Category Archives for "Sermon Video"

January 23, 2022 Worship – Calling Their True NameContinuing on our theme of justice, we’ll consider the power of language in thinking, dialogue, and justice work.  We’ll ground this exploration in some of the rich mythology of naming. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the social media […]

January 2, 2022 Worship – The New Years Spiritual Weight Loss Plan Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the social media badges above. If you are not already logged into your account(s) you might be prompted to login to them.  Click Social Badges To Share This Story […]

December 26, 2021 Worship – Pandemic PicksFor the last Sunday in 2021, the First Unitarian staff team has selected some of their favorite readings, music, and messages from the pandemic video vault. Join us ONLINE for this virtual retrospective service — there will be no in-person service this morning. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 […]

December 24, 2021 Worship: Risky ReligionIt’s curious that Jesus, who was anti-establishment, anti-wealth, and anti-authority, became the poster child for establishment, wealth and authority.  All of which says much more about people than it does about Jesus. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the social media badges […]

December 24, 2021- The Warmth of Love: a Family Christmas Eve ServiceChristmas is a magical time for children.  Current and former children are welcome to join us for singing and stories that remind us of the love, warmth, light, and community that belongs to each and all of us in this season.  This service has […]

December 19, 2021 Worship: The Friendly BeastsJoin us for our annual no-rehearsal pageant, virtual and in person edition! You are invited to wear your pajamas to watch this replay of our virtual multigen pageant recorded last year.  This festive service features a joyful telling of the traditional Christmas story from the perspective of the stable […]

December 12, 2021 Worship: Wisdom of KabbalahFurther along our Whole Souul Living Theme of mysticism, this Sunday will focus on the ancient tradition of Jewish Mysticism known as Kabbalah. Hint: The divine is everywhere, everywhen, everything, and nothing is as it seems… Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click […]

December 5, 2021 Worship: Beyond BrokennessOn our Whole Souul Living Theme of mysticism, this Sunday will be an introduction to Christian Mysticism, generally shunned by organized Christian traditions but present in every one of them. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the social media badges above. If […]

November 28, 2021 Worship Service: The Healing Secrets of Mary of MagdaleneMary Magdalene is often seen as a supporting actress in the Jesus movie blockbuster. But what if she was actually the main role? She’s been called many names over the last few thousand years, the most powerful of which is ‘Disciple to the Disciples.’ […]

November 21, 2021 Worship Service: Evident TheologyMany if not all 21st century problems can be traced to both bad theology and bad science.  Both of these are products of history.  This Sunday we’ll look at how theology can catch up to modern science which leads to radically different assumptions. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 […]

November 14, 2021 Worship: Wisdom of BirdsOn our theme of Wisdom, we’ll learn about one of the classic Sufi poems, The Conference of the Birds. Some amazing facts about actual birds will also be present. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the social media badges above. If […]

November 7, 2021 Worship: This is Our MomentThis is our moment to embrace our values, and use the power of prayer and listening to lift those that have been marginalized and forgotten. It starts here because we know all change is local, and Denver is a global thought leader. What starts here can change the […]

October 31, 2021 Worship: Autumn RemembranceJoin us in the Sanctuary at First Unitarian for a day of remembrance ritual. We will hold space for celebrating and remembering those friends, family members, and pets whom we have lost during the last year (or longer). We’ll set up a shared altar space to hold photos, items, and […]

October 24, 2021 Worship: Connecting With DivinityKnowing at the outset that there are many names and conceptions of god, and even more pathways to those many gods…, even so, we’ll consider a few of the time-honored practices for connecting with the divine. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click […]

October 17, 2021 Worship: A Joyfully Embodied FaithAs First Unitarian discusses the proposal to develop a reparations fund for the black communities of Central Denver, we will explore both the responsibility and the joy in sharing resources that our faith calls us to. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please […]

October 10, 2021 Worship: Practice Does Not Make PerfectOn our theme of Spiritual Practices this month, we’ll consider just what a spiritual practice is for. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the social media badges above. If you are not already logged into your account(s) you might […]

