2026 March Monthly Service Offering – Casa Marianella

February 23, 2026 by Sasha Lorenzo Posted in Uncategorized

Casa Marianella

-ICE is here in Austin, picking up students, workers, dreamers, and parents.

-Texas is building many detention centers for people from out of state, with our tax money.

-Asylum seekers who go to local courts for a final hearing are losing their cases. Their last recourse might be a habeas review for possibly unlawful detention.

Casa Marianella has all-hands-on-deck for asylum seekers, refugees, and other immigrants. Your contributions help!

Why don’t immigrants just get in line? The truth is that “There is no line.” Instead of “a line,” there’s a convoluted system that is applied unevenly among different nationalities and ethnicities. However, we UUs believe in fairness, inherent worth, justice, and diversity. We help our neighbors avoid deportation and work, live, and raise their kids here.

Emergency and transitional housing are provided in small homes for women and children, single men, single dads, and families. Support includes food, clothing, legal and medical resources, English classes, a bicycle program, and much more. Residents may stay for 3 months; some of them move to host homes for another 3 months as they try to get on their feet.

Convivo is a monthly celebration on the last Sunday of the month (except November and December, when it’s on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day). Residents, staff, volunteers, neighbors, and friends like us enjoy live music, excellent food, fellowship, and dancing. Join the fun at 821 Gunter St, Austin, TX 78702, from 6-8 pm.

More info at https://www.casamarianella.org/.

2026 Austin CROP Hunger Walk

February 11, 2026 by Sasha Lorenzo Posted in Uncategorized

On the first Sunday in March, the Austin community will gather to fight hunger both at home and around the world. Visit the First UU Austin CROP webpage to donate to this important event and learn more about the walk.

The walk will be held at Camp Mabry at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 1st, and the route is accessible for wheelchairs and strollers. If you are interested in walking, feel free to contact Emily Speight at espeight2003@gmail.com with questions. The local beneficiaries of this year’s walk are the Central Texas Food Bank, Casa Marianella, Micah 6 of Austin, iACT for Refugees, Hope Food Pantry, Urban Roots, and Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Central Texas.

Together, we will continue to fight against disease, disaster, displacement and other challenges that leave people hungry. Join with us as we raise funds to help neighbors near and far get the meals they need for today and sustainable food security for tomorrow!

Interdependence Discussion

February 5, 2026 by Sasha Lorenzo Posted in Uncategorized

Bis Thorton and Suzie Riddle invite you to join a thoughtful discussion about our new value: interdependence.

The value states, “We honor the interdependent web of all existence. With reverence for the great web of life and with humility, we acknowledge our place in it. We covenant to protect Earth and all beings from exploitation. We will create and nurture sustainable relationships of care and respect, mutuality, and justice. We will work to repair harm and damaged relationships.”

The group will meet in Room 15 on Sunday, February 22nd, at 12:45 p.m. Vegan snacks will be provided. The group is limited to 12 people, so please sign up quickly!

Sign up Now!

February Vegan Potluck

February 4, 2026 by Sasha Lorenzo Posted in Uncategorized

Vegan Potluck

Path to Membership March 2026

January 29, 2026 by Sasha Lorenzo Posted in Uncategorized

Did Unitarianism really start in Transylvania?

Who is Reverend Wheelock, and who is Emily Wheelock Howson?

When was this building constructed?

If you are new here and want to learn the answers to these questions and more, this class is for you! We will be hosting our quarterly Path to Membership Class on Saturday, March 28th, 9:00 AM in Room 13.

Here we will learn about the history of this church, as well as the broader history of UUism and its origins. There will also be a time to share our spiritual journeys and make connections with each other. Then, at the end, if you decide you would like to become a member, you will have an opportunity to sign the Membership Book!

Breakfast and coffee are provided, as well as childcare if needed.

*If you require childcare, you must Register on Church Center to let us know.

Path_Class_march2026 (1).png

Questions? Please email membership@austinuu.org

Climate Justice Meeting

January 29, 2026 by Sasha Lorenzo Posted in Green sanctuary, Uncategorized

Please join us for the First UU Climate Committee and Sierra Club Climate monthly meeting in Howson Hall on Tuesday, February 3rd, at 6:30 p.m., as we focus on solidarity with people in Minneapolis who are facing fear, disruption, and injustice in their communities.

We believe that social injustice is climate injustice. Immigration is a climate issue, as more and more fathers and mothers are fleeing drought-ravaged homes in search of somewhere they can feed their family. Protecting democracy is a climate issue, because our work—already challenging—becomes vastly more difficult if it is replaced by tyranny. Attacks on vulnerable communities, civil rights, and democracy undermine the trust and collective action we need to solve the climate crisis.

At this meeting, we will hear directly from people who live at ground zero in Minneapolis and from others who have been on the ground protesting and supporting affected communities. We are honored that Rev. Carrie Holley-Hurt will join us, along with several Minneapolis residents, to share what they have witnessed and how we can stand in solidarity.

