Unfolding Faith: Sermons from Foothills Unitarian

The Long Driveway

Guest minister Rev. Kelly Dignan explores low-barrier moments that pull us out of isolation and fear into connection and hope. Alongside all the ways we intentionally build community, there can be small, effortless gatherings that emerge and create a reason to linger - in an airport, a fairy garden, on a driveway. 

Inner Worlds and Stupid Canadian Wolf Birds

What does it mean to have a secret inner world, where the secret isn't deception or dishonesty, but something you've chosen to tend on purpose? A space that belongs only to you? 
So many of us are running on fumes right now. Burned out. Disconnected. Scrolling past each other. The great spiritual traditions have always known something about this. They've always invited people into the intentional cultivation of inner space. Not as escape. Not as hiding. But as practice.
We invite you to listen to Rev. Sean teach us that tending to these inner worlds - tending to these signs of life that point the way to our deepest selves - doesn't actually pull us away from others but can lead to greater intimacy and connection. He might also hint at one of his "inner worlds" along the way. 

Altars of Delight

This Earth Day Sunday, we lean into the tension of the reality that so much of what fills us with wonder and gratitude can be temporary and fleeting. Together in an all-ages service we honor both the beauty and the ache of being alive. With shared ritual, and music from Christopher Watkins Lamb, we practice meeting the living world with reverence, honesty, and gratitude.

It's Good to Feel Good

In hard times, pleasure is not frivolous. It is one of the ways we stay human. When the world is frightening, exhausting, or cruel, we can become cut off from our bodies, from joy, from appetite, from play, from beauty, from one another. We can start living only in vigilance, productivity, grief, or survival mode. Rev. Gretchen shares how she had to personally remind herself of this after an especially difficult week, and how important and meaningful it is to lean on one another to retain our humanity, especially when doing so doesn't feel possible. 

Love Rising

There is a kind of love that looks away. That holds up the beautiful parts and quietly ignores what's cracked underneath. But that kind of love doesn't hold. You cannot truly love what you refuse to see. Rev. Sean bring us a message this Easter about what it means to stay present with what is broken, to extend grace before anything makes sense, and to recognize the resurrection that is already happening in the ordinary moments most of us have been trained to overlook.

How to Take Shifts in the Revolution

Rev. Elaine invites us to into the sacredness of subtraction.
Love calls us into movement work in so many ways – and sometimes, not in the ways we’re expecting.  Could it be that seeking out rest, inconvenience, and social awkwardness are just what we need? Sounds…weird, wonderful and awful! Join us for an exploration of the less-discussed movement work that just might carry us through in the long haul.

Circles of Care

Rev. Christopher Watkins Lamb invites us to channel our longing and deep imaginations to create the village that is our birthright. 
We'll draw on Rev. Christopher's work as an eco-chaplain, musician, spiritual care practitioner, and lead Chaplain at Poudre Valley Hospital, and upon the wisdom of Susan Silk and Barry Goldman's "Ring Theory" of crisis response, to explore how to care for each other in disruptive, playful, and world-shaping fashion.

Learning: How We Move

Join us in a very special conversation with Rev. Sean and Dr. Cori Wong, Experimental Public Philosopher and a member of our Fort Collins Community. 
In her uniquely playful and creative style, Dr. Wong reminds us that movements for liberation ask us to follow the lead of those most impacted, and that the best followers are good learners. Together we'll ask ourselves:
From whom do you learn?
What are you willing to learn?
How does what you learn inform what you choose to do?
Dr. Wong is a dynamic and experimental public philosopher, educator, speaker, consultant, writer, and community builder known to bring creativity, humor, and authenticity to all facets of her work. 
With her personable, playful, and expansive style, Dr. Wong shows how to make meaning of complex ideas and real feelings that are inherent to movements for collective liberation. Learn more about her work at coriwong.com