Sermon Archive

To live joyfully, we must learn to be our own Joy Advocates: clear in our intentions, steady in our choices, and grounded in joy through every twist and turn life tosses our way. Shannon Diffenderffer shares testimonials and insights from her pickleball students—real-life examples of how joy can be discovered through play, connection, and intentional practice. With gentle encouragement and personal reflection, we are invited to stop waiting for joy to find us—and start creating it ourselves.

Shannon Diffenderffer, M.Ed., is the founder of Joy Crazy™, a joyful learning community built around pickleball, kindness, and connection. A certified IPTPA Pickleball Instructor with a Master’s in Adult Education from Michigan State University and a B.A. in Political Science from UC San Diego, Shannon began teaching pickleball after the COVID-19 pandemic and a medical condition changed her path from nursing to joy advocacy.

Born with microtia atresia—without a right ear and jaw development—Shannon has spent her life navigating the healthcare system. She’s undergone multiple surgeries, lived with undiagnosed ADHD for years, and experienced conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome and sciatica. These challenges have deepened her empathy for her students, many of whom are learning new skills while managing their own health concerns.

Why pickleball? Pickleball is a sport that is fun, easy to learn, and naturally social. It brings people together across generations, backgrounds, and abilities. Shannon sees pickleball not just as a game, but as a powerful antidote to the loneliness epidemic—helping people laugh, move, and feel seen. You can find Shannon teaching Pickleball classes at PCC Community Education or through her Joy Crazy™ company at Friendly House.

Shannon believes that joy takes effort—but it’s absolutely worth it. Through Joy Crazy™, she creates experiences that brighten days, build community, and lift people up. Whether she’s coaching on the court, hosting events, or growing her online community for casual players and enthusiasts, Shannon encourages others to become their own joy advocates—one game, one connection, and one smile at a time.

First-Sunday Monthly Potluck after Service!

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

The annual General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association took place at the end of June in Baltimore and culminated with a powerful and communal Sunday Worship. This Sunday we find inspiration and connection to our broader faith with a look at some of the highlights of this service led by Rev. Dr. Nicole C. Kirk.

Rev. Dr. Nicole C. Kirk (she/her) is the Rev. Dr. J. Frank and Alice Schulman Chair of Unitarian Universalist History at Meadville Lombard Theological School and a historian of American religious history. She has served UU congregations in Ohio and New Jersey and is currently the Program Minister (part-time) at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She joined the Meadville Lombard faculty in 2012 after serving eight years in the parish and earning her Ph.D. at Princeton Theological Seminary. Her research interests include religion, business, mobility, and material culture in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Dr. Kirk’s publications include Wanamaker’s Temple: The Business of Religion in an Iconic Department Store (New York University Press, 2018, 2023) and chapters in several edited volumes.

Dr. Kirk enjoys advising students and assisting them on their formational path(s). Over the years, she has met and worked with many of Meadville Lombard’s international partners in the Czech Republic, Japan, and Transylvania. In 2023, the Religious Society of Czech Unitarians gave Dr. Kirk the Award for Supporting Czech Unitarianism. A popular speaker, she gives lectures and sermons across the United States and internationally.

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

This Sunday we juxtapose a well-known and loved TED talk from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie titled “The Danger of A Single Story” with the work of Underscore Native News a local organization producing Indigenous-centered journalism. Our lives and our cultures are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

Special Collection: Underscore Native News

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

Jan Hively’s life was a powerful example of purposeful living, justice-seeking, and community leadership. In this service, we honor her legacy as a visionary elder, public servant, and social entrepreneur who championed lifelong learning, advocacy, and meaning-making in every stage of life. Drawing on Jan’s commitment to “meaningful work, paid or unpaid through the last breath,” we reflect on what it means to live a life of generativity, rooted in the interdependent web and guided by deep love for community. Come celebrate the power of networks, the dignity of aging, and the sacred calling to pass on wisdom, connection, and courage.

