First Unitarian Universalist Church Of Austin

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on September 23, 2012. Years ago, Berkeley professor Robert Bellah wrote about the beliefs at the center of U.S. culture. These stories and symbols are a mixture of Puritanism, positive thinking, "the American Dream," and capitalism. With the upcoming election, we can see all of this is high dudgeon.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on September 16, 2012. In this first in a series of sermons on the First UU Convenant of Healthy Relations, Rev. Barnhouse talks about being a "covenant community," and how to nuture one another's spiritual growth.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on September 9, 2012. Magellan, Verrazano and Columbus were European explorers with three very different mixes of courage and caution, attention to detail and big-picture overview. So often a quality in a person that is useful in most situations is their downfall in others. What can we learn from these three?

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on September 2, 2012. As we come together for the start of First UU's program year, each of us brings to the service a small container of water from a place that refreshed our spirits this summer. We pour our waters together in a common bowl as we mingle our spirits in a common effort to nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice.

Guest speaker Marisol Caballero's sermon delivered on August 26, 2012. There has been much dialogue within our congregations and within our movement about working to become a more welcoming and a more multicultural/multiethnic faith. This is both exciting and challenging work that grows the humanity of all those who venture to undertake it with an open mind and in humility. What will this work require of those of us who are already here, in order to better welcome those who we'd like to join us? What will we gain and what must we sacrifice? What does it truly mean to be an ally to those who live as members of less dominant groups?

Starr King's President's Lecture delivered on June 20, 2012 at UUA General Assembly in Phoenix by Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker. "We must ground our activism in a spiritual experience of earth's goodness, life's beauties - we must begin with an epiphany of paradise."

Guest speaker Chris Jimmerson's sermon delivered on August 19, 2012. Sometimes we make things that are really not all that valuable more important than they really are. Paradoxically, sometimes we miss that the seemingly smallest of gestures can make all the difference. After spending this summer serving as chaplain at the largest level one trauma hospital in our area, these are among the many lessons I learned - sometimes the hard way, and sometimes through the humor and amazing resilience of others.

Guest speaker Nell Newton's sermon delivered on August 12, 2012. We have a lovely mission for our church and it is the result of a tremendous amount of work! Now that we've had it on our walls for a couple of years, let's take a deeper look at what these words say about who we are and what we believe.

Guest speaker Dwayne Windham's sermon delivered on August 5, 2012. The Magic of I Am (you fill in the blank). Inspired by the Harry Potter book series, this sermon delves into the pensieve of words we use to describe ourselves.

Sermon delivered on July 29, 2012. First UU Church of Austin members Gillian Redfearn, Mike LeBurkien, Judy Sadegh, Carolyn Gremminger and Peggy Morton share their experiences at General Assembly with human interest stories from immigrants, undocumented workers, undocumented children, and UUs around the nation who are working for Social Justice.

Guest speaker Amanda Yaira Robinson's sermon delivered on July 22, 2012. The news is grim: war, hunger, poverty, global warming. Sometimes the scope of these challenges is overwhelming, and we wonder whether our efforts even matter. Jewish teachings remind us to focus on the distance between our experience of the world as it is and visions of what it could or should be. What do we do with these tensions? How can we bridge the distances? Today, we'll talk about possibility, transformation and what Karl Barth called an "uprising against the disorder of the world."

Guest minister Rev. Kathleen Ellis' sermon delivered on July 15, 2012. As Bollywood brings glimpses of India into our consciousness, the overall impression is that India is complex on multiple levels. Beauty competes with squalor; spirituality competes with greed; generosity competes with corruption; elders, children and homeless people compete for scraps of welfare. Compare it all with the United States: We're not all that different, but issues become invisible for the most part unless we have some philosophical discussion about it.

Guest speaker Jim Checkley's sermon delivered on July 8, 2012. According to polls, "trust" is at an all time low within our country. Government, lawyers, the media, politicians, and others are setting all time low marks for trust. They say that when trust is broken in a relationship, it is very difficult to repair and it is usually time to move on. But how do you move on from yourself? Moreover, trust is not just an external phenomenon; it is in fact important to our own inner well being, and somewhat like forgiveness, often says more about us than about them.

Guest minister Rev. Mark Skrabacz's sermon delivered on July 1, 2012. On the Sunday before the Independence Day holiday, let's examine the idea of patriotism and its varying degrees, interpretations and practices. We like to think we are patriotic. How do we define patriotism? What does it mean?

Guest speaker Tom Spencer's sermon delivered on June 24, 2012. A reflection on the transformative power of paying attention to the everyday occurrences of our lives.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on June 17, 2012. In Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees, the beekeeper tells her apprentice "the world is really one big bee yard, and the same rules work fine in both places: Don't be afraid, as no life-loving bee wants to sting you. Still, don't be an idiot; wear long sleeves and long pants. Don't swat. Don't even think about swatting." Here's how we're going to keep making honey over the summer...

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on June 10, 2012. It is often said that our nation's ethics derive from the Ten Commandments of Moses. If you look closely at them, though, they don't reflect American values very well at all. Solon the Athenian was born around 638 B.C.E. In 594 B.C.E he was elected to create a constitution for Athens, in the process becoming the founder of Western democracy and an early proponent of equal rights for all citizens.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on June 3, 2012. Rev. Carl Jung spoke of the "shadow side" of personalities and concepts. In the shadow are all of the elements we would rather not acknowledge. If we believe that pride makes us bad, our pride will be in the shadow side of our personality. If we believe that leisure is lazy, our resting self will be in the despised and hidden shadow. There is much value to be gained by being aware of one's shadow side.

Guest minister Rev. George "Kim" Beach's sermon delivered on May 27, 2012. Rev. Meg Barnhouse and Barbara Stoddard lead the Flower Communion litany. By bringing and exchanging flowers in this service, participants are part of a particularly Unitarian service created by Rev. Norbert Capek. The communion we celebrate has taken place all over the world in Unitarian and UU churches since 1923.

Annual Youth Service delivered on May 20, 2012. The theme is "Individualism vs the social contract". The service is delivered by Audrey Lewis, Max Wethington, Kate Windsor, Jara Stiller, and Andrew Young and includes a bridging ceremony for our youth.