If you are unable to attend in person, please Join on Zoom!

February 2026 Monthly Service Offering

January 28, 2026 by Sasha Lorenzo Posted in Uncategorized

Planned Parenthood has been serving patients across Texas for over 90 years. In 2025 we expanded our service area to cover four health centers in Houston. Planned Parenthood provides quality, compassionate healthcare from expert clinicians, medically accurate, inclusive sex education from professional educators, and a fierce commitment to a world in which everyone can access quality healthcare and information to live their lives fully, without judgment. Planned Parenthood’s four Austin health centers offer annual exams, the full range of birth control methods (including IUDs and implants), testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), screenings for breast and cervical cancer, HPV (human papillomavirus) and flu vaccines, PrEP and PEP HIV prevention medication, UTI and infection treatment, gender-affirming hormone therapy, and more.

Two-thirds of Planned Parenthood patients are underinsured or uninsured. For the 20% of Travis County residents ages 18-65 who do not have health insurance, PPGT is a vital sexual and reproductive health resource. Here in Austin, and across the country, lack of access to health insurance overwhelmingly affects our Black and Latine neighbors. Your generosity provides our patients with access to healthcare. In 2025, we served more than 14,000 patients in the Austin area. Despite operating in a hostile political environment and under an extreme abortion ban, our Austin health centers are delivering more care than ever because Texans are counting on us.

To expand access to healthcare appointments for patients juggling work, school, and childcare, at least one of Planned Parenthood’s four Austin health centers feature at least one day a week with extended evening hours, plus virtual visits 7 days a week, and 24/7 asynchronous telemedicine for birth control and uncomplicated UTI needs. Planned Parenthood is a trusted resource for young people seeking health information. Our Teen Advocacy Board (TAB) empowers high school teens to be a knowledgeable resource for their peers about sexual health. TAB members bring essential information about contraception, STI prevention, healthy relationships, and more to their peers in Austin.

Guide to Meg’s Sermons

January 16, 2026 by tom Posted in Meg Barnhouse, Sermons, Uncategorized

Guide to Meg’s Sermons

2022 Sermons

Sermon Topic	Author	Date
You’re going to Pray for me?	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-24-24
Flower Ceremony and Farewell	Rev Meg Barnhouse	05-29-22
The Pumpkins Promise	Rev Meg Barnhouse	05-22-22
The fire of anger	Rev Meg Barnhouse	05-08-22
Curiosity and Respect	Rev Meg Barnhouse	05-01-22
Being Present with one another	Rev Meg Barnhouse	04-24-22
Coming to life again	Rev Meg Barnhouse	04-17-22
What is the Eighth Principle?	Rev Meg Barnhouse	04-03-22
Grasshoppers in Indra’s Glittering Net	Rev Meg Barnhouse	03-27-22
Water Ceremony 2022	Rev Meg Barnhouse	03-20-22
How to eat a car	Rev Meg Barnhouse	03-06-22
A Good Goodbye	Rev Meg Barnhouse	02-20-22
What if you were really loved	Rev Meg Barnhouse	02-13-22
Connected to All Creation	Rev Meg Barnhouse	02-06-22

2021 Sermons

Sermon Topic	Author	Date
2021 Christmas Eve Service	Rev Meg Barnhouse	12-24-21
2021 Christmas Pageant	Rev Meg Barnhouse	12-19-21
The Perils of Perfectionism	Rev Meg Barnhouse	12-12-21
Dealing with difficult people (and trying not to be one)	Rev Meg Barnhouse	12-05-21
Right Concentration	Rev Meg Barnhouse	11-28-21
Using Our Voices	Rev Meg Barnhouse	11-14-21
Be Present in your Life	Rev Meg Barnhouse	11-07-21
All Souls and All Saints	Rev Meg Barnhouse	10-31-21
The Healing Power of Truth	Rev Meg Barnhouse	10-24-21
Great Big Celebration Sunday	Rev Meg Barnhouse	10-10-21
The Third Principle	Rev Meg Barnhouse	10-03-21
So Much Wasted Effort	Rev Meg Barnhouse	09-26-21
Resilience	Rev Meg Barnhouse & Rev Chris Jimmerson	09-19-21
Down to the River to Pray	Rev Meg Barnhouse	09-12-21
Right Livelihood	Rev Meg Barnhouse	09-05-21
The Inherent Worth and Dignity of every Person	Rev Meg Barnhouse	08-29-21
One coming out story	Rev Meg Barnhouse	08-15-21
In the stream of your life	Rev Meg Barnhouse	06-27-21
What did you just say?	Rev Meg Barnhouse	06-13-21
Just a Reminder	Rev Meg Barnhouse	06-06-21
Flower Communion 2021	Rev Meg Barnhouse	05-30-21
Why should I believe that?	Rev Meg Barnhouse	05-23-21
Abandon Hope and Fear	Rev Meg Barnhouse	05-09-21
Blues Theology (Revisited)	Rev Meg Barnhouse	04-25-21
History – It’s complicated	Rev Meg Barnhouse	04-11-21
When Harold Hatcher gave up, He grew	Rev Meg Barnhouse	04-04-21
Third Lap in a Four Lap Race	Rev Meg Barnhouse	03-14-21
The Power of Our Words	Rev Meg Barnhouse	03-07-21
Need a Little Mercy Now	Rev Meg Barnhouse	02-28-21
To Corinth with Love	Rev Meg Barnhouse	02-14-21
Blessing the Animals 2021	Rev Meg Barnhouse	02-07-21
In praise of the dark	Rev Meg Barnhouse	01-24-21
Wish you were here	Rev Meg Barnhouse	01-10-21
2021 Burning Bowl	Rev Meg Barnhouse	01-03-21

