Unfolding Faith: Sermons from Foothills Unitarian

Catching Vision

Where does powerful and healing change begin? With a ten-point plan? Or in the sheer force of our individual will? The changes that rock our world the most often begin in a perhaps surprising realm: the imagination. Though it may be tempting to write off dreaming as naive or superfluous, our willingness to dream is critical if we are going to shape our world and our lives for the better. In this episode, we explore techniques for catching an inspiring vision. 

Finding Your Way Through When Everything Hurts

We welcome special guest Kathleen Rude, author and senior facilitator of the Work That Reconnects (a group process that fosters resilience).
Kathleen guides us in accessing our resilience and inner strength, shifting our overwhelm, fear, outrage, and grief in these challenging times into compassionate presence and inspired action. Even though we may feel that we don’t have enough or aren’t capable enough to make a difference in our troubled world, our “not enoughness” can be just enough to bring about change.

How to Rebuild Hope: Where to begin in challenging times

For week two of our Active Hope series, Rev. Sean takes us to our starting place. In the face of challenges and dreams that seem impossible, where do we begin?

How can we see no stranger?

This is the first episode of our active hope series, where we're exploring the work of environmental activist, author, and Buddhist scholar Joanna Macy.
To kick things off, we're drawing on the story of Easter, Trans Day of Remembrance, and the recent expulsion of Tennesee state legislators to examine how we might move our society towards a pivotal moment of transformation by truly recognizing all our fellow humans as kin.

Replace Yourself

We are called to serve, help, and work for justice. We dedicate time, energy, and resources to making our church, community, and world a better place. And, yet, our time is limited. Someone else will need to pick up the work someday. Someone will come next... won't they?
 
In this episode, Rev. Gretchen explores our responsibility for mentoring another generation who will take our place in the great work.

You’re on the team

Rev. Elaine continues our exploration of how we serve one another, sharing how even when we might feel we have nothing to offer, there is a role for us to play. When our lives feel too busy, joining the team and serving may actually be the antidote.

The Lifesaving Power of Mutual Aid

We're kicking off our new series, Terms of Service: The fine print of community. In this episode, Rev. Sean shares how mutual aid is a powerful tool for care and an essential component of spiritual life. Then, Rev. Dr. Sheryl Johnson joins Rev. Sean for a conversation about how the finance and stewardship practices of many congregations espouse neoliberal values and entrench white privilege and what we can do to change that.
2:13: Rev. Sean's sermon "No Masters, No Flakes"27:04 Conversation with Rev. Dr. Sheryl Johnson
Find Sheryl Johnson's Book here: https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9781506482965/Serving-Money-Serving-God
 

Bonus Episode: Gender Question Box

Rev. Sean Neil-Barron, Rev. Gretchen Haley, and religious educators Lauren Farley and Eleanor VanDeusen answer questions about gender submitted by community members.Some questions we answer are:
How can we center all the different needs in the fight for gender equity?Will we be targeted for taking a pro-trans and nonbinary stance?How are cis-gender kids affected by movements focusing on gender-expansive kids?