Sermons given at UUCB, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley
A call to the heart, mind, and spirit from UUCB. Sharing weekly sermons given by our Settled Minister, Rev. Marcus Liefert, Minister of Congregational Life Rev. Dr. Kathryn Jay, and distinguished guest preachers including UU ministers and lay leaders, ministers from other denominations, rabbis, philosophers, and activists.
Episodes
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley
October 25, 2026
The Oldest Altar
Rev. Marcus Liefert
“The world begins at a kitchen table,” writes Joy Harjo. Long before there were temples, there were tables: a flat stone, a fire, people gathered close enough to share what they had. As we begin a worship series exploring the nature and purpose of church through the metaphor of the table, we ask how ordinary surfaces bec...
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley
October 18, 2026
Hunted by Grace
Rev. Marcus Liefert
As we close a worship series on the search for salvation, one last turn: what if we've had the hunt backward all along? The 19th century English poet Francis Thompson called it "The Hound of Heaven"—grace not as something we chase down through vigilance and effort, but as what has been chasing us, patient, relentless, unwilling...
(Sermon only) ”Waiting in the Blind Spot” Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley October 11, 2026
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley
October 11, 2026
Waiting in the Blind Spot
Rev. Kathryn Jay
A hunting blind offers a place where hunters go still and watch until what's out there reveals itself. What does it mean to wait with that kind of attention? What are we waiting for?
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley
September 27, 2026
Reading Sign
Rev. Marcus Liefert
Trackers learn to "read sign"—a bent blade of grass, a snapped twig—a script of the movement of creatures written on the world. An honest search for salvation asks us to pay the same kind of careful attention. How do we attune well enough to the soul's subtle signals to be aware of our own capacity for harm before it's alr...
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley
September 20, 2026
Crouching at the Door
Rev. Marcus Liefert
As we honor the Jewish High Holy Day of Yom Kippur, we begin a new worship series using The Hunt as a metaphor for the religious question of soteriology—the search for salvation. When the Hebrew Bible first introduces the questions of harm and repair, it suggests sin is a predator crouching at the door, desiring you. Wh...
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley
September 13th, 2026
Days of Awe
Rev. Kathryn Jay
Sweetness and grief are woven fine. As we remember our individual and collective moments of joy and sadness, the kindness of strangers sometimes plays a bigger role than we expect. How can we small acts of kindness and tiny moments of grace help us break open our hearts to love?
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley
September 6th, 2026
Getting Comfortable with Capacity
Rev. Marcus Liefert
Modernity places hope in humanity's endless potential to grow—"Onward and upward forever!" as one of our spiritual ancestors declared in the Five Points of the New Theology. But overemphasizing our power and neglecting our limitations and vulnerability leaves us ill equipped to meet the challenges of our ti...
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley
August 30, 2026
The Faith Is In The Crossing
Rev. Marcus Liefert
Some traditions look out on the world and see people in need of conversion, lost souls who could be saved if only they are reached by the right message. Liberal religion holds instead a vision of pluralistic partnership. What kind of faith do we need to take the risk of crossing that chasm?
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley
August 23, 2026
Holding Under Pressure
Rev. Kathryn Jay
We cross bridges every day, trusting trusses, rivets, and beams to bear the heavy weight. We need communities that inspire that same kind of trust. How can we shore up the institutions of our common life to withstand the forces working to bring them down?
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley
August 2, 2026
The Power of Heartbreak
Rev. Dr. Kathryn Jay
Broken-heartedness is a fact of life. How can we grow and be transformed by the moments that break our hearts, making space for individual and communal healing in a world beset by loss and disappointment?
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley
July 26, 2026
Rooted in Rich Soil
Rev. Sheri Prud’homme
From where do we draw our religious authority? Part of the answer is from the theological heritage of Unitarian Universalism. Ours is an open and evolving faith, and we are stewards of its unfolding. Knowing our theological roots grounds our resistance to authoritarianism, consumerism, militarism, and racism as well as our c...
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley
July 12, 2026
Spiritual and Religious
Intern Minister: Liesl Dees
What does it mean to be both spiritual and religious? In this closing service of our series on Reclaiming and Reimagining Religion, explore how personal spiritual practice and shared religious community can deepen and sustain one another. Together, we’ll reflect on what is sacred in our lives, what is of lasting wo...
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley
July 5, 2026
Becoming What We Believe
Intern Minister: Liesl Dees
A religious life is not only about what we believe, but what we practice. We’ll reflect on the sacred work of living our faith beyond Sunday morning—shaping lives rooted in love, justice, and compassion.
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley
June 28, 2026
Reading The World
Intern Minister: Liesl Dees
What counts as a sacred text? As we continue our series on Reclaiming and Reimagining Religion, we’ll explore wisdom found not only in scripture, but also in literature, life, and landscape. Together, we’ll reflect on how we learn to read the sacred woven throughout our lives.
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley
June 21, 2026
Glitter and Grit
Rev. Kathryn Jay
A Prophetic Imagination Rev. Liesl Dees
Prophets are often imagined as lone figures predicting doom. But what if prophecy is really the courage to tell the truth, name what others refuse to see and call people back to relationship, justice, and compassion. Together, we’ll reclaim prophecy not as supernatural prediction but as the sacred work of imagining a more loving world.
Ministerial Intern Liesl Dees
Prayer is often imagined as speaking into silence. But what if prayer is an exchange of longing, listening, wonder, and response? We continue our series on Reclaiming and Reimagining Religion by exploring prayer as a practice of attention, connection, and presence.
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley May 31, 2026
Community in Bloom
We celebrate our annual flower communion with the recognition that we bloom always in relationship. Like the interdependent community of flowers and pollinators, we depend on each other more than we know to express our unique and sacred beauty. Bring a flower to celebrate!
Rev Marcus Liefert
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley May 24, 2026
Sound of Spirit
Rev Liesel Dees
As we begin our series on Reclaiming and Reimagining Religion, we start with the wisdom of our bodies. On this Pentecost Sunday, we’ll riff on the New Testament story of embodied spirituality through a jazz lens, featuring special guest trumpeter Delbert Anderson.
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley May 17, 2026
The Understory
We know some of the biggest stories that shape the world and human society are rapidly changing. Those changes show up in the small and specific realities of our own lives and our own community. How do we practice creating beloved community by living in the moral framework of interdependence here and now?
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