Unity Church-unitarian's Sermon Podcasts

The title of this service comes from the poetry of Sufi poet, Rumi. But folk wisdom posits that guests, like caught fish are welcome for about three days.

All creation sings the secret told to Mary by an Angel. Soon God will be born again through you. Soon love will come to you in human form.

In a quest for efficiency, order and even survival, we compartmentalize our lives, separating work from family, from church, from leisure. We know that some boundaries are necessary, but when do we go too far? What is the spiritual cost to such dis-integration?

The story of the first Thanksgiving may well be mostly myth. We know how quickly gratitude gave way to conquest. But seeds of possibility and hope were planted with the corn when spring finally arrived after that terrible first winter. For years now we’ve been planting seeds of hope in Transylvania. We’ve exchanged visits, struggled for mutual respect and gained far more than we could ever have imagined as genuine, lasting friendships have taken root.

We welcome Vivek Pandit, freedom fighter, community organizer and the visionary founder of Vidhayak Sansad, an organization at work freeing slaves in India. Vivek, who is in Saint Paul to explore partnership possibilities with Unity Church, asks us to contemplate the following question. How can liberal religion help newly liberated people to achieve inner freedom? Breaking physical chains is easy when compared to confronting the oppression of self-doubt.

To miniaturize another human being is a violent act. When we make assumptions about others on the basis of some singular aspect of their identity we diminish and marginalize them. Rob and Worship Associate Mary Baremore will wrestle with this all-too-human tendency.

College education, money, sound body and mind, heterosexual, male, physically attractive, white skin, English speaking, socially skilled…do these characteristics separate us from beloved community and contribute to our collective suffering or bring us together in a spirit of love that is healing and liberating? Worship and reflect on how sins of privilege can be transformed and blaze a path toward freedom and justice for all.

Kabir says, Go over and over your beads, paint designs on your forehead, wear your hair matted, long and ostentatious. When deep inside you there is a loaded gun, how can you have God?" We live at the intersection of spiritual development and right action in the world. Urgency is understandable but so often its also an indication that we’re hiding behind the troubles of the world as a way to avoid confronting our own troubles. We run from church to church or from crisis to crisis hoping against hope to find an all-consuming cause. Such behavior can perpetuate the very injustice its intended to combat. Rob and Worship Associate, Craig Allen will begin our series on "Identity and Violence."

Evil prospers and wrongdoing asserts itself; loved ones disappoint us and fall short. Even our own dreams die and our courage often fails us. In the face of this often cruel reality, how dare we lay claim to hope? Rev. McNatt invites us, and our faith, to endure. This Celebration Sunday join us as we renew our financial commitments to our church community.

As part of our series on faith, Janne and Worship Associate Karen Palmen will examine where we look for validation of our faith. Do we look inward for our own sense of truth or do we look to outside sources? Or is it ever that clearly delineated? Emerson’s essay on self reliance will be a primary source for this service.

What does faithful living look like? What does faithful living feel like? It must have to do with living aligned to our values. What questions should we be asking ourselves? How can we most usefully serve one another in living faith-filled lives? Rob, Janne and worship associate, Estelle Brouwer will each offer reflections on these essential questions.

What is the role of faith in a noncreedal religion that is so attractive to skeptics? In what ways is faith different than belief? Janne and worship associate Don Brunnquell will examine the role of faith in today’s world.

In Jewish tradition the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are called "the Days of Awe." That awe is inspired by the sure knowledge that you and I can move beyond our brokenness, beyond our dissolution and begin again. Each year we celebrate the Jewish High Holy Days in a service, which culminates with a "Litany for Atonement." Rob Eller-Isaacs will offer a sermon on faith. Jean Olson will serve as worship associate.

First lines explores the importance of beginnings and what it means to have a beginner’s mind.

Is it possible that starting a backyard flock of three chickens could be a meaningful response to the human crisis of inequity in food production and distribution? What does producing our own food at the really local level reveal to us about the relationship between feeding our communities and nourishing our souls? And what are you supposed to do when one of your hens begins to crow? Kerri Meyer reflects on the growing trend of keeping chickens and the ‘inexpressible satisfaction’ that comes from more than just fresh eggs.

We in America are immersed in a culture of violence, and in general we don’t even notice. Our news, our entertainment, and our societal norms lead us to accept horrific violent acts as normal, acceptable, business-as-usual. As Unitarians, as people seeking to lead a religious life, should we be concerned? What response can we offer?

In religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or search of great moral significance. It may also be a journey to a sacred place or shrine of importance to a person’s beliefs and faith. Lyn Burton will share joys, hardships and insights from her seven-year journey of faith as a Unity Church sponsored candidate for UU parish ministry on the path to Preliminary Fellowship in the UU Minister’s Association.

For many people, working in corporate America seems both necessary and unavoidably numbing. Is workplace spirituality really an oxymoron? Must it be so? Come for some observations about the alleged conflict between work life and personal essence based on Craig’s 15 years working for large Minnesota businesses.