Prometheus and many other of the characters in Greek mythology suffer considerably at the hands of the gods. Some might onclude that it pays to do what the gods (or whoever the powers that be are) say and to be subservient to them. But I think it’s possible to discern the opposite wisdom in Greek mythology. This sermon will also touch on the question that every religion or philosophy must answer: Why do bad things happen?

 One scholar of mythology calls the Odyssey the Parts Department for Western Literature. The Odyssey may also be the Parts Department for Western spirituality. One of the epics great spiritual themes is the return home. From The Wizard of Oz to Coming Home, Cast Away, and Cold Mountain, this theme continues to be mined. Each in our own way, we face the same challenge Odysseus faced in Homers great work: How do we find our way home?

 Each of us faces a fundamental spiritual challenge: figuring out who we really are at the core. To lead an authentic life, we continually need to answer the question “Who are you?” This was a very frequent theme in Greek mythology. The ancient Greeks have some hints about this spiritual challenge.

 I'll kick off my sermon series with an overview of ancient Greek mythology and its foundational place in the Western imagination. I'll also explore how Greek myths might continue to speak to us about our lives and spiritual journeys three millennia later.

 This Goddess of Compassion is known by many names in many cultures and many religions. By whatever name she is called, she is the emblem of mercy and lovingkindness, and she offers us an example of the true strength available at the core of an pen-heart.

 Many within our community are impacted by mental health issues, either by personal experience or loving someone who deals with these issues. FVUUF member Karen Schiller and her mother will join Dottie to offer information and hope about this very important topic.

 Society tells us that the winter holiday time is meant to be joyful for everyone. Many of us, however, are aware that the holidays can be anything but a time of celebration. Join us as we explore the "space between" to find peace and, perhaps, joy as the world bustles around us.

 Join us for our annual Winter Solstice service as we celebrate the darkness of this time of year as well as the beginning return of the light.

 The season of Advent, the Winter Solstice and Christmas largely focuses on mystery: the mysteries of hope and expectation, darkness and light, and new life born in the bleak mid-winter. Amidst all of the hustle and bustle of December in America, I hope that contemplating the illuminating, fascinating, beautiful mysteries that underlie the season will help spiritually ground our experiences of the holiday season this year.

 This sermon will carry forward strands from the Rev. Dottie Mathews sermon last month on social-networking media. Here’s the big question I want to consider: With all of the possibilities and demands of living in the wired world today, how can we be intentional and even spiritual about the ways we connect electronically with others in our incredibly shrinking global family? I’ll share my answer to this question.

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 A panel will join us in sharing their personal stories of adoption. A variety of different perspectives from the triad of adoption—the birth parents, adoptive parents and adoptees—will be shared. This service recognizes that November is National Adoption Month and that adoption has touched a great many families in our Fellowship—including ours!

 The crisis in Darfur can seem like one of several world issues that is difficult to sort out and impossible to impact in a meaningful way. Dottie is joined by Helen Powling (one of our Senior High youth) in sharing information, hope, and opportunities for this Fellowship to make a difference there.

 Diverse spiritual writers such as the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh and the Christian theologian Marcus Borg have written comparisons of the Buddha and Jesus. In this sermon I’ll explore some of the commonalities as well as the differences in these two spiritual giants. This sermon will coincide with our religious education program’s focus on prophetic men and women as one of the sources of our UU faith.

 Abortion, gay marriage, gun control, the legalization of some drugs, affirmative action—these and other hot button issues continue to threaten to rip apart the fabric of our society. Is it possible to find common ground on some of these issues? Is it desirable? What might some of this common ground look like?

 This topic is much in the news and people seem to fall into one of three categories: avid fans, scornful refuseniks, or (quite frequently, it seems) befuddled and wondering if they are somehow missing the rapidly departing boat. Join Dottie - with help from our Senior High Youth Group - as we look into this phenomenon and its implications for society and our faith.

 With all the political rhetoric (to classify some of it charitably) about health care, can we step back and look at it through the lens of our UU faith? I think so!

 If I had my way, I'd drop "Unitarian" from our too-long name and just go with Universalism. In this sermon I'll tell you why. This is the sermon that I'm most excited about for this year—if you can come to only one service (which I hope isn’t the case!), come to this one! Paradise, hell, social justice, love, the future of our faith: it's all in the sermon.

 In this message, we'll discuss my views on why the recent Wisconsin legislation has been so highly celebrated by committed same-gender couples in this state and we’ll learn more about the rights now afforded them under the law. As an overriding theme, we will also consider the apparent truth that incremental steps are often required to bring about significant changes in society.

