Sermon Archive

We have been meeting for worship at the Community for Positive Aging for more than 15 years. Our worship space serves as a thriving community hub Monday through Friday and it seems appropriate to include them in  our “We Are Stronger Together” Social Justice Speaker Series. Our missions are remarkably aligned. Amber Kern-Johnson serves as the Executive Director of the Community for Positive Aging and will share with us more about their work to create a healthier, more inclusive, and deeply connected Portland where adults 55 and older thrive through innovative programming, compassionate support services, and person-centered care.

Special Collection: Special Collection for June will go to The Community for Positive Aging

All Sermons are Multi-Platform Worship (both in-person & online)

Sunday at 10:30 AM

Click here to join the virtual service on Zoom

Meeting ID:  275 194 110

Phone In:  (669) 900-6833

When the world feels scary and confusing, holding up a flag and saying "I believe in this, this flag represents me" can be a challenge. Whether that is a flag signaling pride in one's country, one's racial or ethnic identity, or even our gender or sexual orientation, being proud can feel fraught with risk or even condemnation. Join us as we consider the origins of America's Flag Day, what it means to show pride in ourselves and our identities, and even consider our own personal flag designs -- how would we show the world who we really are? 

Sara Blackthorne is a lifelong UU, graduate of the United Theological School of the Twin Cities' MDiv in UU Studies program, and a seeker of meaning, justice, and love in the world. Her work in personal and collective liberation stretches across identities and groups, with a heavy focus on healthy boundaries and the work of repair. She's passionate about bringing white folks into the work of liberation for all, and her personal theology is rooted in tabletop role-playing games, Becky Chambers' Monk and Robot series, and the work of Emergent Strategy (led by adrienne maree brown). She lives, works, and quilts in Portland, Oregon with her queer little family of humans and animals, where she is forever in awe of the beauty of the natural world.

All Sermons are Multi-Platform Worship (both in-person & online)

Sunday at 10:30 AM

Click here to join the virtual service on Zoom

Meeting ID:  275 194 110

Phone In:  (669) 900-6833

Many of the systems surrounding us are built on domination, competition, and control. But our faith points toward another way: collaboration, deep listening, shared power, and n onviolence. This service explores what becomes possible when we resist the urge to overpower and instead commit to hearing one another into fuller humanity.
 

First-Sunday Monthly Potluck after Service!

All Sermons are Multi-Platform Worship (both in-person & online)

Sunday at 10:30 AM

Click here to join the virtual service on Zoom

Meeting ID:  275 194 110

Phone In:  (669) 900-6833

Each church year there are 4 months that have a 5th Sunday. As part of our lay-led ministry, we will be using these Sundays to offer an alternative to traditional worship. In lieu of holding a service, either in-person or on Zoom, we will be organizing a group service project we can do together instead.

In the spirit of community care, we are planning our 4th Hollywood Neighborhood Cleanup for this last Sunday of May. Members Larry Burt & Diane Ingle are again coordinating with SOLVE to provide organization and supplies. Our goal is to help make the area a safer, cleaner, more pleasant area to visit and build community spirit among our members. Volunteers will pick up litter in the Hollywood neighborhood business area surrounding our meeting place. Please meet behind the Center for Positive Aging. Come dressed for the weather.

5th Sunday Day of Service, 10:30 AM - 12:00 Noon

There will be NO regular service (either in-person or online) this Sunday.

How do political realities shape our bodies and spirits? This service explores how chronic stress and overwhelm are not personal failures, but deeply human responses to sustained threat. Rooted in our UU values of interdependence, this message invites us to rediscover community, care, and connection as sources of resilience and spiritual resistance. This is the May offering in the UUA Recorded Sermon Series.

The Rev. Jami A. Yandle (they/them/theirs) serves as the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Transgender Support Specialist, ministering in the office of the Vice President for Programs and Ministries.

In this role, Rev. Yandle provides spiritual support and direct care for the trans and non-binary community within and beyond the UUA.

Rev. Yandle is a non-binary minister and board certified chaplain currently residing in Texas. Their portfolio includes service on multiple social justice campaigns, parish minister, hospice chaplain, and as a coach on the UUA Hope for Us Conflict Engagement Team. Rev. Yandle is an amateur mobile photographer who enjoys spending time with loved ones, especially their family’s beloved lion-headed bunny named Jasper.

In the words of Rev. Norbert Čapek, “We affirm the dignity of every individual and the beauty that emerges when we share our gifts together.” Join us May 17th for Flower Communion, a beloved Unitarian Universalist tradition that celebrates the beauty of diversity and our shared life together. Each person is invited to bring a flower—garden-grown, wild, or store-bought—and place it in a common vase, where our many individual blossoms become one radiant whole. All ages are welcome to this joyful, sensory worship service honoring connection, renewal, and the sacred worth of every person.

Amy Geoffroy is Director of Communications and Impact at FACT Oregon, a nonprofit that empowers families, youth, and communities to navigate disability systems and advocate for disability justice and policy change. Our goal is that people with disabilities have what they need to thrive at home, in school, and in their communities.

As a parent of a young woman with Down syndrome, Amy will share key concepts in disability rights, her journey as a mom trying to forge a positive trajectory for her daughter, as well as how FACT Oregon supports families and what you and your community can do to help build networks of belonging.

Special Collection: FACT

In a time when power is increasingly centralized and voices are silenced, Unitarian Universalism insists on a different way: shared authority, covenant, and participation. The way we govern ourselves, with power held by congregational members matters.  It is a spiritual practice that calls each of us into responsibility, relationship, and collective courage.

This service invites us to consider what it means to belong, to participate, and to shape the community we long for—together.

First-Sunday Monthly Potluck after Service!

Drawing on the spirit of April Fools, we will play with improvisation. Let's explore how deep listening, presence, and playful curiosity can become spiritual practices that help us navigate uncertainty and build beloved community.

Led by Rev. Leslie and member Ruth Jenkins, we can discover together presence, trust, and the healing power of shared laughter and imagination.

In honor of Earth Day, we gather to explore the theme of Ultimacy and our place within the interconnected web of life. Please bring a small object or photograph that symbolizes your personal bond with the natural world. During the service, there will be a dedicated time to share how these treasures ground you and remind you of our deep interdependence with all living things. Join us as we honor the sacredness of Mother Earth and reaffirm our commitment to the great, beautiful whole that sustains us all.