These sermons are given predominantly by our minister, Reverend Tim Ashton. Other speakers visit our pulpit once a month and some of their contributions are also listed.

Each audio sermon is accessible for those using dsl. We have also begun including the sermons in written form, for your personal ease in accessing the sermons. We hope one of these solutions is the right one for you!

March 1 - An Unusual Teacher from Palestine Yes, I could say Jesus, but I won't. I want all of us to think outside of the box. As with our deist ancestors (for example, Thomas Jefferson), I am intrigued by the teachings of Jesus because of their moral truth and unusual perspective. Can we find a very unexpected Jesus who was nearly hidden from sight in just two generations after his death? This man may yet speak to our age. – Rev. Tim Ashton (full sermon, 2.14MB)

February 15 - Erotic Spirit It is usually called a pulpit exchange, but it makes a lot more sense to call it a minister exchange. Rev. Joel Miller, minister of the UU Church of Buffalo, will speak in Amherst, and Tim Ashton, our minister, will speak at the UU church downtown. Rev. Joel Miller (full sermon, 2.57MB)

February 8 - Why Doesn't Anyone Talk About Children on Valentine's Day? Certainly children are often the result of love (even if they aren't one's biological off spring), and caring for children is surely one of the supreme monuments to the power and sacrifice that love calls forth in us. So for Valentine's day, I plan to address Shawn Whitecar's fantasy auction sermon topic and question, "How do we raise good UU children?" Aren't they among our greatest expressions of love? Rev. Tim Ashton (full sermon, 2MB, written version)

January 25 - They Don't Have Any Crucifixes! - But we do have 'Joys & Sorrows.' Sharing the stories of what hurts & demoralizes us is essential to worship. To know that we are not alone or cast aside for what can seem like our private failure brings healing & perspective. We can listen with intention, caring and love. And such listening can make all the difference. Rev. Tim Ashton (full sermon, 1.51MB)

January 18 - Pop Culture, Big Business & the End of White America/ Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday - We are continuing from the Kwanzaa sermon -- I want to return to an idea from Leon Wynter's book American Skin Pop Culture, Bug Business and the End of White America. Much as we sometimes resent mass culture, it has been one of the agents of the transformation of America, communicating across class & racial lines. Rev. Tim Ashton (full sermon, 2.19MB)

January 11 - I'm Glad I'm Different! - Becoming a Unitarian Universalist isn't usually a 'conversion' experience. The experience of finding one's first UU church is more like 'coming home' or better, 'coming home to the home you always wanted.'. It is a great experience to reach the middle of one's life and say, "I'm glad I'm different; and now I know where I belong!" Rev. Tim Ashton (full sermon, 1.74MB)

January 4, 2009 - The Chair's View of the Way Ahead - Our church community has worked hard to make the spiritual & emotional home we have here. From its inception to the most recent capital growth, members have given much to realize a place of strength, support and solace for independent thinking liberal persons to gather and share. I'd like to talk about the road ahead for this interdependent church. Chris Barry (full sermon, 3.01MB)

2008
December 7 - Kwanza - Some have dismissed Kwanza as a 'made-up' festival without real 'folk' roots - a remake of Chanukah with African accoutyrements. But year by year Kwanza seems to be more and more a part of our cultural life. From the now documented African origin of the human species to the Roots Music movement, finally capped off by the election of Barack Obama, an African page is being firmly inserted into our cultural origins. Rev. Tim Ashton (full sermon, 1.52MB)

November 30 - Is it Here Again? - Yes, it's time to prepare for the Winter Holiday Season. There are so many holidays: what is a Unitarian Universalist to do? Sometimes we can feel a part of everything, filled with multicultural enthusiasm and at the next moment feeling left out and at the sidelines. I will offer some advice on choosing holidays; participaint in seasonal activities and gaining a sense of control, perspective and self-identity. Rev. Tim Ashton (full sermon, 2.16MB)

Thanksgiving Thankfulness, gratitude, appreciation – these words are expressions of the focused, spiritual, moral, or religious life. Gratitude arises when we realize life is a gift, an opportunity, a relationship, an adventure. From that sense that life is a gift to us, I believe we our hearts are also filled with a sense of abundance. And, thus, a feast is the appropriate expression of our gratitude for life. And from the sense of gratitude and abundance arises a desire to give to others. Hence a feast is not an expression of gluttony or greed because the grateful heart knows that it has enough. Rev. Tim Ashton (full sermon, 2MB)

