve Brown, and Judith Bernstein.

What About Jesus? - Audio

April 21, 2019 13:25 - 17 minutes - 4.11 MB

To say that Jesus represents different things to different people...well, it's true, but it doesn't get us very far. If we tried fashioning all those differing perspectives into a whole, what would it look like? How do we view Jesus--and the Easter celebration--today?

Wholehearted - Audio

April 07, 2019 13:46 - 19 minutes - 4.49 MB

What does it mean to be wholehearted? How do we bring that quality into our lives together?

A Flower Communion - Audio

March 24, 2019 14:49 - 4 minutes - 971 KB

By exchanging flowers, we show our willingness to walk together in our Search for truth, disregarding all that might divide us. Each person takes home a flower brought by someone else - thus symbolizing our shared celebration in community. This communion of sharing is essential to a free people of a free religion.

Journey to the East - Audio

March 17, 2019 14:46 - 16 minutes - 3.79 MB

Besides being a title of a Hermann Hesse novel, it also suggests a journey toward enlightenment that many in the West have engaged by adopting religious practices from the East. Where has your own free and responsible search for truth and meaning led? What mementos have you gathered from the journey?

We Travel This Road Together - Audio

March 10, 2019 13:24 - 16 minutes - 3.83 MB

There is never enough to go around.That is a message that is all around us. It is a fear that burns within us. It seems to be confirmed in the world. It is a "given." How might we fashion a different expectation?

Get Lost! - Audio

March 03, 2019 14:27 - 13 minutes - 3.18 MB

It used to be a question: at what point did one give up wandering in search of a location and simply ask someone for directions. These days, the wonders of GPS have made it pretty difficult to get lost...right?

I'm Not a Scientist, But ... - Audio

February 10, 2019 15:00 - 18 minutes - 4.29 MB

Where do we place our trust when it comes to understanding ourselves and our earthly home?

Beloved Conversations - Audio

February 03, 2019 14:57 - 18 minutes - 4.15 MB

How do we build the trust that allows us to have challenging conversations? How do we make space in our congregation for vulnerability?

Spirituality, Addiction, and Recovery - Audio

January 27, 2019 14:12 - 26 minutes - 6.07 MB

"The most beautiful people you have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen." - Elizabeth Kubler Ross

A Land That I Heard Of - Audio

January 20, 2019 14:56 - 17 minutes - 3.99 MB

Hold fast to dreams, Langston Hughes tells us. But don't our dreams need to have some connection to reality? What is truly possible?

All the Difference - Audio

January 13, 2019 14:12 - 16 minutes - 3.75 MB

"I took the road less traveled by and that made all the difference," writes Robert Frost. What is it that made "all the difference" in your life?

You Say You Want a Resolution - Audio

January 06, 2019 15:55 - 16 minutes - 3.87 MB

It's that time of year for turning over new leaves, starting new habits, ending old habits, and all-around self-improvement. Day 6: How's it going?

Going Deeper Into Life - Audio

December 30, 2018 14:14 - 21 minutes - 4.87 MB

How might we respond to the intertwining of joy and sorrow with compassion and hope?

Mystery and Miracle - Audio

December 23, 2018 14:31 - 19 minutes - 4.43 MB

When we encounter the unexplainable, how do we respond? As we journey past the terrain that science and reason have mapped, what do we find?

Glow in the Dark - Audio

December 16, 2018 14:18 - 17 minutes - 3.98 MB

As we prepare to celebrate the Winter Solstice and the returning of the light, let us take note of the gifts that darkness can bring.

Whodunit? - Audio

December 09, 2018 14:25 - 16 minutes - 3.84 MB

The "mystery" genre holds a great appeal for many, whether reading a favorite series or watching a good thriller. What is it that draws us to this form? What might we learn from it?

the gospel according to archy and mehitabel - Audio

December 02, 2018 14:56 - 26 minutes - 6.14 MB

December 2nd marks the first Sunday in Advent, and to help us get prepared to face the upcoming holidays I’d like to check in with two old friends of mine from Shinbone Alley, New York: Archy, the free verse poet who died and was reincarnated as a cockroach, and Mehitabel, the alley cat who makes the dubious claim that she was once Cleopatra.

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