January 4, 2004. “A New You for the New Year.” Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell
Each year at this time we have a chance to review the past year, to reflect on our experiences, and to reorient ourselves. This sermon will suggest ways to make the shifts and changes we want to make.  It is the companion to the Jan. 25 sermon.

January 11, 2004. “The Stuff of Life.” Rev. Thomas Disrud
The holidays are over . . . and now we can step back and look at all our stuff. What things do we need in life, and what don’t we need? How would our lives be different if we didn’t have so much?

January 18, 2004. “Privilege and Prejudice: What Must I Own?”  Bruce Davis, Intern Minister
It is easy to point fingers at others for open acts of racism. But how must I take responsibility for privileges and unearned benefits that I am given by an inequitable system?

January 25, 2004. “Finding the Unique You and Living Out of It.”  Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell
With all of the pressures in our lives, it’s easy to find ourselves living a life that doesn’t seem congruent with who we really are. How do we bring our truest self to, after all, the only life we have?

February 1, 2004. “Love Made Concrete.” Cecilia Kingman Miller, Director of Stewardship
Frederick Buechner writes, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” Where does our joy and the world’s hunger meet, and what does it call us to do?

February 8, 2004. “Me? Ask for Help?” Rev. Thomas Disrud
Most of us are willing to extend a hand and help somebody else in need. But what about asking for help ourselves? Some thoughts on why is it so hard and what might we learn the process of asking.

February 15, 2004. “We the People.” Bruce Davis, Intern Minister
The values of early Unitarians and Universalists are woven into the founding documents of our country. As a nation, how well do we now live out these values?

February 15, 2004. “Unitarian Universalism: The Promise and the Challenge.” Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell
This sermon was given by Rev. Sewell in Victoria, B.C. during the annual meeting of the Pacific Northwest District of the UUA.

February 22, 2004. “I Have to Have It.” Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell
We can be addicted to almost anything, from ice cream to prayer. This Sunday we will look at addictions—how they limit us and at the same time, paradoxically, how they can draw us to the Holy.

March 7, 2004. “RESPECT.” Annual Youth Service
“R-E-S-P-E-C-T . . . find out what it means to We,” as our youth explore the meaning of inherent worth and dignity for the whole interdependent web of existence in their annual service.

March 14, 2004. “The Power of Positive Thinking.” Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell
These are difficult times, and even the most upbeat among us can become discouraged. How do we maintain a positive, hopeful outlook, even in the midst of the social, political, and environmental stresses we experience?

March 21, 2004. “Imaging Spirit.” Bruce Davis, Intern Minister
Our relationship with Deity depends on how each of us uniquely imagines that relationship. Moreover, our images of Spirit evolve through our lifetimes as we mature personally and spiritually.

April 4, 2004. “Freedom Keeps Calling Us.” Rev. Thomas Disrud
The festival of Passover celebrates liberation from bondage. But acting out of our freedom isn’t easy—it can come with uncertainty and risk, and calls us to have courage along the way.

April 11, 2004. “The Mystery of Easter.” Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell
What really happened at Easter? The accounts vary considerably in the four gospels, but at the center of each story is a mystery, the empty tomb. What does this image say to us today?

April 18, 2004. “Spirituality: What Is It and How Can I Get Some?” Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell
Spirituality is a word that is bandied about in many different settings—everywhere from the church to cocktail parties. What does it mean, and how can I develop spirituality in what is essentially a secular culture?

April 25, 2004. "Earth: Aspiring to a New Relationship." Bruce Davis, Intern Minister
Can we change how we relate to our fragile planet? Will we make those changes in time? Where will the inspiration and hope come from, so that we may commit ourselves to earth's healing?

May 2, 2004. “The Challenge of Unitarian Universalism in the 21st Century.” Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell
What do we offer that is unique in religious faith?  How are we called to witness, in terms of the current malaise of spirit in our country?

May 16, 2004. “Gifts Our Children Ask of Us.” Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell
What is it that our children need of us?  What elements must be present in a child’s development if that child is to grow up healthy in mind, body, and spirit?

May 23, 2004. “An Exceedingly Faint and Tiny Leading from the Heart.” Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell
On what basis do we make decisions, both large and small?  In this sermon, I suggest that there is credence in listening for that “still small voice.”

May 30, 2004. “May Memory Gather the Fruit of All Seasons.” Bruce Davis, Intern Minister
When we remember transforming moments from years or decades past, both the sadness and the joy, we may come to see our lives in new ways and awaken fresh spiritual insight.

June 6, 2004. “The Important Work of Summer.” Rev. Thomas Disrud
“How to be idle, and blessed . . . ” writes poet Mary Oliver. Summer is a time to be out of our regular patterns and to look at things with a little different perspective. It is very important work.

