2006 Services

A MONTH OF SUNDAYS - 2006 Worship Services

December 2006

December 3, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: (Ad)Vent Busters: America, like all cultures, is involved in a lively evolution around the sacred and secular aspects of “holy times”. Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation, of anticipation, of preparation, of longing. Expectation of what? Hope of increased moral light? More ads and consumerism? More debt? Does secularization “water down” the season or demonstrate integration? How do we find a balance between sacred and secular?

December 10, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: From Daylight into Darkness: Darkness has overtaken most of our daylight hours. In the light of day, let us consider multiple metaphors and realities of the dark time, a time for creativity and rebirth. Only in the deep night sky can you see the most extraordinary display of starlight.

December 17, 10:30 am. Choir Sunday: Carols and Lullabies by Conrad Susa: The choir will be singing a set of Spanish and Catalonian Christmas carols, accompanied by Jeff Otto on marimba, Elaine Barber on harp, and Klondike Steadman on guitar.

December 24, 10:30 am. Rabbi Monty Eliasov: The God Within, The Child Within: Rabbi Monty will bring with him a collection of new Hebrew prayer songs just for the child within us. Merging transpersonal Kabbalah with the ancient Psalms and speaking to children about the God within and all around is what motivates Rabbi Monty to go back to roots deeper than what he ever thought they could be. A fun and meaningful service for the season, returning us to the Mystery. This will be an INTERGENERATIONAL SERVICE.

December 24, 7:00 pm. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: From Darkness into Light: A single candle represents hope for the world in the midst of darkness. The spirit of light, warmth, and hope will shine throughout this evening of stories, carols, and candlelight. Not by accident did the child Jesus come to be known as the light of the world. All of us light the world in our own way.

December 31, 10:30 am. Mundi: The Book & The Flower: Ring out the old and prepare for the new as Mundi nurtures our spiritual innards with compositions from their latest CD, The Book & The Flower. Mundi’s classical guitar, violin, cello, bass, and an arsenal of percussion is rich, celebratory, dynamic, and deeply emotive. Black-eyed peas for the soul! This will be an INTERGENERATIONAL SERVICE.

November 2006

November 5, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Hit or Miss?: Have you ever resolved to do something on a regular basis from now on? My own resolutions have included daily meditation, poetry reading, journal writing, exercise, healthy eating, and more. But wishing doesn’t make it so. You have to be there or make that choice over and over again. You have to commit to the practice before it pays off. How fun is that?

November 12, 10:30 am. Nelin Hudani: Islam and Sufism: Honoring the Tradition of Faith, Intellect, and Pluralism in Action: Islam emerged in the early decades of the seventh century. Its message calls upon a people that are wise, a people of reason, to seek in their daily life the rhythm of nature in the ordering of the universe; to seek in their own selves, in the diversity of humankind, signs that point to the Creator and Sustainer of all creation Who alone is worthy of their submission. Sufism, a relevant stream of Islamic mysticism, aims at recovering the original spirit of Prophet Muhammad’s (Peace be upon Him) teachings in order to attain another dimension which is specifically inner. It addresses itself to those who live in the world and is continuously engaged in daily life matters. Sufism allows us to reach eternity and to realize ourselves.

November 19, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Humanity’s Humongous Heresy: No matter how reasonable, enlightened, or evolved we consider ourselves to be, we are all complicit in Humanity’s Humongous Heresy. The thunder of this heresy cannot be revealed in a newsletter blurb. Avail yourself of the sermon to hear the thunderous truth!

November 26, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Four Men Went Fowling: Come hear an account of the first Thanksgiving! We will tease out fact from fiction, focusing on the story’s mythic character, which holds the sacred dimension.

October 2006

October 1, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Pardon Me!: This evening marks the conclusion of Jewish High Holy Days, a period of atonement. In Judaism, if someone causes you harm, but sincerely apologizes and tries to make amends, you are religiously obligated to forgive. Without this apology, there is no such obligation. Today is the day to ask forgiveness of G-d for offenses against G-d, but G-d cannot forgive harm done to another person without that apology. Other religions have a different approach to forgiveness. Buddhists see forgiveness as a way to keep painful emotions from damaging your own mental health. Do you need to forgive someone? Do you need to forgive yourself?

October 8, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: The Miracle of Compassion: During Chuck’s chaplaincy days in the Texas Medical Center he was heart sick trying to minister to a young woman who was dying of cancer and her husband. In a flash his despair yielded a moment of insight regarding one of Jesus’ miraculous acts. The applications of this enlightenment are numerous, ranging from the personal to ministry in our Live Oak community.

