Past Sermons 
Date added
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"Sometimes the Muse Visits at Midnight" new!
- Dec-02-2008
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delivered on 30 November, 2008
What is creativity? How do we foster it? What are its secrets? There are many ways to view about creativity. In this service, Rev. Erika takes three different views -- body, mind, and spirit -- of our role as creative beings.
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"Dear President-Elect Obama..."
- Nov-11-2008
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delivered five days after the election of Barack Obama:
In this open letter to President-Elect Obama, Rev. Erika reflects on the bittersweet nature of election day in California. Is "anything" really possible in the United States, when racial milestones are reached, but the civil rights of the GLBT community are stripped?
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"The Struggle and the Power"
- Nov-07-2008
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delivered on 2 November, 2008
Many Unitarian Universalists have a touchy relationship with the notion of "power." What are the different ways of viewing power, and what can it mean in a community based on covenant?
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Consider the Source(s), Part 3: The Sources, Revised
- Nov-07-2008
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delivered on 19 October, 2008
In this last of her 3 sermons exploring our UU Sources, Erika takes on the revision to our Sources, as proposed by the UUA Commission on Appraisal, and also looks at "humanist teachings."
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Consider the Source(s), Part 2: The Wisdom of the World's Religions
- Nov-07-2008
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delivered on 12 October, 2008
Continuing with her examination of our UU Sources, Rev. Erika looks at three more in this sermon.
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Consider the Source(s), Part 1: The Transcendent and the Prophetic
- Oct-09-2008
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delivered on 5 October, 2008
note: this sermon is available in mp3 form by clicking the "podcast" button on the bottom of the menu to the left.
Beginning with the context of our six Sources -- where did they come from? -- Erika explores the first 2 Sources of Unitarian Universalism: "transcending mystery and wonder," and "the words and deeds of prophetic mena and women."
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Lost on the Freeway: Thoughts on Covenant and Asking for Directions
- Oct-09-2008
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delivered on 14 September, 2008
note: this sermon is also available in mp3 form -- just click the "podcast" button at the bottom of the menu, on the left
In this sermon, Rev. Erika reflects on the role of covenant in our UU history, and how covenant is a means of finding, and sustaining, right relationship.
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Venturing into the Impossible
- Aug-29-2008
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delivered on 24 August, 2008
Do you believe in telepathy, out-of-body experiences, and other "paranormal" phenomena? What if science provided evidence for these things? On the heels of last week's sermon about atheism, Erika describes how science is "venturing into the impossible" by examining phenomena that were once simply issues of faith.
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The New Atheism
- Aug-22-2008
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delivered on 17 August, 2008
Bookstores these days are filled with books about atheism, most of which offer a different take on the secular humanist movement of the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. What's unique about the so-called "new atheists" and their ideas? In this sermon, Erika suggests that the new atheism doesn't create much room for Unitarian Universalists...but should!
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"Singing the Journey -- Together"
- Aug-13-2008
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delivered by John Sonquist, guest speaker
Where did our UU hymns come from? The words? The tunes? How did the choices get made for the contents of our hymn books? How does singing this music fit together in to our Sunday worship service? Live Oak member and accompanist John Sonquist discusses questions like these, and others, in this service.
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Appetites, Part 3: "Designer Water, Dying Lands"
- Jul-29-2008
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delivered on 27 July, 2008
Water is becoming a precious and ever-more scarce commodity, even as our stores’ shelves fill with “designer” water from around the world. As we reflect on the fragility of our interdependent web’s water supply, we’ll weave in a Unitarian Universalist perspective.
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Appetites, Part 2: "How Much Stuff Is Enough?"
- Jul-21-2008
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delivered on 20 July, 2008
Economic experts tell us that the United States is “overstored,” and many of us believe that our homes are filled with too much stuff. How does the our appetite for consumption intersect with our spirituality?
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Appetites, Part 1: "Food, American Style"
- Jul-15-2008
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delivered on 13 July, 2008
In the first of a 3-part Appetites series, Erika applies the Unitarian Universalist concept of "right relationship" to how and what we eat.
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Why Straight People Need to Hear Another Gay Pride Sermon
- Jun-22-2008
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delivered on 22 June, 2008
June is a month for weddings and Gay Pride celebrations. Live Oak has already made a commitment to celebrating and including individuals who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender. Isn't that enough? Not quite.
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"The Numbers Game"
- May-05-2008
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delivered on 4 May, 2008
There are numbers that unconsciously govern human behavior Sometimes, congregational life itself is guided by numbers. In her sermon, Rev. Erika Hewitt explains some of these numbers, and how they led Live Oak's leadership to make an important decision: in September, for about five months, Live Oak will hold two worship services. Read on to learn more!
