Sermons


Preaching at Tapestry UU in Mission Viejo, CA

 

One of my less likely pastimes is preaching sermons at the UU Fellowship I attend, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Dieguito. I've been invited to the pulpit a surprising number of times, and I've had several people ask me for copies of my sermons. So here they are!

 

As Time Goes By (12/31/00) My congregation has a long tradition of holding a New Year's service where members give brief talks on the theme "As Time Goes By". This was my first experience of speaking from our pulpit, and it obviously hooked me.

This I Give My Heart To (11/28/04) We have an even longer tradition of having members give "This I Believe" sermons where they talk about their own spiritual journeys. This was my contribution to the series, where I shared the path that had led me to simultaneously consider myself a Buddhist, a Christian, and a UU. (PDF)

(I have been invited to reprise this sermon at the UU Fellowships in Laguna Beach and Mission Viejo, which gave me the chance to write a new ending for it.)

A Christmas Story (12/18/06) This is where I stood up in front of a whole congregation of UU's and told them that the Christmas story in the Bible was true. And Evel Knievel thought he was a daredevil... (PDF)

As Time Goes By (12/31/06) After six years they invited me back for New Year's, and this time I led a guided meditation. Since I'd preached Christianity to them two weeks earlier, I went with Buddhism this time.

Religious Myth Conceptions (2/10/08) Originally titled These I Believe, this is a follow-on to my original sermon from 2004 and describes my continuing search for meaning in my poly-religious path. As with that original sermon, I was invited to reprise this at the Laguna Beach Fellowship, which gave me a chance to revise it. The text here is that revised version. (PDF)

 

FLASH!!! My friends can write sermons too!

This I Believe (07/08/07) My friend and finance cohort Kathryn Sturch gave a wonderful sermon on the Buddhist concept of "The Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind to the Dharma" and how they express and support her own spiritual understanding.

Photos here and on homepage courtesy of George Joseph, Tapestry UU. Photo processing help from my brother George.