October 15, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: The Cost of Freedom: I’m thinking of the freedoms most of us take for granted: freedom of religion, freedom to remain ignorant, freedom to protest, and so on. We’re free to choose, but what? And why?

October 22, 10:30 am. Glenn McIntosh: God Speaks: A Divine Monologue Based on the Writings of Neale Donald Walsch: That lovable Deity that converses with Neale Donald Walsch in the profound and thought-provoking Conversations with God books comes to life in this entertaining, 30-minute monologue. Through excerpts from Neale’s writings, God answers some of the Big Questions like “What is God?”, “Who are we?”, “Why were we created?”, and “What is our purpose?” The answers might surprise you, and you may even find in “Neale’s God” a God you can believe in.

October 29, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: In the Spirit of Yahrzeit: This word literally means “time of [one] year”. In the Jewish faith, yahrzeit is the yearly ceremony to honor the death of a loved one. Mourners participate in various customs like reciting the Kaddish prayer, lighting a candle which burns for 24 hours, fasting, visiting the gravesite, and doing a good deed in the deceased’s name. We will hold our yearly remembrance service in this spirit. PLEASE BRING A PICTURE OR MEMENTO OF YOUR DEPARTED LOVED ONES FOR THE ALTAR.

September 2006

September 3, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Foundation for Democracy: Leander Independent School District has a vision: “Every student is encouraged, supported, and challenged to achieve the highest levels of knowledge, skills, and character.” Yet schools in Leander, Cedar Park, Austin, and Texas face enormous challenges in helping all of our students achieve these standards. Changing demographics mean that more families who speak no English and have no high school graduates at home attend Texas schools. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita propelled 46,000 students into Texas and 35,000 of them are staying. Many of them will need extra assistance in meeting state standards. Can we do something about the schools?

September 10, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Flame On!: Every Sunday we join UUs around the globe in lighting what is known as the Flaming Chalice. How did this come to be a common symbol for our churches? What are the meanings that underlie it? We have a real purty one now! Today we will dedicate our new chalice, bathing it in history and future vision.

September 17, 10:30 am. Ryan Valentine: Turning Public School Into Sunday School: Long a contentious venue for church-state issues, public schools have become the front line in Texas’ “culture war”. The religious right is busy dreaming up new ways to introduce religious ideology into the classroom: creationism (or intelligent design) into biology textbooks; stripping out all disease prevention and family planning from health textbooks in favor of abstinence-only instruction; elective courses in the Bible, many of them devotional in nature; teaching fundamentalist, Protestant beliefs as fact. Come hear what you can do to protect the line separating church and state in our neighborhood schools.

September 24, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Root Power: One February evening in 1994 during Live Oak’s seedling days, the community decided to employ consensus as our governing model. Shared power and shared leadership has been at the root of our genius over the years. As we grow bigger branches, the consensus model is being stretched and challenged. How can we maintain the spirit of consensus without making molasses seem speedy? What are the spiritual principles of consensus that go beyond “church governance”, which enhance all relationships?

August 2006

August 6, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Wanna Live Forever?: Humanity is obsessed with living forever. This desire is expressed in various forms, ranging from spiritual teachings to the Fountain of Youth. Science has set its sights on this Holy Grail and one day we may be able to literally live forever in a carnal body. Whether in the spirit or flesh, what is at the root of this desire? Is it the ultimate narcissism or our true destiny? What does it mean to live eternally?

August 13, 10:30 am. Rev. David Zuniga: Going Forth: Last fall Rev. Zuniga was ordained as a priest in the Taego lineage of Korean Zen. He will reflect on his ascetic training and its practical applications for dealing with suffering and cultivating a more fulfilling spiritual life.

August 20, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman and Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Water in a Dry Land: During summer travels we have invited you to collect water from your various destinations. We will share stories of our sojourns and pour the water into a common vessel to symbolize our ongoing connection, our return from summer travels, and our interconnection with all creation. Whether you bring a sample of water from the church kitchen or from the other side of the world, join us in this sacred ritual of ingathering. Kathleen’s brief homily will focus on the metaphor of water in the midst of global warming and Middle East warfare.

August 27, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Longing, Belonging: As distant as we are from our families, many of us long for community – a place to belong where people know us more deeply than in coffee hour conversations. As a spiritual community we long to deepen and sustain our spiritual foundations. How can we provide this for ourselves and for those who need us?

July 2006

July 2, 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 the name of Ann Wright, who embodies the best of the distinguished moniker, patriot.

