Sermon Recordings
Did You Know?
The Sunday Messages Podcast from Cedar Valley Unitarian Universalists is available on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Pandora, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, TuneIn, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, Deezer, Listen Notes, PlayerFM, and Buzzsprout.
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Thanksgiving and Thanks-receiving
Karen Impola
For a video of this message, click here.
Justice: What We Think It Is, What Others Think It Is, What It Actually Is
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Why Honor Our Veterans?
Lynn Brant
Democracy: Who Shall We Be?
Al Hays & Callie Amiday
For a video of this message, click here.
Worshipping the Old Gods: Slavic Paganism and Oral History
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Caring for Each Soul: Equity as a UU Ethic
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Notes on Being Human
Mandy Boody & Jessica Lieb
For a video of this message, click here.
Yom Kippur: On Forgiveness
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Growing in Purpose, Rooted in Values
Pastor Emma Peterson & Congregation
For a video of this message, click here.
Golden Days: Summer in the Midwest
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Loving Elvis Presley: Pop Culture and Our Problematic Favorites
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Summer Reading Series
Pastor Emma Peterson & Dick Warhol
For a video of this message, click here.
Homage to the Flying Spaghetti Monster
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Is This a Free Country?
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Article II: From Theory to Practice
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Do You Believe in (a) God?
Lynn Brant & Jess Lieb
For a video of this message, click here.
Earth Day: The Interconnected Web
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
April 9, 2023
The Story of Passover
Carla Fanelli
This message was very visual, so we recommend viewing it on our YouTube channel.
April 2, 2023
The Ordination of Pastor Emma L. Peterson
The whole service is available for viewing on our YouTube channel. Click here.
The Locations of Vulnerability
Rev. Carin Bringelson
For a video of this message, click here.
A Naturalist Looks at the 7th Principle
Lynn Brant
For a video of this message, click here.
Return to Stardust: An Ash Wednesday Sermon
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
What the World Needs Now: Unitarian Universalism and the Ethic of Love
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
The Iowa Sisterhood: The Legacy of UU Midwest Women Ministers
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Lunar New Year: The Moon, The Chinese Zodiac, You, Me, Us
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Who ARE You: The Reflections You Present
Ken Taylor
For a video of this message, click here.
Dreams of Peace: Judith Sargent Murray and Hope in Times of Hopelessness
Olivia Meikle, guest speaker
For a video of this message, click here.
Finding Our Center at the CVUU
Heather Flory
For a video of this message, click here.
A Star in the East: Signs, Certainty, and Mystical Revolutions of the Heart – A Christmas Eve Homily
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Our 7 Principles
CVUU Members & Friends
For a video of this message, click here.
All Saints, All Souls: A Ritual for Our Dearly Departed
Pastor Emma Peterson
If you’d like to participate in this ritual with us, there will be a pause of about 30 seconds amid the recording, where we invite you to hold your intention or a lost loved one in your heart.
For a video of this ritual, click here.
What’s a Gadfly? The 2019 GA Shake-Up and Healing What’s Broken
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this sermon, click here.
The UUA Hiring Controversy, Efforts of Reparative Justice, and the Path Forward
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this sermon, click here.
Full Moon: Myths and Ritual
Karen Impola & Floralyn Groff
For a video of this sermon, click here.
New Growth from Deep Roots: CVUU Kick Off Sunday!
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this sermon, click here.
Shaping the World: The Modern Day Labor Movement and the Hope for a More Equitable Future
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this sermon, click here.
Life Before and After Roe v. Wade
CVUU Member Panel
Journeying Together: A Discussion As Our Congregation Considers Adopting the 8th Principle
Pastor Emma Peterson/8th Principle Task Force
For a video of this sermon, click here.
This is part 1 of our congregational conversation about the proposed 8th principle. Because we typically don’t post congregational conversations publicly, this is only the panel portion of the message from this day.
Journeying Toward Spiritual Wholeness: The Proposed 8th Principle and the Backlash Against It
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this sermon, click here.
