Past Services
December 20, 2009: Winter Celebration of Light - Marty Miller, coordinator
Most of the world's religions recognize that this is the darkest time of the year, and they use this time to celebrate light -- the light of hope, the light of love, and the light of truth. During this service, we will participate in and discuss some light traditions from Judiasm, Christianity, and UUism, followed by a candle lighting ceremony. We encourage you to think about your hopes for 2010 -- for yourself, our congregation, and the world at large -- and share them with us during this service in a circle.December 6, 2009: Creativity: A Divinity that Shapes Our Ends - Rev. Chris Buice
The central challenge of spiritual living is meeting adversity with creativity. The Unitarian theologian Henry Nelson Wieman equated creativity with divinity. This Sunday we will explore the role creativity plays in our individual and congregational lives. Our guest minister will be the Rev. Chris Buice of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church.November 15, 2009: Courage to Be Yourself - Christy Walsh and Shellie Vance
Courage is having hope and putting it into action. Courage is made possible when one is surrounded by a community that values, encourages and supports you to take a risk. The Gate-Gateway to Independence exists to create a community where participants have the courage to be themselves in the face of adversity and in the face of a society that has already given them a label. Christy Walsh and Shellie Vance, a Gate participant, will share how The Gate seeks to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of everyone who attends.November 1, 2009: I, The Caterpillar - Rev. Gordon Gibson
The only person so far ordained as a Unitarian Universalist minstrel minister was Ric Masten. Ric led a fascinating and unique life, unafraid to fail at many different things and thereby succeeding at many others. The title for today's service comes from an early version of one of his songs/poems.Our preacher will be the Rev. Gordon Gibson, whose acquaintance with Ric goes back about 40 years. Gordon, a retired Unitarian Universalist minister, is making his second visit to our pulpit.
October 18, 2009: Who Gets a Vote? - Reverend Sue Sinnamon
The focus of this Sunday's message will be on Faith Development and the role of children and youth as full members of the congregation.Rev. Sinnamon is the Director of Lifespan Faith Development for the Thomas Jefferson District. This will be the second time that our fellowship has welcomed her to the pulpit.
October 4, 2009: How do I look in an empty mirror? - Dr. Andrew Irvine
The mirror is an ancient and potent symbol in many religious traditions. Maryville College Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Dr. Andrew Irvine, will encourage the congregation to reflect on the symbol of the mirror in two of our Unitarian sources - the Buddhist and Christian scriptures.September 20, 2009: Rock of Doubt - Rev. Anne McKee
Sydney Carter, a British Quaker, and writer of folk hymns, wrote, "Over every statement, no matter who makes it, there will hang a question mark. Is this statement true or not? That is what it will be saying... Without that question mark, I see, there could be no faith or doubt, nothing but dead certainty. Just as there can be no courage without danger, so there can be no truth without doubt. Risk is part of the game that we are born to play in. We must learn to lean on the possibilities." Through looking at some of the work of Sydney Carter, we will consider the process of creative questioning that forms the foundation of faith.The Reverend Anne McKee is the Maryville College Campus Minister.
September 6, 2009: Living Faith - Owen Rhodes
We UU's often see ourselves as a collection of seekers, having far more questions to ask than answers to provide. Sometimes, though, it's hard to tell the difference between a seeker and someone who's just plain lost. Faith, whether in a god or a religion or science or each other, can provide firm footing for making our way through troubling times. And, believe it or not, we all have faith of some kind or another and we live our faith each and every day. We can't help it. Join us as we kick off our Lifespan Faith Development program by looking at the nature of faith, what it means to develop your faith, and how the way we live our lives reveals our faith to those around us.August 16, 2009: Water Ceremony: UU 7th Principle - Nina Gregg
We will hold a Water Ceremony Service on Aug.16th, which will signify our coming together as a fellowship after the summer. Members bring to the service a small amount of water from a place that is special to them. During the appointed time in the service, people one by one pour their water together into a large bowl. You will be asked to reflect on why water is important. The combined water is symbolic of our shared faith coming from many different sources and our responsibility for water.August 2, 2009: Celebrating Tanabata and Commemorating Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Rev. Ralph Hutchison and Harumi Butcher
During this service, we will experience a taste of Japan's Tanabata Festival, in which we offer our wishes and hang them on bamboo branches. We will also reflect on the commemoration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Reverend Ralph Hutchison is a local Presbyterian minister.July 19, 2009: Albert Camus: Myth of Sisyphus - Aaron Astor
One of the most powerful of the Ancient Greek myths was that of Sisyphus, the man condemned by the gods to push a rock up a mountain for eternity, only to have it roll down each time. The French existentialist philosopher Albert Camus saw in Sisyphus a metaphor for the modern "absurd hero," who creates a meaningful life out of his endless toil. In this service we will explore and reflect on how Camus' Sisyphus inspires us to pursue the Unitarian principle of a 'free and responsible search for truth and meaning'.July 5, 2009: Faith Beyond Freedom - Rev. Jim McKinley
On this Sunday following the Fourth of July we will look at the common ground of free faith that lies beneath and beyond the attraction of individual freedom. Yes, there is a center to Unitarian Universalist faith. It informs and orients, but does not prescribe. It is inclusive, inspired and incarnational. It is a faith of reason and purpose, insight and action that can be stated simply and easily.The Rev. Jim McKinley has served as minister of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hendersonville for almost 12 years. He is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School. Before professional ministry, Jim worked in conservation biology. He has just finished two terms as president of the Southeast UU Ministers Association. His current areas of spiritual focus include articulating a core of Unitarian Universalism, understandiings of hope, ecology/ theology and spiritual practice. Jim enjoys being a full time parent of a teenage girl half the time. His hobbies include whitewater kayaking and playing guitar.
