A collection of sermons and homilies from Rev. Katie Stein Sather and guest speakers at Beacon Unitarian Church, Coquitlam, B.C., Canada http://www.beaconunitarian.org/ Rumi is the most read poet in North America today; what does he say to us, this day? Sun, 15 May 2011 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_rumi_speaks.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_rumi_speaks.mp3 It's been said that politics is religion on the ground, running. Tomorrow May 2 is Election day; how will your religion - your heart - be reflected in the voting booth? Sun, 1 May 2011 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_voting_your_heart.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_voting_your_heart.mp3 We say we accept people as they are, and we also say that church is here to transform people. Well, which is it? Is it necessary to work out for the big Transformation? Or is even one small transformation enough? Some reflections on what Emerson called Self-culture. Sun, 10 Apr 2011 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_is_it_a_big_t_or_a_little_t.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_is_it_a_big_t_or_a_little_t.mp3 How can social justice work? Can advocacy or front line food bank distribution be a spiritual discipline? Sun, 27 Mar 2011 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_Seeking_Justice_as_Spiritual_Discipline.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_Seeking_Justice_as_Spiritual_Discipline.mp3 The Canadian Unitarian Council was founded 50 years ago. We celebrate today. There will be a special collection for the Sharing Our Faith grant program. Beacon has benefited in the past, and we need to pay it forward. Sun, 13 Mar 2011 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_an_idea_whose_time_had_come.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_an_idea_whose_time_had_come.mp3 In our madcap existence, there is something to be said for "Stopping to smell the roses", for reconnecting to the natural world. Beauty and meaning can be found in the grand, but also in the minute, and perhaps most surprisingly of all, in the mundane. Come for a service enhanced with photographs and music. Sun, 6 Mar 2011 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/eatha_what_i_learned_from_photography.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/eatha_what_i_learned_from_photography.mp3 James Luther Adams, or JLA as he is widely known, is almost contemporary. His focus was on how our religion works on the ground, especially in voluntary organizations, like a church. Sun, 27 Feb 2011 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_james_luther_adams.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_james_luther_adams.mp3 After a lifetime of pleasure in music, Denis muses on its effects on people, and just what is music, anyway? Sun, 20 Feb 2011 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/dprobst_Pizzicato_on_my_Skylight.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/dprobst_Pizzicato_on_my_Skylight.mp3 Our UU neighbours to the south have begun a campaign to stand on the side of love against oppression and hatred of "the other", and many ministers and lay leaders will be preaching on this topic today. UUs have always been a little ahead of the curve in fighting injustice and exclusion. This homily will extend that activism into a thought experiment: a homily from twenty years in the future, describing what we've accomplished and what remains to be done when we Stand on the Side of Love. Sun, 13 Feb 2011 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/asloman_standing_on_the_side_of_love.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/asloman_standing_on_the_side_of_love.mp3 Wanda Morris, the Executive Director of Dying With Dignity Canada, talks about our rights to a death of our choosing and the relationship between those rights and our fundamental principles as Unitarians. Sun, 30 Jan 2011 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/wmorris_dying_with_dignity.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/wmorris_dying_with_dignity.mp3 What's been happening in our Partner Church in the Romanian village of Kobatfalva lately? We know they have a new minister - a big event for those who keep their ministers for most of a lifetime. Sun, 23 Jan 2011 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_Steps_from_the_Transylvanian_Pilgrimage.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_Steps_from_the_Transylvanian_Pilgrimage.mp3 A long and fascinating conversation has taken place for centuries about the nature of spirit, the nature of mind, the boundary between them, and the relationship of the body to these intangibles. Sun, 16 Jan 2011 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/satkinson_Body_Mind_and_Spirit.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/satkinson_Body_Mind_and_Spirit.mp3 Our series on Unitarian Universalist theologians continues, this month with Charles Hartshorne's process theology. He was also an ornithologist - birder extraordinaire. Sun, 9 Jan 2011 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_everything_is_connected.