Many of the sermons are now available as audio by clicking on the
button next to the title. 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
Not long ago I turned 45. By any standard, this age feels like it qualifies as “middle age.” This will be a personal sermon sharing my perspectives of this middle season of life. There will be some looking back and some looking forward, so the sermon hopefully will be of interest to young adults and elders in addition to the folks who join me in the middle.
Rev. Roger Bertchausen
The first time I heard the word "Tao" was in tenth grade when I wrote a paper on Eastern Religions for my Comparative Religions class. From that day to this, I have been inspired and challenged by the concepts of this ancient, enigmatic faith. This message will share some of what I’ve learned through the years from the Tao Te Ching and some of the practical wisdom I believe it offers our world today.
Rev. Dottie Mathews
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
Depression impacts our lives, our families, and our society in countless ways. This will be a conversation from a pastoral perspective – not a clinical one. It will be a sharing of some of what I have learned as I have provided support for many people dealing with this issue, and the ways it has touched my own family.
Rev. Dottie Mathews
To conclude the series, I will share my story of call. The questions I will consider include: What have I felt called to do and be in my life? What has hindered and helped me hear my call? My hope is that in sharing my story of call, I’ll help you get in touch with your own story.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
This sermon will set the stage for the sermon series by focusing on the rich meaning of the concept of "call."
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
This question is frequently posed to Unitarian Univeralists and others who approach life with a primary focus on THIS life rather than the afterlife. This sermon will explore morality and ethical decision-making without the threat of eternal punishment.
Rev. Dottie Mathews
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
Many things can get in the way of our hearing our call, or cause us to hear the wrong call. This sermon will explore the variety of hindrances to hearing our call that we might encounter.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
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
Process theology continues to be a very significant theological movement. Because it is very
congenial to Unitarian Universalism, it resonates strongly with many UUs—including me. In a
nutshell, it looks at God/Goddess/The Divine as a verb more than a noun. This sermon is the
latest in this year’s focus on theology.
Rev. Roger Bertchausen
Rev. Roger Bertchausen
This service centers on simplifying life as part of a spiritual journey.
Dave Gerlach
Maternal nurturing wasn't available for all of us as children. Many of us have been challenged to find that sort of care and support in other relationships long after we've reached adulthood.
Rev. Dottie Mathews
Robert Koehler, award-winning Chicago-based journalist, editor at Tribune Media Services, and nationally syndicated writer, returns to the Fellowship to call our attention to a movement in the new Congress: Dennis Kucinich's HR 808 would create a cabinet-level Department of Peace, funded at 2% of the Defense Department's budget, and would support peace as an alternative to violence at all levels: within homes, schools, prisons, across 'nations.' Can we at last give peace a chance?
Robert Koehler
As we approach the fourth anniversary of the Iraq invasion and daily witness its repercussions, we are increasingly mindful of the shadow the U.S.’s power casts across the globe, for good or for ill. Join Dottie as she explores the impact of our own American History on the national psyche and soul.
Rev. Dottie Mathews
Life cycles – so do water, rock, air, fire. Not surprising then that so much spiritual practice and imagery come around to the waterside, the mountain, the wind, the fire circle. Creed and ethics and law accompany religion, while spirituality walks away, into the home of other powers, and comes back with a fresh perspective, a new song, a calm eye. Spirituality reminds religion that every moment is part of a greater pilgrimage, in which the shrine is merely a gesture from a whole other realm. Come and share some poems, images, music, and activities that may evoke the cycles of pilgrimage to which we will all return.
Mark Marnocha
Our Universalist spiritual ancestors were far more concerned with including everyone in God's realm than in drawing lines between who is in and who will be left behind. Their wisdom continues to offer challenge and transformation to all of us who are descendents of Universalism.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
It seems that our communication has taken on a "no holds barred" stance when it comes to the radio airwaves, internet blogging, and other public arenas. Join Rev. Dottie Mathews in a conversation about the value of civil discourse in relating with one another.
Rev. Dottie Mathews
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
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
Each of us has encountered life experiences that were beyond our control and extremely painful. Such times have the capacity to hobble us – or to deepen us. It is with very good reason that so much artistic expression and theological reflection has been focused on the art of finding a way to reconcile our hearts and these harsh realities.
