In this week's Christmas Eve sermon, Reverend Anastassia highlights the parallels between the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus and present day events in Palestine and Israel. (Delivered: Sunday evening December 24, 2023)

We are called by our faith to honor the interdependent web of all existence. In fact, it is one of our most central truths. With reverence for the great web of life and with humility, we acknowledge our place in it. Let us explore what living this belief and reality looks like.

Delivered: Sunday Dec. 17, 2023

In this participatory worship service that will include a short reflection, members will reflect on what they are giving and being given as a part of the interdependent communal web which ground all in faith, hope, and love.

In this service, your ministers will answer questions about their shared vision for our congregation, their hopes for Unitarian Universalism, and why interdependence is one of our most cherished values.

With war around the globe and the rise in hate, how do we turn the world around?

(Delivered on Sunday, November 19, 2023)

Interdependence means there is support between and among groups of people. The story of the Buffalo shows us the opposite and reminds us of our willingness to dehumanize and forget that we are connected to all living beings.

(Delivered: Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023)

With the violent and heartbreaking loss of life in Israel and Gaza, how are we as Unitarian Universalists called to respond? What do our theology and the philosophy of Beloved Community have to offer us during this time? 

(Delivered by Rev. Anastassia Zinke, Nov. 5, 2023)

Sunday's sermon will connect our UU Beliefs to the beliefs of our ancestors via their relationship to nature and the stars. Where did we come from? Who are we? The answer may be in Astrotheology.

(Delivered: October 29, 2023)

Sometimes our poets and writers are the best place to turn to in order to find Unitarian Universalists using a language of reverence. Come hear some of their pieces set to music and performed by our UUCA Choir. By what do we feel so inspired to use words of reverence ourselves?

(Delivered: Sunday, October 22,2023)

https://youtu.be/wB9v8ds9jeg

God is 3 in one in more than just Christianity. Today we talk about the number 3, its significance, and why it has the power to help us understand reality and our lives.

(Delivered: Sunday, October 15, 2023)

Indigenous people deeply reflect the natural world in their religious, societal, and political institutions and expressions. It is a deeply innate human response to the world and one that Western cultures have moved away from. How might we do better by using nature as a model in our collective lives? Rev. Anastassia preaching.

(Delivered: Sunday October 8, 2023)

The rise of fundamentalism in the world comes as a direct result of religions that do not want to expand their tolerance for difference. This makes pluralism impossible and threatens democracy. In this message, Rev. John offers his take on where we are in the world using the story of Muhammad as a lesson of how intolerance creates bitter rivalries that keep us separate and unequal. 

Delivered Sunday October 1, 2023

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, when Jews seek forgiveness from their God, follows just days behind the Rosh Hoshanah, the Jewish New Year. What Jews recognize in this sequence is that when one moves forward, one must still account for the past and seek appropriate forgiveness. As we at UUCA move into a new year, what acts do we need to ask forgiveness for? What lessons along this journey do we need to learn?

(Delivered Sunday September 24, 2023)

One can live in diversity but not experience pluralism; it has to be brought forward by the community's practices of respect, tolerance, and curiosity. One benefit of experiencing and engaging in religious pluralism is the experience of being “religious inter-religiously.” Come hear Rev. Anastassia share more about what this means and how you can practice it too. 

(Delivered 9/17/2023)

Each year, UUCA invites you to bring a small container of water to partake in our Water Communion ritual as a sign of unity.

Delivered: Sunday September 10, 2023

Join us this Sunday to learn about our ongoing relationship with the Unitarian Universalist Association, its annual meeting, and how you can get more involved in their National issues.

Delivered Sunday, September 3, 2023

In this service, you will learn what you can do to end racism, microaggressions, and behaviors that keep us from beloved community.

(Delivered: Sunday, August 27, 2023)

Join Rev. John as he discusses the monthly themes for the upcoming church year and how you might engage with them for your spiritual growth.

The period between 1945 to 1968 profoundly shaped the American landscape we see today. I am so intrigued by these 20+ years and the way we still wrestle with the same issues. Join me today as I catch you up on some of my insights and inspirations during my time away.

Delivered: Sunday, August 13, 2023

In her poem, Summer Day, the poet-narrator asks, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Come let us reflect on both how Mary Oliver answered this question, and reflect on how we each might answer.

Delivered Sunday, August 6, 2023

Rev. Anastassia finds that William Stafford's poem "A Ritual To Read to One Another" provides valuable reminders that could well guide congregational communities. Let's hear what it says, and take it to heart.
Delivered: Sunday July 30, 2023

Our ancestors -- of blood, family, faith, and community -- often share life lessons and values with us. These gifts teach us about the world and hopefully assist us in surviving and thriving. In dialogue with Philip Booth's First Lesson, let us consider some of these lessons ourselves.

Delivered July 23, 2023

"Let us measure success by how many of us can say: I am living a life I don’t regret. A life that will resonate with my ancestors"    

-adrienne maree brown

Join us for a reflection on heavy suitcases, surprise turning points, and attending to the complexity of our times with love and resilience.

Matt is a musician and traveling worship leader who has led hundreds of services for UU congregations across the country. He has a degree in hand drumming and serves as Director of Community Life for Sanctuary Boston. This is a multi-generational service.

Delivered: Sunday, July 16, 2023

All of us have experienced moments or periods of lonliness, pain, or loss. We also know, therefore, the wonder and power of being truly welcomed. Part of our purpose of being a community at UUCA is to welcome each other, sometimes in small ways and sometimes in large ways. Come be welcomed, and hear Rev. Anastassia share how we can welcome again and again.