The Empowerment Controversy
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this sermon, click here.
Summer Reading Series
Pastor Emma Peterson, Mandy Boody, Congregants
For a video of this sermon, click here.
For Pastor Emma’s powerful opening words from this service, on Roe, anger, and the long road ahead, click here.
A list of the recommendations made during this message can be provided by request via email to our office administrator.
The Six Sources of Unitarian Universalism
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this sermon, click here.
Good and Faithful Allies: Examining the Most Recent Assault on LGBTQ and Women’s Rights, and What Unitarian Universalists Can Do About It
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this sermon, click here.
Myth-Making/Myth-Breaking
Kate TD Flynn
For a video of this sermon, including a guided meditation, click here.
The Limits of Science
Dennis Harbaugh
For a video of this sermon, click here.
Out of the Muck: Lotus Blossoms, COVID-19, and Resurrection – an Easter sermon
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this sermon, click here.
The Unexamined Life
Karen Potter
For a video of this sermon, click here.
A Tremendous Fascinating Mystery
Rev. Dr. Josh Snyder
For a video of this sermon, click here.
Draw the Circle Wider: Stewardship Sunday
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this sermon, click here.
Living Your Best at End of Life: A Co-Sermon on Mortality, Hospice, and the Transforming Power of Compassionate End-of-Life Care
Pastor Emma Peterson & Nancie Groszkruger
For a video of this co-sermon, click here.
The Early Life of the Buddha
Dr. John Burnight
Due to a technical problem, there is no video of this Sunday’s message.
Love, Sweet Love: How the Romantic Relationship Became the Ultimate Goal and How That Harms Us
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this sermon, click here.
Groundhog Day and the Nature of Hope: On Endless Winter and the Promise of Spring
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this sermon, click here.
How to Make a Friend: Confronting the Loneliness Epidemic While Forming Deeper Connections
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this sermon, click here.
Finding Gratitude in the New Year
Heather Flory
For a video of this sermon and meditation, click here.
Lessons from the Streambank
Clark Porter
For a video of this sermon, click here.
Science is Real
Michaela Rich
For a video of this sermon, click here.
The Birth of Something New
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this sermon, click here.
Happy Holidays
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this sermon, click here.
On Healing: Ourselves, Each Other, and the Broken World
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this sermon, click here.
Who is God to the Humanist? A Co-Sermon
Pastor Emma Peterson & Moria Brown
For a video of this sermon, click here.
Loving the Hell Out of This World: Exploring the Concept of Sin for Unitarian Universalists
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this sermon, click here.
Festival of Darkness: Samhain Ritual
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this sermon, click here.
Waiting for the Light: Self-Care in the Shift of Seasons
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this sermon, click here.
Holding History Through Stories
Mary Kay Madsen, Gerry Chamberlin, Lynn Brant
For a video of this sermon, click here.
Cancel Columbus: Celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this sermon, click here.
Welcome, Fall: Changing Seasons
Pastor Emma Peterson
Due to a technical problem, there is no video available for this sermon.
Water Communion Meditation
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this meditation, click here.
The entire message was not recorded because it involved congregational sharing.
Everything’s Going to Be Okay (As Long As We’re Together)
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Burning Hearts: A Grief Ritual
Pastor Emma Peterson
During the music, we welcome our online friends to name your griefs — silently, aloud, or to a friend. Say the prayers of hope and healing that you carry in your heart. Imagine those griefs and hopes, like smoke from a flame, rising up toward the sky.
For a video of this message, click here.
Queering Our Faith: UU Iowans LGBTQ Shared Sermon Project
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Flower Communion
Pastor Emma Peterson & Congregation
For our second online flower communion since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pastor Emma starts a congregational conversation about flowers and their meaning in our lives. We encourage you to engage with this message on YouTube or Facebook and join in the conversation. Though we don’t typically publish the entirety of our congregational conversations, we made an exception this week, and we hope this conversation brings you as much lightness and joy as it brought to those who participated.