Rev. Dottie Mathews
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
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
Of this service, Dottie says, "My dad died 45 years ago …. and yet his shadow and his wisdom still color my world every single day." Join Dottie in celebrating and confronting the enduring role of our parents.
Rev. Dottie Mathews
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
Our Universalist spiritual ancestors were far more concerned with including everyone in God's realm than in drawing lines between who is in and who will be left behind. Their wisdom continues to offer challenge and transformation to all of us who are descendents of Universalism.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
Come one and all to this most unusual and lively service: dogs, rats, humans, cats, fish, birds, snakes, guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, 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! The theme will be lessons that we can learn from our canine friends.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
Individual religious metaphors are among my favorite building blocks of religion. Close to my heart these days are the absolute mutability of hills, cogs, webs, and ripples. What metaphors reveal to you clearer images of the world?
Rev. Cynthia Johnson
Rev. Cynthia Johnson
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
We know that the majority of domestic violence is perpetrated by men toward women. And yet we know that most men are not perpetrators of violence. Who is speaking for men as we address the problem of violence against women? What role do sexism and language play in violence against women? This service is designated to address the issue of violence against women from the voices of men. Please come as we explore how we can come to the realization that men are, in fact, both part of the problem and part of the solution.
Bob Galinsky and Harbor House
The Rev. Paul Beckel is the minister of the First Universalist Unitarian Church in Wausau. In these sermons, the Rev. Beckel will reflect on “winning” through the lenses of chess strategy, and Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War.” The sermon will be divided into two parts.
Rev. Paul Beckel
I have pondered for a long time the mystery of Buddhism’s doctrine of “No-Soul.” It is time to devote a whole sermon to this intriguing and illuminating doctrine.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
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 Bertchausen
The Power in the Person is a service of hymns, songs, and words presenting several aspects of the power we possess as human beings, such as the power of character, forgiveness, and intention. This is a recording of the service as given in Door County by FVUUF member and former Choir Director Cynthia Stiehl while she weaves the music and words into a touching presentation. This service unveils Singing the Journey, a newly published supplement to our hymnal that includes seventy-five additional hymns. Copies of the supplement have been purchased for the Fellowship.
Cynthia Stiehl
Periodically I devote a sermon to one of our UU spiritual ancestors. This sermon focuses on the life, work, and contribution of Henry David Thoreau to our faith. His contribution is immense. Among other things: he wrote beautifully about nature, he figured out a way to act for justice and change in a non-violent way, and he integrated Buddhist ideas into our faith.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
From the beginnings of recorded religious history, women have given voice to their unique religious and spiritual experiences in ways both traditional and revolutionary. During the upheaval of the Protestant Reformation, these voices were, to a great degree, silenced or marginalized. By listening for those voices of the past, women and men can hear a challenge to again give expression to the interior stirrings of Spirit for the sake of their own growth and the good of our mother the Earth.
Ann Barker
The first part of a 5 part series. A brief history of the Seven Deadly Sins and the Seven Heavenly Virtues.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
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 Bertchausen
Steven Spielberg’s "Munich", released a year ago, is a stunning and disturbing portrait of the lure and, ultimately, the futility and bankruptcy of vengeance. Like “The Village,” it contains a lot of wisdom for this age of terrorism, as well as wisdom about the dangers of letting vengeance eat us up in our personal lives.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
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
Lost for 1600 years, the Gospel of Judas was discovered in the 1970s and finally published by a team assembled by the National Geographic Society in 2006. This gospel tells a very different story of Jesus’ arrest and execution: in this story, Judas is the one disciple who truly understands Jesus.
Rev. Roger Bertchausen
These terms are often intertwined – and often confused with one another. Join Dottie as she discusses the differences of these terms within our Unitarian Universalist faith and compares her thoughts with the results of a recent UCLA Study on the Spiritual Life of College Students.
Rev. Dottie Mathews
In this service for all ages, I will share through story and memories what Easter means to me.
Rev. Roger Bertchausen
