A Month of Sundays - 2005 Worship Services

December 2005

December 4, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Unplug the Christmas Machine:  Several members requested a sermon to remind us of ways to enjoy the essence of the holiday season (is it music? special treats?), rather than the expectations that swirl around us (Martha Stewart? Mom herself?). Let’s loosen up and find the X in Xmas – the mysterious wonderfulness we seek.

December 11, 10:30 am. Live Oak Choir: One More Circle ‘Round the Sun:  The choir will be joined by some of our children for this musical service celebrating the Winter Solstice.

December 18, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Oh Christmas Tree:  Come learn the symbolism, history, and hope offered by our ritual of the Christmas tree. What part did Unitarians play in popularizing said tree in America?

December 24, 6:00 pm. Rev. Chuck Freeman: All I Really Need to Know I Learned at Christmas:  Twenty years ago UU minister Robert Fulghum wrote a worldwide bestseller titled All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Chuck will play off Fulghum’s sensibilities, the spirit of the Jesus story, and his experience to unwrap the life gifts of these holy-days.

December 25, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Christmas Day:  Yes, friends, we will gather in worship on Christmas Day. This will be an intergenerational service of songs and readings. There will be no sign language interpretation and no religious education classes for the children and youth. Bring a favorite story or reading. Bring your talent or a talented child. Let’s make this a fun, informal gathering for all

November 2005

November 6, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Oh, Nobly Born:  The Tibetan Book of the Dead emphatically exhorts the dying person to “merge with the light” as they continue on their path of nobility. We intersect with the Tibetan Buddhist perspective on death as we honor our cherished souls who have passed from this life. Please bring pictures or mementos of your loved ones for the altar.

November 13, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis and Rev. Chuck Freeman: Innie and Outie:  Kathleen and Chuck will issue a playful proclamation to dovetail with our District Conference theme. The privilege of what we do with our UU faith is much like a belly button!

November 20, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: From Thanksgiving to “Thanksliving”:  Thanksgiving calls for more than gratitude. It’s an attitude adopted even in the face of family obstinacy and friction. We mostly take our lives for granted, but once a year many of us journey long distances to share traditions that will ultimately outlive us. Let’s talk turkey about feeding our spirits along with our bodies.

November 27, 10:30 am. Bruce Banner: Value, Freedom, and Democracy in the Workplace: A Modest Proposal:  Labor has been under sustained attack by the business community since Americans won their labor rights in 1935. Yet unions simply represent democracy in the workplace, which in a free society should be uncontroversial. Education Austin Vice President Bruce Banner will discuss the history and values of the labor movement, the relationship between religion and labor, and a vision of a better life for ourselves, our children, and our world.

October 2005

October 2, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Have You Heard the Call?:  With the terrible need for acts of compassion and helping hands following Hurricane Katrina, I have been thinking about all the ways we have answered the calls for help. How do we avoid “compassion fatigue”? How can we protect ourselves from burnout? How can we as a congregation embrace one another through life’s challenges? These are some of the questions in my mind. How about you?

October 9, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: A Michael & Mohandas Convergence:  Michael Durall asked a question recently that reflects a declaration Mohandas Gandhi made years ago. This convergence will be ample fodder for Chuck’s stewardship sermonette. Note: Today’s worship service will be abbreviated to 45 minutes to accommodate stewardship small group luncheons after the service.

October 16, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Love as a Doctrine:  Can love be a guiding principle in our lives? Jesus said to love one another, to love our neighbors as ourselves. Then we wonder who is our neighbor. A reading in the back of the hymnal begins, “Love is the doctrine of this church.” People have called it an affirmation; others call it a covenant. Let’s look at the concept of love as a foundation for religious community.

October 23, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Ban Football in Texas!:  On November 8, Texas will vote on Proposition 2, a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage/civil unions in our fine Republic. Chuck will demonstrate the “pick a prejudice” approach to the Bible being used by our Religious Theocratic brethren to justify their fear-based bigotry. He will then lead us in the paths of Universal righteousness and spirituality.

October 30, 10:30 am. Journey of Hope: From Violence to Healing:  Live Oak will host the touring Journey “storytellers” who come from all walks of life, representing the full spectrum and diversity of faith, color, and economic situation. The Journey spotlights murder victims’ family members who choose not to seek revenge and instead select the path of love and compassion for all of humanity. Forgiveness is seen as a strength and as a way of healing.

