Virtual Church 2022
Services are displayed on the following pages:
This Sunday's service, Sunday and Monday:
Last Sunday's and prior services, 2022: 2021: March 22 through December, 2020: January through March 15, 2020: 2019: 2014-2018: 2011-2013 Future services: |
Services on this page are displayed in reverse chronological order,
with the most recent videos on top.
with the most recent videos on top.
June Worship Theme:
Celebrating Blessings
June 26:
Service by Endera Stevens, Yolanda Stevens and Mary Lou Keller
Yolanda, Endera and Mary Lou will celebrate the beautiful things that make our hearts sing with a unique guided meditation, an enthusiastic interpretation of the children’s book Something Beautiful, inspiring music and stories. Bring something you consider beautiful to share on a table in the sanctuary, and if time allows we will hear people’s stories during or after the service. This is an intergenerational service and will be an experience not to be missed.
Service by Endera Stevens, Yolanda Stevens and Mary Lou Keller
Yolanda, Endera and Mary Lou will celebrate the beautiful things that make our hearts sing with a unique guided meditation, an enthusiastic interpretation of the children’s book Something Beautiful, inspiring music and stories. Bring something you consider beautiful to share on a table in the sanctuary, and if time allows we will hear people’s stories during or after the service. This is an intergenerational service and will be an experience not to be missed.
June 19:
Sermon by Doug Wadkins
This is my last service with you as your interim minister. As we all move into a time of change, this service will explore how we are always amid beginnings, middles, and endings in life. These two years have given us a lot of change, and once more, before we part ways, I will reflect on what it might mean in an enduring way for our lives.
Sermon by Doug Wadkins
This is my last service with you as your interim minister. As we all move into a time of change, this service will explore how we are always amid beginnings, middles, and endings in life. These two years have given us a lot of change, and once more, before we part ways, I will reflect on what it might mean in an enduring way for our lives.
June 12:
Sermon by Doug Wadkins
We continue our pathway though Celebrating Blessings by reflecting on the blessings that we have experienced this year at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota. Given the year and more that we have had, it seems particularly worthwhile to celebrate these specific blessings.
Sermon by Doug Wadkins
We continue our pathway though Celebrating Blessings by reflecting on the blessings that we have experienced this year at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota. Given the year and more that we have had, it seems particularly worthwhile to celebrate these specific blessings.

Flower Communion:
Bring a flower,
take a flower with you
This service included our annual ritual celebrating beauty, human uniqueness, diversity, and community. Everyone in the congregation brought a flower. Each person placed a flower in shared vases. The congregation and minister blessed the flowers, and they're redistributed. Each person took home a different flower than the one they brought. Click the play button for a short clip of the communion.
Bring a flower,
take a flower with you
This service included our annual ritual celebrating beauty, human uniqueness, diversity, and community. Everyone in the congregation brought a flower. Each person placed a flower in shared vases. The congregation and minister blessed the flowers, and they're redistributed. Each person took home a different flower than the one they brought. Click the play button for a short clip of the communion.
June 5:
Sermon by Doug Wadkins
As we begin our final theme until the fall, we think about the importance of honoring our shared life. An essential part of this life is acknowledging the crucial facets of our lives, both individual and shared. We have established various rites that help us honor them. This practice is an excellent thing. This service will explore why this is important and how to get the most out of these moments. In light of the month’s theme, we will also examine why the perspective of blessings has particular resonance for each of us!
Sermon by Doug Wadkins
As we begin our final theme until the fall, we think about the importance of honoring our shared life. An essential part of this life is acknowledging the crucial facets of our lives, both individual and shared. We have established various rites that help us honor them. This practice is an excellent thing. This service will explore why this is important and how to get the most out of these moments. In light of the month’s theme, we will also examine why the perspective of blessings has particular resonance for each of us!
May 29:
Sermon by Rev. Brock Leach For a nation of indigenous, immigrant and formerly enslaved people like ours, democracy cannot survive on any claim of cultural superiority. It can only flourish when we center our shared longings for "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” and work together to fulfill them. That means finding value in cultural diversity of all kinds, but it also means being in deep enough relationship with people from very different cultures to see past our differences and claim our common human values. How might we bridge that divide? |
May 22:
Sermon by Rev. Doug Wadkins
Throughout our lives, our bodies, our relationship with our body and how we think and feel about them matters deeply. One way or another we each have our moments of wonder, goodness and challenge as we make our way. Let us consider some of ways that the beauty of the body may be understood in a meaningful and adaptable way as we journey. To be at home within our bodies may be some of the most important work we do in our life.
