I spent a lot of time in my youth trying hard to avoid failure. Even as a young adult, I often navigated my life to avoid things that might cause me to experience failure. Now in middle age I have begun to see failure much differently, as a teacher, as an opportunity and even a muse. Failing at something often creates a transition, a change of path or plans. How can we embrace failure as a wise teacher who may really be opening a new window?

 Our prison system is a striking example of how racism can become institutionalized and perpetuated. How did this happen? What does it mean? What can we do to end Jim Crow in our prison system?

 We'll shift our focus from Unitarian Universalism to our Fellowship and to our individual lives: How can we translate an internal commitment to anti-racism and multiculturalism into action in our Fellowship and in our lives beyond these walls?

 We have a long and extensive history in Unitarian Universalism of both racism and anti-racism. Every major achievement in anti-racism has been supported by some Unitarian Universalists, and opposed by others. An awakened conscience requires that we honestly assess our history.

 An awakening of conscience involves a transition: an old understanding is replaced by a new understanding. And new understandings help us live our lives differently. This month I'll use my mid-winter sermon series on race and racism as a focus on this kind of transition. I'll explore race and racism in my own life, in Unitarian Universalism, and in our larger society.

 There are obvious and subtle transitions in our spiritual journeys as we grow from children to adolescents to young to middle-aged to older adults. Some of our members grew up UU, so they've experienced most or all of the maturing of faith as UUs. Many more of us grew up in a different faith, and so had the significant transition of leaving our childhood faith, finding UU-ism, and making it our own.

 This will be a follow-up to my sermon last month examining possible false idols in Unitarian Universalism and the Fellowship. This sermon will explore where our nation might be guilty of idolatry. I'll talk about Wall Street, the Pentagon, and much more.

 Religion is about values in action. So is work. Each of us has a calling, a voice inside that we balance with financial need and personal circumstance. How might liberal religion help us to resolve our calling to meaningful work? What spiritual wisdom or tools exist that can help us to navigate tough economic times? Transitions related to work will be the focus of "Endings and Beginnings" in November.

 The Rev. Cheryl M. Walker is the Minister of the UU Fellowship of Wilmington, NC. She served as the Assistant Minister of All Souls Unitarian Church in New York City prior to being called to Wilmington. Before that she spent twenty-five years working in technology and on Wall Street. The Rev. Walker co-chairs the continuing education committee of the Unitarian Universalist Association with Roger Bertschausen.

 We live today in what can seem like an endless battle of ideas. Every day we see people vigorously defending their opinions, distinguishing themselves from their perceived opponents. This is the essence of modern democracy, it seems. Or is it? Has democracy always been about choosing sides? ... about battling it out? What is a person to do when dialog and civility seem so strained? How might liberal religion help us to keep our balance?

 Idolatry is not a word we use much in Unitarian Universalism. What is idolatry, especially in the context of liberal religion? I'll share my definition. Then I'll share the places where I think we UU's may be most susceptible to idolatry.

 We go through so many transitions in our lives: our own birth, going to school, leaving the nest to go out on our own, maybe having kids of our own, and returning care to our parents when they get older--to name just a few. These transitions in our lives will be the focus of our Wellspring theme of "Endings and Beginnings" in October.

 As we embark on our search for a second minister, it will be important for us to consider what conscious or unconscious biases we may be carrying. Are we thinking that our new second minister should fit a particular category (e.g., a particular gender or age or sexual orientation)?

 As we embark on our search for a second minister, it will be important for us to consider what conscious or unconscious biases we may be carrying. Are we thinking that our new second minister should fit a particular category (e.g., a particular gender or age or sexual orientation)?

 This sermon kicks off our thematic focus for the new Fellowship year: Endings and Beginnings. The idea of pilgrimage is a good lens for looking at life's transitions.

 The spiritual writer Evelyn Underhill notes that "we spend most of our lives conjugating three verbs: to want, to have, and to do." How can we free ourselves from being dominated by these three verbs? What does spiritual freedom look like?

 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. Our message will lift up hope and peace even as we recognize the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Weather cooperating, the service will be held outside in the footprint of our sanctuary-to-be. A pot-luck brunch will immediately follow the service. You are invited to bring a chair for the service and a meal to pass for the brunch.

 Finding the divine in eating. Sister Caroline Sullivan is the dynamic Executive Director of the Bridge Between Retreat Center in rural Brown County--a retreat center frequented by many Fellowship members and friends over the years.

