Dr. Mark Yount presents “The Problem with Principles: Our U.S. Crisis and our UU Hope” Elizabeth DeCoux, Worship Leader Gary Smart, Accompanist Kenn Connor and CeeCee Severin, Guest Musicians       “The Connors Project” Folk Music America was founded on grand principles, but our founders took community for granted. Today, those principles justify trans rights and … Continue reading The Problem with Principles: Our U.S. Crisis and our UU Hope

Dr. Mark Yount presents “Get Unstuck from Conflict with the Yin-Yang Gestalt” Kris Kines, Worship Leader Dr. Gary Smart, Accompanist and Special Music Do you feel overwhelmed by cultural and political conflict run amok? Does it suck you in even while you feel there’s nothing you can do about it? You need the Yin-Yang Gestalt … Continue reading Get Unstuck from Conflict with the Yin-Yang Gestalt

Dr. Mark Yount presents “Building the Foundation of Love” Elizabeth DeCoux, Worship Leader Dr. Gary Smart, Accompanist First Coast Flute Choir, Guest Musicians The “Values and Covenant” statement of the article 2 revision to be moved at General Assembly begins, “Love is the enduring force that holds us together.” The proposal redrafts our familiar seven … Continue reading Building the Foundation of Love

Dr. Mark Yount presents “The World Tells Everyone to Shut Up” Sydney Crisp, Worship Leader Dr. Gary Smart, Accompanist Mike Ludwig (Guitar and Vocals), Special Music That title is a therapy insight into a conflict at the root of human character. We each need to become the unique person we are. But we also need … Continue reading The World Tells Everyone to Shut Up

Dr. Mark Yount presents “The Conscience of Democracy” Kris Kines, Worship Leader Sydney Crisp, Accompanist, and Special Music Performance Our 5th UU Principle challenges us to balance two values in tension with each other. The right of conscience is to claim moral truth no matter how many others deny it. But the democratic process demands … Continue reading The Conscience of Democracy

Dr. Mark Yount “The ‘Uh Oh’ Antidote”  Worship Leader: Meghan Kaminsky Accompanist: Marilyn Smart Special Music by Michael Bernos As our leaders invite rancor and our culture becomes ever more toxic, recall the adage, “Resentment is like swallowing poison and expecting the other person to get sick.” Can I avoid swallowing the poison in today’s … Continue reading The ‘Uh Oh’ Antidote

September 29 Dr. Mark Yount Atonement without Sin: UU Reflections on Rosh Hashanah Religious Jews begin each year as if God were about to pass judgment. These are holy days of self-examination, repentance, and acts of atonement that serve to resolve past sins so the faithful can go forth in greater spiritual clarity. UUs who … Continue reading Atonement without Sin: UU Reflections on Rosh Hashanah

Perhaps our most intractable divisions reduce to this one: conservatives trust in the past; progressives trust in the future. What will it take for us, together, to secure from our past the best foundations to build a better future? Let’s turn from the reflexive oppositions of politics to reflective positions of philosophy on three crucial … Continue reading Life, Truth, and Spirit Beyond the Culture Wars

Dr. Mark Yount “Fountain of Sorrow” About the sermon: My life doesn’t seem to follow Buddhism’s first noble truth, that life is suffering. Yet even amidst my more abundant joys, even when I’m not suffering, there’s a sorrow that springs up in my life “like a fountain from a pool.” Does that spring from my … Continue reading Fountain of Sorrow

Dr. Mark Yount “War of the Worldviews: The Next Generation” Worship Leader: Caitlin Regan Accompanist: Marilyn Smart About Our Service: The next generation was buckling under insistent anxiety. Their physical world might survive a few more generations, but their cultural world was being torn asunder by the boomer wars. Old growth values, now uprooted, no longer sheltered either … Continue reading War of the Worldviews: The Next Generation