June 13, 2004. “Truth or Consequences.” Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell
We seem to be surrounded by untruth—everything from political whitewashing to the barrage of advertising we endure just by living in this culture. Are we personally becoming looser with the truth? If so, what are the consequences?

June 20, 2004. “And They Shall Be As Gods.” Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell
The Israelites were chastised by God because of their worship of idols. What are the idols of today that turn us from the Spirit? What brings us back to the center, and spiritual health?

June 27, 2004. “Our Money, Our Voice.” Bruce Davis, Summer Minister
What we do with our financial resources in our lives is an important measure of what we hold dear in this world. In our money there is power to declare who we are and what is most important to us.

July 11, 2004. “In a Place Just Right.” Rev. Thomas Disrud
What is our relationship with the land and what does that mean in our lives? Living in this bountiful place, it is important to know how we are sustained and also the responsibility that comes with it.

July 18, 2004. “Inviting and Including.” Bruce Davis, Summer Minister
“The inherent worth and dignity of every person” is a deep value for UUs. We therefore invite a diversity of people into our beloved community. There is a further step—to be really inclusive of cultural differences.

July 25, 2004. “Resting in Chaos.” Rev. Thomas Disrud
Change is the one thing that we can count on, a wise person once said. That’s true, but what is our response to change? What can we control and when do we need to let go?

August 1, 2004. “When Things Fall Apart.” Kate Lore, Social Justice Director
It happens to all of us eventually: life spins out of our control and chunks of our lives come crashing down around us. When this happens, our instincts tell us to do anything within our power to escape the pain and suffering. Yet could it be that these seemingly wretched times offer us our greatest opportunities for happiness?

August 8, 2004. “Oceans.” Bruce Davis, Summer Minister
The oceans of the world sustain us in so many ways. We will reflect on what these enormous, life-giving bodies of water may mean in our lives.

August 29, 2004. “Sweetness and Sorrow of Goodbye.” Bruce Davis, Summer Minister
Partings bring together the richness of relational connections and the reality of separation and loss in our lives. The rituals around saying good-bye help us to hold both the sweet and the sorrow of leave-taking.

September 12, 2004. “Radical Hospitality.” Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell
This sermon explores what it means to be truly hospitable, in the deepest spiritual sense.

September 19, 2004. “The Words Left Unsaid.” Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell
Sometimes we have just one chance to say what we need to say. When do those special moments come, and how can we respond authentically to them?

September 26, 2004. “Beginning Again in Love.” Rev. Thomas Disrud
How do we find forgiveness, both for others and for ourselves? There is no easy way to know when to hold on and when to let go. But we can, in the end, begin again in love.

October 3, 2004. “Spiritual Urgency.” Preston Moore, Intern Minister 
What brings us to church? Is there something urgent at stake in being here? Or instead is church one more interesting activity among many?

October 10, 2004. “A Journey to the Source.” Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell
In July, Dr. Sewell and 19 other pilgrims from our church traveled to Budapest to establish a partner church. They then traveled on to Transylvania (in present day Romania), the historic home of Unitarianism. In this sermon, several pilgrims express the profundity of this experience.

October 17, 2004. “Witnessing.” Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell
What does it mean to witness to your faith? This sermon shares various stories of those who did and the consequences of their witnessing.

October 24, 2004. “Keeping the Faith.” Rev. Thomas Disrud
What is it that sustains us in hard times? Some thoughts on faith, on living in these times and where we might find hope.

October 31, 2004. “Citizenship.” Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell
As we approach the time of our national election, we are reminded that we are not just parents, workers, friends, children: we are also citizens. What does it mean to take our citizenship seriously?

November 7, 2004. “Power: Its Use and Misuse.” Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell We must not be afraid of being powerful—power is a good thing. But we must be very careful to use power well, to some good end, by some ethical means. How do we ensure that we do so?

November 21, 2004. “So Greatly Blessed.” Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell
Why is it that some people who seem to have everything never seem satisfied, whereas others who may encounter deprivation or great sadness in their lives seem to have thankful hearts, in spite of it all? How do we cultivate a kind of primal thanksgiving in our lives?

November 28, 2004. "Radical Generosity." Preston Moore, Intern Minister
Does generosity mean more than charity? What do we really mean when we say that giving feeds the soul of the giver?

December 5, 2004. "Cast Out of the Garden."  Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell
Human beings seem to have an innate loneliness, and incompleteness--what is this feeling?  What does it teach us?

December 12, 2004. "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus."  Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell
Santa is an icon that has to do with the magic in our lives, without which we would feel flat and tired. How do we keep the magic alive?

December 26, 2004. "The Symphony Called Grace."  Preston Moore, Intern Minister
When rewards come to us unearned, what meaning do we make of them? If grace defies our usual causative explanations for what happens to us, how can we trust it? There is great spiritual value waiting for us underneath this five-letter word.