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_everything_is_connected.mp3 Children wish and hope, desperately sometimes, for toys that will make them happy--playthings yes, but also something more. What is it that we wish for at Christmas time? Sun, 19 Dec 2010 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_story_of_toys.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_story_of_toys.mp3 Margaret Fuller was a Transcendentalist, and an academic at a time when women did not do such things. Who was she? And what was this stuff about God within all about? Are you allowed to have both emotions and intellect? Sun, 28 Feb 2010 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_in_my_heart_is_my_religion.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_in_my_heart_is_my_religion.mp3 The budget meeting is how we make our collective vision real, where we make decisions. How do we deal with change and transition? Let's see if we can figure this out together. Sun, 28 Nov 2010 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_making_sense_of_change.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_making_sense_of_change.mp3 Let's explore the thought of another pivotal Unitarian theologian, educator and professor, especially her Theology of Religious Naturalism, or natural humanism. Sun, 14 Nov 2010 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_educating_the_soul.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_educating_the_soul.mp3 This is the start of our annual canvass--that time when we re-commit ourselves to the financial well-being of Beacon. Indeed to Beacon's future. Sun, 31 Oct 2010 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_tend_and_be_friends.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_tend_and_be_friends.mp3 Continuing the series on pivotal Unitarians and Universalists, this week we will consider "the founder of Unitarianism" and author of the 1819 Baltimore Sermon, "Unitarian Christianity." Sun, 17 Oct 2010 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_likeness_to_god_william_ellery_channing.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_likeness_to_god_william_ellery_channing.mp3 Or, how I learned to love having a plank in my eye. Our text for today will be Matthew 7:3. This interactive service comes complete with a free copy of Carl Sagan's Baloney Detection Kit and an up-to-date list of identified cognitive biases. There will be a draw for a limited edition t-shirt. Sun, 10 Oct 2010 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/asloman_cognitive_bias_and_congregational_life.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/asloman_cognitive_bias_and_congregational_life.mp3 Thirteen years ago this weekend I was ordained. I want to reflect on what I have learned about ministry in that time. Sun, 3 Oct 2010 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_ministry_is_all_we_do_together.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_ministry_is_all_we_do_together.mp3 Our Universalist ancestor Hosea Ballou believed that humans were created to be fulfilled and happy. Our emotions, he said, prompt our actions, so we should strengthen the emotions that reap happiness for us and for others. Sun, 19 Sep 2009 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_hosea_ballou.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_hosea_ballou.mp3 That is the Canadian Unitarian Council, the association Canadian Unitarians congregations belong to. Whither go they (or is it us)? Sun, 25 Apr 2010 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_cuc_who.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_cuc_who.mp3 Who doesn't mark their marriage, their child's birth, their loved one's death with a ceremony, a party, or a celebration of life? At today's service the Lay Chaplaincy Committee will describe other rites of passage that are important to mark: a coming-out moment; sobriety; becoming a teenager; getting or retiring one's driver's licence; an adoption; a first or last job; ending a relationship; first time voter and many more. The lay chaplains will describe their roles as cocreators of rites-of-passage services and invite you to think about what rite-of-passage you might like to honour with your family and friends. Sun, 11 Apr 2010 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/lay_chaplains_passages_of_our_lives.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/lay_chaplains_passages_of_our_lives.mp3 Easter is the time for hope. Bring your blooms for our Flower Ceremony celebrating our diversity. The traditional Easter message of hope is one we Unitarians need too. Sun, 4 Apr 2010 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_hope_springs_eternal.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/ksather_hope_springs_eternal.mp3 Nelson Mandela, on being released from Robben Island said that the thing we, as human beings, most fear about ourselves is not our smallness but the vastness within. I fully agree that we have a far too limited sense of the astonishingly wondrous phenomenon we truly are. Martin Heidegger stated we as human beings are the Universe itself become self-aware and self-responsible. In the ongoing story of the cosmos our emergence as humane beings signals something marvellously hopeful and is what we need to hear, especially now. Sun, 28 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/bmitten_why_we_matter.mp3 http://www.beaconunitarian.org/sermons/bmitten_why_we_matter.mp3