Sermons given at UUCB, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley

Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley October 25, 2026The Oldest AltarRev. Marcus Liefert“The world begins at a kitchen table,” writes Joy Harjo. Long before there were temples, there were tables: a flat stone, a fire, people gathered close enough to share what they had. As we begin a worship series exploring the nature and purpose of church through the metaphor of the table, we ask how ordinary surfaces become altars. What promises do we renew each time we pull up a chair?

Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley October 18, 2026Hunted by GraceRev. Marcus LiefertAs we close a worship series on the search for salvation, one last turn: what if we've had the hunt backward all along? The 19th century English poet Francis Thompson called it "The Hound of Heaven"—grace not as something we chase down through vigilance and effort, but as what has been chasing us, patient, relentless, unwilling to lose the scent. What does it take to let ourselves be caught?

Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley October 11, 2026Waiting in the Blind SpotRev. Kathryn JayA hunting blind offers a place where hunters go still and watch until what's out there reveals itself. What does it mean to wait with that kind of attention? What are we waiting for?

Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley September 27, 2026Reading SignRev. Marcus LiefertTrackers learn to "read sign"—a bent blade of grass, a snapped twig—a script of the movement of creatures written on the world. An honest search for salvation asks us to pay the same kind of careful attention. How do we attune well enough to the soul's subtle signals to be aware of our own capacity for harm before it's already a trail?

Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley September 20, 2026Crouching at the DoorRev. Marcus LiefertAs we honor the Jewish High Holy Day of Yom Kippur, we begin a new worship series using The Hunt as a metaphor for the religious question of soteriology—the search for salvation. When the Hebrew Bible first introduces the questions of harm and repair, it suggests sin is a predator crouching at the door, desiring you. What if naming our own capacity for evil isn't the opposite of salvation, but instead where an honest search for it begins?

Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley September 13th, 2026Days of AweRev. Kathryn JaySweetness and grief are woven fine. As we remember our individual and collective moments of joy and sadness, the kindness of strangers sometimes plays a bigger role than we expect. How can we small acts of kindness and tiny moments of grace help us break open our hearts to love?

Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley September 6th, 2026Getting Comfortable with CapacityRev. Marcus LiefertModernity places hope in humanity's endless potential to grow—"Onward and upward forever!" as one of our spiritual ancestors declared in the Five Points of the New Theology. But overemphasizing our power and neglecting our limitations and vulnerability leaves us ill equipped to meet the challenges of our times. How do we hold a conversation that both honors our constraints and inspires us to build the capacity to achieve our purpose?

Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley August 30, 2026The Faith Is In The CrossingRev. Marcus LiefertSome traditions look out on the world and see people in need of conversion, lost souls who could be saved if only they are reached by the right message. Liberal religion holds instead a vision of pluralistic partnership. What kind of faith do we need to take the risk of crossing that chasm?

Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley August 23, 2026Holding Under PressureRev. Kathryn JayWe cross bridges every day, trusting trusses, rivets, and beams to bear the heavy weight. We need communities that inspire that same kind of trust. How can we shore up the institutions of our common life to withstand the forces working to bring them down?

Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley August 2, 2026The Power of HeartbreakRev. Dr. Kathryn JayBroken-heartedness is a fact of life. How can we grow and be transformed by the moments that break our hearts, making space for individual and communal healing in a world beset by loss and disappointment?