2020 Sermons

Sermon Topic	Author	Date
Guidance	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-27-20
2020 Christmas Pageant	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-20-20
What’s so Funny ’bout Peace, Love, and Understanding	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-06-20
Poetry as Meditation	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-29-20
Falling in love with what is	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-15-20
Science, Imagination, and Magic	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-08-20
All Souls	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-01-20
American Civil Religion	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-25-20
Lessons from the Garden	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-11-20
Have smaller fights	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-04-20
Forgiveness	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-27-20
Celebration Sunday	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-20-20
Be a stream and not a swamp	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-06-20
Chalice Circles: Deepening Connection	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	08-23-20
Radicals v Respectables	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	08-16-20
Using your Anger, Holding on to your Hope	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	08-09-20
Question Box Sermon	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	08-02-20
The History of American Policing	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	06-14-20
Useful Ignorance and Beginner’s Mind	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	06-07-20
Flower Communion	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	05-31-20
Living with Brain Trauma	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	05-17-20
All will be well – Really?	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	05-10-20
Punk Theology	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	05-03-20
A Trip to the Underworld	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-12-20
Losing My Religion	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-05-20
Social Distance, not Spiritual Distance	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-22-20
Two Parables of the Beloved Community	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-01-20
Sugar: What is enough?	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-16-20
Milk and Butter: Creativity within constraints	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-09-20
How not to break a horse	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-02-20
Salt	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	01-26-20
Heat & Transformation	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	01-12-20
The Burning Bowl	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	01-05-20

2019 Sermons

Sermon Topic	Author	Date
When God was a baby	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-22-19
Perfect Miracles	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-15-19
What happens in families	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-24-19
How to comfort someone who is suffering	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-10-19
Jedidiah Morse and the Battle for Harvard	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-03-19
Room on the Broom	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-27-19
Protected on the Journey	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-13-19
The Concord Genius Cluster	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-06-19
This Apple	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-29-19
Celebration Sunday	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-22-19
How to Change Minds	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-08-19
Many Rivers to Cross	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-01-19
What does that pin on your backpack mean?	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	08-18-19
Walking Toward the Deep End	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	08-11-19
In My Life	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	08-04-19
Out from Silence: Writing your Life	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	06-30-19
Being a blessing to the children	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	06-16-19
Beautiful ‘Flower Girls’	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	05-26-19
Playing ball on running water	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	05-19-19
Fiery and Fearless	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	05-12-19
How to grow a seed	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-21-19
The power of story	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-14-19
If I needed you	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-07-19
The Kindness Connection	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-24-19
Celtic Christianity	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-17-19
The Promise and the Practice	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-03-19
The Magic of Music	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-17-19
Blues Theology	Rev. Meg Barhouse	02-10-19
Animal Blessing	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-03-19

2018 Sermons

Sermon Topic	Author	Date
Lessons and Carols	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-24-18
Spray it Gold and post it on Instagram	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-16-18
Live from Pflugerville	Rev Meg Barnhouse	12-02-18
Come, ye thankful people, come	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-18-18
Fall down7, Get up 8	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-11-18
A Little Mercy	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-04-18
Those who have gone before us	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-28-18
Safe Space/Brave Space	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-21-18
Love is the Spirit of this church, and Service is its law	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-07-18
What I Learned from Being a Writer	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-30-18
UU101, UU201, UU301	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-23-18
Faith Out Loud	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-16-18
Wade in the Water	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-09-18
You are magic	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	07-29-18
Let’s talk about depression	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	07-22-18
The Genderbread Person	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	07-08-18
A feeling for the holy	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	07-01-18
ÊUnitarians and Abolition	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	06-17-18
Question Box Sermon	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	06-10-18
Does it hurt to Bloom?	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	06-03-18
Things I Learned From My Mother	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	05-13-18
Seeds	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-22-18
Broken Things	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-08-18
A “Foolish” Easter	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-01-18
Finding our balance	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-25-18
Faith for UUs	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-04-18
Be the Spark	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-25-18
Why do bad things happen?	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-11-18
Love, like a carefully loaded ship…	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-04-18
Animal Blessing Service	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	01-28-18
The Power in the #MeToo Movement	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	01-21-18
How to invite changes in your life	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	01-07-18

