Weekly Sermons
The Body Miracle, The Body Problem
Sermon Description:
What is this curious and fundamental mystery we call the Body? What, if anything, does science tell us about where the soul, consciousness, or the mind resides? How do we understand ourselves as both animals with a fleeting existence as well as beings connected to something much more infinite?
Catherine Vance is the ministerial intern at the UU Fellowship of Galveston and an interfaith chaplain in the UTMB Hospital system. She receives her Master of Divinity from Iliff School of Theology in Denver May 15 and is on track to be ordained as a UU minister.
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Meeting ID: 989 2145 9165
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+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
Blessings: Expected & Unexpected
Sermon Description:
Children-- even adult children expect a blessing from their elders-- even if they are unaware of it. We'll review a 2 step process to give someone a blessing.
Rev. Dr. Daniel O’ Connell, a former Unitarian Universalist minister with over 20 years of experience, has served congregations in Danbury, CT, St. Louis, MO, and Houston, TX, and held leadership roles on regional and national boards. Notably, he performed the Midwest’s first public gay wedding in 2003, co-founded the UU Voice for Justice, and successfully merged three Houston churches into a unified congregation with three locations.
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Meeting ID: 989 2145 9165
Dial by your location
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
Belonging to the Place Where You Stand
Sermon Description:
How can we deepen our relationship with the place we live, work, walk, and rest? Joss Bergeron Bisbano invites us to deepen our connection to the beautiful shifting sands that are the Island of Galveston and Bay Area, and encourages us to live in the sacred bonds we share across cycles of nature, time, and narrative.
Bio: Joss Bergeron Bisbano has been a Wiccan Priestess since 1998 and an Interfaith Minister since 1999. They resurrected the Covenant of UU Pagans at Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Church with CJ Vazquez, and now serve as Vision Keeper of Thistle & Honey CUUPs. Rooted in Indigenous CHamoru heritage, earth-centered spirituality, and interfaith groups, their work centers on restoring deep relationship with land, self, and community. A trained chaplain, facilitator, and certified life coach, Joss creates experiential safe spaces that bridge cultures and beliefs while honoring the interdependent web of existence. Their mission is to guide others to reclaim belonging, cultivate intentional community, and live in alignment with the Sacred.
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Meeting ID: 989 2145 9165
Dial by your location
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
Unsung - The Bible Stories That Never Got Told
Sermon Description:
The program is mainly about the Bible stories we didn't get to hear. In my talk, I tell about the origins of the stories, and why I thought they needed to be told. The songs have a gently feminist point of view, but although quite a lot of the stories are about the women (Leah, Sarah, Bathsheba, Delilah, to name a few) some are about men (Esau, Goliath, etc.) For the most part, they are familiar figures to most people. The main ingredient for me as the writer was that we didn't get to see it from their point of view.
Singer/songwriter/storyteller Jan Seides (sigh-deez) writes lyrics-driven, award-winning songs combining uptown sophistication with down-home truth. They have been presented in prestigious venues in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East. She is a graduate of the University of Texas Butler School of Music and has recorded six albums and a book …so far.
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Meeting ID: 989 2145 9165
Dial by your location
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
Will the Real Jesus Please Rise
Sermon Description:
Here we are almost 2000 years after the ministry and death of Jesus. How did the Christian Bible come to be? But of more importance, what do we know about Jesus and the words attributed to him. Please join me as I explore some of these ideas.
Rev. John Pepper is happily retired from both corporate America and the Federal Government. He enjoys speaking at small churches and helping out with his own home church, the Unitarian Fellowship of Houston. John and his husband, Randy Joiner, enjoy travelling to Shreveport and Mississippi to see many loved family members, and vacationing wherever the urge takes them.
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Meeting ID: 989 2145 9165
Dial by your location
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
Climate Change, Community Resilience, and the Sacred Work of Connection
This Earth Day message reminds us that the holiday began as a protest demanding cleaner air, safer water, and accountability from those in power. Today, climate change is affecting every part of our world — from rising seas and stronger storms to disappearing species — and places like Galveston are feeling these changes firsthand.
This talk shares the speaker's research on how social division and ideas about who “deserves” help make it harder to respond fairly to disasters, even though the people most affected are often those who contributed least to the problem. It encourages us to move beyond polarization by connecting with our neighbors, telling stories, asking honest questions, and learning about the risks we face.
Ashley Ross-Wootton is a professor who studies how communities understand and respond to environmental risks, from hurricanes to climate change. Her work focuses on community resilience, disaster management, and how people make decisions in the face of environmental threats. She teaches graduate students about environmental management and conflict resolution and conducts research on public attitudes, risk communication, and the fairness of disaster aid. She lives in the East End of Galveston Island with her husband and 7-year-old son.
Join on Zoom or In-Person
Meeting ID: 989 2145 9165
Dial by your location
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)