Sermon by Rev. Doug Wadkins
Throughout our lives, our bodies, our relationship with our body and how we think and feel about them matters deeply. One way or another we each have our moments of wonder, goodness and challenge as we make our way. Let us consider some of ways that the beauty of the body may be understood in a meaningful and adaptable way as we journey. To be at home within our bodies may be some of the most important work we do in our life.
May 15:
Sermon by Rev. Doug Wadkins
The ways we connect and feel connected are so important to our well-being. We are more aware of the need and challenges of such connections after the last two years. This Sunday we will honor the importance of connections within this community and, in the larger sense, what it means to belong.
Sermon by Rev. Doug Wadkins
The ways we connect and feel connected are so important to our well-being. We are more aware of the need and challenges of such connections after the last two years. This Sunday we will honor the importance of connections within this community and, in the larger sense, what it means to belong.
May 8:
Sermon by Rev. Doug Wadkins
Sermon by Rev. Doug Wadkins

May 1 Service, part 1:
Sermon by Rev. Jay Wolin
We are all on a journey. Individually, and as a Congregation. I will share a bit of my personal journey, and I will share some lessons I have learned along the way to build resiliency and maintain hope.
Sermon by Rev. Jay Wolin
We are all on a journey. Individually, and as a Congregation. I will share a bit of my personal journey, and I will share some lessons I have learned along the way to build resiliency and maintain hope.
The following music video cannot be included in our YouTube recording due to copyright restrictions:

May 1 Service, part 2:
April Worship Theme:
Awakening
April 24:
Sermon by Rev. Jay Wolin
This past week was Earth Day. How can we balance the needs of humanity with the sustainability of the Earth. What do we mean by the “needs” of humanity? I will explore the theology of ecology, and what our seventh principle calls us to do.
Sermon by Rev. Jay Wolin
This past week was Earth Day. How can we balance the needs of humanity with the sustainability of the Earth. What do we mean by the “needs” of humanity? I will explore the theology of ecology, and what our seventh principle calls us to do.
April 17:
Sermon by Rev. Doug Wadkins
A powerful form of awakening has to do with liberation. Since Easter is one of the holidays that combines ancient pagan traditions around Spring and the resurrection of Jesus, the service will honor both of the these paths. This celebratory and reflective service will explore some common ground in the liberating forces between the two.
Technical note: A sound problem arose just as we began the live stream. We were unable to fix it during the service. Sorry for the substandard sound quality. We will make every attempt to keep it from happening again.
Sermon by Rev. Doug Wadkins
A powerful form of awakening has to do with liberation. Since Easter is one of the holidays that combines ancient pagan traditions around Spring and the resurrection of Jesus, the service will honor both of the these paths. This celebratory and reflective service will explore some common ground in the liberating forces between the two.
Technical note: A sound problem arose just as we began the live stream. We were unable to fix it during the service. Sorry for the substandard sound quality. We will make every attempt to keep it from happening again.
April 10:
Sermon by Rev. Doug Wadkins
As we continue our journey through this month’s theme of Awakening, we step back and look at a variety of paths that might help us engage Awakening in our lives. Awakening may refer to both our individual waking up and the ways that community and connection may deepen this truth in our lives.
Sermon by Rev. Doug Wadkins
As we continue our journey through this month’s theme of Awakening, we step back and look at a variety of paths that might help us engage Awakening in our lives. Awakening may refer to both our individual waking up and the ways that community and connection may deepen this truth in our lives.
April 3:
Sermon by Rev. Dr. Shively T.J. Smith We are honored to have the Rev. Dr. Shively T.J. Smith in our pulpit. Rev. Dr. Smith is one of the two lecturers for the Sarasota Conference on Spirituality, Community and Social Change (details below). She is a leading scholar on Howard Thurman, the Assistant Professor of New Testament at Boston University School of Theology, and the author of Strangers to Family: Diaspora and First Peter’s Invention of God’s Household. Rev. Dr. Smith will be speaking to us in accord with our theme of Awakening on how imagination, inspiration, and wonder may make a significant difference in our view of important issues. |
March Worship Theme:
Renewing Faith
March 27:
Sermon by Heather Vickery. In these difficult times, it can be easy to feel despair, to feel overwhelmed by the pain of the world. However, all we have to do is look to our own principles and history to know how to find hope, have courage and take action together. Heather is responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with UU congregations, State Action Networks, past UU College of Social Justice (UUCSJ) program participants and regional staff in order to expand engagement in UUSC and UUCSJ’s work. As the Coordinator for Congregational Activism, she manages the workshop offerings and group visits to the UUSC/UUCSJ office and assists with communications for the Activism and Justice Heather is the President of the Board of the First Parish in Malden, Universalist and is an active member of the Boston Immigration Justice Accompaniment Network. |
March 20:
Sermon by Rev. Doug Wadkins
If you have been a Unitarian Universalist for a while you likely know of our seven Principles that offer the guiding ideals about our faith. This month as we explore renewing our faith, and consider amending our principles on a national level it is good to explore more about these ideals. Why do they exist and what is their purpose and their intention? How might we engage them more meaningfully? We invite you to join us for the service as we explore together.
