A sermon is an oral presentation by a live speaker to a live congregation. It always involves a bit of interaction, even if it’s just eye contact and facial expressions. Reading the text of a sermon, then, is like reading the script of a play to yourself. The live, communal experience is gone.

Nevertheless, please enjoy reading these text versions of sermons and other presentations made at the UU Fellowship of Topeka during our worship services. You may find that there are additional notes and/or commentaries to the original text.

Archive for September, 2007

And the Buffalo Dance: UUFT’s Totally Green Sunday.

September 18, 2007 at 5:28 pm · Filed under All

Rev. Lisa R. Schwartz
September 16, 2007

Much more ancient than any ancient writing or formal religious teaching is the power of the natural world. For many of us, the holiest place of all is our beautiful blue green planet, where nature is the bedrock of our spiritual lives. Susan Chernak McElroy says that Earth has encoded instructions within us that are still the best guide to a good life: “Care for your children, take only what you need, keep your nest clean, support your community, be cautious but never fearful, trust life.” The Fellowship’s Green Dream committee and Rev. Lisa Schwartz present the services today.

Listen to: And the Buffalo Dance

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The Day the Presses Stopped: The Story of the Pentagon Papers

September 11, 2007 at 3:20 pm · Filed under All

Rev. Lisa R. Schwartz
September 9th, 2007

Some stories aren’t just for entertainment. The best stories teach us who we are as a people, and they remind us of our deepest values. I’d like to tell you a story like that today. It requires that you send your imagination back to 1971, which will be especially difficult for those of you who weren’t born yet in 1971.

Listen to: The Day the Presses Stopped

Read more: Click Here

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Intimacy and Ultimacy

September 4, 2007 at 8:02 pm · Filed under All

Intimacy and Ultimacy
By the Rev. Lisa Romantum Schwartz
September 2nd, 2007

Why do people go to church? I’ve spent a lot of time pondering that in the last week. I’m not sure I’ve come up with any perfectly satisfying answers. As Rev. Jack Mendelsohn says, “One of the chastening miseries of ministry is that eternal truths are not as easy to come by as they apparently used to be.”

Listen to: Intimacy and Ultimacy

Read the text: Click Here

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