Past Sermons

  In lieu of our normal Sunday Service, on May 22, 2022, we held our Annual Congregational Meeting. The agenda included passing a church budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 and electing new leaders to the board of trustees and the nominating committee.

It is a day for questions at People’s Church (but isn’t every day a day for questions?) Bring your questions about meaning, ethics, integrity, and Unitarian Universalism.

Come, sing a song with us! Join People’s musicians at our Spring music service!

Unitarian Universalism is a non-creedal faith. We are bound together by our promises to each other – our covenants – rather than our beliefs. Yet, some pieces of our covenants, like the UU principles, come very close to statements of belief. In this service, Rev. Rachel explores history and current practices of covenants and creeds.

Doing challenging work that matters, whether that is dismantling racism or something else, often leads to conflict and moments of ‘creative friction.’ How do we live with integrity in these moments? In this service, Rev. Rachel, the Dismantling Racism Steering Team, and other People’s people shared some of what they have learned about navigating conflict.

We celebrated Earth Day with an intergenerational service inspired by Love Letters to the Earth by Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. This service included letters of love and advocacy, meditation, and activities on the church grounds.

In this service we’ll consider “radical belonging”, in which radical means getting to the root or the foundation, and belonging means an emotional experience of being connected and accepted, at the very least.

Rev. Rachel Lonberg will preach on the interdependent web of all existence.

Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray preaches on the reality of interdependence.

Rev. Rachel preaches on the history and current status of housing in Kalamazoo.

Rev. Rachel will preach on how church is like weaving, and on the beauty and goodness we have created this year.

We conclude our series on ‘The Four Faiths’ with a service devoted to the faith of theists.

During the service time, we hold a special congregational meeting to affirm the votes of the last three congregational meetings, and adopt new bylaws.

We will devote this service to the Faith of religious naturalists.

What does it mean to be a church community now, nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic?

In this service, Rabbi Simone takes us on a deep dive into both the tradition of remembering, honoring, and observing the Sabbath day.

During this service, E will facilitate an accessible somatic (body-based) practice to help resource our bodies, minds, and spirits.

In this service we celebrate mysticism and the gifts—and challenges—that it provides us all as we seek to live with integrity.

On this Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, we remember the life and legacy of Bayard Rustin.

In this service, we celebrate humanism and the gifts—and challenges—it provides us all as we seek to live with integrity.

In this intergenerational service, we mark the end of 2021.

What if you opened a Christmas present and what you found inside was a hymn, a story, or a joys and sorrows ritual?

Rev. Colleen Squires leads this service.

Our winter music service.

How do we coexist with people with whom we share differences that can’t be reconciled?

We will explore what it means to live out our commitment to ‘the inherent worth and dignity of every person’.

This worship will be devoted to all things cozy and comforting.

We reflect on how to cultivate a practice of attention.

How do we hide our true selves from each other?

We will join BUC over Zoom at an earlier time for this Sunday service.

What are some of the challenges People’s Church has faced?

How did the flaming chalice become the symbol of Unitarian Universalism?

Today’s in-person service is cancelled due to weather. Please join us tonight over Zoom.

In this service, we explore ways to connect and reconnect with each other.

In this service, we will see the gifts of hard emotions and explore ways to move through them.

We will gather our waters and selves together—physically and virtually—for the beginning of our program year.

People’s people share their reflections on how COVID has impacted them, and what brings them hope.

Children’s librarian, Laura Bultman shares stories that have given her joy in this anxious time.

Donna McClurkan helps us explore the spaces in between hope and despair.

Megan Reynolds speaks about equanimity and about the choices we make when we speak.

Gwen Abney-Cunningham speaks about loving kindness and leads the congregation in a loving kindness practice.

In this service, Rev. Rachel will share some truths she has learned from some unlikely sources.

Michael Nassaney shares how People’s Church helped him to find more balance in his life.

OB-GYN Rebekah Sharp addresses COVID from the perspective of relationships and the biology of connection.

Julia Kirkwood speaks about what it means to lead a life that matters.

