Services

Here are some of our previous services, with music, readings, and sermons.

Sunday, 5 March 2023: We Are One - Welcome before Prelude Good morning and welcome to West Fork Unitarian Universalists. I’m Lisa and I feel blessed to serve this congregation as a lay leader. I’m glad to see all of you here today.Thank you for joining us.Let us use the prelude for centering. We are about to enter sacred time. We are about … Continue reading

Sunday, July 10, 2022: Abundance and Hope - Welcome before Prelude Good morning and welcome to West Fork Unitarian Universalists. I’m Lisa and I feel blessed to serve this congregation as a lay leader. I’m glad to see all of you here today. Thank you for joining us. Let us use the prelude for centering. We are about to enter sacred time. We … Continue reading

Sunday, 16 January, 2022: Does Our Past Matter? - Our age is retrospective. It builds the sepulchres of the fathers. It writes biographies, histories, and criticism. The foregoing generations beheld God and nature face to face; we, through their eyes. Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe? Why should not we have a poetry and philosophy of insight and … Continue reading

Sunday Service, January 9th, 2022 - Your spiritual journey can be better with friends.

Sunday, 25 July, 2021: Punishment and Universal Salvation - (Image: the old two-cell strap-iron jail in Kelso, California) If I don’t believe God would punish people after death and send them to hell, because God is so loving and because punishment is not salvific, then why would I think punishment would be salvific on earth? That makes no sense. It’s just theologically inappropriate. — … Continue reading

Sunday, 20 June, 2021: Thinking Too Freely? - Freethinkers were fine people, but they shouldn’t go around thinking just anything. — Terry Pratchett, The Last Continent In the turmoil of early 19th Century religious thought in the United States, the Universalist minister Abner Kneeland set a high standard for controversy. A supporter of radical social reform, women’s rights, birth control, and interracial marriage, … Continue reading

Bronze figure of a Sewer worker peeks through the manhole in Bratislava

Sunday, January 24, 2021: In Other Capitals - I walked up to a counter in Antalya Airport to tell a disbelieving airline employee that our flight would shortly be canceled because the tanks being reported in the streets of Istanbul meant that a coup attempt was under way. It must be a military exercise, she shrugged. Some routine transport of troops, perhaps? If … Continue reading

Sunday, January 17, 2021 - Welcome: Good morning and welcome to West Fork Unitarian Universalists. I’m John and I feel blessed to serve this congregation as a lay leader. I’m glad to see all of you here today. Thank you for joining us. [If guests] I’d like to welcome our guests. Thank you for taking a chance and taking the … Continue reading

Sunday, December 6, 2020: Creating Christmas - Can you in your Conscience think, that our Holy Saviour is honoured, by Mad Mirth, by long Eating, by hard Drinking, by lewd Gaming, by rude Revelling; by a Mass fit for none but a Saturn or a Bacchus, or the Night of a Mahometan Ramadam? You cannot possibly think so. — Cotton Mather, Grace … Continue reading

Sunday, November 15, 2020: The Hardest Principle? - The Principles are not dogma or doctrine, but rather a guide for those of us who choose to join and participate in Unitarian Universalist religious communities. — Rev. Barbara Wells ten Hove Welcome before prelude Good morning and welcome to West Fork Unitarian Universalists. I’m Robert Helfer and I feel blessed to serve this congregation … Continue reading

Sunday 27 September 2020: … but sometimes it’s difficult to see - “There is beauty everywhere,” said Big Panda, “but sometimes it’s difficult to see.” — James Norbury We live in a world of spectacular contrasts. At times the beauty we see overwhelms us, but other times the ugliness around us seems more than we can bear. Yet even in those times of ugliness we’re surrounded by … Continue reading

