Click on the pdf 
symbol to read the sermon. Not all sermons have a pdf available.
Click on the speaker
button next to the title to listen to the audio/podcast of the sermon. To use this feature, make sure you allow popup windows
from this page. It might take a moment for your computer to begin playing the audio.
You can also subscribe using a free podcast
service such as iTunes and have the sermons automatically delivered to your computer
as they become available.
For more information: Podcast Subscription Info
DocumentsDate added
Remembering those who gave their lives in service to our country is particularly important—and complicated—in the midst of an unpopular war. In this sermon I will honor Memorial Day by reflecting on the challenges of remembering.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
Liberation theology takes Jesus’ message of radical inclusion of poor and other marginalized people and runs with it. For me encountering liberation theology powerfully reminds me of this message, and asks what I’m doing in my life to help in the liberation of oppressed people. In this season of celebrating the birth story of Jesus, I find it helpful to remember his message, too.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
My favorite film is the 1995 Warner Brothers film of the classic children’s book “A Little Princess.” This is a movie that, incredibly, improves on the book. Interplaying with the Hindu classic The Ramayana, this movie expresses the truth that every girl is a princess (and every boy is a prince).
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
Hearing and heeding one's true call is a spiritual task. This sermon will explore some spiritual practices and exercises that can help us discern our call.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
In this sermon, Dottie will share her experiences and deep earnings while on the Southern Civil Rights Tour – retracing the steps of the marchers and activists long ago, from Memphis to Selma to Montgomery and Birmingham and back again. Decades have passed …. yet, how shall we measure the changes in our society and in our souls?
Rev. Dottie Mathews
Rev. Dottie Mathews
This weekend culminates with our Annual Meeting and special congregational meeting to consider calling Dottie. This feels like a good weekend to talk about where the Fellowship is heading as well as the obstacles in our path. In some ways the sermon will be a State of the Fellowship report, but my focus will really be more on the future than the present
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
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!
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
How many times have you read or heard a version of this statement: Marriage is a sacred institution,
ordained of God from before the foundation of the world? This message will explore the history of
marriage as a both a civil and religious rite -- and how it has changed over the years.
Rev. Dottie Mathews
Advent is often referred to as the time of waiting – a time of expecting and anticipating that which is coming. In our own lives, waiting can often be an uncomfortable and unwanted place to linger.
Rev. Dottie Mathews
The famous theologian Reinhold Niebuhr wrote a simple prayer that became known as the Serenity Prayer in the midst of World War Two. It says a lot about the time in which it was created, and it continues to speak to many people—particularly in the Twelve
Steps community which has made the prayer a familiar mantra of recovery.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
The question of how one finds happiness in life has long fascinated - and plagued - humankind. How
do "United Statesians" (as my son likes to call us) rank when compared to others? After all, this
pursuit is one of our inalienable rights according to the Declaration of Independence!
Rev. Dottie Mathews
When UU congregations gather, we often begin by lighting a chalice. What might this mean for us
together? What can it symbolize for you? The unpredictable dance of the spirit supported upon a
base of reason? The light of individual freedom held up for the world by a solid caring community?
Rev. Paul Beckel
It is a matter of faith for me that community is a necessary part of a healthy and whole spiritual life. Spirituality isn’t limited to community or congregation—it can very powerfully be experienced,
for example, alone in nature. But I believe our spiritual lives — and our lives in general — are incomplete without being grounded in a community.
The second part of a 5 part series. The Seven Deadly Sins.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
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.
Mark Marnocha
So, how does one begin to dive into the philosophies and practices of Buddhism in this life? Well, here's
a riddle that I'm sure will clear it all up for you: What does a person have to do to become a Buddhist?
Answer: absolutely nothing.
Jennifer Straight
M. Night Shamalyan’s "The Village" explores the considerable costs of the search for security in our insecure world. For me, this movie contains much wisdom about how to live—and not live—in an age of terrorism.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
This is the follow-up to last fall’s sermon about Muhammad. There is a whole lot being said and written about Islam as it continues to grow in numbers and influence. The question asked in this sermon title gets to the heart of the contemporary conversation about Islam.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
Loneliness is not always the result of being alone. Interestingly, we know we can feel terribly alone amidst a large crowd of people...and, similarly, can be exquisitely content when we are the only person for miles around. Join Dottie in a dialogue around the poignant human issue of aloneness versus loneliness.
Rev. Dottie Mathews
More and more people around the world are recognizing global warming as the most significant challenge facing humanity today. Much of the challenge has to do with science, sustainability, and economics. But it is also partly a spiritual challenge. There’s an aspect of the spiritual challenge of global that is particularly tricky for those who are deeply convinced that global warming does pose a very serious threat to humanity and the world. The sermon will focus on this particular challenge.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
This Valentine’s Day sermon will examine some of the considerable wisdom about love that
can be found in Greek mythology, including the myths of Eros and Psyche, and Orpheus and
Eurydice.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
Door County artist Craig Blietz introduced Spaces Between, his current exhibit at the Fairfield Center for Contemporary Arts in Sturgeon Bay, this way: "Between action and consequence, perception and reality, exists the zone within which we spend the majority of our time, ever unsure of the narrative." How do we live the unfolding narrative of our individual lives within the unfolding narrative of the real world? The Rev. Johnson was a long-time member of Fox Valley UU Fellowship and is now retired from the UU ministry.
Rev. Cynthia Johnson
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?
Rev. Dottie Mathews
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.
Revs. Roger Bertschausen and Dottie Mathews
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.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
“Life is Beautiful” is my second favorite film. It combines humor and tragedy like no other film, and in so doing contains many truths about life.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
All Souls Day on November 2nd provides an opportunity to remember the dead whose lives continue to give us strength and wisdom. I will share about some of the souls who continue to impact my life in rich and wonderful ways in spite of the fact that they are not physically here. And I will invite you to remember some of the departed souls who continue to enrich your lives.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
Because of the candidates, this presidential election is shining a spotlight on where we are as a culture regarding racism, sexism, and ageism. This will be the focus of my election sermon. In the tradition of nineteenth century Unitarianism, this sermon will be a non-partisan exploration of some of the deeper issues in this election cycle.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
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.
Rev. Kendyl Gibbons
Our creedless faith has no requirement for us to set apart one day as holier than another - and yet we come together again and again to experience and celebrate our community. What is the
spark of life that brings us here week after week? What is it we are seeking?
Rev. Dottie Mathews
