Past Sermons 
Date added
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Would You Harbor Me?
- Dec-22-2009
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delivered on 20 December 2009
Would you harbor me? Would I harbor you? These questions (from a Sweet Honey in the Rock song) are the springboard for Erika's reflection that our UU inclusivity is a gift that ought to be extended thoughtfully, not reflexively. Is there a limit to our welcoming? If so, where do those limits lie?
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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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Who Do They Say I Am? (Part 1 of a 3-part series)
- Oct-06-2009
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delivered on 4 October, 2009
Who was Jesus, and were there any strands of Unitarianism in early Christianity? These centuries after Jesus' death reflected a unique but diverse set of understandings about who Jesus was – and who he wasn’t. In this first part of a 3-sermon series about Jesus (yes, Jesus), Erika traces our Unitarian roots from Jesus himself to the first Christians, to our first “anti-Trinitarian" ancestor, Arius.
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What They Dreamed Be Ours to Do
- Feb-02-2009
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delivered on 25 January, 2009
For much of our history, our Unitarian and Universalist ancestors were known as heretics. Why? Are UU's still heretics today -- is it something we should strive for?
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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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UU Principes Learned in a Time of War
- Nov-20-2009
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delivered on 8 November 2009 by Live Oak member Wilson Hubbell
Sometimes we learn our UU Principles by dramatic experience long before we become practicing Unitarian Universalists. Wilson came to understand compassion, (in)justice, the right of conscience, acceptance of one another and the inherent dignity of every person during 18 months in wartime Vietnam. In this sermon, Wilson shares his wartime experiences and the personal journey that followed.
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The Things We Do for Love: Keeping It
- Feb-18-2009
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delivered on 15 February, 2009
Once we're lucky enough to find love and intimacy -- with a single person or in community -- we then encounter the work of sustaining and protecting those relationships. In this sermon, Rev. Erika presents her "Ten Suggestions of Love."
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The Things We Do for Love: Finding It
- Feb-18-2009
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delivered on 8 February, 2009
Love takes many forms (not just the eros) of romantic love. However you define it, love that's healthy and life-giving can be hard to find... Isn't that hunger for love at the root of our being part of religious community?
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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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The Skeptic and His Sand Dollar
- Dec-10-2009
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delivered on 29 November 2009 by Live Oak member Drew Carter
What does an academic scientist and mathematician find inside a religious community? In this sermon, Drew describes how he embraces spirituality while still honoring his rational, analytical mind. Is there really a contradiction between a cynical intellect and a seeking spirit? And what does Drew have on his altar, besides a sand dollar?
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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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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 Body as Sacred Text
- Nov-20-2009
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delivered on 15 November, 2009
What does it mean to regard our bodies as good gifts, and why is that a spiritual act? In this sermon, Erika considers the fact of our human bodies – with all of their frailties and flaws – as a map for the divine.
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T-Shirts, Bumper Stickers and Elevator Speeches: Unitarian Universalism in 20 Words are Fewer
- Apr-06-2009
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delivered on 5 April 2009
Is it possible to fit our beliefs onto a bumper sticker or T-shirt? How do you sum up our complex Unitarian Universalist theology?
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Suspended between "Once" and "Someday"
- Mar-30-2009
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delivered on 29 March, 2009
Ah, the age-old question: how does trapeze flying apply to congregational life? In this sermon, Rev. Erika reflects on change, transition, and the difference between the two. If there’s “change” happening anywhere in your life (and whose life doesn’t involve change?), this sermon is for you.
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Regrets, "Do-Overs," and Giving up Hope for a Better Past
- Feb-02-2009
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delivered on 1 February, 2009
We've all made mistakes, but some of us live with regrets that we can't quite shake. How do we escape the ghosts of "coulda, woulda, shoulda"? In this sermon, Erika reflects on different regrets, according to size, and how many regrets can be a threshold for the deepening of relationship.
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Reformers Are We (Who Do They Say I Am, Part 2)
- Oct-13-2009
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delivered on 11 October, 2009
By vote of the congregation, this sermon examines the Radical Reformation: the point at which, over four centuries ago, our "anti-trinitarian" ancestors purposely veered from traditional Christianity. Their new movement wasn't so much about recognizing Jesus as man (not divine) as it was about imbuing religious faith with freedom, reason, and tolerance.
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Once the Ship Leaves Harbor
- Sep-22-2009
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delivered on 20 September, 2009
Our congregation is in the middle of tremendous growth and transition. The journey underway, we can't turn around and go back. How do we bravely and faithfully travel the seas ahead? It's become a tradition for Rev. Erika to focus her post-Water Communion sermon on the congregation's current growing edges. In this sermon, she offers 6 observations that might be included in a "Live Oak travel brochure" for the coming year. Taken together, these observations form a charge for every member of our community.
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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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Living the Questions, Loving the Questions
- Oct-06-2009
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delivered on 27 September, 2009
It was your turn to direct Erika’s sermon. What were your burning questions – about "salvation," mysticism, and more – that you wanted to hear your minister’s take on? Here we explore the questions together.
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Lamentations
- Aug-17-2009
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delivered on 16 August,2009
Most of us have cause to voice lamentations -- to the cosmos, to God, to each other. In this sermon, Rev. Erika explores a handful of questions hidden within our lamentations, and where those questions point to grace and healing.
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How Good News Becomes Gospel Truth
- Apr-20-2009
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delivered on Easter (12 April) 2009
The Christian tradition holds that Jesus saved humanity through his death and resurrection; this salvation story is Christianity’s “good news” (or gospel). How did it come into being? What do UU’s believe instead? In this sermon, Erika also explores the competing “gospel” of Universalism: that we are all saved, all loved, all “born right the first time.”
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Hard Times
- Sep-03-2009
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delivered on 30 August, 2009
Times are tough for many people – whether it’s you or someone close to you, the effects of these hard financial times are acute. What was the "old story" guiding our country's economy? As it recovers, what "new story" do we wish to create?
This sermon also explores the congregation's financial health, and its relationship with Live Oak's story: the current year will require from each of us a new level of commitment and creativity. What does that have to do with our congregation's story?
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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.
