Sermons-First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco

We Are So Much More Connected Than We Think (July 29, 2018)

Eleanor Piez spent two weeks in June in San Ysidro CA and Tijuana, Mexico, studying the U.S.-Mexico border through the lens of theology. Eleanor will reflect on the struggles, suffering and possibilities occurring there, and how we can participate now in the sixth UU principle, the goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all.

Eleanor Piez, Guest Preacher

Dennis Adams, Worship Associate

Reiko Oda Lane, organ

Asher Davison, song Leader

Jennifer Peringer, piano

Martha Rodríguez-Salazar, flute

Peter Gross, welcome

Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound

The Deep Song of Our Lives (July 22, 2018)

What can we in our time and place learn from a mild-mannered poet who was the first martyr of the Spanish Civil War? Stories from the life and poetry of Federico Garcia Lorca.  

Rev. Mary McKinnon Ganz, Assistant Minister

Sam King, Worship Associate

Mark Sumner, piano

Asher Davison, song Leader

Radim Zenkl, mandolin, flute, vocals

Judy Payne, welcome

Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound

The Warrior and the Wise Man (July 15, 2018)

In the 12th century, young men across Europe enlisted en masse to leave their homes and families and travel east to fight in the Crusades, believing that waging war was the best way to serve God, the Prince of Peace. Here is a story of one such soldier of Christ, searching for purpose in his cause, as he grapples with the meaning of “Holy War” on his way to Jerusalem and what he encounters along the way.

Alessandro Gagliardi, Guest Preacher

Richard Davis, Worship Associate

Reiko Oda Lane, organ

Mark Sumner, piano

Jiun-Chyi Yew, soprano

Asher Davison, song leader

Eric Shakelford, welcome

Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound

Loving America (July 1, 2018)

How do we hold onto what is good about our country, given its past wrongs and present struggles? What is real about what we love, and what is fantasy? What would it take to build an America we might love unreservedly, as a collective act of imagination?

Rev. Mary McKinnon Ganz, Assistant Minister

Lucy Smith, Worship Associate

Ariel Andrew, mezzo soprano

Alan Alpert, tenor

Wm. García Ganz, piano

Reiko Oda Lane, organ

Amy Kelly, welcome

Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound

Breaking the Silence Barrier: Lessons of Love and Liberation (June 24, 2018)

Join us this Pride Sunday as we celebrate and mark the 49th Anniversary of the Stonewall riots, which gave voice to the queer liberation movement. In light of today’s political perils and in the particulars of this Pride Sunday, listen to words of poet and writer Audre Lorde, “The transformation of silence into language and action is an act of self-revelation, and that always seems fraught with danger.” This Sunday’s service is an invitation to explore how we break through the barriers of silence and bring our voices to the streets in the name of love and liberation.

Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister

Richard Davis, Worship Associate

Asher Davison, song leader

Bill Ganz, piano

Margaret Halbig, piano

Christine Tulis, harp and vocals

Rochelle Fortier, welcome

Jonathan Silk, Podcasting, OOS, Sound

What We Tell Our Men (June 17, 2018)

There is a lot of talk about what we tell our girls and our women -- messages that are not helpful or supportive of their fullest being and fruition, but this Father's Day, what about some reflections on what we tell our men and our boys about what that reality they are born into "should" mean or might!

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister

Daniel Jackoway, Worship Associate

Lisanicole Sarkisian, Worship Associate

Reiko Oda Lane, organ

Asher Davison, song leader

Katrina Walter, flute

Margaret Halbig, piano

Spider Ranch, live sound and recording

Nathan Gandrud, OOS

Jonathan Silk, Podcasting

State of the Garden: A Reflection on Us and Here (June 10, 2018)

People asked me when I came what was my vision for UUSF. That seemed so silly. Vision doesn't come with you like a stencil you apply to any wall, it grows out of a place like the things of a garden that thrive in that soil, with that level of rainfall. So, 9 months in, as we wrap up one "church year" and as we think about launching next year into Mission and Vision conversations, what do I see? What's in this garden and what's ripe for planting?

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister

Sam King, Worship Associate

Asher Davison, clarinet and song leader

Wm. García Ganz, piano

Spider Ranch, live sound and recording

Nathan Gandrud, OOS

Jonathan Silk, Podcasting

The Outermost House and The Sacrality of Place (June 3, 2018)

A bit less than 100 years ago, Henry Beston wrote "The Outermost House" after a year he spent in Cape Cod. The book didn't sell much at first but it has become one of the most famous literary touchstones for naturalists and conservationists in America. Beston argues with observation and poetry for the power, the beauty, and by extension, the need to protect natural places.

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister

Lisanicole Sarkisian, Worship Associate

Reiko Oda Lane, organ

Ariel Andrew, mezzo soprano

Asher Davison, song leader

Spider Ranch, live sound and recording

Nathan Gandrud, OOS

Jonathan Silk, Podcasting

Contemplative Practices And Connection In Digital Times (May 27, 2018)

How can contemplative practices renew hearts and spirits in digital times? In what ways does technology help or harm our human abilities to engage our ethics in a beautiful and heart-breaking world? All are welcome for this service of inquiry and hope.

Rev. Dara Olandt, Guest Minister

Phil Marshall, Worship Associate

My-Hoa Steger, piano

Wm. García Ganz, piano

Spider Ranch, live sound and recording

Jonathan Silk, OOS, Podcasting

Embodied Faith (May 13, 2018)

Having a child changed my relationship to my body, or more importantly my awareness of where body and sacredness intersect. It has for other folks too, I know, and theologian, Stephanie Paulsell too. Come here how this Mother’s Day Sunday.

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister

Rochelle Fortier Nwadibia, Worship Associate

Reiko Oda Lane, organ

Asher Davison, song leader

Gary Garrett (The Harmony People), guitar

Anjalisa Aitken (The Harmony People), vocals

Scott Benbow, welcome

Jonathan Silk, OOS, Sound, Podcasting