July 4 – âAmerican Exceptionalismâ with the Rev. Roger Bertschausen
The past several years have been very challenging to the idea that the United States is a completely unique and exceptional country in the history of the world. This Reflection will explore Rogerâs journey from...
Sunday, June 27 – âHubris and Gratitudeâ
Some thoughts about FUS, Unitarian Universalism, and the future of both as Rev. Roger prepares to depart FUS at the end of July. This will be parting words that Roger hopes contain some wisdomânot a...
Sunday, June 6 – âMending and Saving the Soulâ
This sermon will kick off the exploration of our worship theme for June: Care of the Soul. Weâll consider these questions: What is the soul? How do we mend it? How do we save it?...
Sunday, April 4 – “Easter Celebration for All Ages”
This story for the service will be âThe Light Princess,â the story of a princess afflicted by weightlessness. She literally and figuratively gets her feet on the ground when she opens herself to grief and...
Sunday, March 21 – âSaying Yes to Lifeâ
âJust as long as I have breath, I must answer âYesâ to lifeââ starts one of the hymns in our hymnbook. Well, thatâs easier said than done! This last year has certainly challenged this daily...
Sunday, March 14 – âThe Challenge of Partnershipâ
Around 125 Unitarian congregations including, First Unitarian Society, had sister churches in Transylvania in the early 1900s. American Unitarians gradually lost interest in these partnerships. Memories faded hereâincluding at FUS where itâs not clear which...
Sunday, March 7 – âMaking FUS Our Houseâ
Seventy years ago, Max C. Otto, a renowned professor of philosophy at UW Madison and a member of First Unitarian Society, gave the sermon for the dedication service of the new Meeting House. It was...
Sunday, February 14 @ 10 am – âKinds of Loveâ
The ancient Greeks had as many as twelve different words for loveâincluding more famously eros, agape, and philia. This points to the problem of the one-size-fits-all way we tend to use âloveâ in English. This...
Sunday, February 21 @ 10 am – âChaos or Communityâ
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. published Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community in 1967. It is a remarkable book by a remarkable person. The question he poses in the title...
Sunday, January 31 – âThe State of FUSâ
I was planning to do this type of sermon near the end of my year of interim ministry at FUS but decided sharing my observations well before I headed to the exit door would be...