Sermon by Rev. Doug Wadkins
If you have been a Unitarian Universalist for a while you likely know of our seven Principles that offer the guiding ideals about our faith. This month as we explore renewing our faith, and consider amending our principles on a national level it is good to explore more about these ideals. Why do they exist and what is their purpose and their intention? How might we engage them more meaningfully? We invite you to join us for the service as we explore together.
March 13:
Sermon by Catherine Bonner
This month as we explore the theme of Renewing Faith, it is appropriate for us to explore what we as Unitarian Universalists are doing on a national and local level in living our values around Social and Racial Justice.
Sermon by Catherine Bonner
This month as we explore the theme of Renewing Faith, it is appropriate for us to explore what we as Unitarian Universalists are doing on a national and local level in living our values around Social and Racial Justice.
March 6:
Sermon by Rev. Doug Wadkins
Welcome to March and a new theme of Renewing Faith! As we begin our journey through this month and explore the ideas around this theme, this service will seek to introduce some pathways to help us encounter some of what renewing faith might offer. We will explore some of the important ways that faith and doubt have been essential to our heritage as Unitarian Universalists, and how we might recapture some of that heritage and renew its promise here and now.
Sermon by Rev. Doug Wadkins
Welcome to March and a new theme of Renewing Faith! As we begin our journey through this month and explore the ideas around this theme, this service will seek to introduce some pathways to help us encounter some of what renewing faith might offer. We will explore some of the important ways that faith and doubt have been essential to our heritage as Unitarian Universalists, and how we might recapture some of that heritage and renew its promise here and now.
February 27:
Sermon by Rev. Doug Wadkins
In June of 2020, the UUA Commission on Institutional Change published a meaningful study of pathways for our congregations to do the essential work of widening our circle toward becoming more inclusive and justice-seeking. The implications of this study continue to be incredibly relevant for our movement. This service will explore some of the core components of that work and its hopeful possibilities for our future and present.
Sermon by Rev. Doug Wadkins
In June of 2020, the UUA Commission on Institutional Change published a meaningful study of pathways for our congregations to do the essential work of widening our circle toward becoming more inclusive and justice-seeking. The implications of this study continue to be incredibly relevant for our movement. This service will explore some of the core components of that work and its hopeful possibilities for our future and present.
February 20:
Sermons by Rev. Beth Miller and Rev. Budd Friend-Jones
We are reminded of this classic Dr. Seuss book as we culminate our 2 ½ years as your Associate Ministers and offer our gratitude and blessings as you continue your journey toward a new ministry and we return to retirement with whatever adventures unfold.
Sermons by Rev. Beth Miller and Rev. Budd Friend-Jones
We are reminded of this classic Dr. Seuss book as we culminate our 2 ½ years as your Associate Ministers and offer our gratitude and blessings as you continue your journey toward a new ministry and we return to retirement with whatever adventures unfold.
February 13:
Sermon by Rev. Doug Wadkins
There are few times in history where so many powerful forces are converging on the world, and, ultimately, these forces impact our lives on every level. Let us reflect together on this time and what it asks of us as individuals and as a community. This reflection is significant in light of this critical time in the church with the search and seeking to foster greater health for the future. How can our connections help us make our way forward?
Sermon by Rev. Doug Wadkins
There are few times in history where so many powerful forces are converging on the world, and, ultimately, these forces impact our lives on every level. Let us reflect together on this time and what it asks of us as individuals and as a community. This reflection is significant in light of this critical time in the church with the search and seeking to foster greater health for the future. How can our connections help us make our way forward?
February 6:
Sermon by Rev. Roger Fritts
Join us for an exceptional service with our very special guest, our minister emeritus, the Rev. Roger Fritts. Following tributes by the church Presidents who served during Roger's tenure, he shares his thoughts about his time with us and offers wisdom and encouragement as we look to the future. After the service during the Zoom Coffee Hour, we officially honored his status as minister emeritus. The Coffee Hour was marked by members and friends greeting Roger and offering our gratitude for his many years of outstanding service as our minister.