 Former U.S. Attorney and Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager candidly speaks of her life's twists and turns, describing her strategies for moving forward despite the challenges that have confronted her and missteps she has made. She describes how family, friends, community, and a sense of purpose in her work, afforded her the opportunity to move past challenges and view the future with optimism. Lautenschlager, an attorney for 29 years, now practices with a Madison law firm. She is married and the parent of three children and two step-children. Lautenschlager and her two sons, Joshua and Ryan, were, for several years, regular attendees of our Fellowship. FVUUF member Prerna Kvalvik is the favorite aunt of Peg's sons.

 We’ll celebrate the start of the new Fellowship year with our annual “Mingling of the Waters” ceremony. Everyone is invited to bring water from your summer adventures near and far to share during the ceremony. Weather cooperating, the service will take place in front of our building by the "Welcoming Waters" pond.

 "Ethical Eating: Food and Environmental Justice" was chosen at the 2008 General Assembly to be a 2008-2012 Congregational Study/Action Issue of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. Trish Kirk will introduce this CSAI and discuss the social and environmental consequences of our food choices in her sermon 'Ethical Eating: Compassionate Choices.

 Many in our congregation come from Christian backgrounds and sometimes struggle to reconcile their past heritage with their current faith journey. Jim will share his own experiences and those of several authors who found ways to express their Christian faith within a diverse world view.

 Getting to heaven…. As with all the places we seek, there seems a drive to find an ever simpler road to a well-publicized destination, with more billboards and road signs than ever. However, anything we know of an afterlife comes through the eyes, ears, touch, and connections with this world and its everpresent mysteries. So, what visions shall we find along the backroads to that better place? Perhaps Wall Drug signs, tall trees, poets and musicians among the many tour guides, Burma-Shave, flowing springs. What shall we learn during the journey? Likely something about hope, expectations, compassion, surprise, and wonder. Something about other life, not just after life. Something about the dance of consciousness and its mysterious partners. Come and reflect on these bits of paradise already available to us, through poetry, music, and stories.

The Irish band U2 has had a long and distinguished run. It’s easy for the remarkable activism of the band’s lead singer, Bono, to overshadow the band’s musical accomplishments. Not surprisingly, the values and vision embodied in Bono’s activism permeate the music. His work impacts the music, and no doubt the music impacts his work. What are some of the important messages and wisdom expressed in U2’s music?

 Last year my PET SUNDAY message was "The Zen of Dogs". This year we’ll shift our attention to the "Tao of Cats". You are invited and encouraged to bring your pets to the service. Dogs, rats, humans, cats, fish, birds, snakes, guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits: these critters and many more species are all welcome! The service gives us a chance to celebrate the non-human animals in our lives, and to introduce them to our Fellowship friends!

 Learning what it means to be a "good" parent is one of our most significant - and befuddling - tasks, whether we're trying to care for a toddler, a teen or a thirty-something. This sermon will explore the mix of feelings and frustrations (and joys) we experience as we seek strength, wisdom, and hope from one another in this crucially meaningful role.

 Although the majority of the UUs in this country are well-educated and middle class, thousands of UUs in the Philippines and several other parts of the world live in extreme poverty and find our faith brings them the hope and inspiration to live lives of meaning and compassion towards others. Learn how they are keeping their faith and religious organizations alive and how we can join them in this challenging work.

 Rev. Joseph Ellwanger is a retired ELCA Pastor who served an urban parish in the African American Community in Birmingham, Alabama, 1958-67, and a central city congregation in Milwaukee, 1967-2002. His organizing experience includes participation in the civil right movement in Birmingham and Selma, Alabama, in 1963 and 1965, and various roles social justice groups in Milwaukee,1988-2002. Since Joe’s retirement from parish ministry, he has been serving as an organizer with interfaith social justice groups. Locally, Joe works with Fox Valley’s ESTHER group and he is a campaign organizer working especially on the statewide issue of Treatment Instead of Prison (TIP).

 Several members of the Fellowship will share their belief statements during this popular annual summer service.

 Karon Sandberg shares her journey on a Global Justice Trip to Guatemala and how, even in the midst of crippling oppression, hope and peace are found in the divine spirit of the children. Karon is in Seminary preparing for the Unitarian Universalist ministry and is being sponsored by the Fellowship.

 A look at the amazing perseverance and resilience of "hope." Is it the same as optimism? Where does it come from and why is it so important?

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 What’s on your mind? Are there questions you have about the spiritual journey, theology, ethics, the Fellowship, life in general, or a thousand other things? This is your chance to ask! Your questions will be the focus of my sermon. Bring them on!

 Each year the Fellowship joins many Unitarian Universalist congregations around the world in celebrating the Flower Communion.

 When soldiers go off to war, they leave behind loved ones. Their experience on the home front is challenging in different ways from the soldiers on the battlefield. We’ll hear a panel of members who will share their personal experiences on the home front. The service will also include music performed by Doug Wheeler.