2017 Sermons

Sermon Topic	Author	Date
Christmas Pageant	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-24-17
Jesus’ Grandmothers	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-17-17
Grace	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-10-17
My Actions are My Only True Belongings	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-03-17
Elijah	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-19-17
Checking out, Falling back, Overwhelmed	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-12-17
Those who have gone before	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-29-17
Doing Justice	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-22-17
Groundbreaking	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-15-17
Transformation through service	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-08-17
The Birthday of the World	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-24-17
Gathering in Community	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-17-17
Truth, Crushed to Earth, Shall Rise Again	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-16-17
You have to be carefully taught	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-02-17
Adventures in Hymnody	Kiya Heartwood	03-26-17
Get it to the size of an Oreo	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-05-17
Dealing with difficult people	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-26-17
Right Effort	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-12-17
Animal Blessing Service	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	01-29-17
Trust, The Decor Committee & Citizens United	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	01-15-17
Right Livelihood	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	01-08-17

2016 Sermons

Sermon Topic	Author	Date
Christmas Day Service	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-25-16
Christmas Pageant	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-18-16
Star of Truth	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-11-16
A clear mind and an open heart	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-04-16
Acceptance and encouragement	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-13-16
Right speech	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-06-16
Honoring the ancestors	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-30-16
Right intention and the 10-10-10 rule	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-23-16
The final form of love, which is forgiveness	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-09-16
Mom, He started it	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-25-16
Abandon Hope and Fear	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-18-16
Water communion service	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-04-16
The deep end of the heart	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	08-28-16
What holds us together?	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	08-14-16
What I learned on my summer vacation	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	08-07-16
Talking to the trees	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	06-05-16
What’s the difference: Venting vs Lamentation	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	05-22-16
Make New Mistakes	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	05-08-16
Prayer beads for UUs	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	05-01-16
What’s the difference: Trinitarian and Unitarian?	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-17-16
Punk Theology	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-03-16
Pretty Yellow Flower Day	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-27-16
The man comes around	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-20-16
Bee Yard Etiquette	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-06-16
What’s the difference: Protestants and Catholics?	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-21-16
So many songs about love	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-14-16
Respecting the Fire	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-07-16
Forgiveness	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	01-24-16
What the difference between Sunni & Shiite Islam?	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	01-10-16
Burning Bowl	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	01-03-16

2015 Sermons

Sermon Topic	Author	Date
The Christians and the Pagans	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-20-15
Christmas Pageant	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-13-15
An upside-down world: A Hymn of reversal	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-06-15
Family Life as a Spiritual Path	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-22-15
The ugly duckling	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-08-15
At the threshold	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-01-15
Dialogue with Conservatives	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-18-15
Listening to Drag	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-11-15
Oh, Delilah	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-04-15
Good Grief	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-27-15
All beginnings are difficult	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-13-15
Choose to enjoy your life	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	08-30-15
The first one to try	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	08-23-15
Which God don’t you believe in?	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	08-16-15
Father Earth, Mother Sky	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	06-21-15
Juneteenth	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	06-14-15
The boy who drew cats	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	06-07-15
Goldilocks and Elijah	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	05-24-15
Choosing to Bless the World	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	05-03-15
The Impossible Task	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-26-15
How many plagues will it take?	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-12-15
The Cellist of Sarajevo	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-05-15
Palm Sunday	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-29-15
Question Box Sermon	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-08-15
The Red Shoes	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-01-15
The Book of Love	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-15-15
Want what you have	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-08-15
Blessing and being blessed: Animal Blessing Service	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-01-15

2014 Sermons

Sermon Topic	Author	Date
Christmas History	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-21-14
Dirty Water	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-07-14
Gratitude	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-23-14
The Problem of Evil	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-16-14
Keep the home fires burning	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-09-14
The Ancestors’ Ways	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-02-14
Circle Round – Women’s Spirituality Tradition	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-26-14
Trust and Welcome	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-19-14
Now THIS is church	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-12-14
Forgiveness and Repentance	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-05-14
Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-28-14
Give them Hope, not Hell	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-21-14
Water Communion Service	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-07-14
Playing ball on running water	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	08-31-14
Sacred Spaces	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	08-24-14
My faith is in science, but I try to keep an open mind	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	07-20-14
The death penalty, reluctant soldiers & Edward O. Wilson	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	07-13-14
Spiritual Growth	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	06-29-14
Honor Your Father	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	06-15-14
The Cherokee Removal	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	06-08-14
Rilke’s Swan	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	06-01-14
A Juicy slice of UU history – Michael Servetus	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	05-11-14
May the force be with you	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	05-04-14
Jesus’ Grandmothers	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-20-14
Depression	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-13-14
God wants you to be rich!	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-06-14
Balance/Equinox	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-23-14
Celtic Christianity/Redemption	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-16-14
The Second Commandment	Rev. Meg Barhnouse	03-09-14
Heard it through the grapevine	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-02-14
Failure is impossible	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-16-14
What we are worshiping, we are becoming	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-09-14
Animal Blessing Service	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-02-14
The Magic of Music	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	01-19-14
Architecture and spirit	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	01-12-14
Burning Bowl	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	01-05-14

