Sermons

In these weeks following the inauguration of a regime that values wealth over lives, we need one another, and we need a religious community more than ever. What can we learn from our own time spent in the Pacific Ocean and our own experiences of community resilience that can make us wiser, more connected, and more capable in this moment? And what does this mean for us as we embark on ministry with Rev. Joshua? Join us for a reflection on spiritual resilience in this tumultuous time.

Rev. Sarah Gibb Millspaugh is the Pacific Unitarian Universalist Church’s primary contact on the regional staff of the Unitarian Universalist Association. A lifelong UU and with a background in congregational ministry, sexuality education, lifespan religious education, and justice work, Sarah is about to celebrate her 20th anniversary of ordination.

– Rev. Sarah Millspaugh

Tu Bi’Shevat (literally the 15th day of the Jewish month of Shevat) celebrates the rebirth of the natural world in spring with a festive meal (a seder) consisting of symbolic foods and cups of wine. Humanistic Jews celebrate Tu Bi’Shevat as a “Jewish Arbor Day,” a day on which we recognize our ethical obligations to care for the planet and its inhabitants. A Tu Bi’Shevat seder includes symbolic foods representing themes of fertility, trees, rebirth and renewal, obligation to heal the world, earth-awareness, and the interconnected web of life.

There was much talk last year about the presidential election as a struggle for the soul of our nation, pointing to “soul” as the seat of sacred identity. What does it mean for nations or churches to have souls? The soul of a church can be expressed as its purpose or “mission.” Does our nation, in that sense, have a sacred mission, a moral purpose, a soul? I’ll explore that question in this new presidential era and in light of the new UUA values statement putting “Love at the Center.”

– Jay Atkinson retired in 2011 from 32 years of full-time service in Unitarian Universalist parish ministry, most recently twelve years in Studio City (Los Angeles) and, before that, thirteen years in Davis, Calif. During those ministries he also served at various times on the adjunct faculties of our UU seminaries in Chicago (Meadville Lombard Theological School) and Berkeley (Starr King School for the Ministry). Before turning to professional ministry, he did research in nuclear physics for eleven years. Currently he is a Research Scholar at Starr King with a focus on UU history.

Rev. Dr. Jay Atkins

This Sunday we kick-off our pledge drive with the theme of “More Love.” There tends to be a reluctance to ask for money so, do not fret, Pastor Joshua will ask! Our budget funds so many necessary things to keep Pacific Unitarian running and growing and we will certainly talk about those. What is talked about less often are the intangibles that our donations support; the priceless contributions a loving community makes to its members and the world. By focusing on the love our dollars provide, we reframe donating as a spiritual practice and a vital ministry.

“Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
Ever desiring, one sees the manifestations.”
— Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu’s teaches that if we let go of desire, the mystery of life becomes clear. Many, if not all, religious and philosophical doctrines instruct some variation of this idea of non-attachment leading to perception of truth. However, if there is no desire at all, that must also include the desire for the understanding of mystery. The lesson is (spoiler alert) that the path IS the truth. Dao literally means “the way or the path.” What Unitarian Universalism’s principles and shared values do is lay out a love-filled path into inescapable mystery.

Pastor Berg