First Unitarian Universalist Church Of Austin

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on January 1, 2012. She talks about letting go, about clearing out the old as we get ready for what's coming next.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's Christmas Eve Candlelight Service delivered on December 24, 2011. Unitarian Universalist Lessons and Carols. The Christmas story as told in Luke, interspersed with poetry.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on December 18, 2011. Conflict is part of a healthy system. We can't agree about everything all the time. How do we voice disagreement without being disrespectful or unkind?

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on December 11, 2011. The fourth in a sermon series on the seven UU Principles. We agree to affirm and promote "a free and responsible search for truth and meaning." Some say that a search for truth is too private a focus for a person of faith, that the search needs instead to be for justice. Some say you can't articulate the Truth anyway, and maybe there is no capital "T" Truth anyway.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on December 4, 2011. Why has Unitarianism always been such a shy denomination? Why do we define ourselves so easily with what we don't believe rather than what we do? What does Harvard have to do with our history? Who is William Ellery Channing? What is the Baltimore Sermon?

Guest speaker Nell Newton's sermon delivered on November 27, 2011. Years ago the lamplight would shine on a woman's needle as she sewed a new dress or mended a worn sleeve. Now she might never know whose hands threaded up a needle and pulled together the pieces of cloth to make her clothes. Or, she might be the unseen hands who must make every seam perfect if she wants to be paid. In this season of thankfulness, we'll take time to reflect on missing buttons, three-cornered tears, safety pins, and sewing.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on November 20, 2011. Holidays crank up the expectations for food, decorations, family time, and perfectionism rears its ugly head. How do we deal with not having the perfect life, the perfect home, the perfect job, with Aunt Millie asking us again when we're going to be married..?

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on November 13, 2011. Conversation provides nourishment for our souls. Sometimes we can connect well on a Sunday morning or at a committee meeting or social gathering, but sometimes a deep and satisfying interaction needs a bit more structure. The Chalice Circles are one way to get that small group experience in a church. What is it like to be in one?

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on November 6, 2011. How do we forgive? Do we have to forgive and forget? Does it make us more vulnerable to be forgiving?

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on October 30, 2011. In this season we have the Celtic earth-based holy day of Samhain, Day of the Dead, and Halloween. We learn some chants, hear some drumming, and honor our ancestors.

Guest minister Rev. Mark Skrabacz's sermon delivered on October 23, 2011. Widening our circle of compassion, opening our hearts, embracing life, and living large... these are expressions of growing out, the theme of today's examination of maturing.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on October 16, 2011. The third in the series on the seven UU Principles. We talk about acceptance, spiritual growth, encouraging one another. What is "spiritual" for Unitarian Universalists?

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on October 9, 2011. She will talk about what it's like to be gay in the US. Did you know that GLBT teens are five times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers? This is one issue where the message of our faith can be literally life-saving.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on October 2, 2011. During this time of shortening days, our Jewish brothers and sisters are celebrating the "Days of Awe," Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. This is a good time for us to talk about a Unitarian Universalist understanding of guilt and repentance, making amends, turning to more "right action," forgiving ourselves and others.

Guest speaker Barbara Stoddard's sermon delivered on September 25, 2011. Show Up, Choose Your Attitude, Make Someone's Day and Play are the four principles of living from the World Famous Pike Place Fish Market.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on September 18, 2011. In the early days of Unitarianism, a group of friends formed what historians have called a genius cluster in Concord, Massachusetts. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, the Alcott family, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Margaret Fuller were giants in forming American culture and thought. How did this explosion of growth and influence take place? This is one of the stories of our heritage.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on September 11, 2011. On the tenth anniversary of 9/11, we will respectfully remember those who died and talk about the second of our seven UU principles: Justice, equity and compassion in human relations.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse leads a water communion sevice on September 4, 2011. A large bowl is set up at the front of the sanctuary. Singly or with their partners, spouses or families, people come with water in a small container and add it to the water in the bowl. Members of the congregation share a few words about the places that feed their souls.

Rev. Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on August 28, 2011. The first in a series of sermons on the seven Unitarian Universalist Principles, this one is about affirming and promoting the inherent worth and dignity of each person. What does that entail, exactly?

Meg Barnhouse's sermon delivered on August 21, 2011. What are some of the ways we act when we're stressed by change? Who or what are the demolition twins? How do we go about living with them in the family, the workplace, the congregation?