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Some Past Services at Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

Here you may read or listen to elements (homilies, reflections, stories, and/or music) of a number of past worship services at Live Oak.

January 1, 2012 -- New Beginnings: Does Nature Suffice? A service looking directly at the world of nature and asking, "isn't this enough?"

December 18, 2011 -- Scrooge's Transformation: A Unitarian Story of Rebirth and Redemption. Charles Dickens was an active member of a Unitarian congregation at the time he wrote A Christmas Carol, a holiday classic -- and a wonderful expression of UU values and concerns.

December 4, 2011 -- Hunter-Gatherers Lost in the 21st Century. Looking at the increase in crime: Why do humans behave this way? What happened to conscience? And what can we do? Worship Leader Chris Celata recommends you listen to/read the Dunbar Number reading before the sermon since it is referenced.

November 20, 2011 -- No Guarantees. A fresh look at Thanksgiving, gratitude, and the importance of food.

November 6, 2011 -- Day of the Dead. Celebrating the Day of the Dead and a UU ritual, Tolling of the Bells.

October 2, 2011 -- To Stand in Awe. Reflecting on the role of awe in religious life and how we might open ourselves more fully to it. We also welcomed new members into our congregation and celebrated our annual Ritual of Letting Go.

September 18, 2011 -- Desire & Creativity. Exploring ways we humans transform longing into the stuff of life through metaphor, humor, and personal power.

September 4, 2011 -- In These Uncertain Times. Looking at Labor Day, what is the role of our religious community in these times when so many are without work? We are reminded how the tough little flower of Spirit can take root and grow in the stoniest of soils.

August 21, 2011 -- Heretics, Clients and Other Agents of Change with guest Minister Rev. Julia Kocs.

August 7, 2011 -- Happily Ever .....Fuhgettaboutit. How can we use the bumps in the road to deepen our connection to each other.

July 17, 2011 -- Sharing Our Sacred Stories. We tell stories for many reasons, but perhaps the most ancient and powerful one is to help us relate to the sacred dimension of existence.

July 3, 2011 -- Theists and Atheists: Can't We All Just Get Along? How mutual respect, and our intentionality about the use of "God talk," can help us understand how much we have in common.

June 19, 2011 -- Practicing Love. UUs often proclaim "love is the doctrine of our church." This service looked at what that means and how we live it. The service also recognized and honored both the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender members of our community -- and the straight people who love and support them.

June 5, 2011 -- It's In Every One of Us to Be Wise. Exploring wisdom from Jesus' parable, The Good Samaritan.

May 15, 2011 -- In Praise of Music. A reflection on the relationship between spirituality and music.
  • Listen to Worship Leader Kim Rankin's reflection.
  • Listen to In Praise of Music, a lovely, neo-Romantic work by American composer David Conte and performed by members of the Live Oak UU choir and members of the First UU Society of San Francisco. (With thanks to the San Francisco church for this recording.)

May 1, 2011 -- Thinking Outside the Boat. A fanciful trip to the Barbary Coast, discussing the Pirate Code and how it limited the power of captains, assuring the crew had a say in decisions. Is the UU system of congregationalism similar to the Pirate Code?

April 17, 2011 -- Liberation & Renewal. Honoring the spiritual energies Passover (liberation -- the release from oppression) and Easter (renewal -- the regeneration of life), we seek to deepen our experience of the spiritual promise of springtime.

April 3, 2011 -- Get Your Game On: Cultivating Play as a Spiritual Practice. How can we reclaim the joy of play in our every day existence?

March 20, 2011 -- The Wind, One Brilliant Day: Cultivating the Garden That is This Congregation. How Live Oak has sculpted itself and how we can build an enduring community. (Please note: turn your sound up; we had audio problems this day.)

March 3, 2011 -- Being Blessed. Guest UU minister Jamie McReynolds explored the nature of blessing.

February 20, 2011 -- Embracing Mystery. We explore the nature of spiritual mystery and its relationship to our experience of the sacred.

February 6, 2011 -- Walking Through a Wall. Exploring walls, both literal and metaphorical, in the experience of real people through spoken word, poetry, and music.

Sunday, January 2, 2011 -- The Neurobiology of Enlightenment, or, The Hero's Journey through the Chicago Transit Authority. Traveling from Carl Sagan to Joseph Campbell, from the reptile brain to the primate brain, we explore the quest for enlightenment.

Sunday, December 19, 2010 -- The Gift of Love. With this season's focus on the giving and receiving of things, this service explores the greatest gift we can ever know is to love and be loved by others.

Sunday, December 5, 2010 -- Am I Good Enough? Exploring the spiritual dimensions of questions of self-doubt and inadequacy. Readings, a reflection, and the sermon are all available to read:

Sunday, November 24, 2010 -- Thanksgiving. Exploring harvest festivals and gratitude for bounty as practiced here -- and around the world. We welcomed the Rev. Levente Lazar, the current Balazs Scholar, and his wife, the Rev. Erika Demeter, as well as Paprika, a local group performing Hungarian folk music. We share several aspects of the service below:

Sunday, November 7, 2010 -- Life & Death Are Woven Fine. Celebrating Dia de la Muertos (the Day of the Dead) and looking at death as a necessary and meaningful process that is intertwined with life.

Sunday, October 17, 2010 -- Take a Little Breath: Confessions of a Mediocre Meditator. Exploring the rocky road to immortal Bliss, and introducing some practices that may help smooth the path.

