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Sermons

This is a full list of sermons presented at UUCCSM since mid-1999. Links to sermon texts are included when made available by their authors. Audio recordings are also available for most sermons presented after September, 2007 by our staff ministers and others directly affiliated with our church (just click the speaker icon next to each sermon where it's available*). Audio from guest speakers is posted only when we have their permission to share it.

Hard copies of sermons by Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae are available in the church office. Contact office assistant Sibylla Nash at office@uusm.org if you have a request.

"Leaving Room for Hope: Sermons for Uncertain Times," a book of Minister Emerita Judith Meyer's sermons, is available here.

**Please Note: Video recordings are available for sermons with a small TV icon showing at the bottom of the sermon listing. Just click the icon to watch the service.**

July 22, 2001 - 5:00pm
The Heart of Our Future
The Rev. Susanne Intriligator, speaker

More than any doctrine or curriculum we may teach, it is through our everyday relationships that we convey to our children the true meaning of spirituality. How can we create the loving bonds that will sustain our children (and ourselves and our church) out into the future? Susanne Intriligator is our new Director of Religious Education. Music The Nickerson Sisters, voice

July 15, 2001 - 5:00pm
Giving Up 'Them'
Caprice Young, guest speaker

Caprice Young writes, "I woke up on July 8, 1999, and I had become 'them.' After 33 years of being a relative outsider, I got my chance to lead. No more complaining about the people in charge. No more 'if only I were making the decisions . . . .' What happens when we realize there is only us, that we're all in it together, and that we're all playing for keeps? What happens when you get the chance to really sacrifice for what you believein? What's a good UU to Do?" In July of 1999 Caprice Young was sworn into office as one of three new members of the Los Angeles School Board. She also serves as Managing Director of PeopleLink, a technology company that builds and hosts online communities. As a youth, she was a leader in the continental UU youth movement, and has served more recently as a member of the UU Fund for a Just Society Grants Panel. Music Jonathan Davis, oboe

July 8, 2001 - 5:00pm
The Faces Behind the State of Things
The Rev. Jim Conn, guest speaker

Jim Conn writes that his sermon will be "a meditation on empire, democracy, and the state of our souls." Jim is is the Urban Strategist for the California-Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He has served as Mayor of Santa Monica, Chair of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, and was for 20 years the minister at the Church in Ocean Park. Music Damien Montano, bassoon

July 1, 2001 - 5:00pm
Ho's in the Bible
The Rev. Ann Hayman, guest speaker

Much of the history of "the oldest profession" is recorded in scripture. The Rev. Ann Hayman is program director of the Mary Magdalene Project, a project of the Presbytery of the Pacific, which serves and advocates on behalf of women who are sex workers. She will discuss contemporary connections between communities of faith and sex workers. Ms. Hayman is also the chair of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice of Southern California. Music Jeffrey King, voice

June 24, 2001 - 5:00pm
Deafness A Disability or a Culture?
Carol Agate, guest speaker

Deaf people are often categorized as "disabled," but people who are part of the Deaf culture don't consider themselves disabled. Is deafness a disability or a culture? Music David Ellis, guitar

June 17, 2001 - 5:00pm
Our Father
The Rev. Judith Meyer, speaker

While contemporary spiritual imagery offers many positive images of mother, father has not fared as well. I'd like to help correct the balance. Music Dizzy Nelson, voiceWhile contemporary spiritual imagery offers many positive images of mother, father has not fared as well. I'd like to help correct the balance. Music Dizzy Nelson, voice
June 10, 2001 - 5:00pm
Religious Education Recognition Service

We give thanks for the teachers, volunteers, children, and staff who have given our Religious Education program another great year. Today we recognize and celebrate their contributions. Each class will make a presentation based on the curriculum it used.

Music: Scott Roewe, instrumentalist

June 3, 2001 - 5:00pm
More Kind Than Home, More Large Than Earth
The Rev. Judith Meyer, speaker

Thomas Wolfe's words from "You Can't Go Home Again" point towards a spiritual reality that we Unitarian Universalists experience in many ways, but find difficult to express. Music Cherice Hall, voiceThomas Wolfe's words from "You Can't Go Home Again" point towards a spiritual reality that we Unitarian Universalists experience in many ways, but find difficult to express. Music Cherice Hall, voice
May 27, 2001 - 5:00pm
A Pilgrim's Postcards
The Rev. Judith Meyer, speaker

According to Marian Wright Edelman, there are two ways to be in the world as a tourist or as a pilgrim. Each has a very different experience of life. The service will include an observance for Memorial Day. Music Ivan Schulmann, oboistAccording to Marian Wright Edelman, there are two ways to be in the world as a tourist or as a pilgrim. Each has a very different experience of life. The service will include an observance for Memorial Day. Music Ivan Schulmann, oboist
May 20, 2001 - 5:00pm
The Glorious Golden City
The Rev. Judith Meyer, speaker

One of our hymns offers the "glorious golden city" as an inspiring vision of the work of the church. We summon the vision and the work today, as we gather for the Annual Meeting of our congregation. Music Christine Mourad, singerOne of our hymns offers the "glorious golden city" as an inspiring vision of the work of the church. We summon the vision and the work today, as we gather for the Annual Meeting of our congregation. Music Christine Mourad, singer