Sermon Archive

The value that we will be exploring this month is Transformation, which the proposed Article II defines as: 

"We adapt to the changing world. We covenant to collectively transform and grow spiritually and ethically. Openness to change is fundamental to our Unitarian and Universalist heritages, never complete and never perfect."

The call toward transforming ourselves from who we currently are into who we want to be comes with an embedded assumption that there is something wrong with us in our current state. In this service, we will consider how transformative it can be to approach transformation from a place of acceptance and compassion, rather than with blame, shame and judgment. 

First-Sunday Monthly Potluck after Service!

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

CRE, UUA Congregational Life Staff in the Central East Region

Ours is a covenantal faith, and what binds us together are the promises we make. Just as we periodically spend time looking at our personal lives making promises to ourselves, we should also look at our promises to each other and to the communities we are a part. This service includes a reflection on covenant from Beth Casebolt, a Credentialed Religious Education (CRE) and the Operations Manager & Communications Consultant for the Central East Region of the UUA. Learn more about Beth at www.uua.org/people/beth-casebolt. We will also spend some time in this service reflecting together on the covenant we speak in each of our services and how we practice it.

Family Service at 9:30 AM

Listen to the Service Recording

Online (Zoom) Only Worship

Sunday at 10:30 AM

This service will be offered ONLY as a virtual service.

Click here to join the virtual service on Zoom

Meeting ID:  275 194 110

Phone In:  (669) 900-6833

Learn about Native and Indigenous perspectives in relation to healing water, as well as hearing about ways to support a locally-based environmental justice group, Portland Harbor Community Coalition, in advocating for the cleanup and restoration of the Willamette River (Wa' lúmt). 

Candice Jimenez (she/her) is a tribal citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs (Wasco, Warm Springs, Paiute), Yakama and Wintun peoples of the Pacific Northwest. She joined the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board in 2013 where she supports public health policy and advocacy efforts as led by Northwest tribes; a framework rooted in tribal community values and traditional ways of knowing. As a community member, Candice values the collective expertise and lived experiences that center collaboration across land, language, culture, access and ability — a space that honors amplifying indigenous community voices in equitable policy development and collective action in wellness and healthcare, public health, and the environment.

Cassie Cohen (she/her) grew up in the Portland metro area, with a deep ties to nature. She didn't understand why she and her family were disconnected from the Willamette River until she learned about its complicated environmental condition. She serves in the executive director role for Portland Harbor Community Coalition. She has over 15 years experience working in nonprofit, education, and in the public sector. From 2009-2015, she led Groundwork Portland, an environmental justice organization led by and serving communities of color, during which time they formed the Portland Harbor Community Coalition, to bring impacted communities together to heal the Willamette River.

Special Collection: Portland Harbor Community Coalition

Listen to the Service Recording

Multi-Platform Worship (both in-person & online)

Sunday at 10:30 AM

This service will be offered as BOTH a virtual and an in-person service.

Click here to join the virtual service on Zoom

Meeting ID:  275 194 110

Phone In:  (669) 900-6833

Drag Story Hour Event after service

Congregational Life Consultant for the Mid-America Region of the UUA

When we meet someone new, we often try to make a good impression by sharing the best of ourselves. The same holds true when we first share with someone the story of our faith. However, we need to move beyond the “good parts version” of Unitarian Universalism if we are going to build the beloved community.

Rev. Lund has twenty years experience serving congregations in the areas of faith formation and spiritual growth, first as a religious educator in Bloomington, Indiana, New York City, and Chicago, Illinois, and most recently as a congregational life consultant working for the MidAmerica Region of the Unitarian Universalist Association. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago and a certificate in InterSpiritual Counseling from One Spirit Learning Alliance in New York.

Family Service at 9:30 AM

Watch the service recording here

The value we will be exploring this month is Interdependence, which is described this way:

     "We honor the interdependent web of all existence. With reverence for the great web of life and with humility, we acknowledge our place in it.

     We covenant to protect Earth and all beings from exploitation. We will create and nurture sustainable relationships of care and respect, mutuality and justice. We will work to repair harm and damaged relationships."

In this service, we will explore what it means to live with a deep honoring of our interdependence with all human beings, all living beings, and all of the natural world. How do we recognize that each of us is completely unique and also part of a larger interdependent whole? How then do we live in relationship with all the other unique beings recognizing our interconnectedness and mutual responsibility for the wellbeing of all?

First-Sunday Monthly Potluck after Service!

Listen to the Service Recording 

Multi-Platform Worship (both in-person & online)

Sunday at 10:30 AM

This service will be offered as BOTH a virtual and an in-person service.

Click here to join the virtual service on Zoom

Meeting ID:  275 194 110

Phone In:  (669) 900-6833

Rev. Peggy Clarke, Senior Minister at the Community Church of New York and Board Chair at Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice (UUSJ)

Our democracy is in danger, but we are not powerless; we all have meaningful ways to save our democratic system. One way is to commit to being an active part of civil society, which means committing to our institutions. This includes our home churches and Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice (UUSJ) as the only national UU organization lobbying for our values on the Hill. It is our hope that people will leave worship on Sunday feeling empowered, connected, and more hopeful about what’s next for our collective work and our nation.

