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“We Are Called”
with Rev. Carol McKinley
Sunday, February 23, 2025
The architect, philosopher, and futurist R. Buckminster Fuller wrote, “We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims.” In our changing world, that call has become increasingly urgent: when we hear it, how can we respond in ways that help create the future we hope to see?
After-Service Forum (12:15 pm, onsite or online):
Skill Builder Part 2: Conflict Management Skills, led by Rev. Sara Lewis
Come learn more valuable skills of being in community together.
“Rooted in Love”
with Rev. Mary Gear
Sunday, February 16, 2025
In this time when our Unitarian Universalist values are being challenged, how do we support each other and the work of justice? We begin the OUUC stewardship drive with a reflection on where we are and where we are going.
View the Order of Service here.
View the Sermon and Readings here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
Skill Builder Part 1: Facilitation Skills, led by Rev. Sara Lewis
Come learn some valuable skills of being in community together.
“Being the People We Mean to Be”
with Rev. Sara Lewis
Sunday, February 9, 2025
“Believing in” inclusion, equity, and justice is a good start, but how do we move beyond being a believer to an active builder of a more inclusive, equitable, and just world? How do we actually become the people we intend ourselves to be?
View the Order of Service here.
View the Sermon and Readings here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
“Legacy Forests: Why We Must Protect Them and How to Take Action” with the Legacy Forest Defense Coalition
Forum Description: Joshua Wright gives a presentation on Western Washington’s “legacy” forests and the movement to save them. He discusses their definition, why they are important, and how people can take action. This forum is sponsored by the OUUC Environmental Action Team (EAT).
Forum Speaker Bio: Joshua Wright is an award-winning filmmaker and a youth forest defense activist, working for the preservation of the more than human world. He is the Programs Manager with the Legacy Forest Defense Coalition, working to protect the last naturally regenerated forests on state lands. In British Columbia, he uses satellite imagery to track the logging of endangered old-growth forests and works with lead researchers to protect endangered species living in threatened old growth forests. He was a part of the Fairy Creek Blockade which facilitated the largest active civil disobedience in Canadian history.
“Every Body is Welcome”
with Rev. Mary Gear
Sunday, February 2, 2025
This month, we explore the spiritual practice of Inclusion, beginning with the welcome and acceptance of all bodies. What are the theological roots of our relationship to bodies, and how does our work for justice fit in?
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
“Compassionate Communication” Training with the Dispute Resolution Center
Have you wondered how to approach deep conversations without offending others or showing biases? Elizabeth Drake, Executive Director of the Thurston County Dispute Resolution Center (DRC), will offer valuable insights into the methods of Compassionate Communication. Elizabeth will also share practical tips and tools to help us be come more effective communicators in today’s world of “mass noise.” This forum is sponsored by the OUUC Leadership Development Committee (LDC).
“Lamenting Our Way Towards Liberation”
with Elisabeth Geschiere
Sunday, January 26, 2025
What are the stories you carry about grief or lament? This Sunday, we will explore how practices of grief and lament are interconnected with love and liberation. There will be several invitations to sing (or listen) together!
View the Order of Service here.
The After-Service Forum for Sunday, January 26th was cancelled.
“The Power of History”
with Rev. Mary Gear
Sunday, January 19, 2025
This Sunday, we honor the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and prepare for the inauguration and term of a new president.
Come for connection and renewal of spirit as we ready for what is ahead.
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
Preparation for the Road Ahead: Connection in Small Groups
Rev. Mary hosted a forum including small group discussions and reflection on how we prepare for the next chapter after the Inauguration.
“Caste, Class, and Capitalism”
with Rev. Mary Gear
Sunday, January 12, 2025
What was the story you were told about poverty and wealth, class and privilege? As we continue our exploration of the spiritual practice of story, we draw on religious teachings to inform our story of who we are and how we are valued.
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
Faith in Action Forum: Classism 101
Presented by Rev. Mary, Anne Hundley, & Tim Ransom
“Telling a Different Story”
with Rev. Mary Gear
Sunday, January 5, 2025
The stories that we tell have power. This month, we explore the spiritual practice of story. This Sunday, we consider the challenge and transformation possible from telling a counter-cultural story.
View the Order of Service here.
There was no After-Service Forum on Sunday, January 5.