September 2005

September 4, 10:30 am. Julie Lake-Weathering the Storm - Julie will be drawing parallels between this disaster and the Galveston storm in 1900. Part of her perspective is the desire of people to control their lives. We always ask questions when disaster strikes--(why didn't they . . . ?) so that if we don't do those things we will be safe. Julie wrote a children's book after 9/11 called Galveston's Summer of the Storm.

September 11, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Faith for a Lifetime:  Having been raised an Episcopalian and a Southerner, a Girl Scout and a choir member, certain values embedded themselves in me. As a Unitarian Universalist, my theology has shifted, but many values remain. Are they a foundation for faith? What does that mean, anyway? What sustains us all in an unsettled world? Today we will also recognize youth (a gang of nine!) who are moving into the high school class.

September 18, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Salvation in a Pill?:  Ancient and indigenous peoples believed illness to be a spiritual condition. Today, modern medicine has a pill for everything from high blood pressure to “social anxiety”. Is sickness merely a biological phenomenon, or can it also be an exhortation of the soul?

September 25, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: UU Diseases and Their Cures:  In Chuck’s decade long sojourn with the UU faith he has witnessed two distinct diseases among us. Chuck will inhabit his UU Medicine Man persona, prescribing each disease to be the cure for the other!

Postponed for another time:

Bruce Banner: Value, Freedom, and Democracy in the Workplace: A Modest Proposal:  Labor has been under sustained attack by the business community since Americans won their labor rights in 1935. Yet unions simply represent democracy in the workplace, which in a free society should be uncontroversial. Education Austin Vice President Bruce Banner, as part of the Labor Day “Labor in the Pulpits”, will discuss the history and values of the labor movement, the relationship between religion and labor, and a vision of a better life for ourselves, our children, and our world.

August 2005

August 7, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Forty:  The number 40 appears over and over in mythological and sacred texts. Come hear what this holy coinci­dence symbolizes for our personal and collective lives. 

August 14, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Graffiti Revelation:  Inspiration is popping up all over the place! It is not confined to black leather covered books with gold lettering on the face. As Simon and Garfunkel aptly rhymed, “the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls.”

August 21, 10:30 am. Water Ceremony:  Chuck and Kathleen together will facilitate this annual home­coming event. Bring a small sample of water from home or from wherever your travels have taken you. The children and youth will sing There’s a River, a song from the new hymnal supplement. Let’s pay hom­age to the life-giving waters of the land and to our Live Oak community.

August 28, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Where Are My Keys?:  There are folks who remember the days when keys were pretty much unnecessary. Doors would be unlocked; car keys would live in the ignition. Nowadays it’s quite aggravating when I can’t find my keys – home, car, multiple church keys. But the term “key” has metaphorical meaning as well. Physicist Richard Feynman cited a Buddhist proverb that all of us are given the key to the gates of heaven, and that “the same key opens the gates of hell”. Feynman leads us into the intersection of science and religion. Let’s explore!

WATER DESIRED! Please gather small portions of water during your summer sojourns. We will collect this H₂O during our opening service of the church year on August 21. This ceremony signifies our interdependence on Mother Earth and with one another.

July 2005

July 3, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: True Patriots: Heroes of Conscience:  We live in a time when Ameri­cans are being lauded as patriots for all the wrong rea­sons. Come prepared to name your current hero of con­science and to hear Chuck lift up a few names that embody the best of the distinguished moniker, patriot.

July 10, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: I’ll Never Be Happy Again!:  Happiness seems to be contingent on what happens to us in our day to day existence. Is the goal of life to be happy, or is there a deeper reality that brings joy and peace, no matter what events bring us?

July 17, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Gather the Spirit, Harvest the Power:  A church is one of the few places where people of all generations come together for spiritual nurture through care and healing, spiritual growth through education and experience, and spiritual challenge through service and action. James Luther Adams spoke of voluntary associations – the core of community. See you in church. 

July 24, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Dancing with Angels:  Do you suppose we really have a guardian angel who protects us from our own foolishness or when danger threatens? Aristotle referred to angels as “intelli­gences”. Let’s conjure up some angels and invite them into our lives!

July 31, 10:30 am. UUCF, Austin Chapter: Sprung From the Roots:  Many UUs today find much inspiration and meaning in the Unitarian and Universalist historical-theological roots in progressive Christianity. Many others are unfamiliar with the perspectives of theologically pro­gressive Christians, including those in the centuries old UU Christian spiritual tradition. Members of the UU Christian Fellowship, Austin Chapter, will lead this ser­vice and express how and why they have come to choose this spiritual path.

