Sermon Archive

Drought has reduced the water level of reservoirs, thus stopping rivers from flowing over dams, leading to  water pollution in the still water left behind and halting salmon reproduction. Tribes in Northern California and southern Oregon have effectively advocated dam removal along the Klamath River that divides the two states, focusing particularly on the need to protect wild salmon reproduction.  One of the tribal leaders, Brook Thompson, will tell us about the positive impacts of removing four dams along 420 miles of habitat in what has been the largest river restoration project in the U.S.  She will also tell us what’s needed next to assure river flow and renewed growth of salmon fishing. 

Brook Thompson is a Yurok and Karuk Native American from Northern California and Portland.  Brook fights for Native American water rights through public speaking, academic research, and frontline activism.  Brook has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Portland State University, an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Stanford, and is now completing a PhD at UC Santa Cruz where she studies how Indigenous Knowledge can be better implemented through California water policy.  Thompson’s goal is to bring together water rights and Native American knowledge through engineering, public policy, and social action.  

Website:  https://www.brookmthompson.com  

E-mail:  brookmthompson@gmail.com 

Listen to the Service Recording  

Family Service at 9:30 AM

Special Collection: Save California Salmon

Online (Zoom) Only Worship

Sunday at 10:30 AM

Click here to join the virtual service on Zoom

Meeting ID:  275 194 110

Phone In:  (669) 900-6833

Explore the many wells we draw from as Unitarian Universalists. We are grounded in rich history, connected by shared values, and inspired by a diversity of sources. 

We will consider the revised language proposed in Article II of the UUA bylaws which replaces what we currently call our Sources with a similar section entitled Inspirations:

"Direct experiences of transcending mystery and wonder are primary sources of Unitarian Universalist inspiration. These experiences open our hearts, renew our spirits, and transform our lives. We draw upon, and are inspired by, sacred, secular, and scientific understandings that help us make meaning and live into our values. These sources ground us and sustain us in ordinary, difficult, and joyous times. We respect the histories, contexts, and cultures in which these sources were created and are currently practiced. Grateful for the experiences that move us, aware of the religious ancestries we inherit, and enlivened by the diversity which enriches our faith, we are called to ever deepen and expand our wisdom."

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First-Sunday Monthly Potluck after Service!

Annual Budget Informational Meeting

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

How can we use a religious framework to inspire individual action around climate justice and care for the planet? Community Activist Ahlam Osman joins us this morning to share about her work in the Green Islam Movement. Through her work with Faithfully Sustainable and the Somali Empowerment Circle, Ahlam Osman is rooting conversations about sustainability and other “green” issues in the heart of her faith community.

Ahlam Osman, Event Planner at Faithfully Sustainable, is dedicated to actively exploring the intersectionalities of climate justice, sustainability, and Islamic principles as a framework to bridge gaps in the environmentalism space. Her goal at F.S is to create platforms to address environmental justice and disparities within Muslim and Black immigrant communities. Ahlam is currently a student at Portland State studying community development, with a deep interest and passion for environmental sustainability & urban planning + design. Multi-faceted, she is committed to using her skill sets in problem-solving, community engagement, and creative thinking to bring equity to every facet of her work. Beyond her environmental efforts, Ahlam is one of three Co-founders of Above GRND Coffee (@abovegrndpdx) an upcoming coffee shop in her hometown, Portland, OR. This venture, driven by Ahlam's passion for the specialty coffee industry, will be one of the few Somali-owned coffee shops in the US. As an urbanist and multidisciplinary professional, this passion project shows her commitment to what she calls, community-economic development through place-making in Portland’s business landscape. 

Family Service at 9:30 AM

Listen to the Sermon Recording Here

Online (Zoom) Only Worship

Sunday at 10:30 AM

Click here to join the virtual service on Zoom

Meeting ID:  275 194 110

Phone In:  (669) 900-6833

Our focus on Equity in the month of April continues this Sunday with an opportunity to learn more about the Albina Vision Trust. JT Flowers, who handles Strategic Communications for the Trust will join us and share more about how the work of AVT (in the words articulated in the new Article II value of Equity) uses time, wisdom, attention, and money to build and sustain fully accessible and inclusive communities. JT Flowers handles Strategic Communications for the Albina Vision Trust (AVT)

Listen to JT Flower's talk (with an introductory section from the Albina Vision Trust website, read by Ruth Jenkins).