“Comfort & Joy: A Candlelight Christmas Eve Service”
with Rev. Mary Gear, Rev. Sara Lewis, Troy Fisher, and the OUUC Choir
Tuesday, December 24, 2024
“This Season Brings Forth Many Feelings”
with Rev. Mary Gear
Sunday, December 22, 2024
We celebrate the Winter Solstice and the time of darkness with a ritual to welcome the complexity of all feelings this season.
View the Order of Service here.
There was no After-Service Forum on Sunday, December 22.
“In the Presence of Mystery”
with Rev. Nancy Reid-McKee
Sunday, December 15, 2024
Our very presence on this earth is part of the mystery we are engulfed in. Let us spend time recognizing the wonder of being alive, and being present to this gift.
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
Welcome and Inclusion Training
Join Rev. Sara for a discussion and training on how we can live our mission to welcome and include everyone.
“Presents and Presence”
with Rev. Mary Gear
Sunday, December 8, 2024
We explore the spiritual practice of “presence” in a month that focuses on presents. What are the gifts of presence, and how might we find them in this season?
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
Allyship Skill Builder
A forum with Rev. Sara to practice skills of support and intervention when we encounter bias and bullying.
“Dreaming Possibility”
with Rylee Uhrich
Sunday, December 1, 2024
As winter settles in we explore the quiet expansiveness of dreaming. Yet we stay present with a world that is full of injustice and uncertainty. What does this balance show us?
View the Order of Service here.
There was no After-Service Forum on Sunday, December 1.
“Joy, Justice, and Commitment”
with Rev. Manish Mishra-Marzetti & Rev. Mary Gear
Sunday, November 24, 2024
We kick off the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee’s annual Guest Your Table collection with a reflection from Rev. Manish Mishra-Marzetti, on the joy, justice, and commitment at the heart of UUSC’s global partnerships. We celebrate 50 years of UUSC’s work to connect UU congregations with partners around the world.
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
“What’s Next” with the OUUC Board
Come to begin the discussion about how OUUC can respond to this moment in history. There will be small group discussions and a time for sharing.
“The Heritage of Religious Freedom”
with Rev. Zsolt Elekes & the Partner Church Team
Sunday, November 17, 2024
In celebration of our covenant and long Partner Church relationship with the Unitarian Church of Kissolymos (located in the Transylvanian area of Romania), Rev. Zsolt Elekes, a Hungarian Unitarian chaplain, will be our virtual worship leader. Rev. Zsolt will speak of his experience in ministry with international UU relations organizations in the context of the anniversary of the death of Francis David (11/15), and the implications for the human right of freedom of conscience.
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
Q&A with Rev. Zsolt
Bring your questions about the international Unitarian & UU movement and the OUUC pilgrimage to Transylvania next fall.
“Lessons Learned”
with Rev. Mary Gear
Sunday, November 10, 2024
As we gather on the Sunday after the election, we reflect on what we have learned from our past and what repair is needed as we move into our future.
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
Faith in Action Post-Election — Conversations and Actions
“Home” — An All-Music Service
with Troy Fisher, the OUUC Choir, & Guest Musicians
Sunday, November 3, 2024
Come help us welcome Rev. Mary back from sabbatical! She’ll be attending the service this Sunday, and leading the service the following Sunday.
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
All Volunteer Training: Who and How?
Rev. Sara offers a helpful training for anyone navigating how to get things done here at OUUC.
“Wellsprings of Unitarian Universalism”
with Rev. Monica Jacobson-Tennessen
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Unitarian Universalism is a global faith, which takes different forms in different places. Our connections to our cousins in this tradition can be sources of strength for us all. Rev. Monica will reflect on her September pilgrimage to Transylvania, and on UUism in other places around the world.
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
“Everything Old is New Again” with the OUUC Board of Trustees and the Sabbatical Committee
We talk about Rev. Mary’s return from sabbatical, the new Board members, and how we can all seem the same but really change every day.
“Love Implementing the Demands of Justice”
with Rev. Mary Katherine Morn, President of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)
Sunday, October 20, 2024
In the face of challenges and forces that undermine justice and equity, UUSC has, for more than eight decades, been resisting cynicism and refusing complacency. Through a model that embraces radical trust, UUSC advances human rights in partnership with communities impacted by oppression. The stories of faithful imagination and always emerging learning create the journey of justice and joy that we share in our work together.
