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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.**

April 10, 2016
Don't Even Think About It
Monthly Theme: Transformation
Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur

April Ministry Theme:  Transformation

Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been,
I have great faith in a seed.
Convince me that you have a seed there,
and I am prepared to expect wonders. 
 
- Henry David Thoreau
Join Rev. Rebecca, Green Living Committee leaders, and special guests for Seeds of Change, a five-week exploration of personal and social transformation through the lens of climate justice. The journey begins on March 20, when we mark World Water Day with a beach clean up with Heal the Bay, and concludes with Earth Sunday on April 24.

April 10 Sermon: Don't Even Think About It

 

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April 3, 2016
Growing with Conflict
Monthly Theme: Transformation
Jessica Clay

April Ministry Theme:  Transformation

Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been,
I have great faith in a seed. 
Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders. 
 
- Henry David Thoreau
Join Rev. Rebecca, Green Living Committee leaders, and special guests for Seeds of Change, a five-week exploration of personal and social transformation through the lens of climate justice. The journey begins on March 20, when we mark World Water Day with a beach clean up with Heal the Bay, and concludes with Earth Sunday on April 24.

April 3 Sermon: Growing with Conflict

 
How can we use conflict as a challenge to move into right relationship with  ourselves and others? How can we move with grace when our lives resist our attempts at control? Join member and guest preacher Jessica Clay as we reflect on change, and Jessica shares some of the lessons she has learned on her journey through seminary.  

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March 27, 2016
All Things New: A UU Easter
Monthly Theme: Mortality
Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur, Catherine Farmer Loya and DeReau Farrar

March Worship Series: Mortality - The Practice of Being Alive

 
Join Rev. Rebecca and our worship leaders on a spiritual exploration to understand how death touches us, all our lives; honestly and openly share your hopes and fears surrounding “the end,” and learn what our living tradition has to teach us about mortality.

March 27 Sermon:  All Things New - A UU Easter

 
Rev. Rebecca, Catherine Farmer Loya, and DeReau Farrar, will lead our spirit-filled UU Easter services. The choir will sing for both 9am and 11am services and additional special music will include a harp duet.
 

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March 24, 2016
Maundy Thursday Service and Shared Meal
Monthly Theme: Mortality
Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur
On the Thursday before his death, the great teacher Jesus broke bread with his students and gave them one final commandment: “Love one another.” Join our pluralistic UU community to share reflections from Christian teachings, one of the sources of our living tradition.  All are invited to bring a dish to share for our communal meal following the service. Service at 6pm, potluck meal at 7pm. Please contact Rev. Rebecca by 3/15 if you would like to bring a reading or reflection to share during worship. We are still looking for 2-4 additional hosts for our potluck meal, as well!
March 20, 2016
For Such a Time as This: A Sermon on Congregational Conflict
Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur

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March 13, 2016
Conversations About Death
Monthly Theme: Mortality
Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur

March Worship Series: Mortality - The Practice of Being Alive

 
Join Rev. Rebecca and our worship leaders on a spiritual exploration to understand how death touches us, all our lives; honestly and openly share your hopes and fears surrounding “the end,” and learn what our living tradition has to teach us about mortality.

March 13 Sermon: Conversations About Death

 
Join Rev. Rebecca and special guests to listen in on the conversations church members and friends have been having since Cassandra Christiansen began her “death classes” here last summer. You will be moved and surprised by how alive it feels to talk openly and honestly about death. We will devote two services to this special theme. If you have questions about death you would like us to do our best to include, please email Rev. Rebecca at minister@uusm.org by 3/9.

 

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March 6, 2016
Graying Gracefully!
Monthly Theme: Mortality
Rev. Dr. Tom Owen-Towle

March Worship Series: The Practice of Being Alive

 
Join Rev. Rebecca and our worship leaders on a spiritual exploration to understand how death touches us, all our lives; honestly and openly share your hopes and fears surrounding “the end,” and learn what our living tradition has to teach us about mortality.

March 6 Sermon: Graying Gracefully!