October 3, 2021 Worship: A Proposal for Our TimeRacial Justice work at First Unitarian Denver has been going on for a very long time now. We’ve read books, held seminars, hired consultants, preached sermons, had guest speakers, attended marches and protests, helped clear criminal records…, much more. We are certainly more awake to issues of […]

September 26, 2021 Worship: Conflicting MessagesConsidering our monthly theme of Balance, this Sunday we will look at human conflict, the perils and possibilities, the aversion and the necessity of bringing differences, even ones we feel very strongly about, into conversation and relationship. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please […]

September 19, 2021 Worship Service: Healing the PastThis Sunday, several members of the First Unitarian Denver community will share their experience of learning about systemic racism and the effects of white supremacy. What are we (a mostly white congregation), called to do in response to the racialized wounds or the past and present? Make your […]

September 12, 2021 Worship Service: The World’s Largest Living ThingOn This InGathering Sunday, we’ll use poetry and imagery to consider the world’s largest Living Organism (Pando) and what Pando has to teach us. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the social media badges above. If you […]

September 5, 2021 Worship Service: The Work of the WorldRiffing on Mary Oliver’s poem The Summer Day, on this Labor Day weekend we’ll consider work, the work of the world, the work of our hands, the work of our lives. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on […]

August 29, 2021 Worship Service: We the PeopleAs both a national and global society today, tensions run disturbingly and continually near the boiling point. Chaos and turmoil seem to abound. As polarized factions, we remain at war with one another, gridlocked in a stalemate that can feel completely insurmountable. The consequences have been, and continue […]

August 22, 2021 Worship Service: The Spirit of ConversationAs news of the spread of new COVID variants continues to emerge, our UU congregations – and indeed, many other congregations across the country – are wrestling with the decision to return to in-person worship. How is spirit leading us to approach these discussions? What do our […]

August 15, 2021 Worship: Standing on the Shoulders of GiantsOn this Sunday that is on the 150th anniversary of the founding of 1st Unitarian Denver, we’ll look back on the history of Liberal Religion 1st Unitarian Society of Denver.  This Sunday will also be our first Sunday in over a year with live congregants in […]

August 8, 2021 Worship: OceansIContinuing our series on the spirit of life on Earth, today we’ll look at oceans. What are we learning about oceans and the global community connected by water? What do we owe the oceans in terms of human culture and civilization? What do oceans have to teach us spiritually? Make your […]

August 1, 2021 Worship: TreesIn this month when our Whole Souul Living Theme is Spirit, we’ll take a deep dive into the spirit of Life on Earth, beginning with Trees.  What are we learning about trees and tree communities?  What do we owe trees in terms of human culture and civilization?  What do trees have […]

July 25th, 2021 Worship Service: Gratitude, Lament, and ResiliencyFirst Unitarian members Barry Osborne, Kimberly Urish, Chris Belanger, and Sarah Rowan will reflect on living through a pandemic, what has sustained them through these challenging months, and share the music and art they created along the way. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To […]

July 18th, 2021 Worship Service: Mercy in Merciless TimesIn a world that runs on soundbites and superficiality, where do we go to express, communicate, or share the real joys and concerns of our hearts? Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the social media badges above. If […]

July 11th, 2021 Worship Service: What’s On Your Heart?In a world that runs on soundbites and superficiality, where do we go to express, communicate, or share the real joys and concerns of our hearts? Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the social media badges above. If […]

July 4, 2021 Worship Service: Liberal PatriotismWhat does it mean to be patriotic? How can different people and groups mean such vastly different things by it? We’ll consider patriotism, truth, history, and democracy on this 2021 4th of July Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the […]

June 27, 2021 Worship Service: Community Grief and Community HealingWe’ve been through a lot the past year. As a community, what have we learned? How shall we grieve what was lost? How will we move forward? Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the social media badges […]

June 20th, 2021 Worship Service: Nothing to LoseIn honor of our Whole Souul Living theme for June,(Liberation), we will consider spiritual freedom beyond the liberal church tradition. How does a church encourage, create, or model spiritual freedom? Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the social media […]