2013 Sermons

Sermon Topic	Author	Date
A Sudden Flame, an Extraordinary Journey	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-22-13
Christmas Pageant	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-15-13
A UU Faith Story: John Murray	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-08-13
How did we get the bible?	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-01-13
A Juicy Slice of UU History: The Iowa Sisterhood	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-17-13
Dismantling Racism	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-10-13
Creating Community	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-03-13
Mystery, Spookiness, Magic and Wonder	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-27-13
Walking between the raindrops	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-20-13
I’m a believer	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-13-13
Bedrock Values at the heart of humanism	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-29-13
Not so good at mindfullness	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-22-13
What if you can’t keep your promise	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-15-13
Water Communion	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-08-13
Margaret Sanger	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	08-25-13
Life of Pi	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	08-18-13
The Oversoul	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	08-11-13
Defense against the dark arts	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	08-04-13
Like Slow-Growing Trees in a Ruined Place	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	06-30-13
Amazing Grace	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	06-16-13
The Rose	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	06-09-13
Tales of the tribe	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	06-02-13
The right thing to do	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	05-05-13
Fiery and Fearless: Olympia Brown	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-28-13
The Gaia Psalms	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-21-13
Lies, gossip and fighting words	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-14-13
Will you harbor me?	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-07-13
Only life and death	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-31-13
Afri-kin	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-24-13
Good question	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-17-13
As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-03-13
Recovery from Fundamentalism	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-17-13
A Juicy Slice of UU History: Theodore Parker	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-10-13
God the huntress	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-03-13
Abandon Hope and Fear	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	01-27-13
The delicate art of forgiveness	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	01-13-13
Burning Bowl Service	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	01-06-13

2012 Sermons

Sermon Topic	Author	Date
Blue Christmas	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-23-12
Christmas Pageant	Rev. Meg Barnhouse and Marisol Caballero	12-16-12
Rekindled	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-09-12
Sweet Honey from old failures	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-02-12
Thank you, I’m going downhill	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-18-12
Equilibrium with Elegance: Jazz and UU Theology	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-11-12
Kicking the Statue of Shiva	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-21-12
A Safe Place	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-14-12
Land of Hope and Dreams	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-07-12
American Civil Religion	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-23-12
A Relationship of Promises	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-16-12
ÊSetting Sail	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-09-12
Water Ceremony and Ingathering	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-02-12
Bee Yard Etiquette	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	06-17-12
The Real Ten Commandments	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	06-10-12
Gold in the Shadow	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	06-03-12
ÊWhat I learned from my mother	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	05-13-12
Gaia Psalms	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-22-12
Grasshoppers in the Glittering Net	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-15-12
Quartet for the end of time	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-08-12
How many UUs does it take to change a lightbulb?	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	04-01-12
What is enough?	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-18-12
When to take the leap	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	03-04-12
She stirs up the world	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-19-12
The man who ate a car	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-12-12
Everybody’s got a Hungry Heart	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	02-05-12
Afri-Kin	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	01-29-12
Installation Service of Rev. Meg Barnhouse	Rev. Peter Morales	01-15-12
A Stone of Hope	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	01-15-12
The Democratic Process	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	01-08-12
Burning Bowl	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	01-01-12

2011 Sermons

Sermon Topic	Author	Date
Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-24-11
How to disagree passionately and peacefully	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-18-11
Wisdom Tree	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-11-11
A Juicy Slice of Unitarian History	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	12-04-11
The devil and Martha Stewart	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-20-11
Digging a good, deep well	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-13-11
There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	11-06-11
Honoring the Ancestors	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-30-11
Be a stream, not a swamp	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-16-11
We are gay and straight together	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-09-11
Repentance, Forgiveness, Reconciliation	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	10-02-11
All the gossip from Concord	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-18-11
Where are the strong? Who are the trusted?	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-11-11
Water Communion	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	09-04-11
A Spiritual Stretch	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	08-28-11
Keeping an Eye on the Demolition Twins	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	08-21-11
Liberty, Healing, Good News	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	05-22-11
Where I come from is like this	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	05-15-11
Rapture in America	Rev. Meg Barnhouse	05-04-08

January Senior Lunch

January 9, 2026 by Sasha Lorenzo Posted in Uncategorized

Gigs Hodges has spent two regular and six special sessions working as a legislative staffer for Representatives Plesa and Davis. During the 89th Legislative Session, she helped get 11 bills signed into law, the third most of any Democrat, and played a meaningful role in the 2025 quorum break to defend democracy. Gigs believes the government should guarantee the basics people need to survive, and she is determined to change how Democrats use their power in the Texas House to deliver for Texans. After too many sleepless nights wishing she could do more, Gigs is now running to represent HD 49 in Austin, encouraged by Representative Davis and equipped with a clear plan and a deep sense of purpose. As she says, Texans deserve more than crumbs. We deserve the whole pie.