(Delivered: Sunday July 9, 2023)

Poetry is More Than a Spiritual Luxury: The prophetic poet Audre Lorde in her 1985 essay reminds us that "poetry is not a luxury" in a world that desperately and insistently needs liberation. Come hear Rev. Anastassia share more of Lorde's wisdom and about how poetry can be a meaningful companion to us in our spiritual work and in our quest for liberation. Music by Josh Long. Delivered: 7/02/23

The climate crisis has become painfully real after wildfire smoke from Canada covered the east coast. There are some who believe that it is too late to do anything about the ecological emergency. People of faith are called to have a different response. Climate justice is not solely about saving the environment but rather it is about creating something new for the entire web of existence. Joshua Long, Congregational Organizer for Interfaith Power & Light AND our Director of Music ensembles will help us explore the difficult landscape of climate change.

In this sermon, Rev. John tells the story of Juneteenth and shares what reparations might look like in Anne Arundel County and all of Maryland.

(Delivered: Sunday June 18, 2023)

Since the Stonewall Riots, we Americans have both confronted and celebrated the reality that life is not nearly as simple or set as we had once held it to be. We aren't at the end of this journey of unfolding, emerging, becoming, and fully living, but we know that the world is queerer in every sense of the word than we once thought it to be. Come let us consider how this shift is one that reflects our faith and points to liberation.

On this very special Mother's Day, join Rev. as he examines the Civil War, Julia Howe, Lincoln, Douglass, religion and the human quest for freedom; and how authenticity can only be achieved through pain and suffering.

(Delivered: May 14, 2023)

Our most deeply centered and understood theology comes in those moments of greatest challenge. In short, they emerge from our own authentic life experiences. Come hear what Rev. Anastassia Zinke learned about surrender, love, and not needing to be enough.

(Deivered Sunday May 7, 2023

Remember when Rev Jeremiah Wright criticized America in his sermon creating a rift between he and Obama? In this sermon on authenticity, I will look again at what Rev. Wright damned in America and offer some insights and suggestions on what White-allyship really means. This sermon is dedicated to Darrel Nash a long time antiracism advocate at UUCA.

(Delivered April 30, 2023)

Quite often our failure to be authentic with others stems not from a lack of desire, or an overwhelming fear of vulnerability, but from the fact that we lack authenticity with our very selves. Connecting with others requires us to stay connected with ourselves: and not just with our mental selves—as most schools and workplaces would have it—but with our somas, or whole selves. Join UUCA member and therapist Jessie Rhines for a discussion of the yogic model of The Koshas. Come prepared for a personal practice, among sacred communities.

When vulnerability is the first thing we look for in others and the last thing we want to show, how do we find each other? Join guest minister Rev. Christin Green for an exploration of grace, peace, vulnerability, and authenticity. (Delivered 4/16/23)

American religion is going through a rapid change. How can we as Unitarian Universalists engage with that change and deepen our spiritual lives? In this service, we explore how being radically welcoming could actually change us and our world. Rev. Dr. John Morehouse is the Senior Minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport, CT. Music by Rob Redei and the UUCA choir. (Delivered Sunday, March26,2023)

Generosity is one of the core practices proposed by our UUA's Article II Study Commission, and yet in comparison to those in other faith traditions, UUs tend to be less financially generous. In contrast, Rev. Anastassia found that being a UU congregant and leader fostered her practices of generosity within and beyond our faith. Let us consider what it means to be a generous people. Music by Joshua Long and the UUCA worship ensemble. (Delivered 3/19/23)

Today we celebrate and give thanks for all that we are to each other. And we will address areas of growth for our congregation. There will be a celebration luncheon after service. Music by Rob Redei and the UUCA choir. (Delivered March 5, 2023)

The past is gone. We've come back from the pandemic successfully.  We have a new embodiment of what our beloved community can be.  Let's celebrate community and abundance together.  Sermon by Rev. John T. Crestwell, Jr.  Delivered on Sunday, February 26th, 2023. 
 
 

Rev. Dr. Forrest Church described religion as "our human response to the dual reality of being alive and having to die." How can we reconcile these dual realities, and what is the spiritual involved in preparing for death? Led by Rev. Anastassia, with music by Josh Long and the Worship Ensemble. Delivered on Sunday, February 19th, 2023.

Reconciliation is not something taken lightly, in fact, just considering it is spiritual work. What is the pre-work, the prayerful work, that informs whether and how to move towards reconciliation? Led by Rev. Anastassia, with music by Rob Redei and the UUCA Choir. Delivered Sunday, February 12th, 2023.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. sought nonviolent means to make democracy work. Given what happened to us on January 6 and the violent rhetoric in our society, let’s talk about why we can achieve more through peaceful protest. Sermon given by Rev. John T. Crestwell, Jr.  Music by Rob Redei and the UUCA Choir. Delivered Sunday January 15, 2023.

Our new year begins at the beginning of winter. Earth lies fallow and animals rest in their borrows or nests as they recover from the energy of the fall Harvest time. Collectively we trust that this will lead to a new or renewed life come Spring. How is this season inviting you to rest? How can reflecting how help you determine what structures to give life to in the year ahead? Rev. Anastassia Zinke and Josh Long leading this all-ages service. Delivered Sunday, January 1st, 2023.