June 2005

June 5, 10:30 am. Rev. Valerie Mapstone Ackerman: Green Acres, Red Dogs, and Shot Guns:  Can watching the sun rise every day change your life? Do dogs have souls? Can a pacifist learn to love guns? Searching for spiritual renewal in rural Okla­homa, a former “city girl” tells all.

June 12, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Just Peace:  Our children and youth will focus on Peace this summer, through music, art, games, and storytelling. It seems appropriate then to delve into the life and work of peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh. He teaches us that our minds contain seeds of understanding, forgiveness, and mindfulness, and seeds of mistrust, ignorance, and fear. He invites us to nurture the seeds of peace and neglect the others. A just war? How about a just peace?

Please join us after the service for a happy celebration of the Live Oak Religious Educators Jenny Carloye and Patty Bissar. Patty resigned as RE Administrator last fall, and Jenny resigned as Director of Religious Education this spring. But they were an excellent team for many years. Hundreds of children and youth were beneficiaries of their dedication.

June 19, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: My Grandfather’s Clock:  This old folk song entered my world again a few years ago at a camp sing along. It gave me a feeling of warmth and nostalgia that seemed archetypal. I have been looking for an excuse to weave a sermon from it ever since. Father’s Day is a good day to let the vibe loose into the congregational ether!

June 26, 10:30 am. Rabbi Monty Eliasov:  Rabbi Monty of Congregation Shalom Rav will share a synopsis of his new understanding of the spirituality of the Psalms and its relationship to universal religious practices. Barbara Taft and Abraham Davidson (Shirat Halev) will present selections of their favorite music from the Psalms.

Valerie Mapstone Ackerman has served UU congregations in Illinois, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. During her first career in social work she served humanity in various settings: domestic abuse hotline, jail, school, shelter, reproductive health clinic, public housing, and a private psychotherapy practice serving women in poverty. She has been a politician, a public scold, and a hospice chaplain. She is an award-winning writer and is learning how to raise chickens and blueberries with her husband, Beekeeper Bill.

NOTE: Chuck will only preach once in June. He will be attending our District Board meeting one weekend and our National General Assembly another Sunday

May 2005

May 1, 10:30 am. Choir Sunday: The Greatest Gift:  Our May Day service this year will include Daniel Pinkham’s Wedding Cantata and poems to celebrate love. Guest pianist and accompanist is Irina Sokounoza.

May 8, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Our Virgin Mary:  Mary Wollstonecraft is credited with writing the first treatise advocating equal rights for women in 1792. She was a Unitarian. Later she penned another book asserting that women had strong sexual desires, saying it was immoral and degrading to pretend otherwise. On this Mother’s Day, we will pay homage to our “Virgin Mary”. Move over, Madonna!

May 15, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Grads, Game Boys, and Goofing Off:  May Day launches a month of celebration, recitals, concerts, weddings and graduations. As the academic year winds down, parents as well as graduates contemplate how to spend the summer. Jobs and child care enter into the picture, as well as a balance of scheduled activities, family time, and time for goofing off. What to do?! What to do!?

May 22, 10:30 am. Rev. Dr. Barbara Coeyman: The Great Story of the Universe: A Theology We Can All Agree On:  Humans explain their great religious questions within their own times and places. Many religious stories dominating our world today were created in outmoded cultural contexts. We need theology relevant to the state of our world today, and Unitarian Universalists also need a common theology. The story of the Cosmos – that is, earth, life, and humanity – can become the Sacred Story of UUs and can link us to other faith traditions.

May 29, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Two People Am I:  Fellow Asheville, North Carolinian Chris Rosser has written a high insightful song by this title. He sings “two people are you, the girl of earth and water, and the winged spirit, too, hidden from view”. Chuck will commiserate, integrate, and pontificate on the spiritual genius of this lyrical jewel.

About Our Guest Speaker

Rev. Dr. Barbara Coeyman was ordained to Unitarian Universalist ministry by Live Oak Church in March 2005. She currently serves a community ministry as chaplain of Planned Parenthood of Austin, and she is part-time consulting parish minister of Community UU Church of San Antonio. She graduated from Austin Presbyterian Seminary in 2001, completed an intern ministry at First Unitarian Church of Portland, and has served other part-time UU ministries in Houston and San Marcos, as well as chaplaincy at St. David’s Medical Center in Austin. She has two children, Amanda and Patrick.

