Podcast: Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto Sermons and Reflections

Intergenerational Chalice Service

For our fifth annual Chalice Sunday, we talk about where the chalice comes from in our past, and how we keep the flame burning for the future. Then we will watch our individual small lights become one great blazing altar.
Music: Mary Gospe, vocalist/guitar

Old Ways to New Worlds

Deep Ecology, Green Shinto and Reclaiming.
For a more environmentally sustainable future, we need a new ethical, spiritual model. We need a model where science and religion are integrated and humans are a part, not rulers over the Earth. This scientific view is called “Deep Ecology”. We can find spiritual support for this “new” way by looking back to many older faith traditions. Special Music: Kiya Heartwood

Saving the World with Beauty

Can beauty indeed save the world, as a character in Dostoevsky suggested? Maybe it depends what we mean by beauty. Let’s immerse ourselves in the beautiful today and see what we discover. Music: Veronika Agranov-Dafoe, piano

From Childhood to Childlike Wisdom

The philosopher Paul Ricoeur says we all must outgrow the naive beliefs of childhood, but that as we mature, we may come to a form of wisdom that combines the best of adult understanding with the simplicity of a child’s encounter with the world. Perhaps this “second naivete” can help our faith tradition, which in some ways has been stuck for too long in an adolescent world-weariness, to become re-energized. And at the same time, each of us, as individuals on our own journey through belief and doubt, might find richer insight. Music: Yuri Liberzon, classical guitar

Who Is On Your Spiritual Team?

As the year turns anew, many of us make New Year’s Resolutions. At the same time, some of us are watching the games of the College Football championship. What can we learn about our spiritual journey from football and other sports? Do you need a coach and a team to support and encourage your growth? Or are you on a solo journey and you need someone to keep you honest and focused? Or maybe you just stepped on the field and aren’t sure. Find out ways UUCPA can serve you and how you can serve the church. Special music: Libby & Anat Kardontchik, piano and violin

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service

We welcome Christmas with stories, carols and special music, and candles.  Come to sing the familiar songs that are always powerful, and experience the magic of candlelight in the darkness.

No-Rehearsal Christmas Pageant

We rejoice in the everyday miracles of the season, marking the winter solstice, telling the story of Hanukah, and inviting all who wish to play a part to help make the story of Jesus’s birth come to life.

“None of the Above” . . . and Glad to Be Here

Welcoming more of our tribe into the church: those who check “None of the above” when asked their religious affiliation. Are they UUs without knowing it? How can we help them to find out? This is the Season of Light, and they make our light shine more strongly!

Who’s Knocking?

Who is that knocking at your door? This is an intergenerational service, all about doors and what we fear is on the other side … what we hope is on the other side … what we would be surprised to find is on the other side. Come to find out today! Music: Four Shillings Short; Celtic, Folk, and World music

Cultivate Don’t Know Mind

We’re smart people living within a knowledge-based economy. So much encourages to acquire knowledge and use it well. It is counter-cultural, maybe even counter-intuitive, to not only accept our ignorance but cultivate our not-knowing. But that is what Buddhist teacher Frank Ostaseski encourages us to do. This is the fifth of the series “Five Invitations.” Music: Brocelïande; Celtic and Early Music Ensemble