Summer Vacation
Pastor Emma Peterson
This message involved a conversation with the congregation, which is not typically recorded. In this audio clip, Pastor Emma introduces a topic of conversation. We invite you to engage with the video of this message on Facebook or YouTube and share your own memories in the comments.
Summer Reading Series
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message (and for a typed list of all reading recommendations mentioned), click here.
July 4, 2021
What Does It Mean to Be a Patriot?
Pastor Emma Peterson & Congregants
The format of this message is not suited to audio-only transmission, but it can be heard on YouTube (click here).
Views on Global Warming
Lynn Brant
For a video of this message, click here.
Q&A on the Completed Legislative Session
Iowa State Senator Eric Giddens
For a video of this message, click here.
Inter-Generational Connections: How Millennials, Boomers, and Everyone In Between Co-Create Our Faith
Pastor Emma Peterson & John Miller
For a video of this message, click here.
All the Miracles and All the Mess: A Message for Mothers (Day), and for Children of Mothers, Be They Young, Real Grown Up Adults, or Very Old Indeed
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Hope is the Thing with Feathers
David Strickler
For a video of this message, click here.
Modern Farming and the 7th UU Principle
John Miller
For a video of this message, click here.
Living Our UU Faith
Pastor Emma Peterson & Al Hays
For a video of this message, click here.
Humans and the Secret Life of Trees
Debbie Kyler
For a video of this message, click here.
A Pandemic Rebirth: A UU Easter Sermon
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Soul Work: What are You Called to Heal and Grow Beyond in This Lifetime?
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Our Interdependent Web: What Interdependence Means, Especially Now That We Know About Boundaries
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Boundaries: What They Are, How to Have Them, What to Do When Someone Maintains Them (And You’re Mad About It!)
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
We are the Stewards of This Place: A Stewardship Sermon
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
You Can Do the Thing
Kat Beane Hanson
For a video of this message, click here.
What the World Needs Now is Love: A Valentines Message
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Reflections on a Month of Reflecting
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
What VA Chaplaincy Taught Me About Church
Rev. Micah Ma, guest
For a video of this message, click here.
Writers Among Us
Del Carpenter, Floralyn Groff, Michael Fanelli, Jim O’Loughlin
For a video of this message, click here.
Some of this content is political in nature, and any opinions expressed or implied belong to the writer and not the CVUU. Although the CVUU supports the democratic process, it does not endorse any political party or candidate.
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Other Dreams
Pam Hays
For a video of this message, click here.
But They Just Aren’t Like Us
John Miller & Dennis Harbaugh
For a video of this message, click here.
Living a Life of Adventure in a Pandemic
Heather Flory
For a video of this message, click here.
Christmas Eve Homily
Pastor Emma Peterson
A Very Pandemic Christmas
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Giving Thanks in a Thankless Time
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
In a statement not included in this recording, Pastor Emma acknowledged alongside her closing words that Thanksgiving is a Day of Mourning for Indigenous peoples. Just as it’s important to count our own blessings, it’s just as important to acknowledge the devastation visited upon Indigenous populations, in both the past and the present.
Cultivating an Inner Spiritual Life
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
A Blessing and Message for Veterans Day
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Thinning the Veil: All Things Hallows’ Eve
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
NOTE: the audio and the video differ because we re-recorded the audio version of the message for our podcast. The original video shows you how to build your ancestral altar, while the audio version just tells you about it.
76 Years in the Rear View Mirror
John Miller
For a video of this message, click here.
The Sixth Stage of Grief
Sheri Huber-Otting
For a video of this message, click here.
On Belonging: What It Means To Be a Member
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Standing Up to Be Counted
Judith Harrington
For a video of this message, click here.
September 13, 2020
Water Communion
Pastor Emma Peterson
Because most of this sermon was visual, there is no audio-only recording of it. For a video of this message, click here.
Beyond These Walls: Church Year Kick-Off
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
Farewell, Summer: What Shifts at the Shift of Seasons
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, click here.
