2008 Sermons at UUCB
The topics of sermons (or "Earth Room talks") at our church in 2008 are listed below.
| 2008 | Title and Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 6 | Our Stories – Storytelling in Our Lives. How stories of ourselves and our ancestors, both mythic and real, touch our hearts and souls. | Rev. Becky Gunn |
| Jan. 13 | Race – Still an Issue. A consideration of some ongoing racial inequities and what we might do. | Rev. Becky Gunn |
| Jan. 20 | Democracy In Action. A discussion of the UU fifth principle that affirms and promotes the use of the democratic process. | Rev. Becky Gunn |
| Jan. 27 | Turning the Corner. A discussion of building the grateful heart of our church. | Rev. Jann Halloran, guest speaker of Prairie UU Church in Parker |
| Feb. 3 | UUs at CU – "Mind the Gap!" Meet our partner, PRISM – Progressive Radically Inclusive Student Ministry – on the CU Boulder campus. | Rev. Todd Smiedendorf, campus minister at CU |
| Feb. 10 | Evolution or Intelligent Design? A panel considering different perspectives on the origins of the Universe. | Rev. Barbara Molfese |
| Feb. 17 | The Definitions of Love. An elucidation of what love means from a religious perspective using the Greek words for love: agape, philia and eros. | Rev. Becky Gunn |
| Feb. 24 | Echoes from the Earth: Stories from the Hopi and Navajo Traditions. Stories, insights, and knowledge of Native American traditions. | Fred Cole, UUCB member |
| March 2 | Our Search for Truth and Meaning. Working together we should consider where we find commonality in our shared truths. | Rev. Becky Gunn |
| March 9 | Health Care – Is it a Universal Right? We will consider why health care should be available for all. | Rev. Becky Gunn |
| March 16 | Elephant? What Elephant? The Committee on Ministry will explore some of the thought patterns and relationship habits that hinder us thriving as a community. |
UUCB members |
| March 23 | The Radical Jesus. Jesus was a revolutionary religious and political figure who understood the risks and the potential consequences of his radical actions. Let us consider how we might use his life as a model for our ethical lives. | Rev. Becky Gunn |
| March 30 | Listen to Your Mother. Abn exploration of the many voices of the Goddess and the messages “Our Mother” gives us. | Steve and Shari Storm, UUCB members |
| April 6 | Is Imprisonment Justice? A consideration of the lack of equity and justice in our current model regarding the consequences of breaking the law and getting caught. | Rev. Becky Gunn |
| April 13 | This is My Song. A morning of hymn singing, stories, and learning about hymns. | UUCB choir |
| April 20 | A Covenant with Each Other. A consideration of the covenants that we as church members have made with each other. | Rev. Becky Gunn |
| April 27 | Honoring Our Volunteers. Honoring all those who help build our building, create our gardens, implement our programs, and communicate our news. | Hayden Williamson, UUCB volunteer coordinator |
| May 4 | Bridging: A Celebration of Life Transitions. A celebration of the the transitions of our youth to young adulthood and middle school to high school. | Jennifer Skiendziewlewski, UUCB youth advisor and Diana Hultgren, director of lifespan religious education (DLRE) |
| May 11 | Nurturing: What, How, and Who Nurtures? On this Mother's Day, let us focus on one aspect of "mothering" – nurturing. | Rev. Becky Gunn |
| May 18 | Introductory Remarks on the Joyous Struggle. An introduction to to our new incoming consulting minister. | Rev. Howell Lind |
| May 25 | Moved by the Spirit of Justice and Love: Heterosexual Allies in the Movement for LGBT Rights. The importance of heterosexual allies to the movement for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights. | Glenda Russell, guest speaker and clinical psychologist |
| June 1 | Flower Communion. Participate in a UU tradition based on a rite that Norbert Capek celebrated in 1923 in Prague. | Rev. Becky Gunn |
| June 8 | Fostering Beauty in our Lives. Experience the beauty of the natural world at UUCB All-Church Retreat in Allenspark. | Rev. Becky Gunn |
| June 15 | Fatherhood, Masculinity, and Feminist Community. What does it mean to be male today, and what should we expect from fathers? | Alan Davis, UUCB member |
| June 22 | The Art of Moving Forward. A remembrance of things that were accomplished during Rev. Becky's transitional ministry and a farewell celebration as she moves on. | Rev. Becky Gunn |
| June 29 | Effective Suffering. Reflections on the ways in which we can turn our times of suffering into a curriculum for living a conscious and compassionate life. | David Chernikoff, guest speaker, psychotherapist, and spiritual counselor |
