Sermons

The following selections of sermons can be played directly on your computer by clicking the links below or can be downloaded to your computer or MP3 player as a podcast by following the directions at the bottom of this page.

September 5, 2010 The Moral Good of Taxation
Rev. Carol McKinley

Tax reform is not only a political issue, but a moral issue as well. It compels us to ask, what is our moral responsibility for supporting the public services that sustain the common good?

Most of us are very familiar with the Reverend Carol McKinley and we are happy to welcome her back to our pulpit. She received her Master of Divinity from Seattle University's School of Theology and Ministry in 2004. Reverend McKinley is a community minister endorsed by OUUC, and serves as coordinator of Washington UU Voices for Justice, a state legislative advocacy network.

August 22, 2010 In Praise of Play
Carmen McDowell

Northwest poet David Whyte says that the antidote to exhaustion is wholeheartedness. On Labor Day's promontory, we pause to celebrate re-creation, the art of being, and good-for-nothing-ness. Leave your Protestant work ethic at home, and come on out and play.

Returning for the third time to our pulpit is Carmen McDowell, a candidate for the UU ministry. She has nearly two decades' experience working with nonprofit organizations in the Seattle area, including four years as the Membership Director at East Shore Unitarian Church in Bellevue. She will be the ministerial intern at University Unitarian Church in Seattle during 2010-11. Her favorite game is Boggle, although Slug Bug is a close second.

August 15, 2010 Shopping for the Right Religion
Rev. Arthur Vaeni

In our consumer culture shopping is both a means and an end. It can define our approach even to finding the right church. As a good consumer, what would be on your checklist for finding the right religious community? Would it include the criterion of making you aware of the role of consumerism in your life?

August 8, 2010 Part of Our Tribe? Unitarian Universalists and the Military
Raz Mason

Through our long tradition of social justice, Unitarian-Universalists have a dignified history of embracing diversity. And we also have a long history of working for peace. How can and ought we reconcile those two values in relating to people serving in the US military?

This sermon will highlight possible congregational responses to veterans, service members, and their families –in keeping with key Unitarian-Universalist principles.

Raz Mason is OUUC's Intern Minister. She is working this year as a chaplain at the Veterans’ hospital in Portland. She is also a Chaplain Candidate in the Navy and will speak from her personal experience of coming to military ministry.

August 1, 2010 Into the Heart of the Cosmos Where Science and Religion Meet
Rev. Arthur Vaeni

Arthur spoke about string theory some years ago, and now his reflection on it is back by popular demand. Since the Enlightenment science and religion have parted paths. How can we use some of the current scientific perspectives to enrich our religious understanding?

March 14, 2010 On a Quest for the Promised Land
Rev. Arthur Vaeni

Passover, one of the fundamental myths of the Jewish Tradition, is observed at the end of this month. A pivotal theme in the Passover story is the importance and meaning of freedom to the full development of our humanity. In this service we will reflect on the nature of freedom and how it opens us to the experience of life.

September 14, 2008 Four Reasons to Try Something Different by
Rev. Arthur Vaeni

Reason number 1: The experience of human life is incredibly precious.
Reason number 2: The experience of human life is incredibly short.
Reason number 3: Society is often designed to deny reason number 1.
Reason number 4: As short as life may be, we are continually sowing the seeds of our future in our present actions.

November 25, 2007 The Values of Liberalism by
Rev. Arthur 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.

September 23, 2007 Faith Without End by
Rev. Arthur 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. Arthur 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.

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 choose to 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 easily 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.

Donations to this audio service

We have had many positive responses to this page, and a number of people have asked if they could make a donation to help support our online audio service. This is now possible through a secure page where you can choose any amount you might wish to contribute. Funds raised here will be used to make more recordings available by letting us increase our server storage. Thanks!