 For religious liberals, finding our way toward spiritual growth can sometimes feel like taking a road trip without a map. With avenues so varied, where do we turn when we need help or friendship? How might we come to know ourselves beloved, even when we are away from our spiritual home?

 Experiences in nature can teach us about wildness--not just wildness in nature, but in ourselves, too. Our pets--though domesticated--may, like us, also have traces wildness in them. We invite you to bring your pets to hear this message, too!

 This sermon is about well-meaning men—the good guys who never would be violent towards a woman or girl. The problem is that well-meaning men have all too often stood by silently in the face of not just violence from not-so-well-meaning men, but also the remarks and jokes and other more subtle actions that sow the seeds of our culture's devaluing of women. Well-meaning men speaking up against violence is a huge part of the solution to domestic violence.

 Healing seems in largest part the task of dealing with life's intrusions and crises. While there is a graded set of plateaus that walk us into adulthood (and beyond!), more time living means more adversities. The core spiritual challenge within growth and healing is how to change, all the while welcoming the stability of one's nature, warts and all. This sermon will look at plateaus, crises, and the power of equilibrium. And becoming more and more like yourself, but different...

I used to be friends with Jesus when I was a child, at least in the way my church had taught me to be. Over the years we drifted apart. Like many of us who have reconnected with old friends on Facebook, it feels like I have become reacquainted with Jesus through the ideas of Paul Knitter and Marcus Borg. Is it possible that we might be friends again?

 

 Our lives are filled with events and exchanges that cause us to hold on to hurts and transgressions caused by ourselves or others in our lives. Studies show that the chemical makeup of our mind and body actually shift when we are able to come to a place of forgiveness. What is this about? Who is actually served when forgiveness is offered? We will explore the benefits and struggles of inviting forgiveness into our lives.

 Unitarian Universalist congregations in the states find the pews filled with mostly white, middle class, well educated folks. My trip to the Philippines to visit our partnership church in Banaybanay showed me that our liberal and accepting theology resonates with the poorest of the poor and those with little education. Share in learning more about our partnership church and how they can teach us how to welcome more diversity in our Fellowship here.

Listen to 9:15

Listen to 10:45

 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!

 Aging well: Benjamin Franklin offered that the only things certain in life are "death and taxes" but he didn't quite tell the whole story. The other inevitability for us all is the process of human aging, which everyone must navigate to the best of their abilities. Scientists from several disciplines have recently identified what enables people to age successfully and well. Please be with Rev. Alexander as he explores what it takes for us to age well, no matter how far along life's journey we each may be.

 Many spiritual paths lift up the possibility of "living spaciously"—that is, of living in an unhurried, thoughtful way that is full of heart and connectedness. I'll explore what living spaciously might mean, especially in our fast-paced and busy lives, and how go about cultivating a spirit of spaciousness.

Listen to podcast (Saturday - Please excuse the audio difficulties)

Listen to podcast (Sunday 8am)

Listen to podcast (Sunday 9:15am)

Listen to podcast (Sunday 10:45am)

 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.

 Some pundits say that every minister has only one good sermon in them - which they just recycle and recycle and recycle using different words and titles. As my time as your second minister draws to a close, I thought it might be interesting to think about what my one sermon has been. What is it I've been trying to say all this time?

 We will take a look back at this year of examining Big Questions and reflect on what we've learned through the year.

 There are indications that immigration may well be the next highly controversial issue in our state. Immigration is not only a political issue, but also a highly spiritual issue. It has to do with soul -- the soul of individuals, the soul of our nation.

 Our ministers and Director of Religious Education will lead a service celebrating ordinary miracles and Easter.

 We Unitarian Universalists view ourselves as liberal, open folks who are consistently welcoming of diversity....at least that is our goal. The plain truth is that there are times when it is difficult to find that "soft place" of compassion when dealing with people who hold dramatically different views of faith and religion. What does it mean to be genuinely welcoming of religious diversity here and out in the world?

 It occurred to me during my recent sermon series that Process Theology suggests a very interesting and, in my view, illuminating perspective on Jesus. So this sermon is a postscript to the Process Theology sermon series.

 Our beliefs influence how we live our lives on a daily basis. For many of us this can be challenged by our ever insistent culture, our vast responsibilities, or simply feeling overwhelmed and lulled in to inertia. How can regular spiritual practice keep our beliefs and convictions in the forefront of our decision making process? We will explore what gets in the way of this important piece of our spiritual journey and look at how spiritual practices can influence our lives and be a pathway to walking our talk.

