Unfolding Faith: Sermons from Foothills Unitarian
Welcome to Unfolding Faith: Sermons from Foothills Unitarian, where each week we speak to the heart of our shared human experience from the pulpit at Foothills Unitarian Church in Fort Collins, Colorado. Join us as we share powerful reflections, bold perspectives, and collective calls to action.
Welcome to Unfolding Faith: Sermons from Foothills Unitarian, where each week we speak to the heart of our shared human experience from the pulpit at Foothills Unitarian Church in Fort Collins, Colorado. Join us as we share powerful reflections, bold perspectives, and collective calls to action.
Listen on:
Episodes

May 4, 2022
Why Church?
May 4, 2022
May 4, 2022
35 min
Rev. Sean explores radical hospitality and how church feeds the part of all of us that yearns to belong in a community - woven through past and present - that holds our whole selves.
6:07 Rev. Sean's sermon26:08 Guided meditation with Rev. Elaine29:03 Abortion rights response and resourcesRead Rev. Gretchen Haley and Rev. Elaine Aron-Tenbrink's response to the threat on abortion rights.
May 4, 2022
35 min

Apr 27, 2022
Be Like Fungi: Earth Seeds and Be More Gay
Apr 27, 2022
Apr 27, 2022
31 min
Rev. Gretchen delivers an Earth Day message inviting us to practice the pause where we can both honor what’s been lost and lean into co-creating a joyful life.
2:31 Rev. Gretchen Haley’s sermon Earth Seeds
20:28 Foothills member Beckie Wagner reflects on her journey out of despair
25:21 Rev. Sean closes our Regeneration series
Learn more about Be More Gay at https://foothillsuu.org/bemoregay
Apr 27, 2022
31 min

Apr 20, 2022
Nothing Queerer Than a Resurrection
Apr 20, 2022
Apr 20, 2022
1 hr 13 min
Amid a cultural moment when queer people are facing cruel and unjust treatment across the U.S., Rev. Sean shares an Easter message of queer Jesus - someone accused by the crowd of perverting a nation (11:11). Revs. Gretchen and Sean discuss why Rev. Sean chose to preach on queer Jesus and how queerness is liberating for all people regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity (0:25 and 33:46).Sermon Transcript
Apr 20, 2022
1 hr 13 min

Apr 13, 2022
How to move through ambiguous loss
Apr 13, 2022
Apr 13, 2022
30 min
Rev. Elaine Aron-Tenbrink guides us in exploring how we can move through ambiguous loss and pandemic social atrophy by attuning ourselves to what is alive. When we embrace observation and follow the threads of what is alive and beautiful, here and now, we begin to imagine something new to hope for.
1:31 Reflection from Rev. Meg Riley read by Rev. Sean Neil-Barron5:56 Rev. Elaine Aron-Tenbrink's sermon "Aligning with Aliveness"
Apr 13, 2022
30 min

Apr 7, 2022
Apr 7, 2022
38 min
What do we do when we feel so stuck or in despair that moving forward doesn't feel possible? Rev. Sean explores how we can find hope through doing.
5:28 Rev. Sean Neil-Barron's sermon "Hope is a Verb"34:53 Closing song: "Hope with Our Hands"
Apr 7, 2022
38 min

Mar 30, 2022
Maybe life is trying to save you
Mar 30, 2022
Mar 30, 2022
46 min
What do we do when - despite our best efforts - we feel like progress isn’t happening or we’re even moving backward? It’s normal to want to hide and disconnect when life gets messy and hard, but in this episode, Rev. Gretchen offers an alternative path. She explores how through reconnection we can bring ourselves, our relationships, and our world back to life.
5:20 Response to recent anti-trans, anti-queer legislation
11:43 Rev. Gretchen’s Sermon
31:10 Revs. Gretchen and Sean discuss the sermon
Mar 30, 2022
46 min

Mar 23, 2022
Tangled Surprises
Mar 23, 2022
Mar 23, 2022
38 min
Does living your best life mean that you've got it all figured out? Does it mean all pleasure and no pain? Does the concept of no pain even make sense in the world where joy and beauty are so often entangled with disappointment and struggle?
Rev. Elaine digs into these questions and more with long-time Foothills members Lynn Young and Bob Bacon. They explore how we can hold the tension of being both awake to suffering and open to beauty and joy.
Mar 23, 2022
38 min

Mar 15, 2022
Mar 15, 2022
50 min
Rev. Sean draws on East Asian philosophy and religious traditions to explore how embracing flow can help us live our best life.
Mar 15, 2022
50 min