July 9, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: The Gift of Prayer: Whether prayer is a conversation with God, an invocation of the Goddess, or listening to the quiet within one’s own heart and breath, it has a place in contrast to stressful, sometimes frenzied living. For some of us, it is an essential part of our lives. Next week we’ll look at the active life and its relationship to spirituality.

July 16, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: The Gift of Action: As a point/counterpoint to last week’s reflection on prayer, let’s consider the blessing that comes with an active life of work, creativity, and caring. Parker Palmer, who tried the contemplative life of a monastery, came to the conclusion that he is not a monk but an activist. How can our actions add to our spiritual growth?

July 23, 10:30 am. Wednesday Morning Women’s Spirituality Group: Goddess, Great Mother, Divine Feminine: What are we talking about, anyway? Celebrating and trusting the truth of women’s experience, reclaiming spiritual authority, and recalling a time before patriarchy, the time of the Great Mother, is the essence of women’s spirituality. How do we expand this beyond women’s spirituality?

July 30, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Beauty is Hard as Hell: Is the notion of enemies a valid one? An eye for an eye? Love your enemies? Have compassion for all beings? Seek the fruit of the Spirit. How do we maintain moral integrity and a pure heart?

June 2006

June 4, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: The Rainbow Connection: Kermit the Frog can bring a tear to my eye when he sings the opening song from The Muppet Movie: “Why are there so many songs about rainbows and what’s on the other side?” You may see lots of rainbows this week as we celebrate Gay Pride Week. Feel free to wear bright rainbow colors or multi-colored outfits. “Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers, and me.”

June 11, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Judge Not, That You Not Be Judged: This ancient wisdom is offered by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount and is reflected in other spiritual traditions as well. What does it mean? Does not life require us to make judgments? Does the sincere religious life handcuff us from doing so? What is the distinction between judgment and judgmentalism?

June 18, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Long Walk to Freedom: Nelson Mandela is the father of modern day South Africa at the cost of 28 years in prison. He is also the father of six children, 21 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. What can we glean on Father’s Day from this man of vast courage and unbounded moral integrity?

June 25, 10:30 am. Gary Schumann: My Trip to Cabela’s: Live Oak congregant Gary Schumann recently visited the new Cabela’s off IH-35 in Buda, Texas. This enormous gun and hunting good store with its full-sized nature dioramas and hundreds of stuffed mounts celebrates a single theme – killing wildlife. Gary’s tour of the store invoked a spiritual reaction. His sermon is not a diatribe against hunting. Rather, it discusses how this visit helped expand his appreciation of the value of our Unitarian Universalist principles in effectuating change in our society and within ourselves.

May 2006

May 7, 10:30 am. Choir Sunday: The choir will be performing excerpts from Vivaldi’s Gloria, with the help of instrumentalists from Lake Travis and Westwood High Schools.

May 14, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: All That You Have is Your Soul: Tracy Chapman is one of America’s most daring truth tellers. She was raised by a single mom, becoming a deeply powerful woman. On this Mother’s Day we will begin with the raw spiritual advice Tracy’s mom offers in the song, All That You Have is Your Soul, moving forward to other sacred jewels from Tracy’s body of work.

May 21, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Meeting Family Again for the First Time: As difficult as it may have been to grow up in your particular family, there is something wonderful about skipping back to generations you never knew. My sister Madeleine Trichel and I have been doing just that, and gaining a new appreciation for family.

May 28, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Good for the Soul, or Good for the King?: The old adage goes, “Confession is good for the soul”. Any decent person practices this in their personal relationships. How many of us, however, find confession to “God” in public or private as cleansing? “Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you … we are truly sorry and humbly repent.” Are UUs too good to repent in this fashion? Is confession of this sort good for the soul, or good for the King?

April 2006

April 2, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Time Shifting: Today marks the beginning of Daylight Savings Time, so set your clocks forward and join us in contemplating various facets of time. For kids, time seems to slow down in anticipation of birthdays or other special events; it slows in an emergency, when all senses focus on the immediate action. Yet a month goes by in a flash; evolution is measured in eons; computers operate in nanoseconds; Zen meditation focuses on the present moment. Let’s look at our relationship to time.

April 9, 10:30 am. Live Oak Congregation: Poetry Service: Second annual Poetry Service! Join your friends and neighbors in a celebration of the beauty and power of the written word. Readers and artists will include Live Oak members and friends of our church family. If you love poetry (and who doesn't?), don't miss this unique, special, intellectually stimulating, and spiritually engaging service. Our special musical guest will be the multi-talented Brenna Pritchard.

