Past Services and Recordings
July 25, 2021
- Telling Our Stories
- Rev. Patty Hanneman with Guest Preacher, Rev. Darrick Jackson
- Music: Kate Lewis and others
We are a people of story. The stories we tell shape how we see ourselves and the world. So what happens if we change our stories?
July 18, 2021
- Believing In Abundance
- Rev. Patty Hanneman with Guest Preacher, Rev. Lisa Garcia-Sampson
- Music: Kate Lewis and others
In 2020, UU the Vote activated more UUs in the work of justice than ever before in our faith's history. But you better believe we are just getting started. This Sunday we'll reflect on this moment of possibility and how we are called to contribute to the joyful, abundant movement for liberation in our country.
Rev. Lisa Garcia-Sampson serves as the Executive Director of Forward Together, The Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of North Carolina. In this role, she has the pleasure of working alongside UUs across the state to do justice work spanning racial, economic, immigrant, environmental, and electoral justice.
July 11, 2021
- On the Brink
- Rev. Patty Hanneman with Guest Preacher, Rev. Joseph Santos-Lyons
- Music: Kate Lewis
We have long chosen a spiritual path of community building for collective liberation. Yet we also face forces, internal and external, that threaten our existence. We live in a world on the brink, a world that needs our acts of love and justice more than ever. What is asked of us today? How do we faithfully persist through experiences of distrust and disappointment? What are you on the brink of aspiring to create?
Rev. Joseph Santos-Lyons (he/they pronouns) is a biracial Asian-American (Chinese and Czech) organizer and minister based in Antipolo City, The Philippines. With a background serving youth and young adult ministry in the UUA, and leading APANO, an Asian and Pacific Islander community-based organization, Joseph’s current calling is in cultivating a new cohousing, chapel, and retreat space in Southeast Asia through the Center for Organizing, Renewal and Leadership.
A second-generation UU, Joseph’s theology is grounded in mutuality, liberation, and the unknown. Joseph is the past president of DRUUMM, and working on a doctorate of ministry with the Pacific School of Religion. He and his partner Aimee co-parent their three children and stay engaged with the UU Church of the Philippines and the Church of the Larger Fellowship.
July 4, 2021
- The Fourth of July on a Sunday, Eleven Years Later
- Rev. Patty Hanneman with Guest Preacher, Yuri Yamamoto
- Music: Kate Lewis and others
July 4, 2010, was a Sunday, and Yuri Yamamoto shared a reflection on becoming a citizen at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh. Her reflection sounded hopeful, as Yuri and her husband were waiting for the approval of their applications for naturalization. They were very happy to become citizens several weeks later. Then, things started to unravel.
In this sermon, Yuri looks back on her experiences that have totally changed her perspectives on what it meant to be an Asian American in the U.S. and how Unitarian Universalism intersected with her stories.
Yuri Yamamoto is a Christian minister commissioned by the Federation of Christian Ministries. After two and half years of Clinical Pastoral Education training, she currently serves as a contract chaplain at a local hospital. Yuri has a Ph.D. in Genetics from NC State University and is expected to complete all requirements for a Master of Divinity this summer at the Shaw University Divinity School. She has served as a pianist and music director at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh from 2003 to 2018 and is a Candidate for becoming a UU minister. Yuri was instrumental in the publication of a book, Unitarian Universalists of Color: Stories of Struggle, Courage, Love, and Faith.
June 27, 2021
- Until Love Wins
- UUA Worship Service
Today’s challenging times require a nimble and resilient spirituality. We need a demanding, inspiring faith and a love strong enough that it will not let us go. Join us as we draw the circle wide, gather our strength, and promise to stay in the struggle and joy until love wins.
This special UUA live-streamed service will not appear on our YouTube or Facebook live stream. You may watch the service archive here.
June 20, 2021
- Jazz for Juneteenth
- Rev. Jacqueline Brett
- Music: North Carolina Central University Jazz Studies Department
June 13, 2021
- Gather the Spirit, Harvest the Power
- Rev. Deborah Cayer
- Music: River Folk, Eric Thomas, Kate Lewis
There's a hymn that begins, "Gather the Spirit," and the very next phrase is "harvest the power." So often we imagine that we can draw a line between what's spiritual and what's political and keep them separate and distinct. But what if Spirit and Power actually need each other? What if they need each of us?
June 6, 2021
- A Cure for Sorrow
- Rev. Deborah Cayer
- Music: Kate Lewis
Joseph Campbell once said, “We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.” Cure is an old word that not only means to overcome an illness, but also to attend someone with care so their illness or brokenness might transform into health and wholeness. How might playing together and joy help us love and care for each other now as we reach for new strength and wholeness?
May 30, 2021
- Sowing Seeds of Gladness
- Rev. Deborah Cayer
- Music: Kate Lewis, Common Woman Chorus
Gardeners know that when they plant seeds some never germinate, some get eaten by birds, some grow, then are crowded out. Others wither. And of them all, only a few seeds ever become mature plants. And still, both plants and gardeners persist. What's the story here? And what stories might help us keep on planting our vision, hope, and love for the future? Rev. Deborah Cayer, worship leader; Mur Lafferty, Worship Associate. Music by the Common Woman Chorus and Kate Lewis.
June 6, 2021
- A Cure for Sorrow
- Rev. Deborah Cayer
Joseph Campbell once said, “We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.” Cure is an old word that not only means to overcome an illness, but also to attend someone with care so their illness or brokenness might transform into health and wholeness. How might playing together and joy help us love and care for each other now as we reach for new strength and wholeness?
May 23, 2021
- Life Living Through Us: In Poetry
- Rev. Jacqueline Brett
- Music: Dick Clark, cello and Kate Lewis, piano
May 16, 2021
- “The World’s On Fire (and We'll Still Fall in Love)”
- Rev. Erin Walter, Guest Preacher; Rev. Deborah Cayer
- Music: Kate Lewis and others
After more than a year of pandemic life, some days may feel almost normal, while others still bring us to our knees. Drawing upon scripture, the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke, and her own spiritual practice of music-making, Unitarian Universalist Rev. Erin Walter will reflect on how we may endure ongoing struggle while also amplifying joy along the way.
Bio: Rev. Erin J. Walter (she/her/hers) is a minister, activist, and musician based in Austin and winner of the 2017 Sermon Award from the UU Women’s Federation. A former YMCA director, Rev. Erin is the singer/songwriter for the band Parker Woodland, whose music you’ll hear in this service. She serves as a board member for the Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry and the Affiliated Community Minister of Wildflower (Unitarian Universalist) Church in Austin. You can find more about her music and ministry at ErinWalter.com.