Past Sermons 
Date added
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"Callings"
- Feb-06-2007
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7 January, 2007:
This service on "callings" was created and led by Live Oak members Sally Klinkon and Sara Norquay.
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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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"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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"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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"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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"Healthy Struggle"
- Jan-18-2010
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delivered on 10 January, 2010
Is "healthy struggle" an oxymoron? Not at all! In this sermon, Rev. Erika explores the questions that underlie our struggles, pointing to the growth they signal.
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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.
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"Inward and Downward"
- Dec-12-2008
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delivered on 7 December, 2008
In this sermon, Rev. Erika explores spiritual practice as a vehicle for the inner journey, which (in the words of Parker Palmer) carries us inward and downward. Where do we get stuck in trying to cultivate a spiritual practice...and why is that "stuck-ness" good news?
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"L'amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle -- the Naming Aspect of Prayer"
- Oct-03-2006
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Preached on 1 Oct., 2006
The world’s religions have innumerable ways to address the Holy, or to name the ways that mystery unfolds in our lives and in the world. This ageless practice of Naming prayer suggests that prayer is relational. Who or what our relationship is with has everything to do with how we name.
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"Lessons in Redemption from a Purple Plastic Bracelet"
- Apr-09-2007
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Delivered on 8 April (Easter Sunday) 2007
In the Christian tradition, Easter is the joyful culmination of the Lenten season – a long period of waiting, mindfulness, and preparation. In this sermon, Rev. Erika explains how she “used” a purple bracelet during Lent, and how redemption arises from our small, careful, imperfect human steps.
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"Listening Each Other into the Questions"
- Mar-25-2009
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delivered on 22 March 2009 by Live Oak member Kristen Rohm
Why are you here? What brings you hope? Do you believe in God? There are many different beliefs and religious “languages” at Live Oak. We don't necessarily seek answers… but how can we talk about these big questions? In this sermon, Live Oak leader Kristen Rohm presents her reflections, written during the Summer Sermon Seminar.
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"Living Lightly in Lean Times"
- Mar-25-2009
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delivered on 15 March, 2009
As financial pressures rise all around us, fear can block certain choices from our awareness. What would it mean to view and ground those choices in our Unitarian Universalist spirituality?
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"Love Boldly" -- a sermon by Jan Ross, DRE
- Jul-15-2009
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delivered on 12 July, 2009
What does "loving boldly" mean to us as individuals and as part of Live Oak as it grows to a mid-sized congregation? What will help us make this transformation while keeping our genuine Live Oak warmth? In this sermon, Jan shares personal stories while offering a gentle challenge -- and concrete suggestions -- for "helping each other love in the world."
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"Love Without Injury" by Live Oak member Patrick Kearns
- Oct-25-2009
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delivered on 18 October, 2009
In this sermon, Patrick reflects on his faith journey as a GLBT spirit inspired by Universalist traditions. Looking at the work of Universalist forebear Hosea Ballou, Patrick explores his own return to a childhood faith in universal love (with the help of Live Oak!) -- nine years after coming out as a GLBT teenager in a religiously conservative family.
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"Setting the Welcome Table"
- Mar-25-2009
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delivered on 8 March, 2009
As a congregation, we set the Welcome Table of hospitality and belonging, inviting others to join us, each time we engage in shared ministry. In this sermon, Rev. Erika explains why she believes that being together in worship at Live Oak on Sunday morning is The Most Important Hour of the Week, and what that has to do with welcoming others.
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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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"Sometimes the Muse Visits at Midnight"
- 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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"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 Only Possible Answer at Any Given Moment" -- The Listening Aspect of Prayer
- Oct-15-2006
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Preached on 15 Oct., 2006
How do we access the “voice still and small, deep inside all”? Religious traditions that practice Listening prayer teach us that God, or the voice of Wisdom, speaks to us continually. We can hear that quiet voice as soon as we choose to quiet the noise in our minds.
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"The Rules of Life according to 'Car Talk'"
- Apr-04-2007
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Delivered on April Fools' Day 2007
The Living Tradition we share draws from many Sources, including…Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers?? Why not? Since our values are influenced in different ways – including NPR programs – this multi-media sermon will explore what these two “personalities” have to say about life, love, and ethics. Seriously.
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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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"We All Spill Soup" -- The Knowing Aspect of Prayer
- Oct-15-2006
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Preached on 8 October, 2006
We human beings all make mistakes. When we can name those mistakes and say “I’m sorry,” we’re also saying something about what we aspire to and what kind of relationships we want to have. Knowing prayer has to do with seeing ourselves – with all of our strengths and growing edges – honestly and lovingly.
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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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"When You Pray, Move Your Feet" -- the Loving Aspect of Prayer
- Oct-30-2006
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Preached on 22 October, 2006
This sermon, the last in a series of four, explores Loving Prayer, in which we become fully engaged with the world around us.
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"Who Do You Say I Am?"
- Oct-26-2009
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delivered on 25 October, 2009
This sermon illustrates how visual images of Jesus have evolved, particularly in the last century. What does it mean, and who does it serve, to portray Jesus as laughing, as Black, a "homeboy," a clown, a man seduced by women?
