We are beginning our monthly spiritual theme of prayer this morning. Last spring as we were choosing the themes, the election was certainly on our minds, and, well, prayer seemed like a good topic for these days. That was before COVID. That was before we had weeks of protests for…

Giants do die. The bigger they are the harder they fall…just walk around the Jericho walls.  What a song of hope.  Does not matter how powerful the forces arrayed against you…  The power to overcome them is within you…with the help of the spirit, to be sure…but you have the…

Carry me on. Carry me on. What is it that’s carrying you on these days? What is it that’s keeping you going? What is it that’s helping you find your way home? I don’t have to remind any of us, I expect, of all there is to hold these days.…

Home…is a physical space, and it is something that extends beyond that physical space.  Our physical homes have foundations.  Our minds and hearts can have their foundational homes too—the values and ideas that shape our actions. The mind is the foundation of our behavior that has formed through our lifetimes. …

Some days, I feel like I'm against the wallBut then, I look at you standin' strong and tall against it allLet your little light shine for the world to see  Amos Lee is the songwriter of the pieces our fabulous quartet performed this morning. And I knew nothing of him…

Faith is a difficult word for Unitarian Universalists since it gets associated with “belief” in things that are not scientifically provable.  I yearned for something that did not defy reason to have faith in.  What I discovered was the deep way we belong to each other. Tracy Springberry is the…

Call to Worship We began this service with the sound of the shofar, which marks the coming of the holiest day of the year in the Jewish tradition, Yom Kippur, which begins at sundown this evening. In the Jewish tradition, the High Holy Days begin first with Rosh Hashana, the…

Unitarian Universalism invites us into an abundant life if we’re willing to embrace needed transitions and do the work of Love. 

This is a world we have never seen before. So much is so hard. And, generations before us also journeyed through unimaginably difficult times. What wisdom do these elders and ancestors--spiritual and biological--have for us, and in this moment? How does their wisdom call us to change?   

Shall we gather at the river of forgiveness? Where the healing waters flow Come together at the waters of love… The river of forgiveness. With the world, literally, on fire around us, and the virus still uncontained…with the fires of racism still burning…with democracy in our nation in danger of…

Please join us for this special Music and Worship service presented by our Praise Singers.  Featured will be a number of pieces that take us from the loneliness of these Covid times to the full embrace of community. 

Rev. Bill Sinkford will reflect on (a few) questions submitted by members of the congregation. Email yours to Q-and-A@firstunitarianportland.org. The message of the morning will emerge from the concerns and hopes you bring. Rev. Sinkford's responses may prompt other questions and point to other issues that can be explored in…

Thank you, Bethany and Dustin for “A Safe Place to Land.” “Be the hand of a hopeful stranger… Be the light in the dark of this danger Til the sun comes up.” In the dark of this danger. I do not need to tell any of you how trying these…

Capitalism is designed to produce things—and enough desire for those things to keep the production wheels endlessly turning out stuff and profits. And yet, we are beginning to see the material limits to supposedly endless growth, as our insatiable consumption pushes the edges of our ecosystems’ resilience. What would it…

Hello.  I am excited to be here this morning with you. I look forward to meeting many of you virtually over the upcoming year with activities that I will be leading and hope you can join me in these contemplations on spirituality. As Unitarian Universalists, there are no two same…

At the forefront of movements for social justice today is a generation of young people, who are courageously calling out for change. Youth leaders in our congregations and in our world challenge us to imagine a tomorrow that is more equitable and just than the one that we have always…

Our spiritual theme this month is identity. So what are the identities that first come to mind for you? Some of the roles you have? Spouse, parent, child? Grandparent, grandchild, friend? Retiree, teacher, worker, manager? Or maybe it is identity of race or gender or orientation? Maybe it’s where you…

These are uncertain and volatile times. These are times that call on us to work towards our collective liberation while also tending to our spiritual needs and caring for others. How do we ready ourselves for what is being asked of us? How do we keep moving even when we…

This Sunday our worship will be The Service of the Living Tradition from the virtual General Assembly. The service honors the ministry of fellowshipped and credentialed UU religious leaders, remembering those who have died, recognizing those who have completed active service, and welcoming those who have received fellowship, credentialed, or…

In observance of Holy Week in the Christian tradition, we will offer a live stream Tenebrae service next Wednesday, April 8, at 7 p.m.A Service of Tenebrae, or “Shadows,” is a tradition that dates back to the 12th Century and is an extended mediation of the journey of Jesus leading to…

https://vimeo.com/395020008 The orientation of time and place, who we came from and where we are, can provide a needed sense of belonging in this chaotic and uprooted world. Rev. Bert is Minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Vancouver, Wash.

The gender binary and rigid gender-based role expectations have shifted. It is not clear that has made shaping a positive male identity easier. Fathers, from the congregation, will share stories of how maleness shaped their parenting and how parenting shaped their lives. And we will parade our commitments with pride,…

There’s a strange kind of chaos loose in the world. Seemingly unrelated disasters are overlapping and amplifying each other all around us. We have so weakened or damaged our social, institutional, and ecological systems that they are simply not able to stabilize. The world we thought we knew is dying…

Eight minutes and 46 seconds. Hearing that in the abstract doesn’t sound like a whole lot of time. But then imagining that amount of time with a police officer’s knee on your neck, that’s a whole different story. In that context it feels like an eternity. In fact, I have…

“We believe in love, truth and the goodness of people.” “[What] matters is what we do now that we are here.” “I promise to fill every dark place I find with the light of love.” I hope you all were listening to the statements of the young people Coming of Age…

Living in the midst of chaos and pandemic, each of us is called to the constant work of bringing healing to ourselves, our communities, and the world, in ways small and large. What practices of trust and healing are carrying us now and in days to come?