Archives: Services

Ephemeral: Loving What Doesn’t Last

Spring beauties, trout lilies, Dutchman’s breeches, and other spring ephemerals will soon bloom – and just as quickly fade as the tree canopy closes. Though we often celebrate what is eternal, grand, and enduring, these delicate flowers offer a different kind of wisdom: that the fleeting can be profound. Director of Religious Exploration Morgan Patten … Continue reading Ephemeral: Loving What Doesn’t Last

A Breath of Fresh Air

Air is more than the stuff we breathe. Across cultures and centuries, it has been imagined as the medium of life, spirit, imagination, and moral connection — the invisible element that binds us to one another and to the wider world. This Sunday Rev. Susan will explore how paying attention to the air, both literal … Continue reading A Breath of Fresh Air

Radical Hospitality

We are a denomination that likes to extend a welcome to people from many faiths and backgrounds, but sometimes it can be challenging to talk with strangers. What would it mean to be a radically inclusive church?  Rev. Dr. Terasa Cooley, today’s preacher, is the Lead minister at First UU in Columbus. She has been … Continue reading Radical Hospitality

The Joining

What does it mean to be a self in a world that constantly pulls us between individuality and belonging? From religious debates about the soul to modern anxieties about identity reflected in the fears around group think, humans have long wrestled with the tension between standing apart and being held in community. Join us as … Continue reading The Joining

The Allure of Hate: Problems in Self Differentiation

Hate often masquerades as strength, promising clarity and belonging when our sense of self feels fragile. Resentment can become a perverse delight—an energy that feeds on itself, distorting our relationships and our humanity. In this service we will consider how cultivating genuine self-differentiation, balancing individuality with connection—can help us resist the temptation to scapegoat, to … Continue reading The Allure of Hate: Problems in Self Differentiation

The Lost and Found of Love

Rev. Alison Wohler reflects on our lives from the perspective of our hearts.  How much anger, how much sorrow, how much longing, how much joy, how much beauty, how much love?  We spend our lives in the “Lost and Found of Love.”  Rev. Wohler will be using several of Mary Oliver’s poems from her book … Continue reading The Lost and Found of Love

The Problem with Prophets

On this Martin Luther King Day weekend, we reflect on the complicated relationship humans have with prophets—figures who are at once flawed individuals and larger‑than‑life voices for justice. How do we honor their vision without idolizing them, and how do we acknowledge their humanity without dismissing their call? This sermon explores what kind of relationship … Continue reading The Problem with Prophets