The Courage to Be Disliked: Sunday, 20 September 2020 - "In a world the human inhabitants of which are currently being polarised into either the fiery or the ice-bound there often seems no longer to be any point in adopting a more temperate approach. After all, at the moment, those of us who do try to make temperate points in the public space often quickly find their arguments (and nearly always themselves) simultaneously attacked by the fiery from one side and the ice-bound from the other. It can be — indeed, it often is — highly dispiriting. So, what on earth are those of us with a more temperate spirit to do?" - Andrew J. Brown

Sunday August 30, 2020: The Great Showman - The noblest art is that of making others happy — P.T. Barnum Welcome before prelude Good morning and welcome to West Fork Unitarian Universalists. I’m Robert and I am blessed to serve this congregation as a lay leader. I’m glad to see all of you here today. Thank you for joining us. Let us use … Continue reading

Ancient stone tomb called Trethevy Quoit, near Tremar Coombe, Cornwall

Sunday, May 24, 2020: Things Worthy of Remembrance - And lest things worthy of remembrance should perish with time, and fall away from the memory of those who are to come after us, I, seeing these many evils, and the whole world lying as it were in the wicked one, among the dead, waiting for death til it come, as I have truly heard … Continue reading

Sunday, March 1, 2020: Dissent, Heresy, and Toleration - Tolerance is a social rather than a religious virtue. A broad-minded view of the private belief of others undoubtedly makes for the happiness of society; but it is an attitude impossible for those whose personal religion is strong. For if we know that we have found the key and guiding principle of Life, we cannot … Continue reading

Sunday, February 16, 2020: The Kingdom of God - Some time ago, in a conversation with Wes Jackson in which we were laboring to define the causes of the modern ruination of farmland, we finally got around to the money economy. I said that an economy based on energy would be more benign because it would be more comprehensive. Wes would not agree. “An … Continue reading

Crest of the Transylvanian Unitarian Church: dove standing on a mountain, encircled by a serpent biting its tail, surmounted by a golden crown.

Sunday, September 29, 2019: Serpents and Doves - Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. — Matthew 10:16 Welcome before prelude Good morning and welcome to West Fork Unitarian Universalists. I’m Robert Helfer and I am blessed to serve this congregation as a lay leader. I’m glad to … Continue reading

Sunday, September 22, 2019: Drifting as a Spiritual Practice - Welcome before prelude Good morning and welcome to West Fork Unitarian Universalists. I’m Lisa deGruyter and I feel blessed to serve this congregation as a lay leader. I’m glad to see all of you here today. Thank you for joining us. Let us use the prelude for centering. We are about to enter sacred time. … Continue reading

Sunday, August 25, 2019: Wealth and Philanthropy - This, then, is held to be the duty of the man of Wealth: … — the man of wealth thus becoming the mere agent and trustee for his poorer brethren, bringing to their service his superior wisdom, experience and ability to administer, doing for them better than they would or could do for themselves. — … Continue reading

Sunday, July 21, 2019: Our Universalist Roots - Prelude: All God’s Critters Got a Place in the Choir Welcome The early Universalist Hosea Ballou said “Man, being not only a religious, but also a social being, requires for the promotion of his rational happiness religious institutions, which, while they give a proper direction to devotion, at the same time make a wise, and … Continue reading

Sunday, March 31, 2019 - Prelude: Disappear From Dear Evan Hansen Welcome: All of us are welcome here; all of us are loved By Erika A. Hewitt Welcome Song: “Enter Rejoice and Come in” Chalice Lighting: Come we now out of the darkness By Annie Foerster The Principles: Kidciples Song The Story for All Ages: You Will be Found from … Continue reading

Sunday, 2 December 2018: Love Is Too Strong a Word - In 1984, Kurt Vonnegut asked what makes us so bloodthirsty, in the Ware Lecture "Love Is Too Strong a Word" at the Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly. Vonnegut was a third-generation Unitarian, and great-grandson of a founder of the Freethinker’s Society of Indianapolis. We will hear a tape of his lecture, which is startlingly topical today.

