Unitarian Universalist Sermons and Conversations from First Unitarian Church of Dallas

As we celebrate Mardi Gras, we enter the realm of joy and ask, Is joy appropriate when there is so much sadness in the world? What are the limits of language and spiritual life in describing something such as joy?

This is an invitation to wade in the water of racial equity, and worth and dignity for all. The waters of this life's work are transformational, loving, challenging, and imperative.

Love is a central value and theological faith claim of Unitarian Universalism. Love is more than a feeling. Our Universalist ancestors proclaimed "God's nature is love" Or put another way, the source of all being is love. We are born from it and return to it. It was a radical faith claim then, and it is radical now.

This core concept makes our faith come to life. Lets explore it.

Building beloved community seems daunting, lets talk about how we do it one day at a time.

During WWII, Unitarian Universalist theologian and scholar, John Luther Adams traveled to Germany and watched one liberal church after another fold against the tide of fascism. As we continue to explore the gifts of a liberal faith, we ask questions about the nature of a faith that is free, and whether or not there are non-negotiables that we hold in balance with our freedom.

adrienne maree brown writes: "We currently live in a reality of scarce justice, scarce attention, scarce liberation. It makes us believe that we must pit ourselves against each other with our harm…" On this Sunday in which we celebrate and commemorate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr, we will explore the lie of the scarcity model and the abundance that is sensed and felt when we practice solidarity.

How do we pursue them and why?

Our annual Burning Service where we have the opportunity in ritual to burn the things we no longer wish to carry into the new year.

In this week between two big holidays, we take time to pause and explore the spiritual practice of sabbath. This is Rev. Beth Dana's last Sunday with us before leaving for sabbatical.

A brief homily before the children's annual Christmas pageant.

The old poem said that the bells of Christmas ring wild and sweet. What do they really ring out?

What holds us captive? What makes our hearts ache? In this season of Advent we hold our grief and our hope side by side, rejecting the present ordering of things, and imagine this season as a call to liberation: free and fierce loving, merciful, and abundant living, with comfort for all hearts in exile.

Advent starts the season that leads up to Christmas. We ponder the myth of the season by finding its resources in hymns like O Come, O Come Emanual which claims, 'God is with us."

Sometimes gratitude surprises us. We may be in a hard place personally, or the events of the day may overwhelm us, yet an opening appears often revealed in a posture of gratitude.

What theology is behind our gratitude?

Creation stories shape us whether we are conscious of their influence or not. They weave their way through culture and practices that help or hinder our sense of well-being, reciprocity and gratitude. This Sunday we explore creation stories, including the creation story of the first Thanksgiving, asking, "What are the stories that might 'reconstitute the world?'"

Our annual remembrance of those in our church community we've lost in the past year.

What does love require of us when it comes to forgiving ourselves and others?

Whenever things begin to open up in new ways, in church life, in our inner life, in our social justice work a kind of clumsiness ensues. We doubt ourselves. We fumble around. We know that perfectionism and urgency are sure fire ways to ensure nothing is learned and nothing changes, and yet it's hard not to succumb to those cultural norms. This Sunday we embrace the messiness of transformation and change.

Why do Buddhists talk about learning to "stay" with our discomfort? Why did Jesus ask his followers to get uncomfortable with the dominant culture of the time and to live into the discomfort of really meeting our neighbor? What makes discomfort an important aspect of spiritual growth and deepening? This Sunday we explore our relationship with discomfort and what it can teach us.

The thief said, 'Your money or your life,' what is your response? What is the theology of money that makes your life better?

Lets talk about promises, covenants, how we honor each other with them.

To cherish is more than holding something dear. It is accepting the cost of loving, and loving still, "consciously, conscientiously, concretely, constructively," as poet Marge Piercy writes. Together we explore what it means to cherish.

As we come back together, what have we lost and gained, we explore what we cherish about each other, our faith community, and life.

Our Unitarian Universalist tradition responds "yes!" But what does it mean to be saved, and why does it matter?

William Ellery Channing forged the Unitarian response to this question and gave us much to ponder. What is sin? How do we fit into the traditional Christian story of sin and redemption? Does it matter? Why are we still so fixated on sin? How does this impact my life today?

Dr. Parker will share a personal testimony about the spiritual destination her journey has led to, and will teach a simple spiritual practice to ground

Some seek a spiritual destination that transcends this world and this life…but what if our spiritual destination is to be discovered right here and now?

– Spiritual destinations are known in pilgrimage. Lets look where we are pilgrims of soul.

– How does the Affirmation of our church serve as a grounding and resting place for us on our spiritual journeys?

– Untangling the complicity of religion with white supremacy and finding the yes to a deeper humanity for all of us.

– New spiritual and ethical understandings emerging from feminism and womanism as faith moves "earth ward" and we grapple with the false gods that have led to global climate change and ecological crises.

– Dealing with the ways we use religion to defend ourselves against our experiences of pain or loss. How can we let go of those defenses to come in closer contact with life's realities and life's sources of grace and healing?

– How to say 'yes' to America in all its complexity. What is the spiritual response to hope for our country? POSTLUDE: on Batiste playing the "Star Spangled Banner/Lift Every Voice and Sing" on NPR music Live Sessions hosted by WXPN

American Idols are everywhere so we might ask, where is the place for critique as a spiritual responsibility?

– What happens after we say "No" to dangerous ideas about God? We begin a spiritual journey to a deeper "Yes."

What idolatries exist in our tradition today, which we must say "no" to in order to embrace a more meaningful experience of the holy?

The power and importance of saying "no" to dangerous religious ideas about God.

Christianity today is not what it was intended to be. What can we learn from it about who we are? Was Jesus actually a Unitarian? These questions and other blasphemies are uncovered in this sermon.

How when the world opens up to us, our small vision becomes a grand one!

Join us as we celebrate and bless 9th graders who have completed Coming of Age and youth graduating from high school. This Sunday we will explore the ways we grow throughout our lives, no matter our age.

Practicing love beyond belief on Mother's Day.

We conclude our theme year looking back and forward at the stories of our lives and how this last year has taught us to live for the next.

Over the course of our lives we learn deeply impactful narratives about our own racial identity and the racial identities of others. How do we live and build community together knowing that race is a social construct, but racism is very real?

Earth day exploration of our present and future on this planet through a lens of UU values.

As we begin our sermon series on the stories we learn, unlearn, and rewrite over the course of our lives, we ask the question "in what image are we made?" How do the stories we learn from our family, our church, and our society shape the way we live in our bodies and express our sexuality?

Easter is not the same but the message can nurture us even as we push through the pandemic.

A Palm Sunday for Unitarian Universalists.

"Ministers sometimes say they only really preach one sermon. This is mine" - Rev. White