Recent Sermons

Listen to Recent Sermons

Bends in Our Paths


Date:   June 21, 2026
Speaker:   Susan Coe
Length:   18:17

At what age does it seem I had the best friends? And then, when did that start to break down? In the media, we see the innocence and love of toddlers, youngsters playing sports and music with their besties, those in their twenties and thirties looking as though they’re having the times of their lives.  College, weddings, reunions, even divorces where people thought they’d met the love of their life and then they find love again. There’s TV series about Friends, Thirtysomethings, Parenthood, the Gilmore Girls, Grace and Frankie. But what about when it doesn't happen that way? What if one’s health starts to decline, their family starts to fall apart, or death starts taking away people that were once the center of our lives? How do we jump back in and get another chance where “The Best Is Yet To Come”? And what if it doesn't happen? Ironically the years go faster as we get older, but loneliness comes in slow motion. This starting over happens way differently than it did the first time.
And yet that word friendship - you know it's something that you don't put a dollar sign on, you don't attach a geography, it isn’t always at home, and it really doesn't matter about your job. Friendship is it's own thing that has meaning above everything else. We learn about it early from parents and teachers, and ultimately we are on our own to build our lives around the friends we find and lose along the way. These paths bend to be narrow, wide, steep, or smooth and fretted with gems and rocks. Memories and futures. What’s your friendship story? I’ll tell you mine today.

Did the Bible Say That?


Date:   June 14, 2026
Speaker:   Rev. Amy McCormick
Length:   30:13

As we embrace the value of pluralism and the importance of religious freedom, in a denomination rooted in Christianity, which is rooted in Judaism, being a Unitarian Universalist can be freeing. It can also be confusing. As we step ever closer to the 250th anniversary of the signing of the declaration with our country’s highest leaders wanting to claim a Christian nation, I think it’s important to ask ourselves on what do they base this belief? On what are many of the beliefs of Christian Nationalism based? How can we as UU’s give respect and reverence to a religion like Christianity while still countering messages of hate so often promoted by those who call themselves “True Christians”. What does the Bible have to say about gay people? What does it say about the rapture? What does it say about caring for the earth? What doesn’t it say? This service will not be comprehensive in any way … but perhaps we will learn something together. 

A Beginner's Mind


Date:   May 31, 2026
Speaker:   Rev. Bob Johansen
Length:   14:36

In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities. In the expert’s mind there are few.” So writes Shunryu Suzuki in his classic Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. What would it be like to approach life with a beginner’s mind, the clear-eyed wonder of a child? UUCB member Rev. Bob Johansen, who leads the Wednesday morning mindfulness meditation group, shares wisdom from the Buddhist tradition and from personal experience on embracing the world with openness and curiosity. 

Loving Growth and Renewal


Date:   May 24, 2026
Speaker:   Thean Hart, Chaplaincy Institute of Maine student
Length:   11:56

Thean Hart and Cayla Miller are Belfast locals who are students at the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine (ChIME). In this service, they explored growth, renewal, radical relationality, and deepening relationship with others and ourselves.

A Reflection on Who We Are


Date:   May 17, 2026
Speaker:   Rev. Amy McCormick
Length:   10:31

Rev. Amy reflects on the many aspects of our members and of our congregation: "In this place, this congregation and community we are a part of something larger than a gathering of individuals. If the village is alive and well, we are part of and participating in a web of mutual care, a place where people are known, held, challenged, and changed in relationship."

In such a village, with so many roles, where individuals may move between them or occupy more than one at any given time, it is all of our work to remember that we play a vital role in our mission to love boldly, foster belonging, nurture the evolving spirit, and act justly.

- Also this was New Member Sunday and we welcomed one dozen folks into the official ranks of membership at UUCB. 

The Circle of Nurturing


Date:   May 10, 2026
Speaker:   Rev. Jacquie Robb
Length:   3:54

On this Mothers Day, Jacquie Robb expands our definition of a nurturing presence.  Prior to the audio heard here, Rev. Robb had people stand (and bounce) and learn about nurturing themselves, and then about nuturing one another. In the portion heard here, she speaks of nurturing a group or community ... or a congregation.

The “We” We Choose to Be


Date:   May 3, 2026
Speaker:   Rev. Dr. Jodi Hayashida
Length:   18:07

We are so fortunate to have Rev. Dr. Jodi Hayashida lead worship today! Drawing from her years of experience as a powerful and deeply caring justice-oriented minister, today she invites us to reflect on this moment in our state and country, and draw inspiration, courage, and strength by choosing to act for justice. 

Firmly rooted in the call to work towards the creation of a community of fierce hope and radical love, UU minister Rev. Dr. Jodi Cohen Hayashida (she/her) served as the settled minister in Auburn, Maine for more than 20 years before moving into a justice-based community ministry in 2023. She now develops and organizes Multifaith Justice Maine under the auspices of the Maine People’s Alliance.

Join us after the service at 11:30am for a workshop on “Countering Christian Nationalism”

Faithful Resistance: authoritarianism, white Christian nationalism, and our collective power to resist. White Christian nationalism is a primary support and moral justification for the authoritarianism that has taken root in the US government.  And yet, there are more people of faith who stand in opposition to the Christian nationalist political and social agenda than there are who support it.  Join us as we explore the call and practice of faithful resistance in this moment of great need.

Possibilities in the Dark


Date:   April 26, 2026
Speaker:   Rev. Amy McCormick
Length:   14:22

This service is inspired by a poem by Gregory Orr called, “A Dark so Deep”. His personal story has moments of utter devastation and loss. He is no stranger to depression, shame, and grief of the most tender type. Many of us know what it is to live in that kind of darkness, and the world itself can mirror that despair. In the hardest moments, when the light feels the furthest away … what possibilities await us there?

The Transcendentalists and the Trees


Date:   April 19, 2026
Speaker:   Rev. Amy McCormick & the Climate Action Team
Length:   13:53

In this Earth Day service, Rev. Amy and the Climate Action Team (CAT) bring to you the beauty and wonder of being a part of this world. We’ll explore the way our Transcendentalist UU ancestors found meaning, awe, and profound spiritual awakening in relationship to nature, through direct experience of the earth we love and maybe, to the trees we need to survive most of all.

Do You Believe in Miracles?


Date:   April 12, 2026
Speaker:   Rev. Jacquie Robb
Length:   13:08

Recently, as I read some Bible miracle stories, I was surprised.  In the past, I've viewed the stories as nice PR for Christianity, as metaphor and myth, etc. This time, I read the stories as written - as miracles. What on earth changed for me? How did I change? When did I start to embrace the possibility of miracles? Do I really believe in miracles? Is belief even necessary for miracles? This Sunday, we talk about the possibility of the impossible.