OUUC Sermons

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The Sermon Page

We are podcasting! See below for instructions

On this page we have a selection of sermons available - some in written form and some as audio files.

The audio files can be played directly on your computer by clicking the webcast links below or can be downloaded to your computer or MP3 player as a podcast by following the directions below.

Webcasts

There will be a delay as the file downloads after you click the links below. Make sure that your computer’s sound is turned on.

April 27, 2008 Contemporary Christian Heretics and Rebels by Nathaniel Jones and Ann Yeo
	This service explores current examples of people engaged in the responsible search for truth, who are compelled to act on their faith. Hear about high ideals and gutsy practitioners.
March 16, 2008 We Are the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For by Bill Scarvie
	In this service we explore the moral imperative of the Earth Community described in David Korten’s recent book, “The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community.” Bill Scarvie serves as Coordinator of Outreach for the Earth Community Initiative of Korten’s People Centered Development Forum, has preached on this subject to congregations in the Pacific Central and Northwest Districts, and conducted workshops for UU congregations, district meetings, interfaith groups, and the 2006 UU General Assembly. Mr Scarvie, who is a member of the Bainbridge Island UU congregation, says, "the organizing principles of Earth Community are so closely aligned with the principles of my faith that I cannot affirm and promote one without affirming and promoting the other."
March 2, 2008 What is at the Center of Unitarian Universalism? by Nathaniel Jones
	The Annual General Meeting of the Pacific Northwest District of the Unitarian Universalist Association was held in Tacoma on the weekend of March 2nd. For those unable to attend, this service at OUUC brings home some of the wisdom from the keynote speaker, Rebecca Parker. She asks, “In the midst of all our diversity, our affirmation of pluralism, and our celebration of individual freedom of conscience in matters religious, what holds us all together?” We explore the question of what’s really at the core of UU beliefs. Please join us as we look beyond the seven principles to find a center.
February 17, 2008 Life Gets Messy by Rev Jim Anderson
	Life gets messy sometimes. People blunder into each other causing hurt and anger. This is often followed by urgings to forgive. There is the fluffy forgiveness of hallmark cards that is too superficial to be useful. Forgiveness is deeper than six lines in a poem. Forgiveness allows us to live together over the long haul. This morning I want to talk about three components of forgiveness - grace, letting go, and reconciliation. The Reverend Anderson is the Director of Hospitality Kitchen/Family Support and Education Program at Catholic Community Services.
January 20, 2008 UU Roots: Living Our Legacy by Rev Patti Pomerantz
	Unraveling our Unitarian Universalist roots can feel like looking for the beginning point of a spider’s web. Reverend Patti Pomerantz will explore the many starting points of the interdependent UU web of existence. Do you know them all?
December 23, 2007 Sabbaticals and the Nature of Creation by Rev Art Vaeni
	The term, sabbatical, comes from the Jewish scriptures, having to do with observing a sabbatical year every seventh year. The concept and the practice are interwoven with the nature of creation. These will be the last Sunday services Art will lead before his four month sabbatical, January – April, 2008.
November 25, 2007 The Values of Liberalism by Rev Art Vaeni
	In his book, Freedom’s Power, Paul Starr writes: “The proposition that each of us has a right to ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’ remains as good a definition as anyone has ever come up with of liberalism’s first principle and America’s historic promise.” The values and understanding of what constitutes a healthy society derived from liberalism are central to the American experience and to the possibility of fostering freedom, justice and equity throughout our society.
November 18, 2007 Beyond the Myth of the First Thanksgiving by Rev Art Vaeni
	When we look behind the myth of the Pilgrim’s first Thanksgiving, we gain a different understanding of the lives of the Native Americans and their relationships with the Europeans. And in doing so, we deepen our understanding and appreciation of what it means to be human.
October 21, 2007 What Is the Source and Way of True Peace? by Rev Art Vaeni
	In this auction sermon purchased by Ann Yeo we will reflect on our principle of promoting “the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all” in light of our General Assembly’s 2006 resolution calling us to examine what peacemaking presently means to us as Unitarian Universalists. Can we exist with integrity somewhere between agreement with “just war” theory and a commiment to nonviolence?
October 14, 2007 Wrestling with Angels by Rev Art Vaeni
	In his poem “The Man Watching” Rainer Maria Rilke writes: What we choose to fight is so tiny! What fights with us is so great!.. When we win it's with small things, and the triumph itself makes us small. In this service that initiates our stewardship drive we consider how this religious tradition calls us to be engaged in the world. Are we made greater by that to which we give our life energy?
September 30, 2007 Why Not Health Care for All? by Rev Art Vaeni
	“How are you doing?” someone asks. “As long as I’ve got my health, I can’t complain,” you might respond. In many ways we recognize that good health is at the heart of living well, yet our society has created a health care system that too often fails to support the well-being of too many.
September 23, 2007 Faith Without End by Rev Art Vaeni
	Some years ago, James Fowler proposed a theory of faith development in which he suggested that people often move through established stages of faith. What can we learn from this about the nature of faith, and our capacity to create a faith that evolves as our understanding of ourselves and life grows.
September 16, 2007 The End of Faith by Rev Art Vaeni
	The title is taken from Sam Harris’s book of the same name. Both Dr. Harris and Richard Dawkins who wrote, “The God Delusion,” challenge not only commonly held religious perspectives but the wisdom of tolerance for those perspectives that are held by so many people.
June 17, 2007 Job’s Understanding of Life by Rev Art Vaeni
	Job is one of the great stories in the Jewish and Christian traditions. It is also one of the most important reflections on life and the nature of the Divine in those scriptures. What of it may be relevant to us?