Sunday, December 10, 2017: Extreme Practices - Prelude: Avanti – Corvus Coraxhttps://youtu.be/Zyu9ur8iX4g Welcome: To learn more about being human – Erika A. Hewitt Welcome to this morning, this day, and this opportunity to be together in community — which is a time of joy, comfort, and sometimes challenges. This Unitarian Universalist congregation is a place where we come to learn more about … Continue reading

Sunday, October 22, 2017: Words of Comfort - Prelude: Somebody Else’s Troubles – Steve Goodman Welcome: To learn more about being human – Erika A. Hewitt Welcome to this morning, this day, and this opportunity to be together in community — which is a time of joy, comfort, and sometimes challenges. This Unitarian Universalist congregation is a place where we come to learn … Continue reading

Sunday, July 23, 2017 - "All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt." - Charles M. Schulz

Sunday, June 18, 2017: Genealogy as a Spiritual Practice - Prelude: Leader of the Band – Dan Fogelberg Welcome: The Paradox of Ancestry We gather together this morning, Because others came before us. Some have left examples for us to follow, Others lessons for us to learn from, and the paradox is that many have left both pain and joy. We honor our ancestors this … Continue reading

Sunday, June 11, 2017: Creeds and Other Tests of Faith - Prelude I Believe in You – Don Williams Welcome The beauty of the whole – Meg Barnhouse We gather to worship, our hearts alive with hope that here we will be truly seen, that here we will be welcomed into the garden of this community, where the simple and the elegant, the fluted and frilled, … Continue reading

Sunday, June 4, 2017: Coopers Rock State Forest - Prelude – Wildflowers by Dolly Parton with Emmylou Harris &Linda Ronstadt Chimes Opening for Flower Communion By Thomas Rhodes Announcements Greeting: #361 “Enter Rejoice and Come In” Greet your neighbor in any way you feel comfortable, as we sing this familiar song. Chalice Lighting: Infinite Spirit of Life, we ask thy blessing on these By … Continue reading

Sunday, May 21, 2017 - Prelude: “GONNA BUILD A MOUNTAIN” from Stop The World I Want to Get Off Composed by Bricusse and Newley Performed by Penn Yan Community Chorus Welcome: “You come into the world with nothing, and the purpose of your life is to make something out of nothing.” – Henry Louis Mencken Chalice Lighting: Global Chalice Lighting … Continue reading

Sunday, May 14, 2017: Hypocrite! - Prelude: Deportee – Cisco Houston Welcome: To learn more about being human – Erika A. Hewitt Welcome to this morning, this day, and this opportunity to be together in community — which is a time of joy, comfort, and sometimes challenges. This Unitarian Universalist congregation is a place where we come to learn more about … Continue reading

Sunday May 7, 2017: Pura Vida! -

“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”- Marcus Garvey “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” – Harriet Tubman Sunday our youth […]

Flower Ceremony and Egg Hunt: Sunday April 16, 2017 -

Today we are celebrating our Flower Ceremony created by Dr. Norbert Čapek for the Liberal Religious Fellowship he founded in Prague, then Czechoslavakia, in 1925, and which became the largest Unitarian Church in the world. Lunch and egg hunt after the service.

Sunday March 19, 2017: The Doctrine of Love - But, says the reader, is it likely that persecution ever rose from men’s believing, that God was an enemy to wicked man? Undoubtedly; for had all professors of Christianity believed that God had compassion on the ignorant and those who are out of the way, how could they have persecuted those whom they believe in error?