November 16 - Are the Seven Principles Enough? I asked a newcomer how his first Sunday with us was. He paused. "I used to be a Catholic, and it's been a long time since that worked for me. So I was looking for something else." He looked a little puzzled, so I asked, "Did you find what you were looking for? Did the service work for you?" He said, "There aren't any Crucifixes or crosses. There's not a lot of stuff in here!" I said, "It takes a long time to learn how to worship in a new place." So the question seemed to me to be, "How do I make a religion out of the Principles and Sources?" Rev. Tim Ashton (full sermon, 2.27MB)(written version)

November 9 - Are You a Silly Bear? In Frank Tashlin's classic "cartoon" story, The Bear That Wasn't, a bear gets lost in a factory. Finally after being told so many times, "You aren't a bear! You are a silly man who needs a shave and wears a fur coat. Get back to work!!" That is just what he does; a sad, confused bear becomes a factory worker! Sounds silly, but such a confusion can happen to any of us. For example, thin adults who still see themselves as fat. Perfectly capable people believe they are clumsy or awkward.
Adult Unitarian Universalists can also get confused. We hear about "liberal" and "cults" and forget about our rich historic past and our pantheon of historic leaders. It's time to get our stories straight. Rev. Tim Ashton (full sermon, 1.95MB)(written version)

October 26 - Fate, Coincidence, or Something Else? In its positive Pagan sense, Halloween is a time that we honor the loved ones who have died and did much to help us on our way in life. Following our emerging traditions, there will be a time to say the name of a loved one and light a candle to their memory during the service. As we honor those whom we hold in loving memory, it is also true that people from our pasts may bring painful, trouble, and even destructive memories. Some of these are difficult to escape.
In light of the 'ghosts' in our lives, both good and bad, just how free are we? Are the events of our lives 'fated'? Can there really be such a thing as free will or a coincidence? We can take charge when we know who's in charge. Rev. Tim Ashton (full sermon, 1.92MB)

October 12 - What Do You Do When A Terrible Thing Happens? (UUAssociation Sunday) Life may be insecure and unpredictable, terrible things do happen, and we cannot stop every bad thing that comes our way. Nonetheless, do we just stand there and wait for them to happen? Of course not, we need to think ahead, respond thoughtfully, and work together as a community. Earlier this year we were visited by an unknown and "disguised" child predator, and now we have heard about the Knoxville shooting. It is time to talk about our responses, responsibility, and shared commitment. Our beloved community is not an accident but the product of our intention & vision. Rev. Tim Ashton (full sermon, 1.85MB)

October 5 - The Wisdom of Insecurity Alfred North Whitehead (British American philosopher and mathematician) asked, What is the purpose of religion: to provide "a rule of safety" or to call us to "an adventure of the spirit"?
In a world we cannot control, does the quest of security really make sense? Does the quest of security really end up making us more insecure? Rather, if we understand life as an adventure, we may be able to embrace the lack of certainty and end up living our lives more successfully and happily. Rev. Tim Ashton (full sermon, 2.65MB)

Sept. 14, 2008: Souls: Our Imprint on the Universe Are we born with a unique and immutable soul which is our core? Do we spend our lives searching for this essence? Trying to protect it from destruction? Or is the soul simply the summary of all we have been? And if it is that summary, could it be that the soul is the inter-active and also unique core of ourselves that we have created and discovered in the community of life? One wonders if the soul is the imprint that we are leaving every day with loved ones, our community, and even the Universe? (A Fantasy Auction sermon requested by Grace Little) Rev. Tim Ashton (written version)

May 30 - Memorial Day: A Time to Remember Once called 'Decoration Day', the holiday began as an effort to heal the wounds between the North & the South after the brutal Civil War. We will again stop to remember our war dead and recognize those who serve or have served in our military. We will also remember and recognize those who have stood agains war & bloodshed. And when this current sad war mercifully does come to sone end, how will we keep from losing sight of the patriotism of our ideals? Rev. Tim Ashton (full sermon, 1.66MB)