Speaker Bio: Rev. Mary Katherine Morn, President and Lead Executive Officer of UUSC since 2018, brings 30 years of faith-based leadership, fostering progressive congregations and championing economic, racial, and social justice. Her extensive work includes collaborations with interfaith and advocacy organizations on issues such as homelessness, reproductive justice, and LGBTQI+ rights. She has also held leadership roles with the UU Ministers’ Association and the Unitarian Universalist Association.
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
with Rev. Mary Katherine Morn, President of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)
Rev. Morn shares stories from grassroots partners making real change in the world. Come to find hope, inspiration, and ways to be part of the global movement for human rights.
“Reimagining Counterculture for Today”
with Rev. Sara Lewis
Sunday, October 13, 2024
Our 2024-25 Annual Theme says, “We’re a counter-cultural congregation focused on love, justice, and health. We put our values into practice.” What does it mean to be countercultural today?
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
No to Initiatives 2117 and 2066 with Jim Lazar of Olympia Indivisible, sponsored by OUUC Environmental Action Team
Jim Lazar presents the basics of two anti-environmental initiatives and why it is important to vote against them. Initiative I-2117 will repeal the Climate Commitment Act and Initiative 2066 will prohibit the implementation of natural gas bans.
Jim Lazar is recently retired from a global career in electric utility regulation, including pricing, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. He is author of four books and numerous booklets on electricity and is also a former Thurston County Public Utility District Commissioner.
“Christian Nationalism and Religious Freedom”
with Rev. Carol McKinley
Sunday, October 6, 2024
The right to practice religion, or no religion at all, is among the most fundamental of the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. That freedom is threatened by Christian Nationalism, an ideology that advocates for recognition of the United States as a white Christian nation. What does that mean for those who do not identify as Christians?
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
Faith in Action at OUUC with Rev. Sara Lewis
“Hope: A Status Report”
with Peter Jabin
Sunday, September 29, 2024
There are so many voices speaking to these unprecedented times in which we live, times for which our species truly has no reference. To find a path forward, we must slow down and listen. Please join us for an impressionistic message — a collage, if you will — in multiple voices seeking to discern new meanings for the idea and, more importantly, the experience of hope.
Speaker Bio: Peter Jabin, M.Div., LMHC is a pastoral psychotherapist in private practice. He received his M.Div. from University of Chicago, with post-graduate work at The Center for Religion and Psychotherapy of Chicago. Peter is a Diaconal Minister in the Pacific Northwest Conference of the United Methodist Church. He has trained in the facilitation of grief rituals with Francis Weller and others. Peter lives and works in the Eastlake neighborhood of Seattle, with his canine companion, Thatcher.
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
Legacy Giving at OUUC: What You Should Know
A Legacy Gift is a “planned gift” made through a will or other formal estate planning document that names OUUC as a beneficiary. Arranging for a Legacy Gift is a meaningful way to express your faith, values and commitment to ensure OUUC provides a spiritual home for generations to come.
For more info: https://www.ouuc.org/give/legacy-giving/
“Disguised as Our Life”
with Rev. Monica Jacobson-Tennessen
Sunday, September 22, 2024
Paula D’arcy says, “God comes to you disguised as your life.” What might that mean for UUs, with our many ideas of what “God” means? Let’s explore a few ideas together.
“The Circle of Welcome”
with Rev. Nancy Reid-McKee
Sunday, September 15, 2024
As UU’s, we often talk of the value in belonging to a loving community. Let’s explore how we invite others into our community, and why it is that this is so important to us.
Speaker Bio: Rev. Nancy Reid-McKee recently retired from the Northlake UU Church in Kirkland, WA. Rev. Nancy attended the
Starr King School for the Ministry along with our Rev. Mary Gear, graduating in 2018. She did her internship at the UU Congregation at Shelter Rock in New York, has served our faith tradition as President of the Starr King Graduate Association, Vice-President of the UU Women’s Federation and currently serves as Chair of the UU Commission on Social Witness.
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
One Parish, One Prisoner
For this week’s Faith-in-Action forum, we are joined after worship by One Parish, One Prisoner, an organization that matches faith communities with incarcerated people for relationship and support in re-entry post incarceration.
“Merging Streams, Transforming Lives: Water Communion”
with Rev. Carol McKinley and Rev. Sara Lewis
Sunday, September 8, 2024
We come together at OUUC this Sunday for a double celebration: to welcome new members and participate in our annual Water Communion! All are invited to bring a small amount of water from the places in your lives that hold special meaning, symbolizing that even as we may travel as separate streams during the summer, we unite in September as one community. Together, we begin the journey to transformation.