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

Where: Creston Park in Group Picnic Area "B". This is the same park we have been using. Use directions on-line*

When: Sunday July 6th from 10AM-2PM. 

What to bring: your pot luck dish offering, camp chairs, your favorite beverages, sun protection (hats, sun screen, sun glasses), games (volleyball, hula hoops), and noise makers for Matt's sing along! Paper plates, plastic utensils and cups will be available but you may certainly bring your own eating and drinking supplies. 

*If you have questions please contact Ron Thurston, Membership Chair, 318-300-9509.

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

As part of our lay-led ministry, we gather on 5th-Sundays for a service project. So in lieu of holding a service:

Celebrate Pride with Wy'east UU! 

We are sponsoring an All Ages Drag Story Hour Event on Sunday, June 29th from 10:30 - 12:00 in the Hollywood Neighborhood. 

Join us for an all ages event that, in addition to a Drag Story Hour with Wilder Bloom and Glow Merrygold, will include all ages family friendly crafts and opportunities to connect to community.

When: Sunday, June 29th, 10:30 - 12:00

Where: Wy'east Unitarian Universalist Congregation  - 1820 NE 40th Avenue (at the Center for Positive Aging, just north of NE Sandy)

Why: June is national Pride month and there's no time like the present to create safe and welcoming spaces to celebrate. Wy'east Unitarian Universalist (UU) Congregation is a liberal religious community striving to bend the world towards love, truth and justice.

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

As the sun reaches its peak and the days stretch long and warm, we gather to honor the turning of the seasons and the gifts of the earth. This zoom service focused on personal spiritual practice focuses on the summer solstice as a moment to be in the sacred space of reflection, celebration, and reconnection—with nature, with one another, and with Light.

Through music, meditation, storytelling, and ritual, we will mark this moment of fullness and transition.
 

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 continue our Social Justice Speaker Series this church year focused on Building Beloved Community with Imani Muhammad, the Visionary and Executive Director of Y.O.U.TH (Youth Organized and United to Help). She has been working within our community here in Portland and throughout the country for close to 20 years as a youth advocate and community organizer. She founded Y.O.U.TH in 2010 after the death of Davonte Lightfoot in North Portland in 2007. She graduated with a BS in Psychology, Sociology and Bible studies from Cascade College (branch of Oklahoma Christian University) in 2003. Imani credits her unique upbringing from her parents for laying the foundation for her level of activism and commitment to always striving to better herself and in-turn humanity as a whole. 

Special Collection: Y.O.U.TH, (Youth Organized and United to Help)

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 us grew up hearing the story in the Gospels of Jesus ‘healing’ the blind man. Some traditions emphasize that Jesus’s miracle was the most important part of this story. I beg to differ. Presented by Cameron Young, UUA Congregational Life Staff, Southern Region.

Cameron Young is a native Texan and lifelong Unitarian Universalist. Having grown up in those programs, they developed a particular affinity for youth and young adult ministry. Prior to joining the UUA, Cameron served as a lifespan religious educator in Fort Worth, Texas for five years, having helped to implement their congregation’s first ever Coming of Age, Spirit Play, and Young Adults programs. Cameron also served a two-year elected position as Young Adult Co-Facilitator at General Assembly. Cameron has a Bachelor of Music from Louisiana State University and is currently a seminarian at Fort Worth’s Brite Divinity School. A professional musician and classically trained singer, Cameron has performed in numerous operas, musicals, is a member and co-founder of DFW’s Uptown Carolers, a professional Christmas caroling company, and also recorded with Grammy award winner Leon Bridges on his debut album. In their spare time, Cameron is an avid traveler, die hard fan of Dallas sports teams, and devoted coffee drinker.

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

Pride is more important than ever this year! June is Pride month generally and Portland Pride is the weekend of July 19. What does it mean to “queer” something? We will consider how to question societal norms and embrace the transformative power of queerness. Let’s reimagine what is considered "normal," advocating for a more inclusive and expansive understanding of identity.

First-Sunday Monthly Potluck after Service!

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