Memorial for the Fallen Dead Lay speaker Kit Marlowe Memorial Day is complicated for UUs. We mourn every soldier, sailor, or airperson who has died in military service, and recognize that our society would be very different, and not in a good way, if the USA had no Department of Defense. On the other hand, … Continued

How Do We Know What is True? Rev. Dawn Fortune How do we know what is true? How much of our perception is shaped and shaded by our own social location and lived experience? One of the questions from the Question Box sermon earlier this year, the notion of how we know truth is complex … Continued

Consent and Empowerment Lay speaker Betsy Erbaugh Mother’s Day was originally founded as an antiwar rallying cry by Unitarian Julia Ward Howe. In the age of #MeToo, #TimesUp, #FamiliesBelongTogether and #FreeBlackMamas, how do our UU principles call us to help create conditions so that all families can thrive? Betsy Erbaugh reflects on how the OWL … Continued

Eat Your Veggies: Moral Authenticity in a Complex World Rev. Dawn Fortune Our Unitarian Universalist Principles are aspirational statements that call us to live to the highest kind of ethical standards. Considering our commitment to responsible stewardship of the earth, what do we do in our daily lives to support that value? The annual service … Continued

Beltane Lay speaker Theresa McReynolds Beltane is the ancient Celtic festival of spring. We celebrate new life everywhere, as the signs of spring grow around us. Traditionally this is the festival of the Maypole dance and the Beltane fire.

Easter Rev. Dawn Fortune Easter and Earth Day coincide this year, giving us a perfect opportunity to consider the notion of death and resurrection as it applies to our physical world as well as our spiritual growth. Must there be death for there to be growth? Must something be destroyed completely to be born anew? … Continued

Sermon on the Amount, Part 2 Rev. Dawn Fortune Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who show generosity, for they shall receive great gifts. The stewardship season is over. The fellowship dinner was last night, and as the dust settles, we look forward and consider what lies ahead … Continued

So … What’s it (worth) to ya? Rev. Dawn Fortune This is the last Sunday of our annual stewardship pledge drive. This is the time when we wrap up our fundraising work and begin to calculate what we can and cannot accomplish in the coming year. What bits of congregational life are most important to … Continued

Why Do We Sing? Led by Barbara Miller, Music Director Over the years, singing has been part of our Sunday services, celebrations such as memorial services and weddings, and social activism. If you think of a UUCSJS soundtrack, what music comes to mind?

All Good Gifts Around Us Rev. Dawn Fortune “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet,” wrote theologian Frederick Buechner. What is it that you are gifted with that you’d like to share with the people around you? Where does the world need what … Continued