 There's a fascinating concept in Buddhism that predated by a couple millennia modern psychology's concept of the shadow. The Buddhist concept of "near enemies" acknowledges that there are shadows to our greatest virtues, and it helps us figure out how to live in a way that minimizes this shadow.

 In the collective American psyche we avow that, here, people get what they deserve. Or, at least, our laws are designed to create a level playing field. You work hard, you get ahead, right? Let’s look at the reality. And reaffirm that the pursuit of this dream-world can still lead to happiness.

 Acknowledging that there is a diversity of political opinions within the Fellowship about the proposed laws at the focal point of the controversy gripping Wisconsin, I will step back and look at the situation through a spiritual lens. How did we get to this point? Where do we go from here? What are the lessons we might learn?

 Pondering the astonishingly vast cosmos - and imagining the possible multi-verses beyond – might make us feel struck to our core with awe and wonder – and, at the same time, entirely inconsequential within the context of this colossal, unfathomable system. Given what science knows about the expanse of time and space, do our little lives matter? Let's explore this, another in our ongoing series of Big Questions, together.

 With Roger's twentieth anniversary here and Dottie’s finishing her fifth year and preparing to leave the Fellowship for the Goodwill chaplaincy, this feels like the perfect time for us to reflect together on what we’ve learned at the Fellowship—lessons about the ministry, the spiritual journey, and life.

 I’ll continue our focus on the afterlife by sharing my latest take on what happens after we die.

 I’ll pick up the baton from Dottie as we continue our February Big Question focus on the soul and the afterlife. My sermon will explore several different visions of what might happen after we die. Ultimately I think that any view of the afterlife probably says more about life in the here and now than about that mystery of what happens after we die.

 Many say that our souls hold our "essential self" -- that part of us that connects with the ethereal eternity. Others say there is no such thing - that what we see as our essential self is merely an accumulation of interacting chemicals in our brains that came into existence during and following our gestation and end when our life ceases. What do you think -- a piece of the Infinite? Or merely brain chemistry?

 The creative process has a central role in process theology. The focus of this sermon will be the spirituality of creativity. From the arts to our family life to our work, we all have ample opportunities to be creative. Unleashing the creative spark in all of these and other aspects of our life can lead to a deeper, more meaningful and more beautiful life.

 The preceding sermon will lead into an understanding of divinity embraced by much of process theology: God is love. This God is not static but is ever-changing, ever-moving. It’s more of a verb than a noun.

 My annual sermon series will kick off with a general consideration of process theology. Process theology offers a strong critique of the idea of God as almighty and all-knowing. But rather than dispensing with the divine altogether, it provides a fresh and (for me at least) attractive alternative view. This sermon will also touch on the question of why bad things happen.

 Why is it that our own blunders are so GLARING to us, and why do we have such a hard time letting them go? In this service, we will talk about the crucial (and difficult) spiritual practice of forgiving ourselves.

 This is December's Big Question. Another way to put is this: Where do we find authority for our beliefs? Possible answers are abundant. A sacred book, a spiritual tradition, a teacher, our own experience, our own reflection—these are just a few of the possibilities. I’ll explore possible answers to this Big Question, and offer my own (as of December 4-5, 2010).

 This sermon title is from a verse of “Enter, Rejoice and Come In.” As the Fellowship continues to grow, the changes keep on coming. We can especially see that in our building campaign, our re-envisioned Wellspring and social justice ministries, changes in our worship life, and my upcoming sabbatical. I’ll reflect on change, where the Fellowship is headed, and where I am after twenty years of ministry with you.

 Eleven years ago Roger gave a sermon urging the Fellowship to consider entering into a partner church relationship with a Unitarian congregation in Transylvania. That partnership has been transformative -- for us and for our partners in Deva. In this service, Karon and Roger, with considerable help from Lee Boeke Burke and Vickie Milde, are going to urge us to enter a second partner church relationship. We believe the opportunity to partner with the Unitarian Universalists in Mabuhay in the Philippines is another opportunity for transformation. So we'll consider: Who exactly is in our UU family? How are we related?

 In true UU fashion, I believe the answer depends on your world view. How does someone answer this question if they believe in a strong code of ethics? What if someone feels the path of history ultimately leads to peace and harmony or chaos and ruin? What if someone views the universe as amoral and without a grand plan? How would you answer this question? Is there a universal answer?