“The Strike at Lawrence Mass”
with Janet Spencer and a cast of fellow OUUC congregants
Sunday, September 1, 2024
A Labor Day play, dramatized by Janet Spencer and Susan Lenoe, who drew from congressional transcripts after the momentous organizing of workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1912. Come immerse in this scene from history.
“Take What You Need: Backpack Blessings”
with Rev. Monica Jacobson-Tennessen and Rev. Sara Lewis
Sunday, August 25, 2024
We’re embarking on this congregational year’s journey toward a world of more love, justice, and health. What do you need to pack in your “backpack” of values and practices? We’ll explore some possibilities together, and offer backpack tags as reminders of what we’re bringing along.
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
Mid-Sabbatical Congregational Check-In
This is a time to reflect on this time of rest and renewal in our beloved community. We check in with each other on how we can keep leaning in, to sustain and strengthen our shared ministry during this sabbatical and beyond. For more info on Rev. Mary’s sabbatical, including how to contact the sabbatical committee, please visit: https://www.ouuc.org/sabbatical/
“A Faithful Democracy”
with Rev. Nancy Reid-McKee
Sunday, August 18, 2024
This Sunday we will explore the current threat facing the democracy of the United States, and how we, as religious people, can respond with integrity.
Speaker Bio: Rev. Nancy Reid-McKee, she/her pronouns, recently retired from the Northlake UU Church in Kirkland, WA. Rev. Nancy attended the Starr King School for the Ministry along with our Rev. Mary Gear, graduating in 2018. She did her internship at the UU Congregation at Shelter Rock in New York, has served our faith tradition as President of the Starr King Graduate Association, Vice-President of the UU Women’s Federation and currently serves as Chair of the UU Commission on Social Witness.
“The Restorative Power of Joy”
with Rev. Carol McKinley
Sunday, August 11, 2024
We cannot deny the world’s suffering or the painful parts of our own lives, but affirming our sources of joy can help sustain us as we move through times, reminding us to recognize the presence of good in the world.
“Worthy At Any Size”
with Rev. Sara Lewis
Sunday, August 4, 2024
Humans are embodied in so many ways, shapes, sizes, abilities, and degrees of something we call “health.” We will explore the spiritually radical act of loving all bodies just as they are.
“Tools for the Revolution”
with Rev. Monica Jacobson-Tennessen
Sunday, July 28, 2024
A revolution is a momentous change, and we’re certainly at the very least in a season of flux in our country now. What spiritual tools do we need to live, and to work for a better world, in these times?
“Grounded in Our Values”
with Rylee Uhrich
Sunday, July 21, 2024
In response to the UU General Assembly earlier this summer, Rylee explores values, ideals and change as part of our UU tradition.
Speaker Bio: Rylee is a social worker at Community Youth Services. She is also a UU ministry student and remains curious about where her call to ministry will lead her next. Rylee lives in Olympia and is a member of OUUC.
“Weaving Our Lives”
UUA General Assembly Worship
with Rev. Dr. Molly Housh Gordon
Sunday, July 14, 2024
Note: This service included some live elements at OUUC and some pre-recorded elements from the worship service produced for the 2024 General Assembly of the UUA. It was streamed both in the OUUC sanctuary and via our usual Zoom link, but NOT on YouTube, so the full recording will NOT be posted, but you can click the image above to see the original GA Worship Service.
We are all tangled up together in a great web of life that is woven with beauty and hardship, love and loss, thriving and struggle. How do we tend well to the weaving so that all of us are held in care?
Rev. Molly Housh Gordon will be joined by Violet Vonder Haar, Jamila Bachelder, Rev. Leon Dunkely, Rev. Eric Kaminetsky, Rev. Joan Javier-Duvall, Rev. Jordinn Nelson Long, Rev. Aaron Wisman, Rev. Sadie Lansdale, and Rev. Sarah Oglesby-Dunegan.
Featuring musicians: Natasha Steinmacher, GA Music Coordinator; Lea Morris; Francisco Ruiz; beheld; Violet Vonder Haar; Paul Winchester; and choirs from All Souls Unitarian Church, Indianapolis, IN; First Parish in Concord, MA; First Parish UU in Lexington, MA; First UU Congregation of Ann Arbor, MI; UU Fellowship in Athens, GA; UU Fellowship of Poughkeepsie, NY; UU Church in Cherry Hill, NJ; UU Church in Reston, VA; and UU of Minnetonka, MN.
