These sermons are given by our minister, Reverend Tim Ashton.

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!

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

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)

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)

March 30, A Simple Religion The 1992 Roman Catholic catechism, the first revision in 400 years, required 691 pages to set forth the faith. It was later summarized in the “Compendium” which used 205 pages. I don’t have anything against long catechisms, but it might be that Unitarian Universalism should change its self-image. In the context of the Catholic catechism, perhaps ours is a comparatively simple faith. Come hear a quick summary of Unitarian Universalism.

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)

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, 2.31MB)

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) (part one 1.43MB, part two 1.09MB, 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)

January 13, Do Things Really Change? (part one, 526KB, part two, 4577KB) On this belated New Year's Sunday, I will ask, "Just where are we going as a society? If affluenza should destroy our lives as we know them, what will come next? Is there hope?" Patricia Martin, in her book Ren Gen, suggests the possibility of a renaissance of the mind, art, and culture. When one has absolutely every thing, only one garden is left to cultivate, the realm of character, mind, and community good. Will the first half of the twenty-first century mirror the age of The Unitarian Conscience and the New England Renaissance exactly 200 years before?

Chanukah Sunday (part one, 1.04MB, part two, 1.08MB - these files are a bit larger as we attempt better sound quality for you) Holidays grow and change remarkably rapidly. Chanukah has been called a minor holiday. It was created from the older festival of lights, and was designed to celebrate second century BCE Maccabean political power. In the Medieval period Chanukah adopted a miracle. And this "minor festival" has changed again to take the Jewish "position" in the pantheon of American Winter holiday customs. From the liberal standpoint, it appears that all holidays are "made up." And maybe that is a virtue. 12/9/07

Kwanza (part one, 283KB, part two, 452KB, part three, 551KB) Some have denounced Kwanza as a "made-up" festival without real "folk" roots - a remake of Chanukah with African accoutrements. For others this "created" festival with its strong ethical values and clear purpose might be a preferred expression of the winter holidays. 12/2/07

Advent - The Beginning of the Christmas Season (part one, 571KB, part two, 570KB) Before we are entirely swamped by the Big Winter Holidays, I will offer a few words of perspective for seasonal sanity and survival. 11/25/07

Thanksgiving Sunday (part one, 457KB, part two, 580KB) Gratitude may be one of the most important religious attitudes. Gratitude emerges from realistic humility. Our lives, brief and sometimes troubled as they are, are gifts which we did not create. 11/18/07

Freedom of the Pulpit (part one 715KB, part two, 646KB) The concept of freedom of the pulpit, that the minister shall not be told what subjects to preach about or which ones to avoid - this freedom is an expression of classic Balance of Power Government applied to church life. A congregational church (one governed democratically by the membership) has three agencies: the congregation, the governing leadership structure, and the minister. Just as in our national government where there is no absolute authority, polwer in a congregational church is traditionally divided and held in this three-part tension. Our system, inevitably inefficient, remains our best guard against tyranny and orthodoxy. 11/11/07

Memorial Day Observance: A Time to Remember (part one 679KB, part two, 641KB) A central purpose of what was to become Memorial Day, as it grew up in the post Civil War period, was to begin the process of reconciliation between the North and the South after the hatred-filled war. Simplistic patriotism and the glorification of victory would hardly have fulfilled that purpose, and it did not.
We will remember our war dead, recognize those who serve or have served in our military and also recognize those who stood against bloodshed, and finally we will consider what will be required of us ass the current war comes to its end. We will celebrate the patriotism of our finer ideals and a sense of national purpose without domination. 5/27/07

Joys & Sorrows & other examples of Cooperation in Diversity (part one 580KB, part two, 564KB) The popular expression is usually 'unity in diversity,' but no doubt that just takes it too far. This is the question: how do people with such diverse theologies or philosophies of life manage to worship together - pray, meditate, reflect, think. In short, how do we maintain hope in the midst of conflicting experiences? 5/6/07

Turning the Other Cheek (part one 752KB, part two, 613KB) Perpetually followers of Jesus have wondered what this turning can add up to. I remember debates: What was required of a religious person? What if your mother was attacked? A Biblical mistranslation? Or was the proposed turning of the other cheek a major step in a moral revolution -- the refusal to call another person 'other' or 'enemy'? 4/22/07

Earth Day (part one, 610KB/ part two, 634KB)We will mark the visit of Denis Hayes to Buffalo and our congregational efforts to become institutionally involved with Earth Day via our Green Sanctuary Committee & Energy Efficiency Committee. Can we do this with joy? 4/15/07

Random Acts of Kindness or Something More? (part one 595KB, part two, 614KB) I want to share with you our ministry to our community through service and commitment to a vision of a just society. I identify ecology, economic justice, and interfaith & intercultural connections for our justice and service work. I believe attention to the issue of sprawl may provide a structure to take action, using interfaith ties to make a long term positive difference. 3/25/07

Passover (part one 778KB, part two, 117KB)The story of Passover is a story of change and freedom. It is a choice we all face as we each long for a balance between security and the challenges of freedom. 3/18/07

Your Minister's Faith Journey (part one 698KB, part two 626KB) Carl & Joan Jacobs asked me to give my answers: How did you find our church? Why did you choose Unitarian Universalism? Here are my personal answers on why I became a minister and what keeps me involved. 2/25/07

Choosing a Religion (part one, 1361KB/ part two, 534KB) It was such a wonderful discovery to learn that heresy means approximately able to choose. I thought it would mean something unpleasant in contrast to orthodoxy which means right thinking. How nice, even high-minded! Wouldn't you think the two would go together: we choose what comes to us from right thinking. Last summer the Charlotte Observer did a whole page of Carolina living on how to choose a faith home. I guess heresy is getting popular. Heresy is just not what it used to be! 2/18/07

Valentine's Day: A Rational Theory of Love: Why We Love Them & Why They Drive Us Crazy (part one, 662kb/ part two, 724kb .wav files) The people we love are so attractive and, simultaneously often so puzzling, aggravating and convusing? Is that necessary? Could this struggle be good for us? Is there some reason we get into these situations? 2/11/07

Will There be Peace after the Storm? (part one 1031KB, part two 184KB) Leonard Pitts wrote shortly after the midterm elections: "I want to know what it's like to have a sense of ntional mission, what it's like to strive for instead of against. I want to be hopeful about the future again..." During the past six years, religious voices have been as worrisome as helpful. But there is a new religious middle out there which has been actively trying to build a new religious coalition. Among these voices, Christian & Jewish are Jim Wallis, Peter Laarman, Michael Lerner and others. Can we find our voice among them? What do we have to give up to be effective? What do we offer to this venture: How will this work change us: Can the voice of the religious middle help us build a positive national mission? 1/28/07

Martin Luther King Day (part one 618KB, part two 7520KB, part three 279KB)We venerate Martin Luther King and stop to remember his teaching and vision on his birthday. He guided us to new racial understandings and relationships. However, a lot of time has passed since his death in 1968. There are new leaders such as our own Mayor Brown & Senator Obama and new solutions offered to continuing class & economic gaps. Some ask if quotas and affirmative action are still constructive tools to redress racial disparities. Juan Williams, author of Enough and NPR senior correspondent, calls for a return to traditional values of self-help, strong families and belief in God. Stylish commercial advertising blurs the distinctions of racial type: is this done just to save money or do these changes express new attitudes about human beauty? 1/14/07

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