Upcoming Services

For services led by the Live Oak Christian Fellowship please visit their web pages.

A MONTH OF SUNDAYS -

Come in and enjoy a worship service with us!

10:20 - Prelude and Contemplation

10:30 - Service Begins

May 2008

May 4, 10:30 am. Live Oak Choir: Flora’s Holiday: The choir will present a May Day celebration of flowers, vegetation, and fertility. There will be music, dancing, and a Maypole for both children and adults.

May 11, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Ride, Sally Ride!: Women may hold up half the sky, as the saying goes, but we do still talk about the first woman to do this or that awesome thing. Sally Ride, the first American woman astronaut, is one example of a contemporary woman who captured our imaginations. What other women have blazed new trails for the rest of us?

May 11, 4:00 pm. Rev. Kim K. Crawford Harvie: We will be celebrating the ordination of our very own ministerial intern, Aaron White!

May 18, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Think Wiki, Not Website: In 2004 Sam Harris wrote a provocative book, The End of Faith. He is part of a secular trinity along with Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens who are unleashing a very public and potent counter-insurgency on religion and faith. What are the valid criticisms these men make? How do their critiques intersect with and imact the UU tradition? What is the "faith" they are trying to end? Chuck will assert, when it comes to faith, think wiki, not website! Additionally, we will shower appreciation on Live Oak's Religious Education Teachers and our DRE Amanda Robinson will weave the Parable for All Ages.

May 25, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Oh, the Places You’ll Go!: We will mark two vital transitions in the lives of Live Oak children, youth, and their families, Child Dedications and Honoring Our Graduating Seniors. Dr. Seuss’ magical book mentioned in the service title will frame and nurture our celebration, as our seniors will speak and perform, and our children wiggle and squirm! This service will be INTERGENERATIONAL.

April 2008

April 6, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Now is the Time!: Rock again with our youth band who did so well at the High School Youth service! Their new name is Musical Propaganda Machine! Now is the time to support our youth; now is the time to support the work of our district and denomination. Learn how we’re connected and how we support one another. I’ve been involved beyond the local church since 1981, and I’ve made denominational friends for life. Live Oak members will share how they have participated in rallies, leadership school, district meetings, and General Assembly. Come celebrate!

April 13, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: The UU Bottom Line: We UUs take pride in our religious pluralism. Many of our sanctuaries display symbols from the major world religions. Some members wear jewelry and t-shirts of the same sort. Do we really believe in all the world religions or is this shallow spiritual correctness? Each of them are a mixed sacred bag of wonderful and horrendous perspectives. How can we lay claim to drawing from all these religions to which we have no historical or cultural connection? What is the difference between religious poaching and truly respecting all faiths? Do we have a unique religious perspective? What is the UU Bottom Line?

April 20, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Universe Communion: We are connected to one another and all that is through our common cosmic/earthly histories and ongoing evolution. Let us honor, celebrate, and imbibe our multi-dimensional relatedness in a post modern eucharist service!

April 27, 10:30 am. Live Oak Congregaton: Poetry Service: Celebrate the beauty and power of the written word and the talents of the writer in this, Live Oak’s fourth annual occurrence of this increasingly popular service. This service will feature the talents of readers presenting their own original material as well as those reading a favorite selection. Don’t miss this unique and special worship experience.

March 2008

March 2, 10:30 am. High School RE Class: Teaching the World: What can our youth teach the world? Music will be provided by The World’s First Ever RE Rock Band.

March 9, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: The Holy Veil: In this time of war with a people who practice a different religion from most of us, we find ourselves intrigued or mystified in turn. During Women’s History Month, I thought I would explore the Islamic world as described by Muslim women.

March 16, 10:30 am. Aaron White: Old Wine, New Skins:So far in this election year, it seems like "change" has been a hot topic, but what would real change in our lives look like? Outside of the political sphere, many religious traditions speak of rebirth, being "born again" in this life, or transformation of the self. What might our liberal tradition of Unitarian Universalism have to offer regarding the possibilities for real change in our lives and in the world?

