Below is a list of past sermons given at The Fellowship. Once you find the sermon you’d like to listen to, just click on the sermon title listed, and it will open that sermon in a page with the options to listen to it via the web, to download the MP3 for listening offline, or to open the transcript of the sermon to read.

Mind the Gap

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Mind the Gap
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by Andy Mast, Fellowship Member

Any visitor to London will instantly recognize this as the safety message regularly heard at tube stops as well as the iconic image that goes along with it. In addition to being valuable safety advice, the phrase also suggests rich meanings about space, time and repose: the gaps in both our internal and external worlds. How do we maintain awareness of, create and manage these spaces in our lives? “Minding the gap” has many rich and varied meanings to examine, and you won’t even need a passport to enjoy this journey!

Finding Common Ground

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Finding Common Ground
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by Rev. Christina Leone-Tracy

Last week we talked about why honoring our differences is such an important part of our faith. But it’s also good to remember how we are the same, and seek to find commonalities even when they might not be obvious.

Melting Pots and Salad Bowls: Celebrating our Differences

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Melting Pots and Salad Bowls: Celebrating our Differences
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by Rev. Christina Leone-Tracy

Have you ever wondered where the term “Melting Pot” came from, to describe our society here in the United States? In the spirit of 4th of July, and with all that has been happening with our nation’s immigration policies, come learn why we are in need of a better, more healing metaphor to celebrate our differences.

Exploring Empathy

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Exploring Empathy
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by Rev. Karon Sandberg

How do we “be” with folks that we love when they are going through difficult times? So often words do not feel like enough. Many of us offer sympathy but have no clue how to offer empathy. Many of us want to fix the unfixable and feel helpless causing us to withdraw from our loved ones during the very time they may need us most. Join us as we explore empathy and its powerful gift of love and grace when offered with a genuine heart.

Leap of Faith

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Leap of Faith
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by Rev. Christina Leone-Tracy

Rev. Christina will share with us the sermon that she preached when the Ministerial Search Committee first interviewed her over a year ago. Learn how a single flying trapeze class informed her understanding of our Unitarian Universalist faith and ministry.

Broad Arch Above; Our Annual Bridging Service

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Broad Arch Above; Our Annual Bridging Service
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with Rev. Leah Hart-Landsberg

Bridging Youth Speakers: Grace Neudek, Katie Dobbs, Mariah Hagen

We will honor the Fellowship’s graduating high school seniors with a bridging ceremony as they move from being part of our children’s and youth community to joining the adult community. We’ll hear from our bridging youth about their plans for the future, as well as where they are in their spiritual journeys. A ceremony of child dedication will welcome and celebrate new life into our midst. Religious education volunteers will be recognized. Be sure to stay after for a reception in honor of our high school graduates!

Flower Communion 2018

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Flower Communion 2018
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by Rev. Christina Leone-Tracy
with Kim Hartman, Director of Religious Education

Bring a flower (or several) to share, as we celebrate our annual Unitarian Universalist tradition of Flower Communion, and learn more about the powerful history of this festival of diversity.

The Unplayed Melody

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The Unplayed Melody
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by Jay Thomas, Music Director

The poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, writes that “all life is being lived,” and then asks, “Who is living it, then?” As I reflect upon leaving this beloved community and wonder what lies before me, I want to explore what it means to live a life “like (the) unplayed melody in a flute.” Join us as we examine this mystical rumination on life, the similarities between the early years of the 20th century (when Rilke penned these words) and our current age of anxiety, and how music might serve as both balm and beacon during these turbulent times.

Spiritual Wounds and How to Heal

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Spiritual Wounds and How to Heal
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by Rev. Leah Hart-Landsberg

Reflection and Special Music by Taizan Alford
Special Music: Only Love Can Heal by Taizan Alford, written for this service

This service was inspired by last summer’s annual question service, when someone in our community asked about how to make sense of the “squirm” they felt when hearing traditional religious language. Old spiritual triggers and wounds can be powerful, and sometimes they cause us great and continued suffering. Yet it is possible to face our hurt, and even reconnect (or maybe connect for the first time) with spiritual joy and meaning. Member Taizan Alford will offer some original music written specially for this theme.

Encountering the Buddha

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Encountering the Buddha
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by Rev. Cynthia Barnes Johnson

This Sunday, we welcome Rev. Cynthia Barnes Johnson, who was ordained by this congregation! She served UU congregations in Dallas, and Oklahoma City, before retiring to Door County. She’ll be preaching on “Encounters with the Buddha”- Imagine my surprise and delight when I had two Buddha-encounters at 10,700 feet — and then they kept on coming for awhile. I could hardly believe it myself. The religious imagination can be a good companion to the living of our lives.