| July 6 | Helping Veterans Reintegrate. A discussion of the needs of our veterans and the many programs and services of Veterans Helping Veterans Now. | Guest speakers Judy Nogg, Executive Director, and Ray Meyers, veteran volunteer, with Veterans Helping Veterans Now |
| July 13 | The Jubilate Sacred Singers. | Music program |
| July 20 | How Our Consumer Culture Undermines Democratic Values. A retrospective look at cultural changes in the U.S. since the 1950s affecting these two American traditions. | Rev. Barbara Molfese |
| July 27 | Transforming Liberalism in Spirit. Some believe we must restore liberalism to its own progressive genius by a spiritual conversion within ourselves. | Reed Bailey, UUCB member |
| Aug. 3 | Celebrating Community Through History. With words, images, and music, information about some of the important Boulder people who were part of the early Unitarian Church in Boulder. | Silvia Pettem, history reporter at the Boulder Daily Camera |
| Aug. 10 | Service as a Spiritual Practice. The happiness we seek is to be found in serving others. | Tania Leontov, Project Director of Restoring the Soul: Faith and Community Parnerships |
| Aug. 17 | Experiencing the Religious. The prime ways in which we approach and grow our religious awareness. | Rev. Howell Lind |
| Aug. 24 | Our Rewarding Legacy. The heritage of our chosen faith. | Rev. Howell Lind |
| Aug. 31 | Tuning Our Ears to One Another. Nurturing spiritual growth and religious education takes all of us to share the responsibility, care, and joy in co-creating this harmony. | Diana Hultgren, dir. of lifespan religious education (DLRE) |
| Sep. 7 | The Weight of Water. Our annual homecoming service bringing water gathered over summer sojourns. | Rev. Howell Lind and Diana Hultgren, DLRE |
| Sep. 14 | A Recipe for Health. Some learnings from a recent UUCB workshop and from experience in the ministry. | Rev. Howell Lind |
| Sep. 21 | The Great Cosmic Scheme of Things. Reflections on how to live our lives as religious people. | Rev. Howell Lind |
| Sep. 28 | Toward a Culture of Peace. Songs and reflections on peace and non-violence as a spiritual value. | Guest musician Jim Scott |
| Oct. 5 | The Gift from Helel. Lessons from the Jewish High Holy Days that we can learn from and take to heart. | Rev. Howell Lind |
| Oct. 12 | Life 101 – Where We Came From, Where We Have Been, and Where We Are Going. Life passes us by so quickly that it is half over before we can figure it out. | Dr. Jim Hester, UUCB member |
| Oct. 19 | Remembrance Ritual. Service honoring and celebrating those people and events that have passed from our lives during the past two years. | Shari Storm, UUCB member |
| Oct. 26 | Weather, Religion and Politics. An exploration of what are, and what are not, taboo subjects. | Rev. Howell Lind |
| Nov. 2 | There Be Dragons There! A look at how we handle the unknown, change, and how we respond to a sense of fear. | Rev. Howell Lind |
| Nov. 9 | Surviving the Flood. Using Stephen Minot’s book of the same name, a message about the theological construct of salvation. | Rev. Howell Lind |
| Nov. 16 | The Zea Mays Story. A focus on this season of harvest, appreciation for the abundance of life. | Rev. Howell Lind |
| Nov. 23 | Our Welcoming Table. How we might become more welcoming, both as families and as a religious community, to the larger world. | Rev. Howell Lind and Diana Hultgren, DLRE |
| Nov. 30 | Writing the Stories to Right the World. An exploration of how the world might be different today if the writings of our UU ancestors had been the ones chosen as orthodoxy, like The Bible was. | Guest speaker Jan Ogren, psychotherapist and writer |
| Dec. 7 | Family Comes First. An examination of how the war in Iraq has impacted families on both sides. | Guest speaker, Dr. Dahlia Wasfi |
| Dec. 14 | Finding Security in an Insecure World. The key principles that will help us when we're feeling overwhelmed by the massive changes and disruptions in today's world. | Rev. Howell Lind |
| Dec. 21 | A Unitarian Universalist Christmas. A light-hearted look at the connection between our faith tradition and America’s celebration of the Christmas season. | Rev. Howell Lind |
| Dec. 24 | All-Church Christmas Eve Service. A traditional Unitarian Universalist celebration of Christmas Eve. | Rev. Howell Lind and Diana Hultgren, DLRE |
| Dec. 28 | Four Directions: Ancient Wisdom in Modern Times. How the Four Directions, an ancient way of connecting with the rhythms of the universe and the phases of life, are relevant to today's world. | Guest speaker Leon Littlebird |