March 23, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: The Colors of Change: Rev. Norbert Capek, who started the Unitarian church in Czechoslovakia and established the Flower Communion, was a man of great courage who gave his life for our faith. Winston Churchill declared "Courage is rightly esteemed as the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others." In our time, courageous faith is called for on every plane of being. Just as flowers have many colors, courage does as well. We will explore and extol the character and varied expressions of courage as we celebrate the Unitarian tradition of Flower Communion this morning. Please BRING A FLOWER to exchange for the ritual. This service will be INTERGENERATIONAL.

March 30, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Consumer Kane: When was the last time you were referred to as a citizen? Even the most progressive media outlets refer to you almost exclusively as a "consumer". Virtually our entire culture has "bought in" to the notion that we are nothing more than buying machines. Terrorism — go shopping. War — go shopping. Recession — go shopping. If Orson Welles were around today he might have to rename his classic movie! Come elevate your awareness and embody your noble status as a citizen! This service will dovetail with Unitarian Universalist Service Committee’s annual Justice Sunday.

February 2008

February 3, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: Peace in Our World: Every week we watch children, youth, and adults light candles for peace in their hearts, their church, their world, and the web of life. We hold our collective breath until the flame catches. For a moment we relax when all the flames are burning and the children safely leave the stage. Where else do we find peace within ourselves and in the world in we — and our children — live? There’s not much evidence in the news!

February 10, 10:30 am. Aaron White: Best Kept Secrets: The liberal tradition of Unitarian Universalism calls us to live this life in a manner affirming that truth is yet to be found, revelation is not sealed, and things are not always as they seem. Many times in our human interactions it becomes too easy to understand others, and even ourselves, with only a brief glance. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "Let us treat men and women well: treat them as if they were real: perhaps they are." What might it look like to practice this reality? What would it mean for us also to treat our religious tradition of Unitarian Universalism and its possibilities for change in the world as if they were real? Perhaps they are.

February 17, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Sacred Discontent: The gap between our goals, hopes, and desires can cause discontent. Sacred discontent takes these matters beyond the personal, connecting them to a vaster existential reality. Even so, how do we keep this discontent from becoming sheer misery. What is the process by which sacred discontent morphs into a peaceful calm?

February 24, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: Evolution Loves You!: The poet Stephen Dunn laments, "you can’t say to your child ‘evolution loves you’. The story stinks of extinction and nothing exciting happens for centuries." Darwin, speaking of evolution, writes, "There is grandeur in this view of life." Suffice it to say that we religious liberals have done an anemic job of articulating this grandeur. Let us learn how to portray this vast reality in a fashion that does justice to Darwin’s poetic observation of "endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful."

January 2008

January 6, 10:30 am. Rev. Kathleen Ellis: The Pursuit of Happiness: Life, liberty, sure! But what is happiness all about? January’s a good time to review the year gone by. Are you happy? If not, what will it take? In any case: Happy New Year!

January 13, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman and Tracy Bush: You Gotta Have Soul!: Chuck and Tracy will lead us to the Soul Waters via word and song bidding us to jump into the river of authenticity — the heart of the spiritual quest. Come shake your sacred rump to the Funk!

January 20, 10:30 am. Rev. Chuck Freeman: You Are What You Say: In America’s public square, many lurk and wait for someone to "misspeak". We then pounce on them with self-righteous indignation, denouncing and labeling them as the "ism" they have violated. What we say does open a window into who we are. Do our actions and how we treat people matter at all? When we are summing up who a person is, might we take a broader view than a sound bite? Is redemption a consideration? How do our spiritual values inform these matters?

January 27, 10:30 am. Lynn Slater: Looking to the Least: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." This greatest Christian teaching is hard to embrace, because the very least are difficult to serve and hard to embrace. Fifteen years ago Lynn Slater, co-chair of Live Oak’s Social Justice Committee, lead his technology education division, his small UU church, and a confederation of larger churches to reach out to this population. The experience (which continues) contained conflict, betrayal, treachery, surprising decency, considerable fun, and much reality-based learning. This morning those 15 years will be distilled to about 20 entertaining minutes.

Past Services

See what our sermon topics have been for the past few years!

2007 * 2006 * 2005 * 2004 * 2003 * 2002 * 2001 * 2000 * 1999 * 1998 * 1997