“Hearing Prophetic Voices”
with Rev. Carol McKinley
Sunday, July 7, 2024
The longing for justice, equity, and peace is not new; ancient peoples expressed their hopes in myths, songs and stories. Yet prophets who warned of looming dangers were shunned, much as today’s prophets whose warnings of social and environmental threats are ignored or belittled. How do we open ourselves to hear their truths and respond with courage?
“Seeds for a More Fruitful Earth”
with Fredrick Livingston
Sunday, June 30, 2024
Are humans parasites, sowing our own hunger, or fruit, gifts from the Earth to our future? Local Olympian and award-winning poet Frederick Livingston will read from his newest title “Trees are Bridges to the Sky” and discuss how the metaphors we use to relate to the natural world shape the futures available to us. His broad meanders in ecology have led him to conclude the fate of our species depends not on any future wealth or technology, but on the seeds of evolution we sow with every breath.
Guest Speaker Bio: Frederick Livingston grew up in Olympia, attending OUUC while his mother sang in the choir. He has since gone on to weave experiential education, ecology, and poetry in river that has taken him from Peace Corps Tanzania to the United Nations University for Peace in Costa Rica and beyond, including his current role leading environmental education programs in prisons. He is the author of the poetry collection The Moon and Other Fruits, and his most recent title Trees are Bridges to the Sky won the prism prize for climate literature. These two books of poetry are available in Olympia at Orca Books, Browsers Books, and Last Word books. More info at: http://fredericklivingston.com/
“Where The Light Begins”
with Troy Fisher and the OUUC Choir
Sunday, June 23, 2024
This All-Music Service features the OUUC Choir and guest musicians, under the direction of Troy Arnold Fisher, OUUC Music Director.
“Renewing Curiosity”
with Rev. Monica Jacobson-Tennessen
Sunday, June 16, 2024
As we install newly elected leaders and send Rev. Mary off for her sabbatical, a time of rest and renewal, we’ll consider together what practices we’re all invited to during this next season in the life of OUUC. One simple, complicated, idea is the practice of curiosity about what may open up in this time.
View the Order of Service here.
No more After-Service Forums from June 16 through August!
“Renewing Community”
with Rev. Mary Gear
Sunday, June 9, 2024
As we explore the monthly spiritual theme of renewal, join us as we practice the annual ritual of flower communion. In this month of LGBTQI+ Pride, we honor our diversity and renew our commitment to building an inclusive community.
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
OUUC Annual Congregational Meeting
“Honoring Our Young Ones”
with Rev. Mary Gear & Rev. Sara Lewis
Sunday, June 2, 2024
This Sunday, we dedicate a baby into the care of the congregation and recognize several of our youth as they graduate from high school, bridging from childhood to adulthood. Come join us as we honor our young ones.
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
Budget Expo, with the OUUC Board and Rev. Mary, to cover all the details of the proposed OUUC budget for July 2024 – June 2025. If you would like to know all the details about the proposed budget, this meeting is for you! Bring your questions and concerns to the meeting so they can be addressed before the annual meeting on June 9.
“Your body is a poem; Your body is a prayer”
with Rev. Liz Ullery Swenson
Sunday, May 26, 2024
“…dismiss whatever insults your own soul; and your very flesh shall be a great poem, and have the richest fluency…”
~ Walt Whitman, preface to Leaves of Grass
Reclaiming and reconnecting with the Divine nature within us through theopoetics and an embodied theology.
View the Order of Service here.
No After-Service Forum in honor of Memorial Day.
“Learning from Marine Mammals”
with Rev. Sara Lewis
Sunday, May 19, 2024
Inspired by the book Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals by Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Rev. Sara will explore wisdom and practices for thriving as humans we can learn from our marine mammal cousins.
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
Volunteer Appreciation Game Show with Rev. Sara
“For All the Mothers”
with Rev. Mary Gear
Sunday, May 12, 2024
This Mother’s Day, we celebrate mothers and mothering in all its forms, from Mother Earth to non-binary parents.