The Speaker’s Race: How Democrats Gave Away Their Power on Day One

On the first day of the 89th Legislative Session, Democrats elected a notoriously bad MAGA Republican as Speaker of the House, with little to show for it. This discussion will cover what happened behind the scenes leading up to the race, how the vote played out on the House floor, what Democrats gained, and whether it was worth it, and the lessons learned for how Democrats can better deliver for Texans.

2026 Burning Bowl

January 6, 2026 by tom Posted in Audio available, Carrie Holley-Hurt, Sermons, Uncategorized

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button above.

Rev. Carrie Holley-Hurt
January 4, 2026
First UU Church of Austin
4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756
www.austinuu.org

Annual Burning Bowl Service – As we enter a new year, we enter a liminal space. A time in which we are between the known and the unknown. All the joys and sorrows that we faced in 2025 have changed us. Sometimes those changes have been good or enriching, and sometimes they have not. During our burning bowl service, we contemplate what we would like to let go of so that we may more easily find our center as we move into the new year.

Chalice Lighting

This is the flame we hold in our hearts as we strive for justice for everyone. This is the light we shine upon systems of oppression until they are no more. This is the warmth that we share with one another as our struggle becomes our salvation.

Call to Worship

My friend talked to me today about liminal spaces. She told me they are the in-between stages, when one era of your life is over, but the next hasn’t yet begun.

It’s a place of change, of uncertainty, of questions, of waiting. I thought of God for some reason. Maybe the absence of God is actually the presence of them.

Maybe it’s the spaces between words that matter the most. Maybe it’s the way the piano sounds when it’s not being played. Maybe truth only makes itself known in the absence of answers.

After all, plants do grow in sidewalk cracks.

– from a poet that goes by NB.

Affirming Our Mission

Together we nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice to build the Beloved Community.

Reading

NEW YEAR’S DAY
by Kathleen McTigue

The first of January is another day dawning, the sun rising as the sun always rises, the earth moving in its rhythms. With or without our calendars, to name a certain day as the day of new beginning, separating the old from the new.

So, it is, everything is the same, bound into its history as we ourselves are bound. Yet also, we stand at a threshold. The new year is something truly new, still unformed, leaving a stunning power in our hands.

What shall we do with this great gift of time this year? Let us begin by remembering that whatever justice, whatever peace and wholeness might bloom in our world this year, we are the hearts and minds, the hands and feet, the embodiment of all the best visions of our people. The new year can be new ground for the seeds of our dreams.

Let us take the step forward together onto new ground, planting our dreams well, faithfully, and in joy.

Sermon

NOTE: This is an edited ai generated transcript.
Please forgive any omissions or errors.

Today is our annual Burning Bull service. It’s a ritual of contemplation, of intention, of release. And if you are doing this from home with your piece of paper, you can use fire. If you’d like to, I’d like to encourage you to do that with safety. You can also dissolve your water in water or you can bury it. The point is to let the elements take from us what no longer serves us.

This ritual feels particularly important this year, because 2025, what a year. Am I right? Started out pretty awful.

And then, but like any old year, there were probably a mix of joys, personal joys too. It might have even been a pretty good year for you personally. That’s how I experienced it. I had some amazing experiences.

I get to be y’all’s minister. That was an amazing experience.

And I had challenging experiences. I had to learn how to live with long COVID. And I bet just like you, it came in the good and the bad.

But whatever we were experiencing it, our personal life could not be divorced from what we were experiencing out there in the world. We were doing all of that with the backdrop of some of the most awful atrocities. It’s been a lot.

I saw a bumper sticker the other day and it captured exactly how I was feeling. It says, “It is what it is. And it ain’t great.”

It ain’t great. It wasn’t great. I feel like I slid into 2026 all bruised up with a real raw heart.

And now we’re entering another year. And one that’s already started out pretty bumpy. If you’re feeling hesitation, if you are feeling trepidation, me too.

We are in a liminal space. We are right in the doorway of what was and what we do not know yet – and what we cannot predict. Liminal spaces are uncomfortable for that very reason.

We don’t know what will happen. Sometimes it’s easier to just start predicting what might happen, to project into the future by dragging along the past. But the truth is that not a word of the future has been written.