Sunday March 12 2017: Saving Daylight - Prelude: Here Comes the Sun – George Harrison Welcome: Here in this sanctuary – Jack Mendelsohn Welcome to this community. Here in this sanctuary of ancient dreams and wisdom and beauty we come to grow, to be healed, to stretch mind and heart, to be challenged, renewed; to be helped in our own continuing struggles … Continue reading

Sunday February 26 2017: Church! What Is It Good For? - "When our values are threatened, a congregation is an anchor against despair." - Doug Muder in UU World

Sunday February 12, 2017 - Prelude: P!NK “Don’t Let me Get Me” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asaCQOZpqUQ Welcome: “All That Lies Within You” by Angela Herrera Consider this an invitation To you. Yes-you With all your happiness And all of your burdens, Your hopes and regrets. An invitation if you feel good today, And an invitation if you do not, If you are aching- … Continue reading

Sunday February 5, 2017: Democratic Process - Prelude: Heyr himna smiður – Árstíðir [Heyr, himna smiður (Hear, Smith of the Heavens) was written by the Icelandic chieftain and poet Kolbeinn Tumason, according to tradition, on his deathbed in 1208 AD. Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson set the poem to music in 1973. This recording features the Icelandic “Indie Rock” group Árstíðir. For more information, see … Continue reading

Sunday January 22 2017: Our UU Presidents - Prelude: America (My Country ‘Tis of Thee) – Aretha Franklin 2009 A hymn from the first Unitarian hymnbook published in the brand new United States, in 1789, and noted as Thanks for National Protection O Come, let us sing to the Lord a new song, And praise him to whom all our praises belong ! … Continue reading

Sunday January 8, 2017 - Prelude: Willow by Heather Jinmaku Welcome: Do Not Be Alone Right Now By Karen G. Johnston Do not be alone right now. Gather together. Gathering together grows courage: in ourselves and in others who see the numbers swelling. It is a small thing, but right now it is an important thing. Great sources of wisdom … Continue reading

Sunday December 25, 2016 - Prelude: Ring Solstice Bells – Jethro Tull Chalice Lighting We gather in the chill of winter solstice, finding warmth from each other, nourishing hope where reason fails. Grateful for small miracles, we rejoice in the wonder of light and darkness and the daring of hope.

Sunday December 18, 2016 - If you were unable to come on Sunday, we missed you! See what you missed here.

Sunday December 4, 2016: Walking In the Woods - Prelude: Heyr himna smiður – Árstíðir [Heyr, himna smiður (Hear, Smith of the Heavens) was written by the Icelandic chieftain and poet Kolbeinn Tumason, according to tradition, on his deathbed in 1208 AD. Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson set the poem to music in 1973. This recording features the Icelandic “Indie Rock” group Árstíðir. For more information, see … Continue reading

Sunday November 20, 2016: Joy in the Moment - Prelude: Morning Has Broken – Cat Stevens Welcome: Look To This Day by Kalidasa Look to this day: For it is life, the very life of life. In its brief course Lie all the verities and realities of your existence. The bliss of growth, The glory of action, The splendor of beauty Are but experiences … Continue reading

Sunday, October 4, 2016: Defying the Nazis - Welcome: To Remind Ourselves What Is Real, By Elena Westbrook In a world ravaged by violence, by hatred, by conflicts that seem eternal and insoluble, sometimes the only thing we can do is be still for a moment to remind ourselves what is real: the sun that rose this morning, the dirt under our feet, … Continue reading

Sunday, September 4, 2016: Love in a Time of Fear and Loathing - Prelude: Once to Every Man and Nation Welcome: Thich Nhat Hanh (SLT 505) Let us be at peace with our bodies and our minds. Let us return to ourselves and become wholly ourselves. Let us be aware of the source of being, common to us all and to all living things. Evoking the presence of … Continue reading

Sunday August 7, 2016: Redemptive Art? - Prelude: Amarillo by Morning – George Strait Welcome: We gather together to face ourselves honestly, By Philip Larson We gather together to face ourselves honestly, to forgive ourselves gently, to love one another fervently. Chalice lighting: For every time we make a mistake, By Maureen Killoran For every time we make a mistake and we … Continue reading

Sunday July 17, 2016 - Prelude: Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony 2nd Movement Welcome: “Belief must be something different from a mixture of opinions about God and the world, and of precepts for one life or for two. Piety cannot be an instinct craving for a mess of metaphysical and ethical crumbs.” ― Friedrich Schleiermacher, On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultured Despisers … Continue reading

Sunday, June 26, 2016: In All Thy Getting, Get Understanding - “In All Thy Getting, Get Understanding” Our service this morning consisted of the live feed of the Sunday morning worship service at the 2016 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association in Columbus, Ohio.