TECH NOTE: This recording is in 2 pieces (with a short gap between) due to technical difficulties:
Beginning of the service (a link to the other video should show on the screen in the last 20s of this video)
“Embrace Our Differences”
with Rev. Mary Gear
Sunday, May 5, 2024
This month we explore the spiritual theme of “Pluralism,” the last of the UU values proposed as the foundation of our faith. What does it mean to be in a diverse community, and how do we not just tolerate but celebrate our differences?
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
UUA General Assembly & Proposed Updates to Article II
An update on the proposed changes to the Unitarian Universalist Association purposes and principles (Article II) with Rev. Mary & Rev. Sara.
“How Are We To Live?”
with Rev. Mary Gear
Sunday, April 28, 2024
Unitarian Universalism values the inherent worth and dignity of all humans. What if we were to expand that to include all beings, the interdependent web of life?
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum:
“Falling Short – Looking Ahead” with the OUUC Board of Trustees
While the stewardship drive was successful, it fell short of what is needed for our community to thrive. Come join the Board for a discussion about the future of OUUC.
“Spring Contemplation”
with Rylee Uhrich
Sunday, April 21, 2024
Spring is a time of softer rain, milder temperatures, warming soils, and sprouting seeds. For this week’s Earth Day service we will go on a spring time journey together with the seeds. We will explore what it takes to become ready to sprout, to put down roots, and to send up leaves.
Guest Speaker Bio: Rylee is a social worker at Community Youth Services. She is also a UU ministry student and remains curious about where her call to ministry will lead her next. Rylee lives in Olympia and is a member of OUUC.
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum: Faith in Action Annual Review
“Freedom and Connection”
with Rev. Monica Jacobson-Tennessen
Sunday, April 14, 2024
Author Mia Birdsong writes, “Being free is, in part, achieved through being connected.” This framing has much to offer us, as covenantal people of a free faith. Come explore the life-giving possibilities and power held in freedom paired with connection and interdependence.
View the Order of Service here.
Watch the After-Service Forum: Faith in Action with the Estuarium
Paris McClusky, Executive Director of the Puget Sound Estuarium, will cover its history, programs for the public and K-12 youth, growth, and future plans. Discover how the Estuarium promotes understanding of the South Sound ecosystem, fostering ecological conservation, stewardship, and resilience to climate change.
“The Interdependent Web”
with Rev. Mary Gear
Sunday, April 7, 2024
Our theology claims that we are part of an interdependent web of existence, and we humans are just one part. How do we live and work for justice in a culture that worships rugged individualism?
“Love Lives Again”
with Rev. Mary Gear, Rev. Sara Lewis, and Troy Fisher
Sunday, March 31, 2024
On this Easter Sunday, we celebrate the Spring holidays of resurrection and new life.
“Orthopathy: Right Suffering in The Great Unraveling”
with Peter Jabin and Rev. Mary Gear
Sunday, March 24, 2024
If we are to know anything of resilience or hope as humanity collectively collides with the climate crisis, it is essential that we remember the central importance of grief for the human soul and recover the lost art of grieving. Moreover, we need to expand the embrace of our compassion such that the more-than-human becomes fully grievable. This service will be a meditation, in poetry and reflection, on these ideas, and will provide a global context for the afternoon’s grief workshop.
“Good Enough”
with Rev. Sara Lewis
Sunday, March 17, 2024
When perfect isn’t possible and we are surrounded by choices and options, how do we decide what is good enough? When do we know that we are good enough?
“Question Box Service”
with Rev. Mary Gear
Sunday, March 10, 2024
Back by popular demand, Rev. Mary explores your questions and wonderings. Congregants were invited to email her in advance with their theological, philosophical, or spiritual questions, and to send in last-minute questions during the service. If you have more spiritual questions you’d like Rev. Mary to consider addressing in future services, please email them to her at minister@ouuc.org
“Stories of Transformation”
with Rev. Mary Gear
Sunday, March 3, 2024
The invitation to be part of a faith community is an invitation to transformation. Today we share stories of transformation at OUUC.
“Singing of Honor and Glory”
with Phoenix bell-shelton biggs
Sunday, February 25, 2024
CONTENT WARNING: This sermon includes significant reference to suicidal ideation. If you need extra support after listening (or if you are ever in need, for any reason!), please don’t hesitate to reach out to Rev. Mary (minister@ouuc.org) or the pastoral care team (pastoralcare@ouuc.org). You can find out more about Pastoral Care at OUUC here.