We write it. All of us, billions and billions of all of us on this planet, for better or worse, we’re co-creating the future. And that co-creation can be beautiful and it can be powerful.

I’ve seen that here. I’ve seen beautiful, powerful co-creation here in this community, especially with the last legislative session. But the thing about co-creation is that it reminds us that we actually don’t have that much control.

In fact, the control we have is pretty minuscule in the big scheme of things.

And so here we are, in a new unwritten chapter, stuck in what might feel like a lifetime group project. And who likes group projects? But here we are.

It is what it is. And our control is limited. But it’s not nothing.

We are limited to the actions we take, to how we spend our energy, to where we put our focus. It’s limited to how we want to show up in the world, in spite of the chaos and the storms around us. We get to choose how we will show up.

And we can choose to show up grounded. We can choose to slow down to the speed of our wisdom. That’s the control we have.

And so many things can get in the way and make us feel like we don’t have control to even do that. Making it so that instead of coming from a centered place, we move at the pace of our stress and our fear. Feeling pulled around from stressful situation to stressful situation, or from one awful headline to the next.

So as we enter this Burning Bowl Ritual, I want to take some time to think about what gets in our way. What makes it hard for you to choose to move through the world the way you like” What are those things that you have control over?

The habits or the thoughts that prevent you from showing up as you want to show up? What do you want to make a break from?What no longer serves you? What would be good to ritually release?

Maybe it’s old resentments or old hurts. Maybe it’s a pattern of self-sabotage, old stories that get in our way. Maybe it’s people who have hurt us over and over again without any hope of forgiveness or accountability.

Maybe it’s chronic and constant worry, outdated beliefs, lack of self-care. Maybe it’s something else entirely. Whatever it is, let’s take some deep breaths together and contemplate that.

You may wish to hold your flash paper to your heart, or you may whisper into it if you feel comfortable doing so.

In a moment, I will light the burning bowl, and I’ll invite you to please come down one line. This is my first year in Parish ministry, please don’t make me have a memorable burning bowl. And then if you will, please exit to your left.

And now, with deep breaths, with the ground underneath us, with the air above us. Let’s move with intention, as we whisper with what we no longer want into our paper, so that we can release it to the fire.

That was so beautiful. So liminal space. The time between what was and what we don’t know yet.

It’s uncomfortable. It’s uncomfortable because we don’t know what we’re headed for. But that’s every day, not just when the calendar tells us that 365 days have gone by.

Every day we face the unknown.

The only thing that we have is how we show up. I hope that what you released has made you feel lighter. I hope that it’s made you feel more grounded and more prepared for whatever it is that will come.

As we wind down our service today, I want us to pull to our mind that image or word or memory from our time in meditation, the one that made us feel strong or connected or grounded. Let’s take just two deep breaths together to fix that in our mind.

But what strengthens you may light a flame in the center of you, a flame to hold you, a flame to motivate you, and a flame to bring you to your deeper and higher self, even in the storm.

Extinguishing the Chalice

We extinguish this flame, but not the light of truth, the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment. These we hold in our hearts until we are together again.

Benediction

As we leave this sacred time, as what is no longer yours has been transformed by the fire, as what strength in you is held in your heart, may you feel lighter and more grounded, and most importantly, may you feel held by this community and by love.

Go in peace.

SERMON INDEX

Most sermons during the past 26 years are available online through this website. Click on the index link above to find tables of all sermons for each year listed by date (newest to oldest) with topic and speaker. Click on a topic to go to that sermon.

PODCASTS

Podcasts of this and other sermons are also available for free on iTunes. You can find them by clicking on the podcast link above or copying and pasting this link. https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/first-unitarian-universalist/id372427776

Congregational Meeting

December 16, 2025 by Sasha Lorenzo Posted in Uncategorized

This is your Official Notice for our December Congregational Meeting on Sunday, December 21st at 1:00 p.m., to be held in the Sanctuary and on Zoom (Passcode 512452). Click on the link below for materials for the meeting.

Congregational Meeting Materials

The church bylaws specify the following regarding voting eligibility: “Individuals who have been members of the church for 30 days or more and who have (as an individual or part of a family unit) made a recorded financial contribution during the last 12 months and at least 30 days prior to the meeting, have the right to vote at all official church meetings.”

The list of eligible voters may be found by clicking here

Any questions about voter eligibility, including if you feel that you were mistakenly not listed on the list of eligible voters, please contact Shannon Posern, info@austinuu.org.

We look forward to seeing you at the meeting!

Congregational Meeting Packet.

Women & Fair Trade Festival

November 20, 2025 by Sasha Lorenzo Posted in Uncategorized Tagged women and fair trade

Shop Annual Women and Fair Trade Festival

Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 22-23, from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

We’re thrilled to invite you to the Women and Fair Trade Festival hosted by Austin Tan Cerca de la Frontera, where you may shop with conscience at First UU, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 22-23, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Therapy Sisters will start the music on Saturday at 10 a.m.

