Unitarian Universalist Church in Livermore    (UUCiL)

March 7, 2010
A Religion for Our Time

The Rev. Peter Morales, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, said that Unitarian Universalism faces two paths. One is a path to irrelevance. The other is a path to becoming the religion for our time. How can we choose one over the other?

February 21, 2010
The Message at the Heart of Our Faith

What do Unitarian Universalists believe? This question is asked all of the time. Rev. Hergert suggesxt that a powerful message is at the heart of our faith-one that has the potential to change lives and change the world.

February 7, 2010
Fear is the Dead Opposite of Love

This is a sermon about desire—the kind of desire that burns us up and consumes us. Greed, envy, lust, revenge: those desires that force us to betray what is most important in our lives. How do we confront our desires without letting them get the best of us?

January 24, 2010
How to Kill a Wolf

This is a sermon about desire—the kind of desire that burns us up and consumes us. Greed, envy, lust, revenge: those desires that force us to betray what is most important in our lives. How do we confront our desires without letting them get the best of us?

January 17, 2010
Seeing Things in Black and White

Living in a complicated world demands our moral clarity. As Martin Luther King, Jr. knew, sometimes we have to take a stand for what is right. Rev. Hergert will explore the opportunities and dangers of making judgments about morality and justice.

January 10, 2010
The Arc of the Moral Universe. . .

.is long, but it bends toward justice. The radical Unitarian Theodore Parker first spoke these words; Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. quoted them. An abolitionist and supporter of women's rights, we will explore how Parker may inspire us to rethink our own commitment to justice..

December 27, 2009
Double-headed Coins

Here is a Buddhist parable about fate: A man flips a coin to determine the outcome of a battle. Heads comes up, signifying that his side will win. They do. Afterward, the man reveals the coin to be double-headed. As we prepare for a new year, we consider what it means to take fate into our own hands.

December 24, 2009
Why Not a Star? (Christmas Eve Service)

Into a dark night, a child is born. He then goes on to change culture, politics, and religion in innumerable ways. That is how the Christmas story is often told. What does it say about our potential? What could stop us from making a difference? You are invited to bring Christmas treats to share with the congregation.

December 20, 2009
Finding Light in the Dark

This will be an intergenerational celebration of the winter solstice and the Christmas season. How have different cultures found light at the darkest time of the year? Rev. Hergert will preach a homily on this theme after we hear from youth and children in our religious education program.

December 13, 2009
Religion is True Homesickness

Novalis said, "Philosophy is true homesickness: the desire to be at home everywhere in the world." Rev. Hergert thinks the same is true of religion. It is an impulse to be at home or at peace with the world, and to change the parts of the world that we are not at peace with.

November 29, 2009
Believing and Not Believing

Are you a believer, or aren‘t you?" This question, printed on bumper stickers and pamphlets, has become an excuse to include or exclude in our society. How can we reach deeper into faith without resorting to belief? The Rev. Lucas Hergert talks about the ways belief may or may not be spiritually helpful. (If you watched this video on 11/13 or before, it was not complete. That has been fixed.)

November 22, 2009
Grace and Gratitude

Throughout our lives, we are given gifts that we never asked for. Family, friends, partners, children, employment, nourishment, shelter. How do we respond to these gifts? The Rev. Lucas Hergert talks about the spirituality of expressing our gratitude. (If you watched this video on 11/13 or before, it was not complete. That has been fixed.)

November 15, 2009
Politics of Memory (Memories)

Most people don't think of memory as a political act. But it is. The way we tell our stories has the potential to harm and to heal our world. The Rev. Lucas Hergert focuses on the ways we can retell our stories as acts of hope and resistance.

November 1, 2009
Dia de Los Muertos: Let Their Lives be a Sermon

This service celebrates the people who have touched our lives, and are with us no longer. Whether we are inspired to live better lives because of or in spite of their stories, we take pause to recall our memories. We particularly celebrate the lives of those who have died this past year.