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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.**

February 21, 2021 - 10:00am
What Is Anti-Oppression Spiritual Life and Practice? (Online Service)
Monthly Theme: Beloved Community
Patricia Mushim Ikeda

This sermon will invite listeners to spend some time contemplating how they understand and embody anti-oppression work  in their spiritual lives and practices. You'll learn a bit more about me and my path, and together we'll encourage one another to clarify and embody our commitment to liberatory insights and actions in 2021, Year Two of a global pandemic, continuing economic and political polarization and distress, and climate crisis. 

February 14, 2021 - 10:00am
The Beloved Canopy (Online Service)
Monthly Theme: Beloved Community
Rev. Judith Meyer

One of the consolations for the loneliness and monotony of the past year has been the companionship of nature. Forest, desert, river, ocean all remind us that we are not as alone as we thought. We just have to listen.

February 7, 2021 - 10:00am
Enter, Rejoice, and Come In! (Online Service)
Monthly Theme: Beloved Community
Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae

Join us as we explore our ministerial priorities, new church offerings, and developmental progress this church year. We will also honor the arrival of the Lunar New Year as we celebrate and deepen our commitments to multiculturalism as a congregation. 

January 31, 2021 - 10:00am
A Multireligious Bouquet (Online Service)
Monthly Theme: Imagination
Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae
 
A church of Atheists, Agnostics, Humanists, Secularists, and Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, and other spiritual seekers!? One of the most unique features of Unitarian Universalism is the expansiveness of our religious and philosophical embrace. It distinguishes us from every other religious tradition and yet is reflective of the world in which we live. It presents its own challenges and opportunities in creating beloved community. Join us as we explore our uniquely beautiful multireligious bouquet.
January 24, 2021 - 10:00am
Just Imagine (Online Service)
Monthly Theme: Imagination
Rev. Kikanza Nuri-Robins
 
Our theme for community reflection this month is “Imagination.” What role does imagination play in creating a world that works for us?
January 17, 2021 - 10:00am
A Prophet for Our Times (Online Service)
Monthly Theme: Imagination
Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae
 
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Baptist minister, theologian, and a luminary of the movement for civil rights. His prophetic legacy was largely whitewashed to make him more palatable to mainstream culture. In seminary, I had the privilege of studying his life and writings and discovered a liberal religious prophet for our times. Join us as we encounter Dr. King anew and his radical message of liberation.
 
Photo Caption:  Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia commemorates Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with readings of “Letter from Birmingham Jail” on January 17, 18, and 19. (PRNewsFoto/Eastern State Penitentiary)
January 10, 2021 - 10:00am
Hope is On the Horizon (Online Service)
Monthly Theme: Imagination
Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae
 
Let us pause and take inventory of the good work of this church in the past year and chart a course for our ministry together in 2021. Join us as we explore the new ways we are called to minister to each other, our developmental priorities, and what might be born of the global experience of surviving a pandemic together.
January 3, 2021 - 10:00am
Loss -- Holding on and Letting Go (Online Service)
Monthly Theme: Imagination
Michael Eselun
 
Moving together through these challenging times, we find ourselves confronted by loss in so many dimensions. What might be there for us? Do we hold on or let go? UCLA Oncology Chaplain and popular guest speaker Michael Eselun will share reflections on these questions.
 
December 27, 2020 - 10:00am
Marking Time (Online Service)
Monthly Theme: Stillness
Rev. Matthew Cockrum
 
How are you crossing the threshold this year? Spiraling, ascending, finishing, or counting the days? How we mark time matters.
 
The Rev. Matthew Cockrum serves as Minister for Spiritual Care and Practice at Fountain Street Church, an independent church in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  An ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, Matthew is also trained in spiritual direction, yoga instruction, and end of life doula services and has served as a hospital chaplain.  Matthew’s ministries focus on music, movement, and meaning.
 
December 24, 2020 - 6:00pm
Christmas Eve Candlelight Service (Online Service)
Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae
 
Join us for our online Christmas Eve service this year as we joyfully sing the carols of the season from around the globe and consider the deeper meaning of the story of Christmas.  Tonight’s offering will benefit the Minister’s Discretionary Account.