April 16, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis and Rev. Chuck Freeman: When Life Turns Your Wine to Vinegar, Make a Bouquet of Flowers!: We will celebrate the Unitarian tradition of Flower Communion this morning. Please BRING A FLOWER to exchange for the ritual. This service will be INTERGENERATIONAL.

April 23, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Temperance: Perusing his Who’s Who of UUs book over the years, the inquisitive Rev. has made a curious observation. Unitarians and Universalists were leaders in the temperance movement. This seems so out of character for UUs of today! What does this moral stand say about our forebearers’ approach to faith/society and ours?

April 30, 10:30 am. Rev. Emilee Whitehurst: AAIM: Rev. Whitehurst, Director of Austin Area Interreligious Ministries, will speak about their mission as an inclusive, caring community that generates mutual respect, trust, and social justice through education, advocacy, social services, and community building.

March 2006

March 5, 10:30 am. High School RE Class: Perspectives, Points of View, and Ways of Looking at Things: Come see the High School RE class present their views on perspectives. We’ll talk about how everyone sees the same situation in different ways. Trust us, we WILL be right!

March 12, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Ask a UU Guru: Is there a religious/spiritual question that you always wanted a minister to give a straight answer to? Submit them in writing to editor@liveoakuu.org. Guru Chuckananda (self-proclaimed) will answer them sight unseen for the sermon portion of this service. Make up your mind about his Guru status! (Editor’s Note: please put March 12 Sermon in the subject line of the email.)

March 19, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Culture Wars: Battle lines have become trenches regarding abortion and gay marriage, religious ideology, the Supreme Court, the balance of powers, end of life decisions, and scientific research. We have engaged in a culture war, in which 10 percent rant about the vast left wing conspiracy and another 10 percent rant about the vast right wing conspiracy. What about the middle way?

March 26, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Making Love: Whoa! This is church! In our post Puritan recovery culture, we tend to think of this phrase as a bedroom activity only. Could “making love” be a path for engaging life and the ultimate presence of the universe? We will conduct CHILD DEDICATIONS during this service.

February 2006

February 5, 10:30 am. Rev. Patrick Price: The Flaws in Perfection and the Wisdom of Excellence: What is the difference between excellence and perfection and why should we care? How do they affect our religious lives and faith journey? What impact do these ways of viewing the efforts and outcomes in our lives have on us and the world?

February 12, 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 as the cure for the other!

February 19, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Leaving the Harbor: We accept one another as we are, but we also encourage spiritual growth and depth. This is an invitation to take steps toward understanding ourselves and others, sharing our lives, and risking transformation. When you leave your safe harbor, your vessel becomes home. How can we provide safe harbor on unfamiliar shores? How can we welcome others to set sail along with us?

February 26, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: The Gospel According to Doubting Thomas: The Gospel of Thomas has become popular in recent years. The author of this “fifth gospel” is the “Doubting Thomas” from the gospel of John. Why didn’t this gospel make the canonical cut and why might his depiction of Jesus be appealing to the UU style of faith?

January 2006

January 1, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Michael Finnegan Day!: I can still sing this playful song from my childhood. The result of all Michael’s efforts was to “begin again”. This is the story of existence, and our artificial marking of the calendar. Drink strong coffee, wipe the sleep out of your eyes, and join the Live Oak Finnegan parade!

January 8, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Faith of the Free: In a church that welcomes people of many faiths, what binds us together? Isn’t that always the root of our struggle to define Unitarian Universalism? Let’s get at the root of Live Oak, the root of our tradition, the root that anchors us beneath our differences in theology and life experience.

January 15, 10:30 am. Live Oak Members: The UU Afterlife: Our religion’s focus on ethical living in this life – hearty; on the afterlife – scanty. Surely, you have your own beliefs around this topic of great spiritual interest. Four Live Oakers will reveal their views of what, if anything, happens to our consciousness after physical death.

January 22, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Imperfect Prophet: Recently our planet lost the prophetic comedy of Richard Pryor when his physical body died. Pryor's comedy evolved from a Cosby-like middle America humor to a ribald, profanity laced light shining on our nation's obscenities of racism, and poverty. Pryor was a torn man whose childhood abuse and anger ravaged his personal being even as he embodied the dignity of the black and common person with eternal transformational clarity. In the season of MLK and civil rights victories we honor this "Imperfect Prophet."

January 29, 10:30 am. Jack R. Harris-Bonham: And the Word Was Made Flesh and Dwelt Among Us: What’s the possibility that a word – any word – could become flesh and blood today? Come hear about three million pounds of flesh becoming a word. The question remains – what word?