RECENT ONLINE SERMONS*
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*Sermons are posted by a volunteer, usually within two weeks
Thank you for your patience!

Yearning to Breathe Free: Inclusion in 2025 and Beyond
with Brad Porterfield, Lay Leader

February 16, 2025 Inspired by Emma Lazarus’ timeless words, this service explores what true inclusion means in today’s world. In 2025, how do we welcome the tired, the poor, the huddled masses in our workplaces, communities, and institutions? We’ll examine the evolving challenges of equity, belonging, and opportunity, and discuss actionable steps to build a society where everyone, regardless of background, can truly thrive.

What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do
with Rev. Scott Rudolph, Minister

February 9, 2025 A lot is changing in America. When the news headlines topple in different, drastic directions every day, feeling helpless or overwhelmed is expected. Changes in polices translate into tangible world impacts on real people. So what to do?

Batteries Included (Charging is Optional)
with Rev. Scott Rudolph, Minister

February 2, 2025 We have been offered the miracle of life. Our bodies have an essential energy or battery that we charge to keep us going. Our chosen communities also need care and recharging from time to time to thrive. In a constantly shifting world, we look to energize that which can sustain us for the journey ahead.

Our guest musician this morning is Kira Seto, a community songleader and organizer of Voices Rising Community Choir in Bend. She is a multiracial (white and Japanese) song catcher, songleader, artist, community leader, and ever-evolving human. Kira blends heart and harmony, believing in the transformative power of community singing. She has been leading a capella group singing since 2017. In 2020, she joined Open Hub Singing, and in 2023, she started Voices Rising.

Ink Chronicles: Stories Beneath the Skin
with Paul Bennett and Noreen Halberstadt

January 26, 2025 Tattoos are more than just art: they are personal narratives etched into the skin. From symbols of love and loss to reminders of resilience and transformation, each piece tells a story unique to its wearer. This exploration delves into the profound, emotional, and sometimes surprising tales behind tattoos, celebrating the diverse reasons people choose to immortalize moments, beliefs, and connections through ink. Hear stories from lay leaders Paul Bennett, Noreen Halberstadt, Jaz Halberstadt, Shonna Edwards, Tone Colotte, and Laura Pitney.

Reproductive Health, Autonomy, and Justice
with Sara Kennedy, MD, MPH

January 19, 2025 Sara Kennedy, president of Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette, joins us. PPCW is the largest non-profit family planning and reproductive rights organization in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Decisions about children, families, and sexuality are some of life's most profound. Our Unitarian Universalist faith holds central the inherent worth and dignity of all people, which includes a belief in the sacredness of all bodies, and the importance of self-determination and human agency.

The Fiction Shall Set You Free
with Rev. Scott Rudolph, Minister

January 12, 2025 Religions are built upon myth. Our modern poetry and stories can speak to a truth unsung by facts. How strange that what is true inside us is sometimes best found through fiction from the outside. Rev. Scott explores this idea through his personal experience of Shintoism alongside a dose of art throughout the ages.

The Stories We Tell Ourselves
with Rev. Scott Rudolph, Minister

January 5, 2025 What is being alive other than a process of telling, hearing, and collecting stories? Some of them are other peoples’, some are our own. Some are true and some are false. We like to think perhaps we guide our lives by facts, but in truth, story is far more powerful.