Sunday Service Library

Featured Sermon:
“Rights and Responsibilities” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost – February 24, 2013

Rev. Rost tackles a service auction topic chosen by Scott Harrison. She addresses the questions: “Why do we choose to follow some laws and not others? Do we have a moral obligation to obey all laws?”

Feb. 24, 2013 – “Rights and Responsibilities” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
(length: 22.28, size: 5.4 mb)

How to Use the Library

To listen to an MP3 audio recording of the sermon, click it in the list below. To download it, right-click the link and choose the Download option from the menu. Generally, each recording includes the pre-sermon reading. Some recordings have been edited for clarity. All recordings are published with the speaker’s permission.

Safety Tip: before listening, lower your audio player’s volume … then increase it as needed. (This is especially true if you’re using headphones.)

Previous Sermons

Feb. 17, 2013 – “Standing on the Side of Love” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading:  from West Wind #2 by Mary Oliver; read by Tara Pibel
(length: 19:10, size: 4.6 mb)

Feb. 3, 2013 – “For Everything There Is a Season” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading:  from the Hebrew sacred text, Ecclesiastes 3; read by Bart Weinberger
(length: 17:53, size: 4.3 mb)

Jan. 20, 2013 – “Up to the Mountain” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading:  by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; read by Tara Pibel
(length: 18:28, size: 4.4 mb)

Jan. 13, 2013 – “If These Walls Could Speak” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading:  from A History of the Unitarian Movement in Colorado Springs, Information to the Year 1901 by Mary Hamilton Stockwell (placed in the Century Capsule, which was opened in 2001); read by Rev. Jude LaFollette
(length: 16:15, size: 3.9 mb)

Jan. 6, 2013 – “New Frontiers” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading:  from A Morning Offering by John O’Donohue; read by Christina Burdick
(length: 19:29, size: 4.7 mb)
Note: The Fire Communion ceremony has been extracted from this recording.

Dec. 16, 2012 – “It’s the End of the World As We Know It“ by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading:  by Bonnie Phinney
(length: 21:30, size: 5.2 mb)

Dec. 9, 2012 – “Seasons of Life” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading:  by Bonnie Phinney
(length: 14:18, size: 3.4 mb)

Dec. 2, 2012 – “Let There Be Light!” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading:  from Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change by Pema Chodron; read by Christina Burdick
(length: 17:15, size: 4.1 mb)
Note: The sermon has four 10- to 20-second periods of silence after Rev. Nori rings a bell.

Nov. 25, 2012 – “Evolving Grace, Evolving Gratitude” by Rev. Michael Dowd
Reading:  from Carl Sagan and Loyal Rue; read by Rev. Michael
(length: 34:41, size: 8.3 mb)
Note: The sermon has a 15+ second period of near-silence, as Rev. Michael entertains a question.

Nov. 11, 2012 – “Hand to Hand, Heart to Heart” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading:  ”Red Brocade,” a poem from 19 Varieties of Gazelle by Naomi Shihab Nye; read by Jo Winn
(length: 16:34, size: 4.0 mb)
Note: There is a 5+ second period of silence, to observe the end of WWI, during the sermon.

Nov. 4, 2012 – “All in Favor, Say Aye!” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading:  from “The Science to Save Us from Science,” New York Times (Mar. 19, 1950); read by Tara Pibel
(length: 21:03, size: 5.1 mb)

Oct. 28, 2012 – “Bless the Beasts and the Children” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading:  from the writings of St. Bonaventure and Thomas of Celano; read by Bart Weinberger
(length: 16:16, size: 3.9 mb)

Oct. 21, 2012 – “Clueless but Committed” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Chalice Lighting: from the poem “Come Alive, Mr. Trufalump” in Born in the Year of the Butterfly Knife by Derrick Brown; read by Rick Schwarz
Reading: from a Sept. 22, 2012 Facebook post by Anne Lamott; read by Rick Schwarz
(length: 13:53, size: 3.3 mb)

Oct. 14, 2012 – “I Love You, You Love Me” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading: words by Mary Lou Kownacki, OSBS; read by Elizabeth Stewart
(length: 14:12, size: 3.4 mb)

Sept. 30, 2012 – “Imagine” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Responsive Reading: #602 in Singing the Living Tradition, written by Lao-Tse; led by Ron Oliver
(length: 14:36, size: 3.5 mb)

Sept. 23, 2012 – “Mission I’m Possible” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading: from For a New Beginning, written by John O’Donohue; read by Heather Kelly
(length: 12:53, size: 3.1 mb)

Sept. 16, 2012 – “The Days of Awe” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading: written by Elizabeth M. Strong; read by Bart Weinberger
(length: 17:14, size: 4.1 mb)

Sept. 9, 2012 – “I’m Ready” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
(length: 11:25, size: 2.7 mb)

Aug. 19, 2012 – “A Chance to Engage” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading: excerpt from All Souls Covenant of Beloved Community; read by Zella Stewart
(length: 19:58, size: 4.8 mb)
Note: The covenant-signing ceremony has been omitted from this recording.