Listen to the Sermon

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

At this time of spring and renewal, Rev. Sarah Schurr looks at the idea of hope. Some say hope is a platitude that keeps us happy with the status quo. Others say hope is essential, not only our wellbeing but to inspire our work to build a better world. Sarah is part of the field staff of the Pacific Western Region of the UUA and is their specialist in small congregations.

Family Service at 9:30 AM

Online (Zoom) Only Worship

Sunday at 10:30 AM

Click here to join the virtual service on Zoom

Meeting ID:  275 194 110

Phone In:  (669) 900-6833

We gather to celebrate the contribution that Wy’east UU Congregation makes to our members and wider community and to ensure that we bring our support to sustain its health and vibrancy. 

We will explore Equity, the final value from the proposed updates to our Unitarian Universalist Association’s bylaws, where it describes equity as follows:

“We declare that every person has the right to flourish with inherent dignity and worthiness.

We covenant to use our time, wisdom, attention, and money to build and sustain fully accessible and inclusive communities.”

First-Sunday Monthly Potluck after Service!

Listen to the recording here

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 4-5 months that have a 5th Sunday. As part of our lay-led ministry, we use 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.

We fulfilled our Day of Service Act by assembling Easter Baskets a bit early on March 17th in order to be presented for their Easter Dinner!

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

Please enjoy your Easter!

You are perfect the way you are … and you could use a little improvement,” writes Japanese Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki. Rev. Bruce Bode explores our interior sense of being both judged and accepted. This sermon was originally recorded in July 2023 at University Unitarian Church in Seattle, WA and is a second offering this month on our theme of “Transformation.”

Rev. Bruce A. Bode is Minister Emeritus at the Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (QUUF) in Port Townsend, Washington, from which he retired in 2018 as the Senior Minister after serving the congregation for fourteen years (2004-2018). Before coming to Port Townsend, Rev. Bode was the Interim Minister of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, Texas (2002-2004) and the Hope Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma (2001-2002). Prior to that, he served for twenty-two years (1978-2001) as an Associate Minister at the Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a large, independent, religiously liberal congregation.

Family Service at 9:30 AM

Online (Zoom) Only Worship

Sunday at 10:30 AM

Click here to join the virtual service on Zoom

Meeting ID:  275 194 110

Phone In:  (669) 900-6833

As part of our Social Justice Focus on the “Climate Crisis,” Dr. Heejun Chang will talk about the combined impacts of climate change and urbanization on water resources, focusing on runoff, floods, and water quality. Drawing from case studies in the Pacific Northwest, he will show who is disproportionately exposed to climate-related hazards and explore how land-based management (including nature-based solutions) could potentially reduce the negative impacts of climate change on water resources. 

Dr. Heejun Chang is a Professor of Geography and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Portland State University. He obtained a PhD in Geography from Penn State in 2001. Chang oversees college-wide research initiatives and collaborations and graduate programs. Working with diverse community partners, he has led transdisciplinary water research from a coupled natural and human system lens across the Pacific in studying future climate change impacts on water quantity and quality, flood and drought hazards, and water-related ecosystem services. Professor Chang has published over 170 peer-reviewed manuscripts with over 10,000 citations by Google Scholar. His pioneering engaged research has been recognized by the American Association of Geographers’ E. Willard and Ruby S. Miller Award, AAG Fellow, and the Reuters Hot List of the world's top 1000 climate scientists.

Special Collection: ECO - Ecology in Classrooms & Outdoors (www.ecologyoutdoors.org)

Listen to the Service Recording 

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

Side With Love is thrilled to announce 30 Days of Love 2024, their annual month of spiritual nourishment, political grounding, and shared practices of faith and justice. This year’s 30 Days of Love is a gift to our whole community: a love letter, a warm hug, a spiritual balm for all of the individuals, families, religious professionals, partners and communities that embody our values and work for justice and liberation year round. Each week will feature a spiritual theme overlapping with one of Side With Love’s intersectional justice priorities, and we'll share an array of offerings to help nourish your spirit and give gratitude and affirmation. This Sunday we will share from week 2: Re-Imagining: Climate Justice.
 

Family Service at 9:30 AM

Listen to the Service Recording Here

Online (Zoom) Only Worship

Sunday at 10:30 AM

Click here to join the virtual service on Zoom

Meeting ID:  275 194 110

Phone In:  (669) 900-6833