June 21, 2009: Stewardship Sunday
On Stewardship Sunday, we will look at some of the issues surrounding our church’s near term vision and the way we look at our personal finances and giving. The ways we spend our money - reveal what our values are. As it is written, "Where your treasure is, so shall your heart be also." A look at our checkbook, or our credit card bill, is a powerful tool for self-knowledge and understanding.June 7, 2009: Kurt Vonnegut, Big Brained Unitarian - Carl Gombert
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. is arguably the most widely read Unitarian ever, and yet his extensive thoughts about life, love, and the human condition have not yet taken their rightful place in the UU canon. Carl Gombert's sermon might explore our need for extended families, the role of the arts in making life livable, and the possibility that we have evolved big shiny brains that do us more harm than good. Or it might not. So it goes.Stickin' With The UUs lyrics
This service also featured two original compositions, "Spanish Variation on Beethoven's Theme" and "Georgian Dance," written and performed by our own Henry Astor.
May 17, 2009: Good Advice - Carl Gombert and Owen Rhodes
In honor of both Mothers' and Fathers' Days, the May 17th service is devoted to the topic of Good Parental Advice. Carl Gombert and Owen Rhodes have collected the wisdom of the ages as passed on by members of the congregation, and will share the "good advice" with all of us. In addition, Shirley Gist has chosen several songs for us to sing that embody this "good advice." The question is: Are we smart enough to take the good advice for living?May 3, 2009: Let's Get Old Testament - Owen Rhodes
The Old Testament is full of prophecies told by desert nomads and royal advisors who took stock of the actions and attitudes of the societies of their day (and the men and women who led them), gazed into the ether and made predictions as to their consequences if things didn't change. To make it into the Bible, it seems, the consequences had to be dire and catastrophic and involve the wrath of God in some form or another. Today, in the United States, the gap between the haves and the have-nots, the swelling population of those in poverty or just hanging on outside of it, and the hate and indifference spewed out on the airwaves by the jesters of the rich are all combining to form the seed for a class war the likes of which this country has never seen. That is, of course, unless something changes. The catalyst for that change just might be a certain liberal religious movement rising up and taking the lead. (look at the data)April 19, 2009: The Web of Life - FUUF PG-13 Youth
Our 7th Principle calls us to have respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. Our PG-13 youth will explore this idea of interdependence and connection in their own beautiful way through music, prose, and poetry. This service will include a Flower Communion ceremony, so bring flowers!April 5, 2009: Easter, The Passion of Christ, and UUism - Jeff Fager
After the Romans executed Jesus, his followers struggled to make sense of this devastating event. They viewed Jesus' horrible death from a variety of perspectives, relying on themes found in many religions. How do those themes illuminate the Passion of Christ? How might we appropriate the passion into the twenty-first century? How does the Resurrection affect our incorporation of the Crucifixion into our worldview?March 15, 2009: History and Celebration of Purim in Judaism - Aaron Astor
On March 15 we will celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim. This is a playful holiday and all children are encouraged to come to the service in costume. Also, please bring a creative noisemaker! The service will celebrate the various "masks" we use on a daily basis to stand up for Unitarian principles in a world that rarely understands us.March 1, 2009: Third Anniversary Celebration of UU in Blount County
During this service we celebrated the 3rd anniversary of our first service in Blount County. Church members and friends shared their memories of the early determination to establish a presence in Blount County, their personal stories of why they came to UU and what the church means to them, and their vision of what our church could look like in the future.February 15, 2009: Words that Hurt, Words that Heal
After the scheduled speaker feel ill on Saturday, Tom Walsh and Niki Schrock did a wonderful job of putting together a moving service at the last minute.February 1, 2009: Nirvana Day - Brother Utsumi and Sister Denise
Nirvana Day is an annual Buddhist festival and is generally celebrated on February 15th by Mahayana Buddhists, which is believed to be the day of parinirvana, on which Guatama Buddha passed away from this world; however, Theravadin Buddhists celebrate Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and nirvana together at the same time in May. It is the celebration of Buddha's death when he reached total Nirvana, at the age of 80.On Nirvana Day, Buddhists think about their lives and how they can work towards gaining the perfect peace of Nirvana. At our service, we will join Brother Utsumi and Sister Denise of the Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist tradition in the practice of chanting, which will focus on bringing peace, social justice, and happiness through present moment awareness. We will also learn about the personal influence of walking for peace and chanting from a Maryville College student and professor, who recently visited the Nipponzan Myohoji Atlanta Dojo during the "Road to Justice" course.