For over two decades, ATCF’s Fair Trade Festival has brought together women’s cooperatives from around the world to Austin, creating a marketplace rooted in economic justice, cultural exchange, and community gathering, hosting women-led artisan cooperatives from Mexico, Palestine, Guatemala, Ecuador, India, and the U.S., including Jolom Mayaetik, Palestine Online Store, Fuerza Unida, Colores del Pueblo, Marigold Gateway to India, UPAVIM, Warmipa Huasy, and Las Racheritas/Rug Hook Project.

For more info, visit atcf.org.

Conversation on Mutual with Dean Spade

November 20, 2025 by Sasha Lorenzo Posted in Uncategorized Tagged conversation on mutual aid, dean spade, mutual aid, txuujm

Please join us this Sunday afternoon to learn about mutual aid and do asset mapping. Child care will be available.

Dean Spade writes that “mutual aid is the radical act of caring for each other while working to change the world,” and that is exactly what this presentation and the work we will do together are about.

We’ll learn about what mutual aid can do, what it looks like, and how we can use our creativity to participate in it. We’ll also learn about what values can ground us spiritually in this kind of community-based work. Then we will work together to identify the assets we have as a community so we can take an inventory. This will allow us, as a community, to respond quickly to the needs of our members and the community.

When: November 23rd at 2 pm

Where: First UU Church of Austin’s Sanctuary

Itinerary:

1:45 pm – Begin gathering in the Sanctuary
2:00 pm – Watch Dean Spade’s presentation together
3:00 pm – Short break
3:15 pm – Presentation by Sasha Rose of Austin Mutual Aid
3:30 pm – Asset Mapping
4:15 pm – Closing

Owning Your Religious Past

November 18, 2025 by Sasha Lorenzo Posted in Uncategorized

Many of us carry wounds from the religion we were raised in or just growing up in a Christocentric society. Owning Your Religious Past is a series of five classes designed to help us heal from our religious wounds and grow in our Unitarian Universalist faith.

From the authors of the program, “We can be most fully and completely present in our religious identity when we see our path as a continuum rather than a series of unrelated episodes. People who feel whole in this identity are more likely to make solid, healthy commitments to religious communities. Because we are usually more certain of what we left in another religion than what we bring forward from it, some tools are needed by which people may establish connections, bridges, and resonances between past and present.”

Please join Rev. Carrie Holley-Hurt and Rev. Dr. Leona Stucky-Abbott for this five-week series of learning, healing, and growth starting on Sunday, January 18th. Maximum participation is 15 people, so Make Sure to Sign Up!

Nominations for 2026 Monthly Special Offering

November 4, 2025 by Sasha Lorenzo Posted in Uncategorized

Nominations for 2026 Monthly Special Offering

Due by Thursday, December 4th

One important way First UU lives its mission to do justice is through our Monthly Special Offerings. These offerings are collected during service(s) on the second Sunday of the month. Each member of First UU may nominate one nonprofit social justice organization that promotes our UU values in the larger community.

To nominate an organization, please complete the 2026 Monthly Service Offering Nominations form.

The congregation will be asked to rank their top 10 recipients on Sunday, December 21, 2025, after the worship service and at the congregational meeting that afternoon. Two additional special offerings are reserved for Spring into Action (First UU’s church-wide social justice outreach project) and the Texas UU Justice Ministry.

After the vote, the Social Action Chairs and Co-Ministers will determine the schedule of selected recipients. All money collected will be held until the end of the year and distributed equally among the 12 recipients in January 2027. For 2024, the amount donated to each recipient was $1,662.09.

Please fill out the Nomination form here.

If you need further information, please contact David Overton at info@austinuu.org.

Category Archives: Uncategorized
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2026 March Monthly Service Offering – Casa Marianella

Casa Marianella

2026 Austin CROP Hunger Walk

Interdependence Discussion

Sign up Now!

February Vegan Potluck

Vegan Potluck

Sponsored by the Veganistas! / UU Animal Ministry Chapter & the Austin Vegan Association

Path to Membership March 2026

Climate Justice Meeting

February 2026 Monthly Service Offering

Guide to Meg’s Sermons

Guide to Meg’s Sermons

2022 Sermons

2021 Sermons

2020 Sermons

2019 Sermons

2018 Sermons

2017 Sermons

2016 Sermons

2015 Sermons

2014 Sermons

2013 Sermons

2012 Sermons

2011 Sermons

January Senior Lunch

2026 Burning Bowl

Congregational Meeting

Women & Fair Trade Festival

Shop Annual Women and Fair Trade Festival

Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 22-23, from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Conversation on Mutual with Dean Spade

Owning Your Religious Past

Nominations for 2026 Monthly Special Offering

Nominations for 2026 Monthly Special Offering

Due by Thursday, December 4th