Outgoing Board President, Steve Ferguson gives a recap on the past church year, and asks about the future.

David Isaacson shares thoughts on the difficulty of loving one’s enemies.

What would decolonization look like in your life?

In this service, Chris Measzros encourages us to find our inner artist.

Join us as we honor this rite of passage in the lives of our high school seniors.

Rev. Barrett Lee will lead this Memorial Day service.

Charlae Davis speaks about the importance of Building the Beloved Community.

Journalist Julie Mack will speak about searching for truth.

People’s musicians and singers celebrate the earth in song.

David Moffett-Moore will share characteristics of Celtic spirituality with a focus on pilgrimage.

Rabbi Schicker will share stories and thoughts about humans’ relationship to the earth.

We will reflect on the ways that nature has helped us get through the pandemic year.

Don Miller will share his thoughts on happiness.

The Equinox is this year’s theme for People’s Poetry service.

We welcome UU minister Dr. Randy Pertain.

Minister Emerita of People’s Church, Rev. Jill McAllister will join us.

We’ll explore Beloved Community and the glimpses we have in the here and now of the world we dream to create together.

What’s antidisistablishmentarianism and why should we care?

Rev. Thompson will speak on Building the Beloved Community.

Members of the social justice coordinating committee share music, poetry, and reflections about what keeps them motivated to do the work of justice.

In her final service before sabbatical, Rev. Rachel shares her (modest) plans for her time away.

What have we learned in these last 11 months since the COVID-19 pandemic changed our lives?

How can we be more welcoming to people of all identities in our church and in our lives?

Do things happen for a reason or not?

What is congregational polity?

In this service, we will tell the story of the 1921 Tulsa massacre – and of UUs efforts at reparations.

Let’s celebrate our bodies, just as they are, in all their shapes, sizes and capabilities.

We will mark the end of 2020 with rituals to let go of what we do not want to take with us into the coming year.

We will explore waiting as a spiritual practice and how love is born and reborn in the unlikeliest circumstances.

How do we have difficult conversations with people we care for about politics and our values?

Come join People’s musicians and singers as we celebrate the Solstice in song.

On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, Rev. Rachel will lift up Native American wisdom about harvest, including the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address.

We will reflect on depression and offer wisdom for navigating it as we navigate COVID.

In this post-election sermon, Rev. Rachel will reflect on the outcome of the election and on the work ahead for all of us.

How do we use our power well to create the Beloved Community?

Rev. Rachel and People’s people will share powerful stories about living, loving, and dying with integrity from the AIDS crisis years.

Rev. Dr. Florence Buck heard her call to ministry at People’s Church in the 1890s. How are her messages relevant for us today?

Please send photos of your pets to sarahkzoo2@gmail.com. Please include the names of all people and animals in the photo.

What do UU principles have to teach us about policing and public safety in this moment?

What is spiritual resilience and what benefits can it offer us in difficult times?

On this Sunday closest to the Fall Equinox, we will will reflect on the lessons of nature and our ancestors for the season ahead.

As our program year begins, how might we be a refuge and source of strength for each other in these challenging times? Be sure to drop off your water at church this week!

In our final service in the summer format, we will explore various expressions of our connection with Creation and the Cosmos. 

In this service, Rev. Rachel will share some of the tools and strategies she is using to manage and move through the difficult emotions of this time.

Laura MacLellan and Mary Spradling will discuss their relationships to social justice.

Savannah will lead this Sunday’s service.

Elizabeth Warner will lead this Sunday’s discussion by talking about “Hope in Today’s World.”

Send your questions about life or UUism to Rev. Rachel this week.

Hilary Hunt leads this Sunday discussion by talking about resilience.

In the age of climate change, what changes are needed for our neighborhoods to thrive?

For the first of our Summer Sunday Services on the theme of “We’re all in this together,” Gay Walker will present reflections on the five senses.

Join us for a unique version of our Flower Service.

How can we better achieve acceptance of one another and encourage spiritual growth in our congregations?

Rev. Rachel will tell the story of an unlikely birthday gift that has led her to think about generosity in a new way.