indicates there is an (mp3) audio link for the sermon.

The Interim Period was presented by the Reverend Len De Roche, who has served in several UU congregations and is a certified pastoral counselor. Monna Lundberg was the Worship Associate. The talkback is included in the podcast. (September 4, 2011)

Lammas, Pagan celebration of the first harvest: Several members of the Congregation shared thoughts about their experience with the fruits of that harvest — in bread making. Stephanie Gilmore was both the facilitator for those presentations and the Worship Associate. The talkback is included in the podcast. (August 14, 2011)

Me, Stereotype You?!!!, a dramatization presented by members of the Spiritual Discussion and Reading Covenant Group. Barbara Taylor was the Worship Associate. The talkback is included in the podcast. (August 7, 2011)

Finding Your Passion, Following Your Bliss, presented by Congregation member, Jim Kern. Stephanie Gilmore was the Worship Associate. The talkback is included in the podcast. (July 31, 2011)

The Daring of Virginia Durr, presented by the Rev. Tracy Sprowls-Jenks, minister of the First Unitarian Society of Plainfield, NJ. Kathy Welch was the Worship Associate. The talkback is included in the podcast. (July 24, 2011)

Too Many Tulips, presented by the Rev. David Carl Olson, minister of the First Unitarian Church of Baltimore. Manna Lundberg was the Worship Associate. The talkback is included in the podcast. (July 17, 2011)

Annual Summer Poetry Slam, in which members and friends of the Congregation take turns reading or reciting poems they have written themselves or written by others. Some of the poems are not included in this podcast because of copyright concerns. We end with Jim Kern's original song, which he played and sang while the offering was collected. The Worship Associate and organizer of today's program was John Imbur. (July 10, 2011)

The Free by Themselves Must Be Fashioned, presented by Morton Nadler, Congregation member. Sharon Day was the Worship Associate. The talkback is included in the podcast. (July 3, 2011)

Marriage Equality, presented by Molly McClintock and Irene Peterson, partners for 26 years, married since 2005. Kathy Welch was the Worship Associate. The talkback is included in the podcast. (June 26, 2011)

Fostering and Adopting, and the Importance of Being “Dad”. The service was led by Worship Associate Jane Mahone, with contributions from George Terrell (an adoptive father) and Amado Ohland (an adopted son). Also included in the podcasst is a song “For Heaven’s Sake” sung and written by Leslie Brooks. The talkback is included in the podcast. (June 19, 2011)

Great Expectations: An Adventure of the Spirit, presented by Rev. Jacqueline Luck, UUA‘s Office of Transitions Ministerial Settlement Representative serving the Southeast District. The talkback is included in the podcast. For more information about the transition process, go to this URL. Rev. Luck was assisted by Worship Associate Dick Luke. (May 1, 2011)

The Inner Voice, presented by Carter Turner, Asst. Professor of Religious Studies at Radford University, assisted by Worship Associate Jane Mahone. (April 10, 2011)

Upside Down, presented by Rev. Karen Day. The talkback — and the Story for All Ages — is included in the podcast. Rev. Day was assisted by Worship Associate Jane Mahone. (March 27, 2011)

Race and Criminal Justice in the 21st Century, presented by Dr. Wornie Reed, Director of the Center for Race and Social Policy at Virginia Tech. The talkback is included in the podcast. Dr. Reed was assisted by Worship Associate Dick Luke. (January 23, 2011)

Twelve Steps to Recovery, delivered by Rev. Kelly M. Sisson, who is assisted by Worship Associate Amado Ohland. The talkback is included in the podcast. (September 26, 2010). Rev. Sisson is currently the Minister for Spiritual Direction and Studio Arts at the Roanoke Rescue Mission Ministries. During the talkback she mentioned that there wasa 5K run/walk on Thanksgiving morning in Roanoke that is a fundraiser for the Rescue Mission: Drumstick Dash.

Radical Nourishment: Food for the Soul, presented by Rev. Karen Day. Rev. Day is a UU minister living in Floyd and has been a guest speaker at the UUC many times. She was assisted by Worship Associate Jane Mahone. The talkback (in addition to two stories) is included in the podcast. (August 8, 2010)

Religious Interpretations of Pain and Suffering, presented by Carter Turner, former UUC member and Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Radford University. Carter was assisted by Worship Associate, Kathy Welch. The talkback is included in the podcast. (August 1, 2010).

Embracing Multiculturalism, presented by Janice Marie Johnson, Director for Racial and Ethnic Concerns for the Unitarian Universalist Association. Rev. Christine Brownlie was the convener for the service. (July 25, 2010)

Reinventing the Sacred, presented by Reverends Scott & Anya Sammler-Michael, ministers of the Accotink UU Church in Burke, VA and the Unitarian Universalists in Sterling, VA, respectively. They were assisted by Worship Associate Dick Luke, (July 18, 2010)

Ninth Annual UUC Poetry Slam. This was a Congregation-led service centered around the spoken and written word we identify as poetry. Worship Associate John Imbur led the service and was one of the 16 members and friends who shared their love of poetry with us. (July 11, 2010)

Small Things/Great Love, presented by Rev. Catherine McCollough, Presbyterian Campus Minister at Radford University. The talkback is included in the podcast. (June 27, 2010).