June 13th, 2021 Worship Service: There Will Always Be SingingThis year’s Music Sunday service lifts up our remarkable First Unitarian Chalice Singers, highlighting their journey and their musical creations over the past year. Choir members will reflect on why they sing and how music has sustained them during this challenging year.  Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give […]

May 30, 2021 Worship Service: Invitation to LiberationThis Sunday, we’ll hear from our Black Unitarian ancestor, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. We’ll consider what liberation means in a UU context, and Jen Simon, minister to the Mountain Top Black, Indigenous, and People of Color UU community, will extend an invitation to -all- at FUSD to live […]

May 23, 2021 Worship Service: The 8th PrincipleThis Sunday will conclude the series on the Principles of Unitarian Universalism.  We will briefly revisit the idea of covenant, and then consider the many words of the proposed 8th principle, “Journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that […]

May 16, 2021 Worship Service: The Male DenominatorIn this collaborative service, Rev. Mike and Alton Dillard will examine toxic masculinity and how it plays out in police brutality, racism, environmental justice, materialism, militarism and probably a few more isms. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the […]

May 9, 2021 Worship Service: The Beautiful Web of IndraThe seventh principle of Unitarian Universalism reads: “We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote, Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” Maybe the most poignant religious image for this idea is from […]

May 2, 2021 Worship Service:  All Together…. Now?We’ll consider how radical care and consideration lay foundations for community building as we build toward our new normal.  Our 6th principle of World community with peace, liberty, and justice for all beckons us onward together to a vision we’ve not yet achieved. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give […]

April 18, 2021 Worship Service: Restoring Beloved Community Amidst a Global PandemicThroughout history, global and concentrated epidemics have greatly affected people’s faith, and people of faith have responded very differently to the mass death and suffering that occurred during these epidemics. Yet people of faith have been at the center of these epidemics providing healing […]

April 18, 2021 Worship Service: Just ProfitsIt’s been several years since 1st Unitarian Denver has had an active social justice group working on Climate Change and environmental justice, but heaven knows the issue hasn’t gone away.  In honor of Earth Day, we’ll look at adaptation as it applies to the natural environment, and wonder if […]

April 11, 2021 Worship Service: Just ProfitsAs tax day approaches, we will look at emerging thinking about economic justice. Can we have an economy that is both profitable and just? Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the social media badges above. If you are not already […]

April 4, 2021 Worship Service: Resurrection and EmergenceResurrection is wonderful, and thank goodness the Easter story has been bringing hope to millions for centuries. But Emergence doesn’t require anything to die or be destroyed first in order for beauty and order to be created. This Easter we’ll consider both the resurrection and the emergence of […]

March 28, 2021 Worship Service: Invocations, Lamentations& other BirdsongsThrough music, poetry, and visual art centered on birds, we will explore deep listening and our connection to the natural world. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the social media badges above. If you are not already logged […]

March 21, 2021 Worship Service: Malcolm and MartinOn this Sunday, we’ll compare the visions for justice between these two seminal activists and thinkers. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the social media badges above. If you are not already logged into your account(s) you might be […]

March 7, 2021 Worship Service: On the Nature of SeekingContinuing our series on the Principles of Unitarian Universalism, this morning will explore the 4th Principle, A Free and Responsible Search for Truth and Meaning. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the social media badges above. If […]

February 28th Worship Service: 10th Annual All-Ages Dance ServiceJoin us for our 10th annual Community Dance & Music Service. Through music and movement, we will mindfully bring ourselves into the present moment, acknowledge and make space for our brokenness, and draw strength from our wholeness.  Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share […]

February 21st Worship Service: Love and Good TroubleThis Sunday we will reflect on our past and future as a community. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the social media badges above. If you are not already logged into your account(s) you might be prompted to login […]

March 14, 2021 Worship Service: Optimizing the OddsThe 5th Principle of Unitarian Universalism is: The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large. What do conscience and democracy have to do with each other, and why would we effectively equate them with religiousity?  Make your […]

January 24 Worship Service: The Battle for PeaceAs we continue our exploration of Peace, we reflect on a disturbing increase of unrest and violence, which hint at four years of conflict and tension to come. What does our Unitarian Universalist faith call us to do in times like these? Mateo Frisk joins us to explore […]