 
Ours is increasingly a world of elders. By 2050, the number projects to 2 billion, and  for the first time in human history, our world will have more people 60 and over than children under age 15. Rev. Owen-Towle will address the complex issues of finishing life well.
 
The Rev. Dr. Tom Owen-Towle, in his 75th year, considers himself on the homestretch of life’s journey. He has been a parish minister since 1967 and is the author of two dozen books on personal relationships and spiritual growth. Tom and his life-partner, The Rev. Dr. Carolyn Sheets Owen-Towle, are the active parents of four children and seven grandchildren. Tom is a guitarist and parlor magician, who currently sings with seniors, mentors children and youth-at-risk, and volunteers with San Diego’s homeless. Tom considers it a privilege and joy to return to our Santa Monica congregation. He will have several of his books available for purchase, 
including HOMESTRETCH: The Art of Finishing Life Well.

 

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February 28, 2016
The Voice of Vocation - Saying Yes to Interdependence
Monthly Theme: Vocation
Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur

February Worship Series:  The Voice of Vocation

 
The spiritual teacher Parker Palmer urges you to “let your life speak” by listening for the voice of vocation, your heart’s calling, in all you do.  If your heart could sing, that would it say about your choices in life, work, family, spiritual growth, and community?  In a proudly pluralistic community like ours, which includes many unique and differing voices, it can be challenging to build and amplify a common voice to speak courageously on the issues that concern us as a whole – yet this is our mission and our calling as a community. Join Rev. Rebecca and our worship leaders for The Voice of Vocation, a month-long exploration of listening, breaking silence, and amplifying our voices to lift up our deepest values.
 

February 28 Sermon: "Saying Yes to Interdepencence"

 
Vocation can be called “the practice of saying yes.” Some of us struggle to say yes to the help of others, even when we need it most. How can we change this to live into the blessings and challenges of interdependence, so that we can give and get the support we need? 
 
Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go and do that because that’s what the world needs, people who have come alive.
 
- Howard Thurman, African-American writer, minister, and college chaplain

 

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February 21, 2016
The Voice of Vocation - 'Til Earth and Heaven Ring
Monthly Theme: Vocation
Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur

February Worship Series:  The Voice of Vocation

 
The spiritual teacher Parker Palmer urges you to “let your life speak” by listening for the voice of vocation, your heart’s calling, in all you do.  If your heart could sing, that would it say about your choices in life, work, family, spiritual growth, and community?  In a proudly pluralistic community like ours, which includes many unique and differing voices, it can be challenging to build and amplify a common voice to speak courageously on the issues that concern us as a whole – yet this is our mission and our calling as a community. Join Rev. Rebecca and our worship leaders for The Voice of Vocation, a month-long exploration of listening, breaking silence, and amplifying our voices to lift up our deepest values.

February 21 Sermon: 'Til Earth and Heaven Ring

 
In our noisy world, it can be hard to know when to speak out and when to keep quiet. Sharing the stories of troublemakers from our UU tradition can help us remember what is gained when we amplify our voices and lift up our deepest values in the public square.

 

February 14, 2016
The Voice of Vocation - The Voice of Vocation
Monthly Theme: Vocation
Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur

February Worship Series:  The Voice of Vocation

 
The spiritual teacher Parker Palmer urges you to “let your life speak” by listening for the voice of vocation, your heart’s calling, in all you do.  If your heart could sing, that would it say about your choices in life, work, family, spiritual growth, and community?  In a proudly pluralistic community like ours, which includes many unique and differing voices, it can be challenging to build and amplify a common voice to speak courageously on the issues that concern us as a whole – yet this is our mission and our calling as a community. Join Rev. Rebecca and our worship leaders for The Voice of Vocation, a month-long exploration of listening, breaking silence, and amplifying our voices to lift up our deepest values.

February 14 Sermon:  The Voice of Vocation

 
In the Christian Bible, the prophet Elijah listens for the voice of God in the wind, in the earthquake, and in the fire, only to hear God at last in a “still, small voice.” Where can we go to listen to the voice of God, conscience, vision, or heart in our lives today?