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 This service is the culminating event of the year-long Coming of Age program. Come and hear our youth share about the program and share their credos. A credo is a belief statement—the Latin root means that which you give your heart to. This is always a very moving and inspiring service.

 In recent months we’ve been exploring the idea and are finding a lot of enthusiasm from our Oshkosh members and friends. A strategic planning team has come up with a proposal for moving toward having a satellite in Oshkosh. This is a significant undertaking not just for our members and friends in Oshkosh but for our whole Fellowship. So whether you live in Oshkosh or Appleton or Hortonville or wherever, the subject of this sermon will be important.

 Many folks have asked some variation of this question: "I am so glad I've found Unitarian Universalism - I love it! But can you help me find the right words to explain it to others?" In this service, we will talk about what we believe, and how to express it to family, friends and acquaintances.

 In his just-released book Making the Good Life Last Michael Schuler argues that sustainability must become a major consideration as we ponder the future, not only of the natural environment, but of our families, finances, communities, and individual physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. In a culture which encourages the pursuit of evanescent "good times" we sorely need a strategy that delivers more lasting benefits. Michael believes that by applying four simple "keys", we are better able to make the good life last. A graduate of Starr King School for the Ministry, Michael Schuler also holds a Ph.D. in the Humanities and has served the 1500-member First Unitarian Society of Madison for the past twenty-one years. The Rev. Schuler is the Parish Minister of the First Unitarian Society of Madison, the largest UU congregation in the nation.

 Reverend Roger Bertchausen discusses the meaning of courage with respect to spirituality.

Premiering in 1913, Igor Stravinsky’s ballet “The Rite of Spring” is one of the most significant masterpieces of the twentieth century. Because of its adventurous departures from the musical norms of the time and its inclusion of pagan themes, the premiere in Paris was so controversial that the audience rioted. I will use the music and the remarkable story of the ballet’s debut as a jumping off point for a brief consideration of spring and Easter.

 This will be a reprise of the sermon I did for our newly dedicated partner church in Deva, Transylvania, last November. The sermon is an exploration of how to love one another within a congregation and beyond our walls as we contemplate our ten-year-old partnership with our Deva brothers and sisters.

 So often we struggle to know how to be most helpful when friends and loved ones are enduring life difficulties. This sermon will explore ways we can listen with a compassionate heart.

 The Rev. Gibbons is the Senior Minister of First Unitarian Church in Minneapolis and is widely considered to be one of the most outstanding preachers in our UU Association. Through her extensive publications as well as her preaching, she is a leading voice for religious humanism within the UUA.

 The publication in 2007 of Mother Teresa's private writings revealed a woman who was often tormented by doubt and even utter desolation. Her heartfelt expression of doubt is a jumping off point for us to contemplate the place of doubt in the spiritual journey.

 In this joint message, Roger and Dottie will celebrate some of the many steps that have brought us to this point in our vibrant community's life – and offer glimpses of the vistas awaiting as we continue our steady, happy, and determined forward movement.

 This sermon will explore the current state of the American criminal justice system. Topics I'll cover include the explosion in prison population, the criminalization of drugs, the increasing focus on victims’ rights, and the death penalty. What could be done to improve our system of justice? What guidance do our Unitarian Universalist principles offer as we envision a more ethical and effective criminal justice system?

 The prison at Guantanamo, the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and other such prisons, warrantless wiretapping, extraordinary rendition: these responses to 9/11 have in my view profoundly threatened some of the basic principles that govern our justice system. Why were these policies adopted? What has been their impact on avoiding further terrorist attacks, the perception of our nation in the world, and the American view of justice? And what should be done now about these policies as a new administration comes into place?

 Atonement is a powerful spiritual response to causing harm to others. With reference to the contemporary novel and movie version of Atonement, I will explore atonement as a spiritual path that is potentially available to all of us.

 Causing harm to others is unfortunately a basic part of being human. We have all caused harm. So what do we do when we inevitably cause harm to another person, or someone else causes us harm? A common response has been punishment. In addition to exploring the history of crime and punishment, I'll delve into the purpose of punishment and what "good" -- that is, ethical and effective -- punishment might look like.

 The day after this weekend our nation will once again celebrate the life and work of the man who did so much to further the great task of freedom and justice begun in the Civil War: the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The following day the first African American president of the United States will be inaugurated. And then a few weeks later we’ll celebrate the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth. This feels like an opportune time to think about Lincoln and why his story and words and accomplishments and failures still have such a powerful impact.

 If I were to ask any of you if you would like to be considered "ordinary" by your peers, I imagine that most of you would emphatically say, "Absolutely not!" Who would want to be known for their ordinariness?