Sermons-First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco

“A Hope Worth Fighting For”

Exploring hope and despair in the context of the work the Dallas UU community has done for reproductive dignity and what you might ponder as you consider your callings to make a difference.

Rev. Dr. Daniel Kanter, Guest Minister; Rev. John Buehrens; Susan Anthony, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir; Mark Sumner, Music Director; Jon Silk, Drummer; Wm. Garcia Ganz, Pianist; Adam Luftman, Shofar

Jackson Munn, Camera; Eric Shackelford, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Sam King, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Amy Kelly, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour

“Are We Normal?”

What is it about the human condition that is normal? And what is normal anyway? By taking lessons from our time in the pandemic, from my time as a hospital chaplain, and from our collective experiences as humans, we can explore how normal is not a concept to compare ourselves to others, but rather a way to build a shared understanding of what it means to be human. This shared understanding can then be the cornerstone to create a lifespan religious education program.

Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Mari Magaloni Ramos, Worship Associate; Mark Sumner, Pianist; Ben Rudiak-Gould, Songleader; Eric Hamilton, Guitarist

Eric Shackelford, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Remigio Flood, Sexton; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour

“The Tasks of Life”

What is the purpose of a life, of life. It's always been the question religion was tasked to answer. Part of the work of answering that question involves the tasks of life, of each life and even its stages of tasks. As we step into a new church year perhaps we can ask where we think we are in this work so each of us can step intentionally, and more deeply, into that work.

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Carmen Barsody, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir; Mark Sumner, Music Director; Claudine Jones, Mezzo; Jon Silk, Drummer; Wm García Ganz, Pianist

Shulee Ong, Camera; Jackson Munn, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Athena Papadakos, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour

“The River of Life: An Ingathering”

Sunday, September 11, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream

This week is a joyous regathering: virtually and in person we will come back together for our official start to a church year. Children will join us in worship and we will sing and speak in words and ritual of our journeys apart and what we bring back with us.

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Sam King, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; Wm. García Ganz, Pianist; Nancy Munn, soprano soloist; UUSF Choir; Mark Sumner, Music Director

Shulee Ong, Camera; Jackson Munn, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Remigio Flood, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Athena Papadakos, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour

“Birthing a New World”

For our annual Labor Day service, Rev. Millie Phillips celebrates a struggle that ebbs and flows, but has never died; the struggle for economic survival and dignity on the job. Playing off the multiple meanings of the word "labor," do we have the courage to do what it takes to give birth to " a new world from the ashes of the old?" Whatever the obstacles, increasingly, working people, especially young and marginalized workers, are rediscovering the power of union organizing and are putting the movement back into the labor movement.

Rev. Millie Phillips, Guest Minister; Dennis Adams, Worship Associate; The Labor Heritage/Rockin' Solidarity Chorus; Pat Wynne, Labor Chorus Director; Mark Sumner, Pianist; Ben Rudiak-Gould, Songleader

Shulee Ong, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Remigio Flood, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Amy Kelly, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour

“The Arc of the Universe”

August 28th is the 59th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Racial Equality. Its keynote address by Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. has become the most famous speech in modern history. Echoed in his remarks that day were the paraphrased words of an early Unitarian minister, Theodore Parker; that the arc of the moral universe bends towards justice.

Earlier this summer, the remarkable achievement of the Webb telescope began challenging humanity to look deeply into the past in order to make sense of today and what is to come. Indeed, in so many ways, we won't ever create the future of our dreams without understanding the past.

Join us as we explore Dr. King's inspiration in the words of a radical Boston minster, how those words convinced a cultural icon to continue to go "where no man had gone before" and finally, how we're learning, through science, that there is indeed an arc in the universe and that it bends towards truth.

Richard Davis-Lowell, Guest Preacher; Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Katrina Walter, Flautist; Charmian Stewart, Violinist; Nancy Munn, Pianist; Richard Fey, Songleader

Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Remigio Flood, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Amy Kelly, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour

“Transforming Perfection”

Sunday, August 21, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream

This Sunday, join Guest Preacher Charlotte Cramer exploring the concept of perfection and how it influences our lives and society. Perfection is everywhere in our country, and it has impacted how we treat one another and ourselves. What is the mindset and healing that is needed to work against the strong drive towards being perfect? How could overcoming perfection foster a more wholesome and healthy life, and society?

Charlotte Maitreya Cramer, Guest Preacher; Sam King, Worship Associate; Asher Davison, Bass Vocals; Larry Chinn, Piano

Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Remigio Flood, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Judy Payne, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour

“Ordinary Days”

Life is made up of ordinary days. And they are often some of the best days we have. A sermon musing on the ordinariness of a sweet life.

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Mari Magaloni Ramos, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; Laurel Sprigg, Soprano; Mark Sumner, Pianist; Richard Fey, Songleader

Shulee Ong, Camera; Eric Shackelford, Camera; Donald Shearer, Camera; Jackson Munn, Camera; Max Benbow, Camera; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Remigio Flood, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Carrie Steere-Salazar, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour

“Retraining the Dragon”

When threatened some of us fight - even "breathing fire" if provoked, others freeze or retreat. We all know life is better when we are not stressed all the time, but some seem more resilient and able to shake off strife and difficulty than others. Recent brain science points to the limbic system as the place filtering our experience and deciding whether to act on a threat or choose to go with the flow of life. Rev. Sonya Sukalski has found that resetting the switch that sends the mind, body and spirit into rest and digest chemistry rather than fight or flight to be a satisfying spiritual practice. Her practice includes elements of prayer, meditation, movement, and employs theology UUs might find useful and life-affirming.

Rev. Sonya Sukalski, Guest Minister; Kat Liu, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; Maria Roodnitsky, Mezzo Soprano; Mark Sumner, Pianist; Richard Fey, Songleader

Shulee Ong, Camera; Eric Shackelford, Camera; Donald Shearer, Camera; Jackson Munn, Camera; Max Benbow, Camera; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Remigio Flood, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Carrie Steere-Salazar, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour

“Good Trouble”

In March of 2020, the late John Lewis called on everyone to "get into good trouble, necessary trouble and redeem the soul of America" as he spoke from the Edmund Pettis bridge in Selma Alabama commemorating the tragedy of Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965. Join us on Sunday July 31st for a special service led by worship associate Mari Magaloni Ramos: “Good Trouble”

Our collective values of democracy, privacy and bodily autonomy are under active attack and we have suffered setbacks. And as is always the case, it is our BIPOC and LGBTQ folx that will be most negatively impacted in the coming years if we do not act. One of the most powerful things that we can do to stem this tide is to support and motivate our fellow Americans to vote. We can do that by meeting hate and grievance with love and beloved community.

Mari Magaloni Ramos, Guest Preacher; Dennis Adams, Worship Associate Cal Ball, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; Tommy Kesecker, Percussionist; Ben Rudiak-Gould, Songleader

Shulee Ong, Camera; Eric Shackelford, Camera; Donald Shearer, Camera; Jackson Munn, Camera; Max Benbow, Camera; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Remigio Flood, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Athena Papadakos, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour