“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it or who has said it, not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.”
-Buddha
Podcasts
Here's a collection of some of our recent sermons as podcasts. Scroll down a bit and you'll also find some wonderful videos that were created as part of our services.
You'll need iTunes or another audio player capable of playing MP3s to listen our podcasts. To save to your computer, right-click on one of the podcast links and choose “Download Link To Disk,” “Save Target As,” or “Save Link As” (your browser or operating system may provide different choices). If you're using a Mac, hold down the Control key and click with your mouse to bring up the menu.
We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest
Sunday, 24 February 2013 20:30
Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson
We’ll explore what author Michelle Alexander has called “the New Jim Crow,” referring to the mass incarceration of people of color.
Download this PodcastSelf-Love: The Revolution Within
Sunday, 03 February 2013 20:30
Nicole Kent
What it self-love? We'll look at it from different spiritual, psychological, and cultural perspectives and then relate it to the UU tenants of inter-connectedness and social justice.
Love Beyond Belief
Sunday, 27 January 2013 20:30
Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson
Rev. Thandeka, UU minister and professor, created a workshop called We Love Beyond Belief, and All Soul’s Tulsa has Love Beyond Belief as its tag line. This Service explores why love beyond belief is such a powerful way to understand Unitarian Universalism and invite us to imagine the implications of living that out.
Someone has to be Here to Light the Chalice
Sunday, 13 January 2013 20:30
Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson
This Service, based on a quote by Bruce Thompson, will explore the importance of presence in community. Bruce Thompson will do a theological reflection as well.
 Theology of Engagement | [Bruce Thompson's theological reflection for the service Someone Has to be Here to Light the Chalice.] | 42 Kb |
Shadows in the Garden of Good and Evil
Sunday, 30 December 2012 12:30
Eileen Maurer & Seamus O'Connor
Most of us know the story of Adam and Eve... God cast them out of the Garden of Eden after they ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. But have we given much thought to the deeper meanings within this allegory? Join Seamus O'Connor and Eileen Maurer as they explore Genesis 3, the bible story of the Fall of Man. This Service is especially relevant for the New Year, a time of endings and beginnings. A local musician, Sara Petite, performs along with some of our own during this Service.
Ancestral Gratitude
Sunday, 25 November 2012 12:30
Eileen Maurer
In October 2012, we celebrated Day of the Dead to honor our friends and relatives who have died, but still walk with us in our lives. Join Eileen Maurer as she explores gratitude for the chain of ancestors, all the way back to chromosomal Adam and mitochondrial Eve, the world’s common ancestors, that brought her to the place she inhabits today.
It's Magic
Sunday, 18 November 2012 12:30
Michael Eselun
Well-received guest speaker and oncology chaplain Michael Eselun will explore through personal reflections the tension between our rational self that yearns for answers, and the spiritual self that can be moved by wonder.
What Matters
Sunday, 11 November 2012 12:30
Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson
On this Sunday after the election, we will explore, through the lens of our UU values, how we move forward with the results. For no matter what, we will still need to live what matters.
Here Am I, Send Me
Sunday, 04 November 2012 12:30
Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson
Have you ever felt a nudge, a subtle or not so subtle call to move out of your comfort zone? Using text from Isaiah, we will explore what it means to say "yes" to what can sometimes be difficult callings. Megan Kajitani shares a theological reflection on answering her call.
Beyond Belief: From Dogma to Pragma
Sunday, 30 September 2012 12:30
Rev. Frank Placone-Willey, Ph.D.
Many of us have learned to understand and promote religious "belief" in ways that actually undermine our commitment to "world community with peace, liberty and justice for all" (our UU Sixth Principle). Drawing on real-life examples and our UU Sources, Rev. Frank will highlight our Living Tradition's emphasis on "right action" over "right belief," and suggest a practical approach for building a spiritual community that is ever-more compassionate and inclusive. Rev. Frank is the minister of Summit UU Fellowship in Santee.
Why We Believe
Sunday, 23 September 2012 12:30
Eileen Maurer
Join Eileen Maurer and her guest, Alma Gaspeed, as they explore the things that create our beliefs... genetics, family, culture and life experience.
Deeping in Gratitude/Extending our Love
Sunday, 16 September 2012 12:30
Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson
As we begin the Autumn season, we will mark this time of harvest and thanksgiving while imagining how this gratitude inspires us to greater love.
Growing Down and Reaching Out - Ingathering Sunday
Sunday, 09 September 2012 12:30
Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson
Join us as we gather once again to mark a fresh year. We will explore this year’s theme – Growing Down and Reaching Out, and we will have a Ceremony of Covenant with our new Director of Religious Exploration, Kathleen Moscato.
How Do We Labor?
Sunday, 02 September 2012 12:30
Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson
On Labor Day 2012 we look at the meaning of work in our lives and in our society.
Adventures in Psyche
Sunday, 29 July 2012 12:30
Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson & Nicole Kent
Join Rev. Beth and Palomar Fellowship member Nicole Kent as we explore Jungian thought and the psyche.
An Adventure in Radical Inclusive Love
Sunday, 22 July 2012 12:30
Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson
What does it mean to love with unconditional love and compassion for all things? Can you imagine such love? For yourself? For others? For all?
Adventures in Human Being
Sunday, 01 July 2012 12:30
Eileen Maurer
Where does the body end and the mind begin? Where does the mind end and the soul begin? How are the four states of experience – being, feeling, thinking and doing – connected? Join Eileen Maurer as she explores the intersection of body, mind and soul, starting with the Hindu notion of kosha, the sheaths, or layers, that cover the human Self.
Adventures in Being Present
Sunday, 24 June 2012 12:30
Kelley Grimes & Other Fellowship Members
This service kicks off our summer theme "Adventures in...” and explores different methods and benefits of being fully present.
Hope is a Thing with Feathers
Sunday, 10 June 2012 12:30
Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson
This Service explores how hope informs our individual lives and our work in the world. This is the auction sermon, bought by Lovedy and Jeremy Carroll.
The Space of Silence and Honesty
Sunday, 13 May 2012 12:30
Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson
We explore the theme of prayer. What does it mean to “pray”? What types of prayer are there? Can prayer be relevant even for those who may not have a traditional notion of God?
Transforming God
Sunday, 06 May 2012 12:30
Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson
This Service will explore non-traditional understandings of the holy, the divine, God. Using the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke and other readings, I will unfold a notion of the divine that is found in process thought.
Some People Change
Sunday, 29 April 2012 12:30
Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson
This Service is inspired by the Montgomery Gentry song of the same name. We explore how it is that people change from destructive or negative states to lives of productivity and hope.
Go Ahead, Be a Fool...
Sunday, 01 April 2012 12:30
Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson
We explore the archetype of the Fool or Jester – one that sees and can name things that no one else can.
The Tao of Politics
Sunday, 05 February 2012 12:30
Eileen Maurer
You may have heard Eileen Maurer’s sermon called Liberals and Conservatives... Why? in November 2010, or her sermon on The Myth of Duality in February 2011. Now join her as she builds on both of these sermons to further explore a Taoist view of politics in America today.
A Grand Adventure
Sunday, 29 January 2012 12:30
Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson
Join us as we explore the adventure of using our imagination to create possibilities for ourselves, our congregation and world.
Dear John and Jane Public, from God
Sunday, 22 January 2012 12:30
Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson
Can you imagine what kind of letter a God of love would write at this moment in time? Mark Sandin, a Presbyterian minister and founding board member of The Christian Left, tried his hand at such a letter. Rev. Beth will reflect on his letter and how we might answer it with our lives.
Broken Doesn't Have to Mean Broken
Friday, 06 January 2012 12:30
Patrick McLaughlin
Some thoughts about how we value and overvalue perfection; how that ruins lives, and how we might escape the terrible trap of being perfect.
Worship as a Social Practice
Sunday, 18 December 2011 12:30
Rev. Dr. Beth Johnson
This Service will explore worship from a distinctly Unitarian Universalist perspective.
Our UU Theology is Ablaze!
Sunday, 04 December 2011 12:30
Rev. Dr. Tom Owen–Towle
In the past 50 years since our merger in 1961, Unitarian Universalism has awakened spiritually and grown unashamedly theological. What does our liberating, life-affirming, loving faith have to offer today’s world?
A Place at the Table
Sunday, 06 November 2011 12:30
UU Christians
Palomar Fellowship’s Christian group members will share their journeys and insights into being UU Christians.