July 4 – “American Exceptionalism” 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 Roger’s journey from...
Sunday, June 27 – “Hubris and Gratitude”
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 wisdom—not a...
Sunday, June 6 – “Mending and Saving the Soul”
This sermon will kick off the exploration of our worship theme for June: Care of the Soul. We’ll 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 “The Light Princess,” 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 – “Saying Yes to Life”
“Just as long as I have breath, I must answer ‘Yes’ to life’” starts one of the hymns in our hymnbook. Well, that’s easier said than done! This last year has certainly challenged this daily...
Sunday, March 14 – “The Challenge of Partnership”
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 here—including at FUS where it’s not clear which...
Sunday, March 7 – “Making FUS Our House”
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 – “Kinds of Love”
The ancient Greeks had as many as twelve different words for love—including more famously eros, agape, and philia. This points to the problem of the one-size-fits-all way we tend to use “love” in English. This...
Sunday, February 21 @ 10 am – “Chaos or Community”
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 – “The State of FUS”
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...