Aug. 12, 2012 – “Remembering Hiroshima & Nagasaki” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading: from Being Human by Naima; read by Christina Burdick
(length: 25:34, size: 6.1 mb)

Aug. 5, 2012 – “Where Do You Feel Connected?” by Rev. Dr. Ellen Johnson-Fay
Reading: from Interconnectedness by Susan Griffin; read by Rev. Ellen
(length: 22:59, size: 5.5 mb)

July 29, 2012 – “Where Are We Going and Why Are We in This Handbasket?” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading: Marginal Wisdom, written by Leslie Takahashi; read by Saydra Schmitz, Diane Page and Ron Oliver
(length: 18:31, size: 4.4 mb)
Note: There is a high-pitched hum in the background during some of the first 2 minutes.

July 1, 2012 – “From the Center of the Flames” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading: from The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, read by Sherry Toepfer
(length: 34:13, size: 8.2 mb)

June 17, 2012 – “Summer Solstice – What We Can Learn” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading: from The Summer Day, Mary Oliver, read by Bart Weinberger
(length: 17:15, size: 4.1 mb)

June 10, 2012 – “The First 50 Years of Childhood Are the Hardest” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading: from a writing by Dawna Markova, read by Rick Schwarz
(length: 19:29, size: 4.7 mb)

June 3, 2012 – “Joys and Concerns” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading: from Little Gidding V, T.S. Eliot, read by Zella Stewart
(length: 13.25, size: 3.2 mb)

May 27, 2012 – “That’s the Spirit!” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading: from Christian Scriptures, Acts 2, read by Tara Pibel
(length: 23:02, size: 5.5 mb)

May 6, 2012 – “Shame On You!” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading: On Shame and Empathy by Dr. Brené Brown
(length: 21:26, size: 5.1 mb)

Apr. 29, 2012 – “Life-Partners” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading: from Does God Have a Big Toe? by Marc Gellman, read by Christine Sermini
(length: 15:47, size: 3.8 mb)

Apr. 22, 2012 – “Hope for a Sustainable, Equitable World” by All Souls GSAC
(length: 57:28, size: 13.8 mb)

Apr. 15, 2012 – “Rites of Passage” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
(length: 10:41, size: 2.6 mb)

Apr. 8, 2012 – “Easter Cantata” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
(length: 13:20, size: 3.2 mb)
Note: At 03:15, there is a 20-second reduction in volume. For safety, do not adjust your MP3 player’s volume.

Apr. 1, 2012 – “Temples of the Heart” by Gini Courter
Reading: words by Patrick Murphin, read by Gini Courter
(length: 23:38, size: 5.7 mb)

Mar. 25, 2012 – “My Winter ‘Vacation’” by Lew Phinney
Reading: words by Claire Hills, read by Pop Parsons
(length: 25:50, size: 6.2 mb)

Mar. 18, 2012 – “Starlight, Starbright” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading: from The Diary of Samuel Marchbanks, 1947, XIX, Sunday by Robertson Davies, read by Marie Ballard
(length: 19:53, size: 4.8 mb)

Mar. 11, 2012 – “Ch-Ch-Changes” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading: from Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler, read by Bart Weinberger
(length: 20:03, size: 4.8 mb)

Mar. 4, 2012 – “Reflections” by All Souls Readers Theatre
Presenters: Bob Armintor, Phyllis Barron, Peter Camp, Bonnie Phinney, Lew Phinney, and Sherry Toepfer
(length: 35:27, size: 8.5 mb)

Feb. 26, 2012 – “It’s the Principle of the Matter” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading: from Our Chosen Faith: An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism by John Buehrens and E. Forrester Church, read by Pop Parsons
(length: 25:07, size: 6.0 mb)

Feb. 12, 2012 – “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading: from from 1 Corinthians 13 NRSV, read by Zella Stewart
(length: 14:56, size: 3.6 mb)

Feb. 5, 2012 – “The Reasons for Reason” by Rev. Nathan Mesnikoff (Community Minister, High Plains Church UU)
Reading: compiled by Rev. Mesnikoff, read by Tara Pibel
(length: 26:15, size: 6.3 mb)
The text of this sermon is available on Rev. Mesnikoff’s blog.

Jan. 29, 2012 – “Resilience” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading: from Little Bee by Chris Cleave, read by Deedle Murray
(length: 19:23, size: 4.7 mb)
Audio slideshow by Cate Terwilliger (MP4 file, length: 8:59)
NOTE: The audio slideshow is a large file; depending on your connection, it could take several minutes to load.

Jan. 22, 2012 – “The Beginning of Love” by Rev. Jan Christian (Sr. Minister, UU Church of Ventura, CA)
Reading: by Thomas Merton, read by Marie Ballard
(length: 20:06, file size: 4.8 mb)

Jan. 15, 2012 – “Founder’s Day” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading: from the blog The Liberal Church Finding Its Mission by Rev. Peter Boulatta, read by Bart Weinberger
(length: 16:54, file size: 4.1 mb)

Jan. 8, 2012 – “The Great Aha!” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading: written by Mary Swan, read by Christine Sermini
(length: 19:09, file size: 4.6 mb)

Jan. 1, 2012 – “Out with the Old! In with the New” by Rev. Dr. Nori Rost
Reading: from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, read by Pop Parsons
(length: 20:26, file size: 4.9 mb)