Sermon by Rev. Roger Fritts
Join us for an exceptional service with our very special guest, our minister emeritus, the Rev. Roger Fritts. Following tributes by the church Presidents who served during Roger's tenure, he shares his thoughts about his time with us and offers wisdom and encouragement as we look to the future. After the service during the Zoom Coffee Hour, we officially honored his status as minister emeritus. The Coffee Hour was marked by members and friends greeting Roger and offering our gratitude for his many years of outstanding service as our minister.
January Worship Theme:
Living with Intention
January 30:
Sermon by Rev. Budd Friend-Jones
Now recognized as “one of the unacknowledged shapers of 20th century America,” Dr. Howard Thurman was a seminal figure within the American civil rights movement. He was “a spiritual genius who transformed the people who transformed history.” (J. Blake, CNN, Feb 2019) Join us online as we celebrate his life and explore how he pioneered a form of spiritual practice that blended deep spirituality with political advocacy.
Sermon by Rev. Budd Friend-Jones
Now recognized as “one of the unacknowledged shapers of 20th century America,” Dr. Howard Thurman was a seminal figure within the American civil rights movement. He was “a spiritual genius who transformed the people who transformed history.” (J. Blake, CNN, Feb 2019) Join us online as we celebrate his life and explore how he pioneered a form of spiritual practice that blended deep spirituality with political advocacy.
January 23:
Sermon by Rev. Doug Wadkins
Frost’s poem, The Road Not Taken, has inspired many, and it is a poem that may offer insights into both the paths we choose and the ones we leave behind. As we seek to live our lives, how might we think about our choices and discern most meaningfully which path to choose? Let us explore the many life paths and their implications for our choices and our intentions.
Sermon by Rev. Doug Wadkins
Frost’s poem, The Road Not Taken, has inspired many, and it is a poem that may offer insights into both the paths we choose and the ones we leave behind. As we seek to live our lives, how might we think about our choices and discern most meaningfully which path to choose? Let us explore the many life paths and their implications for our choices and our intentions.
January 16:
Sermon by Rev. Doug Wadkins
Often we turn to great exemplars to help us think about how we might live more meaningful lives. This exercise can be both beneficial and potentially harmful. On this weekend when we remember the influential life of Martin Luther King Jr., we will engage in ways that his life may best offer wisdom for our living with intention.
Sermon by Rev. Doug Wadkins
Often we turn to great exemplars to help us think about how we might live more meaningful lives. This exercise can be both beneficial and potentially harmful. On this weekend when we remember the influential life of Martin Luther King Jr., we will engage in ways that his life may best offer wisdom for our living with intention.
January 9:
Sermon by Rev. Beth Miller
Keeping with our January theme of “living with intention,” let’s consider the theory of reincarnation. With it’s roots in ancient Eastern religions and philosophies, the idea of many lifetimes has also influenced many great Western minds. In virtually all belief systems that include reincarnation, the soul’s intention is spiritual growth and development to a higher state of being, free of all struggles, that takes it beyond the cycle of reincarnation. Interestingly enough, belief in reincarnation and in the spirit realm have a long history in both Unitarianism and Universalism prior to merger in 1961, and emerged again in the 1980s within Unitarian Universalism.
Sermon by Rev. Beth Miller
Keeping with our January theme of “living with intention,” let’s consider the theory of reincarnation. With it’s roots in ancient Eastern religions and philosophies, the idea of many lifetimes has also influenced many great Western minds. In virtually all belief systems that include reincarnation, the soul’s intention is spiritual growth and development to a higher state of being, free of all struggles, that takes it beyond the cycle of reincarnation. Interestingly enough, belief in reincarnation and in the spirit realm have a long history in both Unitarianism and Universalism prior to merger in 1961, and emerged again in the 1980s within Unitarian Universalism.
January 2:
Led by Rev. Doug Wadkins
Join us for a service that combines times of quiet, times of music and honoring the changes of the last year. The people old and new and the life circumstances that have entered or exited during the last year shape the truth of our living. Let us start the new year with some time to contemplate those truths in community.
Led by Rev. Doug Wadkins
Join us for a service that combines times of quiet, times of music and honoring the changes of the last year. The people old and new and the life circumstances that have entered or exited during the last year shape the truth of our living. Let us start the new year with some time to contemplate those truths in community.