Sunday, May 22, 2016: Dissent, Heresy, and Innovation - Prelude Galileo – Indigo Girls Welcome The beauty of the whole – Meg Barnhouse We gather to worship, our hearts alive with hope that here we will be truly seen, that here we will be welcomed into the garden of this community, where the simple and the elegant, the fluted and frilled, the shy and … Continue reading

Sunday, April 24, 2016: Frontier Faith and a God of Love - Prelude: Morning Prayer by Hosea Ballou Sung by Second Ireland Sacred Harp Singers Welcome Hosea Ballou said “Man, being not only a religious, but also a social being, requires for the promotion of his rational happiness religious institutions, which, while they give a proper direction to devotion, at the same time make a wise, and … Continue reading

Sunday April 10, 2016: Our Quests and Spiritual Journeys - Prelude Tri Martolod – Alan Stivell Welcome The beauty of the whole – Meg Barnhouse We gather to worship, our hearts alive with hope that here we will be truly seen, that here we will be welcomed into the garden of this community, where the simple and the elegant, the fluted and frilled, the shy … Continue reading

Flower Communion and Egg Hunt: Sunday March 27, 2016 - Prelude Mother Spirit Father Spirit Norbert Čapek, sung by Waco UUC Welcome Today we are celebrating our Flower Communion, which was created by Dr. Norbert Čapek for the Liberal Religious Fellowship he founded in Prague, then Czechoslavakia, in 1925, and which became the largest Unitarian Church in the world. He sought a ceremony that would … Continue reading

Sunday March 20, 2016: Self Esteem - Prelude: Welcome: This morning we have treat for you. Some of our young people have worked together to prepare this morning’s service. Come into this circle of community. Come into this sacred space. By Andrew Pakula Come into this circle of community. Come into this sacred space. Be not tentative. Bring your whole self! Bring … Continue reading

Sunday, February 28, 2016: Ten Irrational Ideas, Suffering, and Love - Welcome Prelude: Secure Yourself to Heaven – Indigo Girls Chalice Lighting World Chalice Lighting for February —Rev. Dr. Ian Ellis-Jones Australian and New Zealand Unitarian Universalist Association We light this Chalice, a living symbol of the one Life that animates and sustains all things and all persons, the one Life in which we all live … Continue reading

Sunday February 7, 2016: The Mind’s Old Wilderness Cut Down - Prelude: Out in the Country – Three Dog Night Welcome: Wind, Water, Sun – Seth Carrier-Ladd Wind that whispers through the willow trees Sun that sustains us Water that washes over willing earth and weathered stones A smile shared and savored A child’s squeal of delight as she dances in the daisies and daffodils The … Continue reading

Sunday, 31 January 2016: Grace, Gratitude, and Privilege - Prelude: Let Her Go – Passenger Welcome Chalice Lighting May We Look With Gratitude Upon This Day – Michael R. Leduc May we look with gratitude upon this day, for the beauty of the world, for the first radiance of dawn and the last smoldering glow of sunset. Let us be thankful for physical joys, … Continue reading

Sunday January 3, 2016: Altars, Shrines, and Every Day Practice - Prelude Chalice Lighting: Rabbi Hillel, a Jewish contemporary of Jesus, said, “Separate not thyself from the congregation and its concerns, nor postpone thought for thy spirit until the day of thy death. Say not, ‘By and by, when I have leisure, I will care for my soul,’ lest perchance thou never find leisure.” Song: Come, … Continue reading

Sunday December 20, 2015: Celebrate the Light - Prelude: Ring Solstice Bells by Jethro Tull Welcome Chalice Lighting We gather in the chill of winter solstice, finding warmth from each other, nourishing hope where reason fails. Grateful for small miracles, we rejoice in the wonder of light and darkness and the daring of hope. I’d like to invite each of each who has … Continue reading

