Listen to or Read a Sermon

PDF reader needed to read a sermon
PDF format files require Adobe Reader to view them. Download and install Adobe Reader if you need it

Audio player needed to listen to a sermon
MP3 files require an audio player to hear them. Click on the sermon "Listen" link and your audio software should start up automatically.

Welcome to the sermon library for the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor.

You may view or listen to sermons from our sermon library for your personal use only. Please note that all sermons are copyrighted to their authors, all rights reserved. Newer sermons are in PDF format and require PDF viewer software for display. Older sermons are in text format and do not require special software to read. All Audio sermons are in MP3 format and require an MP3 player to listen to them.

Printed sermons are also available in the literature rack just inside the church entrance.

2012

The Gifts of Islam: January 29, 2012
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister Listen

Keeping Us Scratching: January 22, 2012
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister Listen

Strength and Courage: January 15, 2012
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister Listen

Legacies of Liberalism: January 8, 2012
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister Listen

Reflections on Several Readings: January 1, 2012
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister Listen

2011

Advent Begins in Darkness December 18, 2011
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister Listen

Christmas: The Unitarian Origins December 4, 2011
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister Listen

A Walk With the Second Source of Universalism: Prophetic Voices November 27, 2011
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister Listen

The Heart is a Little to the Left: A Tribute to William Sloane Coffin November 6, 2011
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister Listen

Faith in Our Future: October 30, 2011
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister Listen

The Quest for Abiding Values: October 23, 2011
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister Listen

Walking Together: October 16, 2011
Rev. Kathryn A. Bert, Guest Minister Listen

The Path of Integrity: October 9, 2011
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister Listen

A Change of Species: October 2, 2011
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister with Rev. Duffy Peet, Guest Minister Listen

Heirlooms: What Gets Handed Down? September 25, 2011
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister Listen

Vision: September 18, 2011
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister Listen

Principles and Purposes for Us All: September 11, 2011
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister with Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister Listen

Dead Right: September 4, 2011
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister Listen

Immigration and Globalism: September 4, 2011
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister Listen

My Thirty Second Answer: August 28, 2011
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister
Ideological clarity and simplicity may seem pushed beyond any reasonable extreme in the political sphere these days. Yet we Unitarian Universalists can find ourselves none-the-less longing for our own identity sound bites. Come engage in a spiritual practice of liberal religious reflection, discernment, and "messaging." Listen Read

Forgiveness In Three Stories: August 21, 2011
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister Listen

PILGRIMAGE: Tourism or Transformation?: August 14, 2011
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister Listen

Re-Imagining Paradise: August 7, 2011
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister
What do you get when you mix a trip to our partner congregation in Transylvania and an inspiring book reassessing the history of Christianity? Three new approaches to the Garden of Eden for the here and now. Listen

The Causes Which Impel Them: July 31, 2011
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
When Channing, Emerson and Parker wrote their revolutionary sermons that declared the independence of Unitarianism, did they meet Thomas Jefferson’s test for such declarations of independence? Read Listen

Sustaining Faith: July 24, 2011
Rev. Fran Dew, Guest Minister
In times of trouble people turn to their faith traditions. What is the sustaining message of Unitarian Universalism that not only helps us through the night but gives us the strength to continue to be courageous and strong in the face of adversity? Listen

What I Learned Teaching Sunday School: July 17, 2011
Rev. Fran Dew, Guest Minister
Practicing what I preach, that we are the village raising our children, provided me with fresh insights into what eager learners UU families are raising. Listen

Bringing Many Names: July 10, 2011
Glen Thomas Rideout, Director of Music
The diverse array of songs that fill our hymnal calls us to explore the great many cultures and religious traditions that comprise our world. And each of our voices lends yet another unique and vital color to our community's voice. Bring your voice. Let us journey together in song. Listen

Yea Though I Walk: July 3, 2011
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
Eleanor Roosevelt said "Do one thing every day that scares you." Navigating fear in fearful times. Listen

2011 Flower Communion: June 19, 2011
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister
Many Unitarian Universalist congregations celebrate and embody their acceptance of one another in all diversity and above all judgment with a flower communion held in the spring. Come celebrate the richness of our shared life together as a community. Listen

Thank You! I Can Read: June 5, 2011
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister
The gift of being able to read - the wonders of life this opens for us. Plus: suggestions of a couple of novels and one or two more careful reading engagements for the long days of warm and light-filled summer. Listen

Paying Attention: May 22, 2011
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
Golf balls, sand, coffee and the meaning of life. Listen

Cruel Gods & Broken Circles: May 15, 2011
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
Pastor Terry Jones troubles me, even while he highlights the importance of religious community. Listen