The Greatest Koan, presented by Russell Gregory, Professor Emeritus of Religion at Radford University and self-proclaimed ZenBuddhistDaoistJewishBaptistAgnosticStoryteller. Russell was assisted during the srvice by Worship Associate Jim Kern. The talkback is included in the podcast. Here is a link to the poem Russell read. (June 20, 2010).

Overcoming Indifference: Making the Population Connection in a Crowded World, presented on UUSC Justice Sunday by John Seager, President of Population Connection (formerly Zero Population Growth) (March 28, 2010). | Text | Podcast. Included in the podcast is an introduction and the talkback.

Optimizing Our Joshua Opportunities, presented by Ben Dixon, Vice President Emeritus for Multicultural Affairs at Virginia Tech (February 21, 2010). Dr. Dixon provided a handout to which he referred several times during his presentation.

My Journey to J Street, presented by George Lally, UUC member (February 7, 2010). The talk-back is included.

Service and Spirit: A Way of Knowing, presented by Andy Morikawa, Executive Director of the Community Foundation of the New River Valley (October 25, 2009). The talk-back is included.

Ordinary Grace, presented by Rev. Alison Miller, Minister of the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship in Morristown, NJ (July 26, 2009).

It Matters What We Believe, presented by John Crestwell, Minister of the Davies Memorial UU Church in Camp Springs, MD (July 19, 2009).

• Your Church Teaches What?, presented on June 28, 2009, by Marianne Vakiener, a life-long UU and long-time Religious Education teacher.

• Facing Mortality, presented on November 16, 2008, by UUC member Isabel Berney as part of a service about the UUC Memorial Garden.Click here for more information about the service.

• Love is the Spirit, presented on September 7, 2008, at the UUC Building Dedication by Annette Marquis, MSW, Thomas Jefferson District Executive.

• “The Human Form Divine”: William Blake’s Theology of Imagination, presented on January 27, 2008, by author Dennis M. Welch, a member of the Congregation and of the English Department at Virginia Tech.

• During Rev. Brownlie’s sabbatical (February 4, 2007 to July 4, 2007),Don Robert Johnson, Ethical Leader, was in our pulpit twice a month. Links to his sermons

• Seeking an Antidote for Apathy and Dogmatism: A Novelist’s Plea for an Engaged Society, presented on July 22, 2007, by author Daniel Spiro, a Trial Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice and the coordinator of the Washington, D.C., Spinoza Society.

• Sermons by Morton Nadler, a member of the UUC, as well as a retired Minister of the Humanist Society of Friends. Morton has also led discussions at some of the bimonthly Sunday Circles:

  • On April 1, 2007, Morton led the discussion on Jefferson, Spokesman of American Liberty? This was offered as a contribution to the ongoing controversy over the name of our district in the Unitarian Univeralist Association: the “Thomas Jefferson District.”

  • On October 7, 2007, he led a discussion titled: “A funny thing happened on the way to the 20th Century.” Here are his notes. (PDF)

• Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand, presented on February 18, 2007, by Dr. Linda Ferguson, a member of the UU Congregation of Roanoke and the author of the book Path for Greatness: Spirituality at Work.

• An Elevator Speech, presented on July 16, 2006, by The Rev. Bill Gupton, Heritage Universalist Unitarian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.

• Should We Tell More Stories About How We Live Our Faith?, presented on June 18, 2006, by Stanley Mathes, a member of the Congregation.

• Hinduism is a Way of Life, Not a Religion, presented on August 14, 2005, by Ranes C. Chakravorty MAEd MD, who is a follower of Vedantism, a retired professor of surgery, and a friend of the Congregation.

• Ecological Overshoot: Our Gift to Posterity, presented on July 31, 2005, by John Cairns, Jr., a long-time UUC member and Virginia Tech University Distinguished Professor of Environmental Biology Emeritus.

• Our Sacred Nation, presented on July 10, 2005, by Carter Turner, who is in the Philosophy and Religious Studies department at Radford University — as well as a member of the Congregation.

• Radical of Spirit and Society: Yeshua bar Joseph, presented on March 13, 2005 by the Reverend Audette Fulbright, minister: Unitarian Universalist Church of Roanoke (VA).

• Living with Chaos on Life’s Path, presented on October 17, 2004 by Celia Hayhoe, member of the Congregation and Cooperative extension specialist, Department of Apparel, Housing and Resource Management (Virginia Tech).

• Thomas Jefferson: Racist or Race Activist?, presented on August 1, 2004 by Andrea Kelso, member of the UUC who has gone through the TJ District “Journey towards Wholeness” program.

• Requiem for a Dream: Remembering the Religious Left, presented on May 23, 2004 by Carter Turner, adjunct faculty in Religious Studies at Virginia Tech and Radford — as well as a member of the Congregation.

• Reason and Emotion in Religion: What is the true touchstone of truth?, presented on June 15, 2003, by Reverend Paul Boothby, Interim minister, Unitarian Universalist Church of the Shenandoah Valley.

• Building the Pyramids, presented on 9 February 2003 by Isabel Berney, Fellowship and Memorial Committee member.

• Emerson’s Living Legacy, presented on 7 July 2002 by Nancy Craig Simmons, Fellowship member and Emerson scholar.

All sermons were delivered at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation (which was named the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the New River Valley, prior to 1 July 2003), Blacksburg, VA.