Listen to Worship Leader Kate Hand's homily.

Sunday, October 3, 2010 -- Tevye's Daughters: Reflections on Tradition. Looking at how we wrestle with our traditions at least as much as we embrace them.

Photo (right): Kim Rankin guiding several of our youngsters in playing "Go Now in Peace" on Orff instruments as the congregation sang.

Sunday, September 19, 2010 -- Consider the Lilies (Or Maybe the Mums), celebrating the UU ritual, Flower Communion.

Sunday, September 5, 2010 -- We Begin Again in Love, celebrating the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah.

Please listen to Worship Leader Richard Stomer's homily.

Sunday, August 15, 2010 -- While Standing on One Foot: A Unitarian Universalist Catechism (Rev. Ben Meyers, guest minister asks, "What do Unitarian Universalists believe?" What is the essence of our liberal faith and how do we articulate all this ... succinctly?)

Listen to Rev. Ben Meyers' sermon.

Sunday, August 1, 2010 -- Living With Joy (What brings you joy? What stops you from doing those things that bring you joy? What can you do starting today to live more joyfully?)

Read Worship Leader Kate Hand's homily.

Sunday, July 18, 2010 -- Make A Joyful Noise (Why do we sing? Why in church?)

Listen to Worship Leader Kim Rankin's homily on music.

Sunday, July 4, 2010 -- The Pursuit of Happiness (Where happiness -- genuine lasting happiness -- comes from and what it might mean to say we have an inalienable right to the pursuit of it)

Read Worship Leader Richard Stromer's homily or you might prefer to listen to Richard's homily here.

Sunday, June 20, 2010 -- Everything Possible (UUism -- and other liberal faiths -- and their support of LGBTIQQ people and issues)

Listen to Kim Rankin's homily.

Sunday, June 6, 2010 -- Heartbreak Hotel (The place we inhabit when heartbreak comes ... and where it leads us)

Listen to Ruth Levitan's very personal reflection on heartbreak. And don't miss Jay Roller's homily which includes some shared personal stories of heartbreak.

Sunday, May 16, 2010 -- Growing Up: It's a Lifetime Job (How do we become whole? How do we help our children discover their own wholeness? Can one lead to the other?)

Read Worship Leader Kate Hand's story, The Wise Monk Masquerading as a Toy Parrot, or listen to Kate telling this personal story. And be sure to listen to Nanci Armstrong-Temple's homily.

Sunday, May 2, 2010 -- Behind the Screen (Guest minister Jeffrey Melcher linked a Babylonian creation story to International Worker's day and our on-going struggle to work for the betterment of all.) Unfortunately, our audio recording did not work this Sunday. But you can read Jay Roller's reflection here.

Sunday, April 18, 2010 -- Speak, Memory (Honoring Earth Day and exploring personal and cultural memories of nature) Listen to Worship Leader Carol Thornton's homily.

And listen to our choir (led by new choir director Susan Sonnemaker) singing Kae'na Laemuna (from South Africa).

Sunday, April 4, 2010 -- Being Redeemed (Examining the spiritual concept of redemption, a theme connected to both the Jewish celebration of Passover and the Christian feast of Easter, which coincide on this date.)

Read Susan Mayer's reflection. And either read Worship Leader Richard Stromer's homily or listen to it.

Sunday, March 21, 2010 -- To Err Is Human, To Forgive ...? (Of all the virtues religion promises to cultivate in us, perhaps none is more tantalizing, or more elusive, than forgiveness.)

Listen to Worship Leader Kim Rankin's homily.

March 7, 2010 -- Compassion for Our Red State Family Members (The lesson of compassion is one of a certain amount of letting go of our opinions, stubbornness, rebellious urges and accepting that we may be more like "those people" than we care to admit.)

Listen to Worship Leader Jay Roller's homily.

February 21, 2010-- Before You Yell at the Blind Man: Cultivating a Compassionate Heart

You may read the Story for All Ages and Kate Hand's homily. Or even better, listen to Kate's homily.

And do listen to our Special Music (begins quietly, grows in volume): This is the Live Oak UU Choir singing a newly written adaptation of the song Come, Come Whoever You Are. The words are by the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi. The music is by Dale Zola (posted here with her generous permission).

Sunday, November 15, 2009 -- A Tale of Two Rocks (One rock is Plymouth Rock, a symbol from traditional American Thanksgivings. The other is the rock in Kolozsvár [Transylvania] from which Francis David spoke and "converted the whole town’s population to Unitarianism."

  • Read Susan Mayer's reflection.
  • And listen to Jay's homily. (You might need to turn up the volume on your speakers.) The audio begins with a brief piano interlude. You'll enjoy this homily (as the congregation did -- note the laughter).

Sunday, November 1, 2009 -- Halleluia All the Way!
Worship Leaders: Kate Hand and Susan Mayer

Sunday, October 18, 2009 - How Inherent Is Worth?
Worship Leaders: Christine Celata & Bonnie Richman

September 6, 2009 - Roll Right Up to the Welcome Table!
Worship Leaders: Jody Savage & Richard Stromer

Sunday, June 14, 2009 - A Blessed Community on Holy Ground

Listen to Jay Roller's welcome & chalice lighting, followed by one song and a story told by Bob Hood. And here you can listen to Bob Hood's homily.

Sunday, May 10, 2009 (Mothers' Day)

On this recording, you'll hear Worship Leader Kate Hand reading an Emily Dickinson poem, followed by Kim Rankin's homily.

 

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