One-ness, Two-ness, and More: May 8, 2011
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister Listen

Who Will Roll Away the Stone?: April 24, 2011
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
Sarah York wrote, "What we need is not a resurrection from death but a resurrection from deadness." Read

Out of Slavery: April 11, 2011
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
God made flesh. An "almighty" god, coming in the form of a new-born baby. The scandals of the Christian story are too intriguing to pass by without reflection. Read

God & Gaia: March 20, 2011
Andrew Weber
A feminist view of the Divine and how that leads to a life based in sustainability. Read
Listen

Salvation for Unitarian Universalists: February 27, 2011
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister
Our Universalist forebears were united by a belief that God was too loving to send anyone to eternal punishment. In the light of our current theological diversity which includes Humanism, theism, agnosticism, and much more, what is the meaning of universal salvation for modern UUs? Salvation for what? Salvation from what? Salvation how? Listen

Prodigal Songs: Reclaiming Our Voice: February 20, 2011
Glen Thomas Rideout, Director of Music
The act of singing together has long been central to our worship. Religious and secular bodies across the world join in song, building moments of joy, of unity, of solidarity and of celebration time and time again. Humanity's greatest struggles for political justice, social equality and religious freedom have generated our world's most beloved music. The world's singing has been gentle enough to calm the cries of children and great enough to tear down the walls of oppressive regimes. And deep within each of us lies that same transformative, salvific power of body music. How is your singing? Where is your song? Listen

Courageous Love: February 13, 2011
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
Making a big difference in the world with all our small, daily, personal decisions. We celebrate National Standing On the Side of Love Day by reimagining Valentine's Day as a day of love and acceptance for everyone. Listen

Between Indebtedness & Hope: January 30, 2011
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
It's true for the UUA, for UUAA, for you and for me: "to acknowledge our ancestors means we are aware that we did not make ourselves, that the line stretches all the way back, perhaps to God or to Gods." (Alice Walker)

Gratitude: January 23, 2011
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister
What shapes us for the better? What supports us in our efforts to achieve what we yearn for? What brings peace, ease, and meaning to our living? Listen

Don't Sleep Through the Revolution: January 16, 2011
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer
May 18, 1966 the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the Annual Ware lecture to the General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. We celebrate Dr. King's vision by revisiting that lecture. Listen

2010

Deus en Sarx: December 26, 2010
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
God made flesh. An "almighty" god, coming in the form of a new-born baby. The scandals of the Christian story are too intriguing to pass by without reflection. Listen

The Perfect Present: December 12, 2010
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
Our UUAA Hand Bell Choir will ring in the season as we consider religion and seasonal gift giving. Listen

Marking the Seasons of Life: December 5, 2010
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister
We love each other better when we mark each individual's seasons of life in community. Listen

Dragged Kicking and Screaming Into Heaven: November 14, 2010
Rev. Mark Morrison-Reed, Guest Preacher
Early in the 19th century Universalism swept across our young nation finding a popularity it never again achieved. It proclaimed a truly radical message. Is it time for us to return to the message that God's love brooks no resistance? Universalism re-articulated for the 21st century. Listen

Making Mistakes, Right Out Loud: November 7, 2010
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
Each year, on the Sunday after All Saints Day, we take time to reflect on those we love who have died in the previous year. The homily will engage lessons from a beloved music teacher. Listen

Better Together: October 24, 2010
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister
In this land we often hear praise for independence, but there are many things that require our common efforts, and we are social creatures. How shall we then "walk together?" Listen

The Narrative of Desire: October 17, 2010
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
The chemistry of an English narrative set out in columns of Arabic numerals is so powerful a concoction it can befuddle the most intelligent and strike fear into the hearts of the courageous. Where is God in the humanistic ritual of budgeting? Listen

Those People: October 10, 2010
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
Immigrants, LGBTQ neighbors, all of us imprisoned, yearning to breathe free, we are "those people." When we are Standing on the Side of Love, there is plenty of room for all of us. Listen

The Attraction of Otherness: October 3, 2010
Special Guest Minister the Reverend Maria Pap, from our partner church in Transylvania.
Reflections on the future of our congregations partnership. Read Listen

Through the Fire of Thought: September 26, 2010
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer
Our religious tradition honors something we call, Freedom of the Pulpit and Freedom of the Pew. What's your part in that? What's mine? Listen

What Are We Building?: September 12, 2010
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
Bring water to add to the common bowl. Bring family and friends to celebrate our efforts to be as sophisticated as termites, naked mole rats, ants and bees! Listen

The Work of the Church: September 5, 2010
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
On this day to honor all who labor, we'll take a lively walk through the core work of gathering in religious community. Listen