April 2005

April 3, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Playing God (and Politics) with Terri:  Terri Schiavo has been in a persistent vegetative state for 15 years in Florida. The duel between her husband and parents over Terri living and dying has now reached preposterous heights with Congress and the President. Chuck will seek to candidly navigate the precarious waters of life, religion, dignity, self-determination, and politics.

April 10, 10:30 am. Gary Schumann: Hook ‘Em Horns or Devil Horns:  When George and Laura Bush flashed the “hook ‘em” sign as the UT band marched by during the inauguration parade, the people of northern Europe watched in shock, because in their society this hand signal is understood as a salute to the devil. What lessons can we learn from this cultural snafu? Gary will use this incident as a jumping off point to discuss how our collective cultural baggage and our “intellect” affects humanity’s ability to access innate, instinctual, religious truths.

April 17, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Establish Justice in the Gate:  Amos was an 8^th century BCE Hebrew herdsman and dresser of sycamore trees. He was called by God to prophesy to the most powerful people in the Kingdom. Amos’ message to those who “oppress the poor and crush the needy” is so relevant today it will make your favorite blogger look out of touch!

April 24, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Center or Circumference?:  In a spiritual sense, everyone and everything belongs. Yet too often we confuse the outer shell with substance. The surface is not bad – it is just not the spiritual center that holds it all together. When we go deeply below the surface, we discover more openness to the “other”, who is not really so different from ourselves. When, then, belongs to our congregation? If all are welcome here who share our values, why should we become a Welcoming Congregation specifically for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people?

About Our Guest Speaker

Gary Schumann has been a member of Live Oak UU for a number of years. After graduating from the University of Texas with a major in psychology and a minor in Marxist philosophy, he went on to obtain a law degree from the University of Texas. Gary now practices law in Austin when he is not running or otherwise goofing off. Gary enjoys engaging Chuck Freeman in religious dialogue and much of the Hook ‘Em Horns sermon evolved out of these conversations with him. Gary is married to author Julie Lake and he has two daughters, Evan and Chloe

March 2005

March 6, 10:30 am. High School Youth: Role Models Я Us:  The High School class leads a worship service that explores role models – who they are and how they affect the people we are becoming. What makes a good role model? You may be surprised. 

March 13, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: To Forgive or Accept, That is the …?:  All relationships have rough spots whether it be a spat or a protracted conflict. Finding the appropriate spiritual tool will eventually produce peace of mind. How do you determine which one you need? When is forgiveness the path and when is acceptance the way? CHILD DEDICATIONS TODAY!

March 20, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: The Magical Mystery Tour:  Ways of hearing and relationship exist which are beyond human voice and presence. If we limit our reality to the concrete and human, our outlook may become grim. When we expand our circle, a vastness is opened. LABYRINTH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION AFTER THE SERVICE!

March 27, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Flower Communion:  Communion? We don’t eat flowers, do we? Actually, a Flower Communion is a tradition created by Norbert Capek, a Unitarian minister in Czechoslovakia during World War II. Participants bring flowers to place in common baskets during the service. Then each of us will take a different flower home with us – a way of connecting with everyone in the church community. Easter Sunday is a perfect day to celebrate rebirth and community. Following the service, we’ll have a candy-free Easter egg hunt for the children. BRING A FLOWER TO SHARE.

February 2005

February 6, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: The Origenal Universalist:  The early church father, Origen of Alexandria, taught that all souls, even the devil, would eventually be saved. This doctrine became a heresy. Fifteen centuries later it cropped up again in a group called the Universalists. How does the modern world benefit from these brave trailblazers?

February 13, 10:30 am. Poetry Service:  On this Sunday, Live Oak will present its very first Poetry Service. Your friends and neighbors will entertain, enlighten, and touch you with their own original material or selections of their favorite artists. Join us for this very special and unique service. Invite your friends and family and help us to recognize and celebrate this most intimate and inherently spiritual form of the written word. For more infor­mation, please contact Jeff VanMeter at jlanvan@yahoo.com or find the main the black hat before or after Sunday services.

February 20, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Embracing Failure:  In January we considered several aspects of ambition – that life force that keeps us going toward a distant goal. Let us delve more deeply into personal failures that sometimes lead to a quiet, internal despondency even while we appear externally as competent and confident. How can we let go of inadequacy and embrace accomplishment?

