Sermons
Unfortunately, the sermons page is one of our best kept secrets. For newcomers, especially, it is a great way to get a feel for who we are and what we think about. For UUCE members it’s a place to find a reading that struck a chord, or reflect on a meaningful sermon. If you’ve missed a Sunday you can sometimes catch up on what you missed. Not all sermons are posted, but we make an effort to post as many as we can. Click on a link, curl up with a cup of tea, and have a read.
Sermon, Feb 24, 2013: Spiritual but not Religious, Rev. Mark Worth
A growing number of Americans answer “None” when asked about their religious affiliation. Many say the are “spiritual, but not religious.” Spirituality is often understood as something we express individually, while religion is something we express in community. What does it mean to be “spiritual, but not religious?”
Rev. Mark Worth has been full time minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Castine since 2006. From 1991 to 2006 he was 3/4-time at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ellsworth, and 1/4-time in Castine. He has announced that he will retire from the Castine church on April 30. Mark and his wife Michelle (“Mickey”) live in Penobscot.
Click the link below to download a text of this sermon.
02.24.13 Spiritual But Not Religious – Mark Worth
Sermon, Feb. 3, 2013: Global Warming-A Key Moral Issue of Our Time
On this date, Interfaith Power & Light (http://interfaithpowerandlight.org)encouraged a nation-wide “preach-in” on global warming in which UUCE had an opportunity to join with 1400 other faith groups to call for bold moves on climate.
Participants were Dan Huisjen, Board Member of Maine Interfaith Power & Light, Pam Person, member of U. S. League of Women Voters Climate Change Task Force, and Karen Wigglesworth, UUCE Worship Associate.
Click the link below to download a text of this sermon.
Sermon, Jan 20, 2013: We Are Tied Together
On the occasion of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we celebrate his legacy as a great & courageous Civil Rights leader by thinking about we’re called to do, in our continuing efforts to dedicate ourselves to, what he called, “the long and bitter—but beautiful—struggle for a new world.”
Rev. Sara Huisjen
Click the link below to download a text of this sermon
Sermon, June 17, 2012: Light of the World
On this Sunday, just a few days before the Summer Solstice, we will celebrate the longest days by naming our thanks for the light’s return, and consider together how we share our own light in this world.
Rev. Sara Huisjen
Click the link below to download the text of this sermon:
Sermon, May 20, 2012: Living in Community
Our Unitarian Universalist faith tradition readily honors the worth & dignity of every person. The individual’s search for truth and meaning is nurtured and encouraged in our congregations, too. But what of community & striving together is honored & esteemed in our tradition? What’s the glue that binds us together in this congregation? This service & sermon will explore these questions and share a few insights about nurturing community from our history.
Rev. Sara Huisjen
Sermon, May 13, 2012: “Hey, Momma. . . .”
On this Mother’s Day Sunday, the service & sermon will explore and honor the phenomenon of mothering. What does it take to nurture and encourage others (and ourselves) into a sense of strength & beauty? Who does this, and how?
Rev. Sara Huisjen
The reading this day was The Lanyard by Billy Collins
Click the link below to download a text of this sermon:
Easter Sermon, Apr. 8, 2012: The Promise of Resurrection in our Lives
On this Easter Sunday, in most Christian churches around the world, people celebrate the bodily resurrection of Jesus as Christ. How do we, 21st century Unitarian Universalists, enter into this story? Where does resurrection happen in our lives & the world?
Rev. Sara Huisjen
Click the link below to download a text of this sermon:
Sermon, Feb. 12, 2012: Love Will Guide Us
In I Corinthians 13:13 it written, And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. On this Sunday before Valentine’s Day, we will consider together what love truly is and how we are called to live our lives guided by it.
Rev. Sara Huisjen
Click on the link below to download a copy of this sermon:
Sermon, Jan. 1, 2012: The Beginning Is Now. . .
On this first day of the new year, this service and sermon will invite folks to consider what seeds they wish to plant in themselves to nurture health, growth and spiritual awakening in this present moment.
Rev. Sara Huisjen
Click the link below to download a text of this sermon:
1.1.12.The beginning is now.UUCE
Sermon, June 19, 2011: Make of yourself a light
This meditation on the Buddha’s last instruction to his disciples, to make of themselves a light, invites us to think about what it takes to nurture our own spirit and to feel alive and awake in this world.
Although delivered a year ago (on the Sunday that the congregation chose Rev. Sara to serve as our minister) the webmaster has chosen to list it out of order because it is not to be missed.
Rev. Sara Huisjen
6.19.11 Make of yourself a Light