Sunday December 13, 2015: Politics and Religion - Welcome Welcome and Happy Holidays, Happy St. Nicholas Day, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Abolition Day, Bodhi Day (Tuesday), Second Sunday of Advent Chalice Lighting ~ Kimberly Knight, Minister of Digital Community, Extravagance UCC No, my prayers will not stop the killing. No, my prayers will not bring back the innocent. No, my prayers will not relax … Continue reading

Sunday November 22, 2015: The ‘Miracle’ of Good Luck, New Jersey - Welcome: Welcome to this Place, by Cathy Rion Starr Welcome to this place of peace; May we find some moments of quiet contemplation. Welcome to this place of celebration; May our hearts soar with gratitude for the gift of life. Welcome to this place of sacred love; May we gently hold all that is broken … Continue reading

Sunday 16 November 2014: Church — What Is It Good For? - Church — What Is It Good For? Chalice Lighting For me the essence of Unitarian Universalism is the responsible search for my personal spiritual truth in a loving and supportive community that values that search. The analogy I use is the campfire or hearth. When the cold, existential winds of the uncaring universe blew hard … Continue reading

Sunday 20 January 2013: Optimism - Optimism John Hall Service Leader Chalice Lighting Principles Sermon: On the nature of Optimism: What is Optimism? It’s a positive outlook. It is a decision to both see the good in people and situations and people, and to foster a spirit of hope.

Sunday 6 January 2013: Perfect Prayer - Perfect Prayer Ginnie McNeil Service Leader Chalice Lighting Principles The Source of Miracles 7 Steps to Transforming Your Life Through The Lord’s Prayer

Sunday 9 December 2012: There’s Something About Mary - There’s Something About Mary Suzie Hall Service Leader There’s Something About Mary

Sunday 4 November 2012: Voodoo - Voodoo Chalice Lighting Principles Service: Louisiana Voodoo Joys and Sorrows April Pierson-Keating Service Leader

Sunday 21 October 2012: Masks - Masks Chalice Lighting Principles Service: Masks Joys and Sorrows Cricket Hall Service Leader Order of service for Masks

Sunday 23 September 2012:Repent and Be Saved - Repent and Be Saved Prelude: Enter, Rejoice, and Come In – played by the Biggest Crazy UU Band in Nashua at least (courtesy of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashua, New Hampshire) Enter, rejoice, and come in. Enter, rejoice, and come in. Today will be a joyful day; enter, rejoice, and come in. Open your … Continue reading

Sunday 13 May 2012 - What My Imperfect Mother Taught Me About Perfection Chalice Lighting We light this candle as a symbol of our faith. By its light may our vision be illumined; By its warmth may our fellowship be encouraged; And by its flame may our yearnings for peace, justice and the life of the spirit be enkindled. Principles … Continue reading

Sunday 22 Apr 2012: Earth Day - Earth Day Picnic at Valley Falls State Park Chalice Lighting O hidden life that vibrates in each atom, O hidden light that shines in each creature, O hidden love that embraces everything in unity, May all who feel one with you Know that for this very reason we are one with all the others. — … Continue reading

Sunday 26 Feb 2012 - Altars, Shrines, and Every Day Practice Chalice Lighting: Rabbi Hillel, a Jewish contemporary of Jesus, said, “Separate not thyself from the congregation and its concerns, nor postpone thought for thy spirit until the day of thy death. Say not, ‘By and by, when I have leisure, I will care for my soul,’ lest perchance thou … Continue reading

Sunday 19 Feb 2012 - Loving-Kindness Chalice Lighting Principles Loki’s Shocking Proclamation My son shocked me, recently. He told me that except for his family and friends (including future friends) he hated everyone. To be fair, he is angry that his fellow humans are so casually destroying the Earth and its creatures in pursuit of their own greed or as … Continue reading