San Marcos Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

Unitarian Universalists  often have a hard time with Easter. What meaning can this season possibly have for someone who does not take the biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection literally? Let’s ponder this question together on Easter Sunday morning.

In our way of “doing church”, equal power and equal responsibility is vested in both the clergy and lay leadership. The minister can’t do it without you, and, although you can do it without the minister, I’d like to think you couldn’t do it quite as well. We’re all in this together, folks, and together, there’s no limit to what we can do!

At times, we naturally find ourselves at odds with another person. What can we do to offer and assume goodwill in all of our relationships and encounters? Can we truly love both our neighbors and enemies as ourselves? Rev. Dr. Matt Tittle is a retired UU minister. He has served congregations in Illinois, Indiana, Houston, New Jersey, and New Zealand. He is also a retired naval officer and a university professor. He currently lives in Austin and teaches for Capella University.

Now is not a time to be screaming and shrieking our faith and moral values. This is a time to be grounded in the richness of our souls. Wise teachings like the Tao anchor us in the deep wells of unmovable dignity for all beings. How do we become spiritual activists personally and collectively that flow resolutely like a mighty river? Rev. Chuck Freeman has been in the ministry since 1977 serving Church of Christ and Unitarian Universalist congregations. He is the founding minister of the Free Souls Church in Round Rock,Texas. Chuck is a founding member of the Texas UnitarianUniversalist Justice Ministry and its Executive Director.  

A frequent and popular guest in the SMUUF pulpit, the Rev. Phil Mason is a native of Austin and a 1996 graduate of The Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest. He was ordained in the Diocese of Colorado and served there as priest and rector for 13 years. In 2002-2003, Father Phil studied with the Interim Ministry Network of the Albin Institute and was certified by the IMN.

Our nation is in the midst of a time of tremendous social and political unrest. All around us urgent voices are asking us to spend our time, energy and money to combat the roll back of progress in the areas of minority rights, religious freedom, environmental protections, and much more. With such organizations as the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, TXUUJM, Texas Freedom Network, and others calling for our support right now, why on earth should we still give to the church? Is there something religious communities provide that these other worthy groups do not, which justifies our generous continuing support of our UU congregations?

As we approach Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday and the Season of Lent, what can they teach us about the emerging needs of Unitarian Universalism and its congregations to become what we need at this time to meet the emerging needs of the world right where we are? Rev. Robinson will talk about a changing approach to church, practiced by The Welcome Table Church in Tulsa, which landed it on the cover of the UU World magazine. What does this have to do with him as a UU, with Jesus, and with Christianity? Rev. Ron Robinson is a minister with The Welcome Table, a missional community in far north Tulsa’s high poverty rate area where he and his wife were born and again currently reside. He is also the Executive Director of A Third Place Community Foundation, a community renewal non-profit organization his church began. Ron is also an adjunct faculty in Practical Theology at Phillips Theological Seminary and director of ministerial formation for Unitarian Universalist students at the seminary. For 13 years, he served as the

Unitarian Universalism is a religion open to everyone who shares the values expressed in the Seven UU Principles. As we often say in our welcome speech on Sundays, “Whoever you are, however you identify yourself, whomever you love, wherever you are on your own religious, spiritual, and personal journey, you are welcome here!” Come learn a little more about the radical hospitality Unitarian Universalism offers to all. BLUUGRASS! provides the music. DONATE-THE-PLATE PARTNER is Wimberley Fig Tree, an outreach program that provides nutritional support for school children. (http://wimberleyfigtree.org)

The singular gift our Universalist ancestors gave the world was their firm belief in unconditional love - that no matter what unspeakably horrible acts we commit in this life, God will never sentence any of us to eternal damnation. This radical notion is the foundation of our first Unitarian Universalist Principle - our commitment to “affirm and promote the worth and dignity of every person.”  In the current political and social climate in our nation, this Principle is being mightily tested. How can we possibly extend love those who spew such hate into the world? Should we?

As SMUUF seeks to design and build a building, Rev. Aaron Stockwell wonders what is radical hospitality anyway? How do we build radical hospitality in our Unitarian Universalist congregations? Rev. Aaron Stockwell has served as the Developmental Minister at the UU Church of the Brazos Valley in College Station, TX since August of 2015. He received his Master of Divinity at Andover Newton Theological School in 2013.

By this Sunday, we will have had a month to exhale after the divisive presidential election. Where do we go from here? Are we ready for the sacred but difficult conversations across differences? Erin Walter, a seminarian and Intern Minister at Wildflower Church in South Austin, will explore both the call to serve as guiding lights in contentious times and the need for boundaries and self-compassion along the way.   

Baby boomers and their parents grew up under a shadow, not just of nuclear war, but also of that ideally functional family, the Cleavers. Genesis and other ancient stories paint a different picture of family: as a dysfunctional nest of vipers. Somewhere in-between are the ones in which we’re raised. We project their contradictions into our own identities, as well as our morality, politics and churches. How do we reconcile them in our spiritual lives, and against all odds, keep trying to create perfect families? Thoughts about family during this holiday season when family gatherings are common. Steve Brooks, professional singer/songwriter and charter member of Austin’s Wildflower Unitarian Universalist Church, who has been described as a “poet, protester, songwriter, activist, political satirist, and humorist”, will bring his special blend of music and storytelling to SMUUF on November 27. A favorite in Austin folk clubs, at the Kerrville Folk Festival, and in UU pulpits, Steve preaches that we can change the

UU theologian, James Luther Adams’ fifth and final foundational principle of our liberal faith is that the resources for change we have available to us “justify an ultimate optimism.” Or, as the children’s version of the Five Smooth Stones says, “We always have hope.” That, to me seems to be a reason to give thanks.