Sunnyhill Unitarian Universalist
Religion & Spirituality Podcas
Select sermons from The Unitarian Universalist Church of the South Hills, known as "Sunnyhill". Sunnyhill is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Rev. Jim Magaw serves as minister. This podcast is brought to you by Mike Gravitt and Jen McGlothin. Visit our website: www.sunnyhill.org.
Location:
United States
Description:
Select sermons from The Unitarian Universalist Church of the South Hills, known as "Sunnyhill". Sunnyhill is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Rev. Jim Magaw serves as minister. This podcast is brought to you by Mike Gravitt and Jen McGlothin. Visit our website: www.sunnyhill.org.
Language:
English
Website:
https://www.sunnyhill.org/
Email:
dre@sunnyhill.org
Episodes
Interdependence and Improvisation
5/1/2024
Interdependence and Improvisation
Rev. Jim Magaw
The practice of improvisation gives us opportunities to observe and participate in interdependence–one of the most important theological concepts for Unitarian Universalists. What can we learn about interdependence from improvisation? This service will feature improvised live music from our own Reni Monteverde and her jazz combo.
www.sunnyhill.org
Duration:00:22:17
Everything Is Holy
4/16/2024
Everything is Holy
Rev. Jim Magaw
Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of our most famous Unitarian forbears, wrote: “all things are friendly and sacred, all events profitable, all days holy, all [humans] divine.” What does it mean to be part of a faith tradition that seeks the holy not just in certain places but everywhere?
www.sunnyhill.org
Duration:00:16:00
Risk-Taking, Failure and Success
4/9/2024
Any significant undertaking will almost certainly involve significant risk and the possibility of failure. Any venture that is not at least somewhat risky is probably not much of a venture. And vulnerability is a necessary part of any project that is worth doing and is an essential element of success. This sermon will explore risk, failure and success in the context of our congregation’s proposed capital campaign as well as in our personal lives.
www.sunnyhill.org
Duration:00:22:24
Omnia Mutantur
4/2/2024
Omnia Mutantur, Rev. Jim Magaw
One of the central messages of Easter (and of most religious traditions) can be summarized in two words: everything transforms. Why is this such an important idea and how can it help us, no matter what our religious beliefs might be?
www.sunnyhill.org
Duration:00:19:20
Heaven on Earth
3/26/2024
Our Universalist forbears believed that it was up to each of us to create something like the kingdom of heaven on earth–to work for justice, to act with compassion and mercy, to be generous in bringing abundance to all, and to love the hell out of the world. What are we doing today to fulfill this same vision?
www.sunnyhill.org
Duration:00:23:05
Faith, Doubt, and Mustard Seed
3/19/2024
The gospel of Mark’s parable of the mustard seed challenges its readers to think about such issues as faith, doubt, and the power of community. What does this parable have to say to us about our own lives and our own era?
www.sunnyhill.org
Duration:00:20:52
Gospel of Mark: Good News
3/12/2024
What is the good news of our current era? Is there such a thing as “good news” when we are facing so many grim challenges? This sermon–the first of four inspired by the Gospel of Mark–will explore what it means to be bringers of good news, even (or especially) in dark times.
www.sunnyhill.org
Duration:00:22:04
Attention Please!
3/6/2024
One of the greatest challenges in life is paying attention. Sometimes, when things are difficult to experience, we really don’t want to pay attention. Other times, we simply forget. However, when we do pay attention, we’re better able to cope with reality and to appreciate all that is good in our lives and in our world.
www.sunnyhill.org
Duration:00:21:10
My Cup Overflows
2/27/2024
The phrase “my cup overflows” is a translation of the Hebrew phrase kosi r’vaya from the 23rd Psalm. Our spiritual cup often overflows–with joy, with sorrow, with wonder, with worry. What does it mean to live life from a place of abundance and overflowing rather than scarcity and emptiness?
www.sunnyhill.org
Duration:00:20:06
Dust and Ashes
2/20/2024
Dust and Ashes
Repentance is one of the major themes of the Christian liturgical season of Lent. What does repentance look like in our contemporary context, and is it even a useful concept here and now?
www.sunnyhill.org
Duration:00:17:19
Community & Connection
2/13/2024
Community & Connection
Julie Ann Sullivan, Rev. Jim Magaw
What are the benefits of being part of a healthy, thriving community, and what does it take to create and sustain such communities? In this service, we will explore these questions and others.
www.sunnyhill.org
Duration:00:26:57
Reproductive Justice Now
2/7/2024
As part of a liberatory Reproductive Justice movement, we affirm our commitment to building a world in which all people are able to make choices about their bodies, their health, and their families within safe, thriving communities.
www.sunnyhill.org
Duration:00:26:25
Prophetic Love and Rage
1/30/2024
It has been said that “if you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.” While it’s true that outrage and anger are appropriate, necessary, and even productive emotions, it is also true that something more is needed to nurture and sustain social justice movements. How do we bring both our outrage and our love to this work?
www.sunnyhill.org
Duration:00:22:28
God Is Love
1/23/2024
One of the most radical statements in the Christian gospels is expressed in three simple words: God is love. What are the real implications of conceptualizing God not as some distant all-powerful being but rather as something familiar and down-to-earth that manifests itself in countless life-sustaining, life-affirming ways?
www.sunnyhill.org
Duration:00:22:12
Life and Legacy of Bayard Rustin
1/16/2024
Until recently, Bayard Rustin was one of the lesser-known leaders of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. What can we learn from the life and work of Rustin, a gay Black man who was, in many ways, ahead of his time? And how might his example inspire all of us to carry on his work today?
www.sunnyhill.org
Duration:00:26:54
Frozen and Liberating Love
1/9/2024
Frozen and Liberating Love
The Frozen animated children’s film franchise explores the shadow side of the hero’s journey and collective identity. What are the implications of these themes for our own lives and our own culture? And how can courageous love lead to liberation, both for individuals and for society as a whole?
www.sunnyhill.org
Duration:00:24:23
Music of the Season
12/19/2023
This service will be comprised of holiday-themed music from various Sunnyhill members and friends, including the choir and other individuals and groups of all ages and many different styles. Come celebrate music and the season!
www.sunnyhill.org
Duration:00:25:25
Hanukkah
12/12/2023
Religious freedom and political resistance are major themes in the story of Hanukkah and the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire. In this service we will explore how and why these themes are just as relevant now as they have ever been.
www.sunnyhill.org
Duration:00:22:40
Into the Mystery
12/5/2023
While we might like to think that everything that happens is somehow logical and understandable, the truth is that all of existence is shrouded in mystery. Carl Sagan said, “The universe will always be much richer than our ability to understand it.” How do we lean into, and learn from, a sense of the mystery that is always present in our lives?
www.sunnyhill.org
Duration:00:21:45
You Are Not Alone
11/28/2023
Drawing on the work of the transcendentalists and, more recently, Ursula Goodenough, this sermon will address issues of angst, anxiety, loneliness and hopelessness by focusing on the spiritual sense of being part of something larger than ourselves. What do natural theology and nontheist faith have to offer in response to these issues?
www.sunnyhill.org
Duration:00:23:46