Sermon Intro: Drawing inspiration from Revelation 5:13, where every creature in heaven and on earth proclaims praise and honor to the Lamb, and Judges 5:4-5, which speaks of the righteous singing to the Lord, this sermon invites us to explore the profound connection between worship and divine glory. In a world filled with turmoil, we’ll uncover the power of song as a spiritual weapon and a path to unity. We’ll delve into the eternal anthem echoing through the heavens and its relevance in our lives today.
Speaker bio: Phoenix bell-shelton biggs is a Queer, BIPOC, non-binary seminarian and aspiring Public Theologian. Phoenix serves as intern minister for the UU Fellowship of Fredericksburg, VA, while they continue their studies and seminary education at Meadville Lombard Theological School.
Phoenix is called to lead Radical Love, care, and Sanctuary Movements, simultaneously disrupting patriarchy and all systems of oppression that plague our world. They are healing, growing, and learning to love themselves, trying to find their place on this topsy-turvy journey that we call life.
Prior to answering the call to ministry, Phoenix earned degrees in Media Production and Religious Studies from Pellissippi State Community College and Middle Tennessee State University. When Phoenix is not working or studying, they love being out in nature, traveling, eating good vegan food, all things theater, and coffee.
“When Justice Starts With Just Us”
with Rev. Monica Jacobson-Tennessen
Sunday, February 18, 2024
It’s sometimes said that the solution to despair about the world is to find a small, often local way to make a difference for the better. In the same vein, as our justice-making efforts call us to challenge systems of oppression, we can find spiritual sustenance in our roots. Rev. Monica will share about the practice of “ancestral recovery” – reconstructing, as best we can, what life was like for our ancestors so we can find our own stories inside the larger history. Our legacies can help us find past wrongs to address, and give us connections to others who have worked for justice in the past.
“If Not Now”
with Carrie Newcomer and Gary Walters
Sunday, February 11, 2024
We explore the spiritual theme of “Justice” with original music and spoken word meditation offered by the artist.
View the Order of Service here.
“On Justice”
with Rev. Mary Gear
Sunday, February 4, 2024
We explore the February spiritual theme of “Justice.” What does justice mean for Unitarian Universalists, and what’s love got to do with it?
View the Order of Service here.
View the Sermon and Readings here.
“What Does Faith Mean?”
with Rev. Mary Gear
Sunday, January 28, 2024
The Christian Bible says that the three gifts of the Spirit are faith, hope, and love. We explore the last of these by asking what faith means for Unitarian Universalists.
View the Order of Service here.
View the Sermon and Readings here.
“Labors of Love”
with Rev. Sara Lewis
Sunday, January 21, 2024
How do love and work intertwine, and can we ever pay for love?
View the Order of Service here.
“What is Hope?”
with Rev. Mary Gear
Sunday, January 14, 2024
The Christian Bible says that the three gifts of the Spirit are faith, hope and love. We draw on the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to explore the gift of hope and how we hold hope in hard times.
View the Order of Service here.
“The Greatest of These is Love”
with Rev. Mary Gear
Sunday, January 7, 2024
The Christian Bible says that three gifts of the spirit are faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love. Our spiritual theme for the month of January is “Love.” This month, we’ll explore the meaning of all three gifts: faith, hope, and this Sunday, the greatest of these, love.
View the Order of Service here.
“Silent Night: A Christmas Eve Candlelight Service” with Rev. Mary Gear, Rev. Sara Lewis, Troy Fisher, and the OUUC Choir
Sunday, December 24, 2023 – 5:30 pm
View the Order of Service here.
“Holiday Stories and Songs”
with Rev. Mary Gear and Rev. Sara Lewis
Sunday, December 24, 2023 – 10 am
On this Christmas Eve morning, we celebrate the season with songs and stories of the winter holidays.
View the Order of Service here.
“What Carries Us”
with Rev. Monica Jacobson-Tennessen
Sunday, December 17, 2023
In times of change and transformation, from the personal to the global, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and lost in all that is happening. Let’s acknowledge that change is often uncomfortable, and then ask: what is it that we can hold on to in such times to help ourselves meet what comes next?
View the Order of Service here.
“At This Point on the Journey”
with the Adult Coming of Age Class
Sunday, December 10, 2023
Featuring credos shared by jasper llee, Woody Moore, Josie Solseng, and Janet Spencer.
View the Order of Service here.
Looking for older services? You can find them all here:
