Mythical Mystical Holidays
December 20, 2020 with Rev. Scott, Amy Brock, and UUFCO Youth
The stories of this time of year are ancient ones passed down for generations. Among the more familiar ones is a Japanese solstice story about the Sun from the Shinto tradition. With an open mind, these legends can fill our hearts.
Sermons: March - December 2020
Stillness, the Buddha, and the Crickets
December 6, 2020
There is no sermon blurb this week. Only the sound of crickets…
This Precious Day
November 22, 2020
Gratitude creates a connection between what is good in the world and our own hearts. Go ahead and try it. I dare you. Bring gratitude into your heart, and see if you don’t feel a little better!
A Lot of “Me Time”-
Introverts & Extroverts During Covid
December 13, 2020
Over the past nine months, there has been a lot of time to ourselves and depending on where we land on the introversion and extroversion scale makes a big difference in how we experience this pandemic time. We are all part of an interconnected web, but we connect in different ways.
Finding Your Way Out of the Dark
November 29, 2020 with Carmin Caterina, Guest Speaker
Sometimes, it takes going through a challenging time, in order to find the best and most beautiful parts of yourself. Join us for a story about a journey to wholeness through healing, and one woman's search for truth and meaning.
Healing Our Nation
November 15, 2020 with Erika McAlpine, Guest Speaker
How do we, as Central Oregonians, begin to heal the fracture in our society through faith, hope and love? Currently, our nation is in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, on the brink of an economic disaster, and people are protesting in the streets in another social justice movement.
How We Heal
November 8, 2020
Healing is a process. We don’t mend magically all at once. It takes time. Pain might coexist with progress. But what a miracle
is the human ability to heal!
.
Calm Amidst Chaos
November 1, 2020
Sunday morning will be two days before Election Day. How are you doing? This week will be a good time to practice ways to invite healing, health, and the holy into our lives. We will gather together our resources of resilience and courage to draw upon for the days ahead.
Listen. Then Speak!
October 25, 2020
The idea of listening to others is rooted within our religious tradition. Deep Listening is how we find empathy and understanding. And yet, while we hold space for listening, we are also called to take a stand. As John Lewis called it, the right to vote is “precious, almost sacred.”
It Takes Practice
October 11, 2020 with Matt Mayer, Guest Speaker
Join Matt for a musical exploration of learning to risk, building the muscle memory of courage, and the spiritual practice of relationship.
A musician and worship leader, Matt has led hundreds of services for UU congregations nationwide.
Not Hell, But Hope
Sunday, October 4, 2020
250 years ago this week, John Murray offered the first Universalist sermon on the shores of America. He preached “give them, not hell, but hope and courage!” We live in times divided times. How far might your love reach?
Not Hell, But Hope II
September 6, 2020 with Chela Sloper, Congregational Life Facilitator
One aspect of being human -- that is distinctive in the animal kingdom -- is that humans have an array of ways to work not directly dictated by our genes or instincts. This Labor Day we look at some of the ways work dignifies us, how work can be for survival as well as expression and creativity, and how even ordinary tasks reinforce our humanity.
October 18, 2020
Our Universalist ancestors understood God as a unifying force of Love and connection. We are all in relationship with the Universe. The quality of this relationship we crafts our lives.
The Spirituality of Clotheslines
Portland, Bend, and the Legacy of John Lewis
August 30, 2020
There is a lot happening in our country. A lot of what is happening is right here in Oregon. After attending protests in Portland and Bend over the past month, Rev. Scott looks toward the life and work of civil rights leader and congressman John Lewis for some grounding and guidance.
Sacred Anchors
September 20, 2020
An anchor is sent off into the water to go down to the depths to provide stability over time. Is there a reading in your life that you return to again and again? A song? A body movement? We need to connect to that which sustains us and renews us. So we look to establish the line between ourselves and our sacred anchors so as to tether ourselves to what is good, hopeful, and true.
In-Gathering: Letting Go & Going Forward
September 13, 2020
This year will be different. We must let go of our expectations of what might have been. In doing so, we create space for what can be. We are not looking to simply get through the year. Together, we will step into this unique moment in time and fill it with beauty and goodness.
August 9, 2020 with Tom Wykes, Lay Leader
”I have had a complicated and often contentious relationship with prayer over the years. That relationship has become more nuanced over time. I will explore my journey into what prayer is and isn't.” Tom has been a member of UUFCO since the mid-1980's who describes himself as a culturally Christian Unitarian-Universalist with a Zen Buddist spiritual practice.
August 16, 2020
Creative expression can help connect us and provide the spark that generates hope and leads to action. Singer-songwriter and poet Beth Wood will take us on a musical odyssey demonstrating how small acts and accumulating moments of connection can light the way and offer encouragement in these hard times.