Question Box: August 22, 2010
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister
Had a big or small question you've wanted to share or start a discussion around? Bring your curiosity to this service based questions you submit during worship. Rev Mark Evens will take a crack at a good many, and encourage all to continue the discussion afterward. Listen

American Creed: July 4, 2010
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
Reflections on the Declaration of Independence, creeds and Unitarian Universalism. Listen

Will Robots Steal My Soul: June 20, 2010
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister
Ever more sophisticated computers entertain us as video games, answer our questions, recognize faces, and even design new computer chips. Some our cherished human capacities are no longer uniquely ours. So who are we now that a chess program running on a mobile phone can beat a grand master? Who will we be ten or twenty years from now? Listen

Fate of Prophets: June 6, 2010
Rev. Robert Balint
A very special pulpit guest, Rev. Robert Balint from Transylvania, will offer us reflections on prophethood as seen through the life of Unitarian minister of Balázs Ferenc (1901-1937). More on Rev. Robert's visit in the Faith Without Borders column in this newsletter. Read or Listen

Remembering: May 30, 2010
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister
Meaning requires remembering. Remembering is an act of love. Love is an expression of faith. Mourning, loving, and releasing are central to the fabric of our lives. Listen

Oh! What Wondrous Love: May 23, 2010
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
"What wondrous love is this" (Hymn # 18) that draws such a diverse collection of human beings to join in a covenant of love, a covenant of respect, justice, compassion, and learning? Listen

Evolutionize Your Life: The Joy of Coming Home to Reality: May 16, 2010
Michael Dowd
Michael Dowd demonstrates how a science-based, deep-time understanding of human nature, death, and the flow of Big History can transform lives, while offering a realistically inspiring vision of the future. Dowd's 2008 book, Thank God for Evolution, has been endorsed by 6 Nobel laureates and other science luminaries, including noted skeptics, and by religious leaders across the spectrum.
Listen

It Can't Happen Here: May 9, 2010
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
How can a hard look at the crisis in the Roman Catholic Church inform our focus and our future as a Congregation? With a special word of gratitude for the members of our Sunderland Society. Listen

The Grandmother Galaxy: May 2, 2010
Rev. Dr. Shirley Ann Ranck, Visiting Minister
Old women are the fastest growing segment of our population. Who are they and what do they have to say to us? Dr. Ranck is the creator of the "Cakes for the Queen of Heaven" course, currently serving as Interim Minister in Flint, Michigan. Listen

Here Comes the Sun: April 18, 2010
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
It's been a long cold lonely winter; and here comes the sun! Listen

Leaving and Letting Go: April 11, 2010
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
An Ode to Spring...Cleaning! (with apologies to Emerson and Thoreau) Listen

A Resurrection In Our Time: April 4, 2010
Charlie Clements, Former President of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
UUSC was involved in El Salvador before the civil war began in 1980 and was represented both at the signing of the Peace Accords in 1992 and at the inauguration of the new president in 2009 by Charlie Clements, a public health physician and human rights activist. Charlie who is president and CEO of UUSC today was Director of Human Rights Education there in the late 1980s. Charlie will trace the role of both UUSC Unitarian Universalists, especially congregations that were part of the Sanctuary Movement like Ann Arbor, and show how they helped fulfill Archbishop Romero's prophecy that "If I am killed, I shall arise in the Salvadoran people." Listen

Eden Revisited: March 28, 2010
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister
If we are to create heaven on earth economic justice must be a corner stone of the foundation. There are places to apply ourselves to this project at every level from support of grassroots community organizing to redirection of our planet's largest economic institutions. In collaboration with the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee’s Justice Sunday project, this service, will also draw on the work of Raymond Baker in his book Capitalism’s Achilles Heel. Listen

Salvation and Diversity: March 21, 2010
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
Building the Beloved Community through spiritual growth and development. Listen

Elements of UU Theology: March 14, 2010
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
Hymnal reading # 471 claims, "love is the doctrine of this church." What DO we teach for theology?
Read Listen

By Their Groups You Shall Know Them: March 7, 2010
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
James Luther Adams said, “the voluntary association is a means for the institutionalization of gradual revolution.” Reflections on membership in our Congregation. Listen

Progress: February 28, 2010
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister
Listen

Lessons In Love: February 21, 2010
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
Read Listen

Relationships: February 14, 2010
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister and Rev. Lisa Presley, Heartland District Executive
Listen

Perfection: February 7, 2010
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister
Listen

A Liberating Love: January 31, 2010
Dr. Brent Smith, Pulpit Guest

Dr. Brent Smith - former college football player and baloney salesman, and current minister at All Souls Community Church, our Unitarian Universalist church in Grand Rapids - will speak on the how affection and freedom form the basis of our faith. Listen