The Rev. Peggy Clarke is the Senior Minister at the Community Church of New York and serves as the Board Chair for UUSJ. This “Power Sunday” service was recorded in October of 2023 and offered to UU congregations to help leverage our collective power at the federal level as a people of faith. It seems appropriate to share it with Wy’east Members & Friends in the month we celebrate the social justice legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Family Service at 9:30 AM

Join Our Virtual Service Sunday at 10:30 AM

This service will be offered ONLY as a virtual service.

Click here to join the virtual service on Zoom

Meeting ID:  275 194 110

Phone In:  (669) 900-6833

Yashar Vasef has served as the Executive Director at Friends of Trees for the past three years. He brings a passion for community engagement, environmental sustainability, and human rights.. Prior to Friends of Trees, Yashar served as Development Director at the Community Cycling Center. He also has a background in international human rights advocacy through roles with United for Iran and various chapters of the United Nations Association (a program of the UN Foundation). Beyond his professional commitments, Yashar finds joy in the simple pleasures of life, spending quality time cuddling with his two feline companions, nurturing an array of houseplants, embarking on adventurous bicycle tours, and indulging his love for the cosmic wonders of Star Trek.

Special Collection: The theme of 2023-2024 is “Climate Crisis”, and ”Friends of Trees” is our recipient this month! 

Listen to sermon

This will be a different kind of service! We will have interactive conversation circles on Zoom for anyone who did not participate in the In-person version on January 7th.

The Wy’east Committee on Ministry (CoM) wants to know more about how well we are achieving our mission as a UU congregation in our shared ministry with Rev. Leslie. 

Using an interactive process, we will gather as a community for conversation circles to describe and celebrate what we appreciate about Wy’east and share our personal hopes for our congregation’s future.

The CoM will also use all that we learn from the conversations to draft a vision statement for Wy’east. Come to share your perspective and be inspired by others. Please join us! We want to hear from you!

We appreciate your RSVP in this short form: https://forms.gle/pRTWfMHVHEAbu4N7A

Click here to learn more about the details and logistics for this service.

OR for those who attended the January 7th In-person Conversation Circles, please attend this alternate service:

“Seeds for the New Year”

Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt, President, UUA

What seeds are you planting for the new year? How are you weaving your magic into your relationships with others? How can we center beauty and goodness and love in all that's ahead? These questions are at the heart of this worship service offered to all UU congregations from the Rev. Dr Sofia Betancourt, the new President of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.

This is the worship service offered to those Members & Friends attending via Zoom on January 7th. 

Listen to the sermon

The Wy’east Committee on Ministry (CoM) wants to know more about how well we are achieving our mission as a UU congregation in our shared ministry with Rev. Leslie. 

So this will be a different kind of service! We will have Conversation Circles for the people attending in person.

Using an interactive process, we will gather as a community to describe and celebrate what we appreciate about Wy’east and share our personal hopes for our congregation’s future.

The CoM will also use all that we learn from the Conversations to draft a vision statement for Wy’east. Come to share your perspective and be inspired by others. Please join us! We want to hear from you!

We appreciate your RSVP in this short form: https://forms.gle/pRTWfMHVHEAbu4N7A

Click here to learn more about the details and logistics for this service. On January 7th, this program will be offered to in-person participants only. And then on January 14th, the program will include an opportunity to participate in Conversation Circles on Zoom.

Or for those attending virtually via the Zoom link: “Seeds for the New Year” 

Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt, President, UUA

What seeds are you planting for the new year? How are you weaving your magic into your relationships with others? How can we center beauty and goodness and love in all that's ahead? These questions are at the heart of this worship service offered to all UU congregations from the Rev. Dr Sofia Betancourt, the new President of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.

Those Members & Friends attending on Zoom this Sunday will participate in this service. We will offer a Zoom version of the “Weaving Community and Imagining Our Future” conversation circles facilitated by Rev. Leslie Becknell Marx and the Committee on Ministry at the January 14th online service.

Listen to the sermon

The final day of the year falls on the 5th Sunday of December 2023. As part of our lay-led ministry, we gather on 5th Sundays for a service project in lieu of holding a service, either in-person or on Zoom. Our December 2023 project will be a supply drive to support Our Just Future and the Lilac Meadows Family Shelter. 

The Shelter Manager has assembled an "Amazon Gift Registry" with their most pressing needs -- school supplies and lunch/snack items for kids, bedding and toiletries. You may purchase items directly from the Amazon Gift Registry, or update the registry with the purchase of similar items from elsewhere. Order early to get the gifts in time!

We will gather on Sunday, December 31st to assemble and consolidate our donation, enjoy some social time & snacks -- maybe even a sing a bit -- before delivering our gifts to the shelter. 

Learn more about this project HERE.

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

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