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The Eyes of Our Eyes Are Opened
- Mar-24-2008
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delivered on Easter Sunday, 23 March 2008
What meaning does Easter – a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus – have for Unitarian Universalists? "Resurrection" can also be an awakening, an opening of our eyes. In this sermon, Erika begins with a Biblical account of the post-resurrection Jesus and then traces the theme of resurrection through the work of three poets: e.e. cummings, Miller Williams, and Mark Nepo.
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The Deportees
- Mar-24-2008
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delivered on 16 March, 2008
Our nation’s immigration policies affect the families in our community in real and devastating ways. How does our UU theology respond to our treatment of immigrants?
In this sermon, Erika explains why she believes that our immigration laws -- and especially their enforcement -- are in need of reform.
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The Things We Do for Fear
- Feb-17-2008
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delivered on 17 February, 2007
We're reminded (especially around Valentine's Day) that love moves us to do the unthinkable... but so does fear. In this service, Erika examines the hidden ways that fear works, using her recent travels to Mali as a lens for suggesting what happens when fear guides us, and what it takes to step out from under its control.
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"Fierce Ambivalence"
- Jan-31-2008
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delivered on 27 January, 2008
Change can be frightening, especially when it requires us to learn new habits and ways of relating. What are some of the changes that Live Oak is encountering on our way from being a "pastoral" congregation to a "program" one? And what does that mean? Read this sermon to learn more about how Live Oak is changing, and why you might be feeling fiercely ambivalent about those changes.
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Experiments with Utopia
- Oct-15-2007
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Delivered on 14 October, 2007
As Part 3 of this series, Erika explores the Transcendentalists’ zest for creating utopian societies, and the (mostly) dismal fate that met their efforts. Erika will explains, however, that amid the many beliefs driving their experiments, the Transcendentalists had progressive attitudes on slavery and women’s rights. What relevance does the Transcendentalists' vision have for us today?
Please note: because the fourth "sermon" in this Transcendentalism series was a visit from Mrs. Lydian Emerson, it will not be posted on this website.
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"Faith in a Seed"
- Oct-08-2007
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Delivered on 7 October, 2007
Perhaps it’s a stereotype that all Unitarian Universalists love nature…but you could also say that reverence for the natural world is in our religious DNA. The Transcendentalists viewed nature as “the face and essence of God.” In this, Part 2 of her series on Transcendentalism, Erika will tell a Tale of Two Trees, and will explore the writings of Henry David Thoreau (and others) to reveal their unique legacy: belief of the Divine presence in the natural world.
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"We Will Walk on Our Own Feet, We Will Work with Our Own Hands, We Will Speak with Our Own Minds"
- Sep-30-2007
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Delivered on 30 September, 2007
These words, spoken by Ralph Waldo Emerson, reflect the watershed moment in 1837 when Transcendentalism became a major cultural movement in our country. Who was Emerson, and why did he make such an enormous impact on his world (and on ours)? In this first of a four-part series, Erika explores the Transcendentalist roots of Unitarian Universalism, weaving the lives of our religious ancestors into who we are today.
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"Got Faith?"
- Sep-09-2007
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delivered on 26 August, 2007 by Live Oak's community minister, the Reverend Teena Grant
What does "faith" mean for Unitarian Universalists? Is it possible to have faith without dogma? In this sermon, Rev. Teena Grant draws from different faith traditions, as well as personal experience, to offer reflections about faith.
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"You Gotta Know When to Fold 'Em"
- Jun-06-2007
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delivered on 3 June, 2007
We continually invest ourselves in projects, relationships, and new resolutions. When, if ever, is there merit in “giving up”? What if our good intentions and energy don’t get us anywhere? Let’s put a UU spin on the classic gamblers’ discernment: knowing when to hold ‘em, when to fold ‘em, and when to walk away.
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"Healthy, Holy Sexuality"
- May-21-2007
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Delivered on 20 May, 2007
All persons are sexual, regardless of age and life circumstances, and sexuality is a good part of the human experience. Our society doesn't often reflect these values, though. This sermon explores how our Unitarian Universalist theology encourages healthy, holy sexuality.
Please note: this sermon refers to an interview produced by Youth Radio (and which aired on NPR's Morning Edition) that served as the "reading" for this sermon. You can listen to the interview by clicking here.. If your computer doesn't support audio files, you can read a transcript of the piece by clicking here instead.