February 27, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: What Happened to My Heart?:  In my young idealistic days if someone came to me with a need for food, clothing, or shelter, I was apt to help, no questions asked. Now, when I see a homeless person at the intersection, I am torn, wondering about social ills, scams, enabling, and responsibility. What happened to my heart? Is this cause for concern, or a more balanced response?

About Our Guest Speakers

Spotlight on the Pre-K Chalice Children

The Chalice Children class of Pre-K children have prepared a wonderful worship parable for you, and will share it on February 6. Each Sunday this class nurtures our children’s spiritual growth, creativity, and connection to their Unitarian Universalist community through rhymes, games, fingerplays, stories, and activities. We celebrate the flame that glows brightly within each of our Chalice Children, including Tamara Billett, Justin Bishop, Katie Connor, Ashwin Datta, Nishant Datta, Eric Davis, Erin Fredlund, Olivia Kaulfus, Michael Parmley, Zooey Porter, Spencer Sartin, Rebecca Thiemann, Rachel Williams, Renee Ziegler

January 2005

January 2, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: A Psychic Guide to ‘05:  I relish standing in the HEB checkout line each new year and seeing all the tabloid psychic predictions. What feeds humanity’s desire to know the future? Would you want to see your life events if you could? Come hear Chuck’s forecasts and get his 800 number! (he actually did a different sermon, in light of the tsunamis in the Indian Ocean.)

January 9, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: The Body of Faith:  What is the relationship between the body’s health, our spiritual well-being, and faith? We tend not to consider these matters until the body fails in some way. Is the body part of your sacred practice?

January 16, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Life Force: Shaping Our Lives, Fulfilling Our Mission:  All of us learn to deal with success and failure whether we are youngsters or wise with experience. Yet we continue to learn and grow, set goals, and develop strategies for accomplishment. As we get older some options diminish and others become possible. Our potential for personal transformation may lead us in directions we could never have imagined. Dare we take up the chal­lenge? This is the day to return your Guest at your Table boxes with contributions for the Unitarian Universalist Service Com­mittee.

January 23, 10:30 am. Sharolyn Browning: Finding Unity and Diversity through Storytelling:  It was the first prose and the first poetry. It is the act of recreating a part of our lives and reliving it through words so that it is shared by more than one. Storytelling becomes the meeting place of hearts. Religious storytelling, especially with children, is the most delicate and yet the most important kind of storytelling. In the wonder of the religious language, children discover both the search and the answers to the exis­tential limits of mankind: being alone, death, threat of freedom, and the meaning of life.

January 30, 10:30 am. Rev. Nathan Stone: Tag Team Wrestling and the Sport of Ministry:  My father always believed that professional wrestling was for real. Tag team wrestling, in particular, got my attention. One wrestler in the corner holding a rope while the other is inside getting it on. The rope-holder cheering and encouraging that partner … waiting to tag in. I’m picturing co-ministers wrestling with all that it means to be good shepherds to an energized, vital, and challenging congregation. And is wrestling a proper and adequate paradigm for ministry? But Kathleen and Chuck in wrestling tights? Hmmm. This will be Kathleen and Chuck’s installation as Co-Ministers. Party to follow the service!

About Our Guest Speakers

Sharolyn Browning comes to Live Oak with a wealth of experiences and insights. Currently she serves as the Children’s Ministry Coordinator for St. Martin’s Lutheran Church in downtown Austin. She is also an accredited “Godly Play” teacher, which is a Montes­sori-inspired curriculum designed to tell Old and New Testament stories to preschool and elementary school-aged children. Sharolyn is the mother of three children and is the quintessential “Montessori Mom”.

Reverend Nathan L. Stone, Ph.D., is minister of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Waco. Born and raised in Honolulu, he has served as minister to Baptist congregations in Hawaii and Texas as an or­dained Southern Baptist minister. He has worked as a pastoral psychotherapist with the Ecumenical Center for Religion and Health in San Antonio and as chaplain with Family Hospice (now VistaCare) of Temple. He has had a long association as Fellow with the Ameri­can Association of Pastoral Counselors. Nathan received Preliminary Fellowship as a UU Minister in October 2003. His wife, Pat, is Director of Education with Planned Parenthood of Central Texas. His daughter is a full-time mom in Round Rock and his son is a veterinarian in Asheville, NC. He has four grand­sons and never gets enough of them. His dog, Lani, is his spiritual director. He enjoys tennis, movies, and reading re-runs of the late, great, Farside cartoons. A friend once paid him a high compliment by describing him as “Chaplain to the Farside.”

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