January 17th Worship Service: MLK TodayWhat do the words and actions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. mean today, including his more radical and less commonly-heard messages? How might his perspective speak to the issues we care about at First Unitarian, our Faith In Action projects, and the world around us? Make your offering at […]

January 10th Worship Service: The Work That is Never DoneContinuing our series on the Principles of Unitarian Universalism, the second principle is: Justice, Equity, and Compassion in Human Relations. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the social media badges above. If you are not already logged […]

December 27th Worship Service: Hacking the Human: The Code to Peace on Earth Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the social media badges above. If you are not already logged into your account(s) you might be prompted to login to them.  Click Social Badges To Share […]

Christmas Eve: Hold OnLooking for the thread of continuity, the thread of community, the thread of transcendence, the thread we hold on to no matter what comes, the thread that, when we hold it, we can never be lost. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the […]

December 20th Worship Service: The Friendly Beasts – Holiday PageantJoin us for our annual no-rehearsal pageant, virtual edition! This festive service features a joyful telling of the traditional Christmas story from the perspective of the stable animals, lots of congregational singing, and our first virtual Children’s Choir performance.  Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 […]

December 13th, 2020 Worship Service: Body of DenialWords like racism and classism are euphemistic abstractions. What happens in real life, on the street, in schools, in prisons, in the workplace, etc., happens to bodies of living flesh, bone, and blood. These abstractions are bad politics and bad theology. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 […]

November 29, 2020 Full Service – My Journey of LearningThe dictionary defines victimism as: “A tendency to play the victim; the adoption of a victimized persona.” Whether it’s the president, a white woman in Central Park, or the imaginary war on Christmas, victimism is a surprisingly effective social strategy! This Sunday we will take a […]

November 29, 2020 Full Service – My Journey of LearningThis morning, three of our members will share their experience of learning about white supremacy culture.  Kathryn Wiley, Julie Meyers, and David Alley have been involved in racial justice work both within and without First Unitarian Denver, and each brings a unique and valuable perspective to […]

November 22, 2020 Full Service – Strong and SolidLet us take time this Sunday to connect with and draw strength from the ever strong and solid Mother Earth. Together, we will listen deeply, sing together, and honor our home, one of our most tangible sources of wisdom, love, and beauty. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give […]

November 15, 2020 Full Service – More Than EnoughWhat makes a person greedy beyond all reason? What does having wealth do to a person’s psychology? How do you tell if you’re already wealthy? Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the social media badges above. If you […]

November 8, 2020 Full Service – Picking Up the PiecesNo matter what the outcome of the election, there will be deep wounds in our country .  There is much that needs mourning and there are reason for hope. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the social […]

November 1, 2020 Full Service – RepresentationBoth sides of the political spectrum are making a lot of noise about the threats to democracy itself if the other side is elected. So, let’s take a deeper look at democracy itself. Where did it come from? What does it really mean? Is it true that democracy is […]

October 25, 2020 Full Service – Autumn RemembranceDay of remembrance. Our ancestors brought us here, and someday we’ll join them. How shall we remember them and what they taught us? How do we hope to be remembered? Life is a cycle. We’ll build an altar, and remember our place in the cycle.  Make your offering […]

October 18, 2020 Full Service – A Unitarian Universalist PlatformAs he does every four years, Rev. Mike will declare his candidacy for President of the United States and describe a Unitarian Universalist platform. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the social media badges above. If you […]

October 4, 2020 Full Service – A Scripture of Flesh and BloodWe consider the body as a source of wisdom and knowledge. Make your offering at https://tiny.cc/fusd-give Share0 Tweet0 Share0 To share this story, please click on the social media badges above. If you are not already logged into your account(s) you might be prompted […]

June 28th 2020 Homily – Pride RevealedMatthew Davis, Worship Arts Coordinator, will explore the idea that pride can only come from first struggling with who you are. In some places and people LGBTQ+ is still something to be ashamed of and breaking forth from shame is where true pride is revealed.Since there are several statistics […]