Sunday Services Gallery

The People Who Brought You Weekends: The Labor Movement and UU Principles It's easy to take the eight-hour day and the forty-hour week for granted. Austin UU folksinger and writer Steve Brooks looks at the long history of American labor, the struggles that created many of our middle-class comforts, and its role in advancing UU principles like equity, justice and the democratic process. He invites us to join in that history, and to celebrate Labor Day, with a rousing series of singalongs about the labor movement and work in general.

What is faith? Is it belief, trust, loyalty - or a combination? I have never felt that I truly understood faith, though I admire it in others. In this sermon, I explore what faith might be, how it appears in different areas of human life, and how a faithful orientation can help us as individuals and in our connections to others.

On the 250th anniversary of the original No Kings Day, it’s hard for many of us to feel hopeful or patriotic. And yet, patriotism has never been more important. What’s a patriotism for religious liberals, which holds America to her dreams without looking away from her nightmares? What can we learn from stories of grassroots resistance, past and present, as well as from the principles of Unitarian Universalism?

Rev. Fred Wooden returns to the pulpit

From the earliest recorded human history, nature has inspired awe and a creative response, from visual art to prose and poetry. Donald Mace Williams, a long-time newspaper man who writes poetry, will lead us on a journey through nature’s poetry and then everyone is invited to share a short poem! So, let’s get poetic and bring poems!

“Patriotism” is an intense word. It can evoke love and fellow-feeling; chauvinism and belligerence; loyalty and service. However they define it, most Americans consider themselves patriots, though plenty do not. For the 250th birthday of the United States, Rebecca Mattis wonders: How do our thoughts and feelings about our nation fit into our spiritual and emotional lives? What would we like to celebrate?

“Patriotism” is an intense word. It can evoke love and fellow-feeling; chauvinism and belligerence; loyalty and service. However they define it, most Americans consider themselves patriots, though plenty do not. For the 250th birthday of the United States, Rebecca Mattis wonders: How do our thoughts and feelings about our nation fit into our spiritual and emotional lives? What would we like to celebrate?

What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than with a service of love songs? With a nod to the C.S. Lewis classic The Four Loves, UU speaker and Austin folksinger Steve Brooks uses music to explore the varieties and meanings of love. Some will be familiar and some obscure, but come prepared to sing along.

Many of us are motivated by a desire to contribute to a more just and compassionate world. The Effective Altruism movement offers a framework for turning that motivation into more meaningful impact. It explores not just how to help, but how to help most effectively. This talk explores how we can use reason, empathy, and a global perspective to better align our values with our actions.