May 11 - Mothers Day: Could Your Mom Really Be President? Considering Hillary Clinton, a group of college girls said it all: "Would we want our mothers to be President?" If you are assertive, can you still be a woman? If you're nice, can you really make tough decisions? If you're tough, will men vote for you? If you're feminine, will anyone think you can do the job? What is a woman to do? Rev. Tim Ashton (full sermon, 1.99MB) (written version)

May 4 - Evil: What Is It? We emphasize the positive character of God, Nature/Creation, and humanity. What about really ugly, hurtful and hateful experiences and situations? Can the positive-minded, liberal value system give us a firm ground to stand on and offer resistance to destructive forces? Or is our philosophy a sadly naïve illusion of ethereal goodness? Rev. Tim Ashton (full sermon, 2.61MB) (written version)

April 20, Earth Day The new book Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility offers just that, a whole new way to look at environmental issues. Is the solution pollution control or a new kind of economic development? Should we focus on constraining human power or unleashing it? (full sermon, 2MB) (written version)

March 23, Easter/Spring Equinox A treasured stuffed animal is adored though tattered. As you may remember, the Velveteen Rabbit is a metaphore for our survival. As bluntly stated in Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream, "The only ship that is guaranteed to come in has black sails!" Thus, the velveteen bunny reminds us that the only way to save ourselves is to give ourselves away before it is too late. Only what we leave behind matters. In short, I will offer a practical doctrine of salvation. (full sermon, 1.64MB) (written version)

March 16, Palm Sunday The Great Temple at Jerusalem, icon of Judhaism, had been recently entirely rebuilt by Herod the Great, Roman governor of Judea. It was perhaps the largest and most magnificent temple complex in the world, a vast public works project to make Herod's realm a world destination. In 70 CE it was destroyed and lay thereafter in ruins. Rabinic Judaism and Christianity became the institutional survivors that emerged from this disaster, siamese twins later separated by the will of Constantine. What is our relationship as UU's to these religions from so long ago? (full sermon, 2.05MB) (written version)

March 9, "Girl Scout Sunday" /National Girl Scout Week Girl Scouts are invited to wear their uniforms and meet in the main chapel to help light the chalice. Juliette Gordon Low, founder of girl scouts, first assembled 18 girls from Savannah, Georgia on March 12, 1912. Her goal was to bring them out of isolated home environments into community service and open air. She believed that all girls should be given the opportunity to develop physically, mentally, and spiritually.
For our sermon topic we will join the Girl Scouts in their World Thinking Day theme, Think About Water, focusing on water's importance to health and on the essential issues of access to clean water and water conservation.(written version) (full sermon 2.52MB)

March 2, Reverence Karen Kuhn asks, for her Fantasy Auction sermon topic choice, how do I keep the sense of the awesome, the graceful, and the amazing in everyday life? The concept of reverence may hold an answer. (written version) (part one, 675KB, part two, 807KB, full sermon, 2.87MB)

February 24, Passover (part one, 501KB, part two, 397KB) The Israeli-Palestinian struggle, as well as ages of Christian pograms, corrupt the common theology and bonds of the 'People of the Book,' the core concept that Jews Christians and Muslims share a common heritage from the patriarch, Abraham. Does religion corrupt humanity? Is religion really the cause of most of the wars? I disagree, religion teaches a shared, common, human life. (written version)

February 17, Security (part one, 442KB, part two, 427KB, part three, 580KB) Absolute security would be a prison. Life without freedom is meaningless. Hence, human life is inherently precarious. What are our sources of security? (written version)

January 20, Martin Luther King Sunday: Has the Racial Situation Changed? (part one, 483KB, part two, 843KB) In an op ed piece, Clarence Page recently suggested that Andrew Young, veteran civil rights leader, "stay away from microphones." Page wrote that Young should stop announcing that Barack Obama is too young and too inexperienced, even while his popularity surges forward. Said Page, "After all the hard-won opportunities that the civil rights movement opened up, I am disappointed by this gloomy outlook. . . ." I will consider this question: Is it time for the old civil rights leadership to catch up?(written version)

Golden Compass (audio 2.67KB)(written version) Tim often refers back to this pivotal discussion of the popular novel, The Golden Compass.

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