Sermon Archive

Home deliveries of goods, meals, and services are booming again during the current pandemic.  Many of us remember door-to-door vendors from the years of our childhood, or have experienced them on trips abroad.  This morning I’ll share some of what I learned from watching such vendors at work in Chennai, India, home to generations of vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris’s family.

By Rev. Moro

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It isn't hard to look around and note that the world feels off kilter -- climate change, roaring fires, and social uprisings demanding change.  Dr. Deana Dartt brings her work in decolonization and life experience to Wy'east to invite us to consider returning to native values as a means for restoring balance in the world.

Dr. Deana Dartt is a member of the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation and the founding director of Live Oak Native Consulting.  She has held curatorial positions at the Burke Museum of Natural and Cultural History and the Portland Art Museum as well as teaching appointments at the University of Oregon, University of Washington and the Northwest Indian College. Her scholarly and professional work strives to address the incongruities between public understanding, representation and true acknowledgement of Native peoples, their cultures, histories and contemporary lives. This is first in our series of Social Justice Speakers for this church year focused on Indigenous Peoples.  

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Outing, doxxing, “cancellation culture”: It’s one thing to read news stories about these practices, set at a comfortable distance from home. It’s another thing entirely when it happens closer by. This morning I’ll share how I tried to deal with such an incident over this past summer.

By Rev. Moro

Join our virtual service Sunday at 10:30am.

Click here to link to the Zoom service.

Meeting ID: 275 194 110

Phone in: (669) 900-6833

The second Sunday in September marks our annual Ingathering Service and Water Communion. As we begin our church year, we expect to be meeting virtually for at least the next 6 months. Our annual water communion presents an opportunity for us to examine and reimagine how we create sacred space together virtually and in our homes. Be on the lookout for an invitation to participate in a water communion ritual in advance of this service.

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Listen to Portland Rain, a song by Robin Henderson.

One of the most comical scenes in all of religious literature is found in the book of Exodus, just as people are moving from one phase of life to a new one. Cecil B. DeMille never filmed it, but let’s not miss it ourselves! The goofy things that happen in trying times can also bring insight, and also a new division of religious “labor”.

By Rev. Moro

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Wy’east UU sent two delegates to the first ever all-virtual UUA General Assembly in June. In this service those delegates, Linda Macpherson and Lana Quackenbush, will share some of their experience of the Assembly, their takeaways, as well as the important business decisions that were made. 

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Fifty years ago, homosexuality was classified as a mental illness, and same-sex relations were considered a felony-level crime. People who are in their 70s today grew up in that closeted environment, came of age with the beginnings of the Gay Liberation Front, nurtured the movement from its infancy, and have watched it grow ever since. Robin Will, a local LGBTQ historian, teaches a little bit of history and shares some reminiscences about how times changed, how he changed, and what work remains to be done in the LGBTQ community.

Robin Will attended Rigler School in Portland's Cully neighborhood, and graduated from Benson Polytechnic High School in 1966. HIs education involves mostly journalism and the social sciences, and his work experience is mostly in the publishing industry. A class at Portland State University introduced him to local LGBTQ history, and he joined Gay & Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest in 2006, and has been president of the organization since 2014.

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A look back at the courageous women involved in the movement and some reflections on the work left to do.  This service will be led by Wy’east Members and Friends.

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Link to the text of the bridging ceremony   08-16-20 Wy'east UU Bridging Ceremony

Suddenly grief is everywhere, every day and it is both personal and collective. What are some of the impacts of all this grief? How do we carry on through it?  How can we continue to show up for ourselves and others?

Nani Waddoups is a licensed professional therapist specializing in grief and transitions. She has worked with The Dougy Center for Children and Families who are grieving, and has a private practice in Portland, Oregon.

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Service led by Wy'east Members & Friends

In this time of physical distancing, we continue seeking new ways to foster community and learn with one another. For our second participatory "Soul Circle" service, based on the small group ministry concept of Chalice Circles, we will all have the opportunity to reflect and share deeply in small groups. We'll explore our experience of being in this "whirlwind moment." 

There are a lot of changes happening right now in our lives: all around us, and inside us. What have you been thinking and feeling about these changes? What actions are you taking or do you want to take in your life as a result? What practices are helping or could help keep you grounded in the midst of the whirlwind?

We will begin with an introduction to the topic and some guidelines, followed by a time of meditation. We'll then break into circles of 4 to 5 people, each with a volunteer leader who will facilitate our sharing on the topic.  We'll come back together again for Joys and Sorrows to conclude the service.

This is a participatory service so a recording will not be available.

Join Our Zoom Virtual Service

https://zoom.us/j/275194110

Meeting ID: 275 194 110

By phone: 669-900-6833