Podcasts

Podcasts are a way of letting a program manage subscriptions to audio content, downloading programs you subscribe to so you can then listen to them any time, or even load them onto a mp3 player (or iPod). You can even set the programs to automatically download during the night if you have a slower modem.

There are a number of programs that can be downloaded to obtain podcasts, some for a fee, but one of the best is the free download of iTunes from Apple (which runs nicely on PCs). You can get it at http://www.apple.com/itunes/download. If you would like information on other types of programs available for downloading podcasts a list of them can be found at http://www.podcastingnews.com/topics/Podcast_Software.html.

If you use iTunes, you can subscribe to our Podcast by clicking here. Anytime you start up iTunes, new sermons will either automatically download (if you set your preferences for that) or you can right-click the OUUC Podcast title in the list and select Update Podcast to get any new episodes that have been added.

Text of sermons by Rev. Arthur Vaeni

May 7, 2006 Creating a Safe Congregation
April 30, 2006 What I Learned in Louisiana
January 23, 2005 What Are the Defining Qualities of this Liberal Religion?
October 17, 2004 Nature Says: ’Evolve, ’Cause I Bat Last’
November 30, 2003 Self-Reliance Is the Starting Point Not the Goal
November 23, 2003 Gratitude Is the Fairest Blossom Which Springs from the Soul
June 1, 2003 Into the Heart of the Cosmos Where Science and Religion Meet
February 2, 2003 With Malice Toward None; with Charity for All
January 5, 2003 A Principle of Justice, Equity and Compassion
September 29, 2002 The Sixth Principle and Iraq
August 11, 2002 The Pledge of Allegiance and God
April 28, 2002 Fifty Years is Only Half the Story: A Brief History of Unitarianism in Olympia in the 1800’s
April 14, 2002 The Third Leg of the Stool
December 2, 2001 Pausing on the Edge of Darkness

Text of sermons and Services by others

July 16, 2006 - Remembering Louisiana by the Rev. Carol McKinley
April 24, 2005 - Global Warming Service by Green Sanctuary and Social Justice Committees
January 30, 2005 - LLyn De Danaan’s Story, Babur’s Fabulous Journey:The Enduring Heart formed the basis for the worship service
The 2006 Yule Play Script