The Call to Selma: January 17, 2010
Rev. Gail Geisenhainer, Senior Minister

The space in-between the first and the second Source of Unitarian Universalism. Listen

The Platinum Rule: January 10, 2010
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister

Your wants and needs may differ from mine. Do unto others may not be enough. Let’s look beyond the “Golden Rule.” Listen

2009

Loose Leaf Bible: December 27, 2009
Rev. Gail Geisenhainer, Senior Minister

What are the authoritative sacred writings of Unitarian Universalism? Listen (Part 1) Listen (Part 2)

Christmas Presence: December 20, 2009
Rev. Gail Geisenhainer, Senior Minister

The right size, the right color, the right price. Listen

Holiday Checklist: December 13, 2009
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister

What are your key ingredients for meaningful, satisfying “dark season” holidays? This service will help you check off a few of items on your list and inspire you to find ways to check off more on your own. Listen

Two Stout Monks December 06, 2009
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister

Some clarity with our First UU Principle as we gear up for office parties, visiting relatives and the joys of holiday socializing and travel. Listen Read

Out of the Stars: November 29, 2009
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
November 24 marks the 150th Anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's amazing book On the Origin of Species. Has his work influenced our theology? Listen Read

Pro-Choice, Pro-Life October 18, 2009
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
We join a nation-wide, interfaith weekend of prayerful affirmation and action for the safety of reproductive health care clinic workers. Listen

Living a Whole Life October 11, 2009
Rev. Mark Evens & Rev. Gail Geisenhainer
It’s National Coming Out Day. Let’s celebrate how all of us can live lives of authenticity and wholeness. And let’s learn about the UUA initiative called “Standing on the Side of Love.” Listen

God Changes October 4, 2009
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
Whether we believe in a god or believe in no-god makes less difference than how we answer the question, “Does God change?”Listen

Coming Alive September 27, 2009
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer
Listen

Naked Awareness September 20, 2009
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
After Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge “the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked.” Then what? Salvation and atonement are never gained by confessing the sins of others…, but the temptation abides. Listen

The Future of God August 23, 2009
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister
At the request of the purchaser of the sermon song/combo at this year’s auction, this service will examine the place of religion in our world today, using the book The End of Faith by Sam Harris as a central touch stone. Listen

Trust August 9, 2009
Rev. Mark Evens
Listen

War & Gender August 2, 2009
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister

To achieve world peace we need a clear understanding of the causes of war. Only recently has the analysis begun to include the role of gender. The connections are not as simple as you might expect.
Listen

Seeds In Our Socks July 19, 2009
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
Listen

Remembering Why We Are Here May 24, 2009
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister
Those who agree to serve in our nation’s armed forces take on a special responsibility for protecting us. if we oppose the war they are sent to, or the one they returned from, or the one they died in, what do we owe them? Do we honor their service and sacrifice if we find ourselves opposed to all possible wars? What connects us beyond all of these particulars of opinion and belief? Listen

Liberal Religion & Civil Society May 17, 2009
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister
Many once believed that theistic religion would inevitably wither and disappear. More prominent on the world stage now than twenty five years ago, such religion powerfully shapes key questions of our time. An inquiry into right relationship between the church and civil society at large and with the government in particular. Listen

Are You Facing Me? May 10, 2009
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
In these anxious times, can Unitarian Universalism offer anything to move us from reactivity and stress to effective agency and balance? I think so! Read (PDF)
Listen

Jesus Climbed the Walls- Easter Sunday April 12. 2009
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
An Easter reflection on Jesus of Nazareth. Read (PDF)

Begin Again, In Love March 22, 2009
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
When we get off balance with one another, how do we begin again, in love? Read (PDF)

Walking In the Truth of Who We Are March 1, 2009
Rev. Mark Evens, Associate Minister
How we use our gifts shapes how we grow and find fullness in life. Listen

The Work We Are Appointed To Do February 22, 2009
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister Read (PDF) Listen

Martin Luther King, Jr. January 18, 2009
Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer, Senior Minister
Revisiting our commitment to the vision of this great prophet. Listen

Good Fighting January 4, 2009
Reverend Mark Evens, Associate Minister
From sibling rivalry to world war, from microscopic bacteria to multinational corporations, conflict can be found across the complete span of life's interdependent web. We cannot deny the destructive and dehumanizing realities of war and disorder. Yet our individual Unitarian Universalist congregations and our continental UU association teach us to engage in creative conflict to shape our world for good. Come share the paradox of fighting for good in a world yearning for peace. Read (PDF)

mp3 Listen 15.57 Mb

Sermons before 2009

Contact the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you are looking for a sermon dated before 2009.