Crack a Ceiling,
Chip a Wall
August 23, 2020
August 20 celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote. What will our next breakthrough be?
Hope in Action
Prayer: It’s Not What You Think
Postcards from the Adventure
August 2, 2020
Panelists Shonna Edwards, Noreen Halberstadt and Chandra Smith of UUFCO's Worship will share their reflections on the services they attended at other UU fellowships on July 26.
July 12, 2020
Last we year we had a service in which the congregation had the chance to ask Rev. Scott questions during the service. The answers, as well as the questions, ranged from humorous to meaningful and from personal to theological. We reprise this idea Sunday asking Rev. Scott some questions and our other staff as well. Go ahead and ask. You never know what you might find out!
The Spiritual Journey at Home and Work
July 19, 2020
Gwen Yuill and Dana Rhode, DO, share their experiences.
Go Ahead and Ask
Lifting Our Voices
July 5, 2020
In this dynamic time when communities are rising up to speak out against racial injustice, there is much to do. How do we begin to do the work of anti-racism and make our voices heard? The playwright Anna Deavere Smith, in a talk she first delivered at Grace Cathedral on June 7, will offer us inspiration.
The Spiritual Power of “Seeing”
June 21, 2020 with Bob Barber, Lay Leader
Often we LOOK at people and things in our lives and take them for granted or make judgments. Bob Barber will present how learning to be a painter initiated his spiritual journey leading to SEEING people, things, and situations differently.
Spiritual Solitude
June 14, 2020
There is a difference between loneliness and solitude. Being alone can be challenging and difficult, but it can also be grounding and create space for our spiritual lives. The still voice within speaks when we acknowledge the inner self amid a hurried, technological world.
Flower Communion
June 7, 2020
Every year we celebrate our Flower Communion service at the close our church program year. This year is no different! (OK. This year is very different…) This service is always colorful, full of gratitude, and lifts our spirits. (And my guess is our spirits could use some lifting.)
Crossing Thresholds
May 31, 2020
Throughout our lives, we cross thresholds. These are moments of true transition where our lives change. While sometimes foggy in the moment, with hindsight, we can see these passages of life. This leaves us to wonder what threshold we are currently upon and how we might lean forward.
Spiritual Journey
May 24, 2020
Everyone has a spiritual journey that evolves individually with different practices and different explorations. By sharing our journey, sometimes something opens and affirms our own unique journey .
Justice from Home
May 17, 2020
Though time at home is more common, injustice out in the world still exists in large measure. Even as we are implored to stay home for the safety of others (compassion at work), we are called to use our lives to make the world a loving place (justice at work).
Framing and Claiming: Youth Coming of Age
May 10, 2020
Life in community offers us a chance to celebrate rites of passage together. Our youth have been journeying with mentors and teachers throughout this year. This Sunday we will lift them up as they share what they believe in this moment.
The New Not Normal
May 3, 2020
Having come through the first month of trauma and adjustment because of the global pandemic, we find ourselves living new lives and looking into the distance with an understanding that life is different. This is our new reality. And we shape it everyday as co-creators together.
We are all a
“Part of the Choir”
April 26, 2020 with Mark Hickman, Music Director
Being a "part of the choir" does not require that you stand up front and sing with us. It means that the important messages of Unitarian Universalism are emotionally and intuitively embedded in you. The way you live out your life becomes the “song” that you carry into the world.
Outside Every Day
April 19, 2020
The poet Wendell Berry writes about how there is a kind of freedom found resting in the grace of the natural world. True words for our times. As Earth Day approaches, let’s lean into that natural healing that comes when we connect with nature.
What Rises
April 12, 2020
Night descends and the sun rises every the morning. Winter comes and each year the flowers come forth. This is the season that we look to what rises again and again.
Purpose
April 5, 2020
Our lives are changing. Perhaps your purpose has become distilled. Or maybe it is now less defined and you are being called to consider anew how you will be in the world. One thing remains true amidst all the shifting… what you do matters.
Playing Catch Up
March 22, 2020
So much has happened so fast. We are living in a new reality shaped by necessity. While everything around us has changed, it is possible that our minds, hearts, and souls have not yet had the chance catch up with all the change. On Sunday, we will slow down and allow ourselves a moment to let everything settle in and adjust to this new world.
Yup. This Stinks.
March 29, 2020
We have all had to let go of things and face some disappointment. From the loss of our routine life to large milestones in our lives postponed. Or even being separated from loved ones. Everything is rearranging. We will make some space to hold these feelings of loss. And we will share in the truth that we are all in this together.
From Emergency to Emergence
March 15, 2020:
As the coronavirus spreads, each hour brings new information that is altering the normal rhythms of our life. A pandemic can lead to spiritual questions: Should we be afraid? Where do we find comfort? How do we respond to adversity? How do we care for each other? In times of crisis, new ways of being emerge.