De-Centering White Voices: What it Means and What it Looks Like
Pastor Emma Peterson
Please forgive the low audio quality — due to technical issues, Pastor Emma had to join the Zoom service by phone.
Risk Acceptance and Risk Management
Ken Taylor
For a video of this message, click this link.
Celebrating Black Poetry
Marta Ferguson
For a video of this message, click this link.
Bring Your Favorite Joke Day!
Pastor Emma Peterson
For a video of this message, including a laughing exercise, click this link.
On Power: A Pastoral Conversation
Pastor Emma Peterson & John Miller
How to Get Through: Taking Care of Ourselves and Each Other
Pastor Emma Peterson
Decolonizing the Final Frontier
Marta Ferguson
For a video of this sermon, click this link.
Patriotism in a Time of National Upheaval
Pastor Emma Peterson
The Religious Significance of Geology
Lynn Brant
Zoom Service Sermon
Pastor Emma Peterson
YOGAaah: Yoga as a Spiritual Journey
Deblyn Russell
You are Forgiven: What Grace Means, and How to Practice It
Pastor Emma Peterson
We are Stardust: On Ash Wednesday, the Metaphysical, and the Blessing of Being Dust
Pastor Emma Peterson
Fueling the Fire of Commitment
Pam & Al Hays; Dan & Kathi Bower
Changing the World
Dennis Harbaugh
Shoring Up Our Visioning, a Stewardship Sermon: On Making Big Plans, Following Through, and the Necessity of Generosity
Pastor Emma Peterson
Black UU Lives Matter: Racial Justice and Dismantling White Supremacy Within Unitarian Universalism
Pastor Emma Peterson
Sacrilege, Cultural Borrowing, and My Theology
Del Carpenter
Burning the Old Year: Putting Down What No Longer Serves Us and Making Space for What Comes Next
Pastor Emma Peterson
Finding Her Voice
Kelly Fischer
Christmas Eve Readings, Hymns, and Homily
Pastor Emma Peterson
Metanoia: Christmas Transformation
Del Carpenter
No Room at the Inn: Who Capitalism’s Holiday Season Leaves in the Cold
Pastor Emma Peterson
Honoring Other Religions
Children- and YoUUth-Led Service
Keeping Each Other Warm: Community in the Cycle of Darkness
Pastor Emma Peterson
To Whom Do We Owe Thanks?
Del Carpenter
Part of how we got this far was through help from others. Our service will include sermon aspects about forgiveness and gratitude, and we’ll have interactive sharing of stories about being helped, treated with kindness, or given support by a non-relative.
Feeding the Soul: On Mindful Consumption, Food and Justice, and Food as Love
Pastor Emma Peterson
Veterans: We’re All In This Together
Ken Taylor
Let’s explore what binds veterans from across differing years and branches of service into blessed community of a different kind.
Blast From the Past: Why Reconnecting with Old Friends is a Great Idea
Pastor Emma Peterson
Practicing a Religion of Reason in an Irrational World
Al Hays
On our CVUU sign is the slogan “Where reason and spirituality meet.” UUs pride themselves on relying, in large part, on reason and evidence in constructing their view of the universe and their place in it. However, how often do we stop to examine exactly what that means? This becomes especially important since our nation appears to be embarked on a course of unreason in so many areas of life.
Nothing Gold Can Stay: What Autumn Teaches Us About Life and Death
Pastor Emma Peterson
Do UUs Have Theology?: Examining Theological Reflection in a Non-Doctrinal Faith
Pastor Emma Peterson
The Church of What We Know
Special Guest, Peter Mayer
In this service, singer-songwriter Peter Mayer will deliver a message about how UUism can help us connect spiritually with the story of the universe as described by science. He’ll also sing a song or six. (We wish to thank Peter Mayer for allowing us to include his music in this podcast.)
In Awe of Creation: Rosh Hashanah and the Days of Awe
Pastor Emma Peterson
On Public Witness: What It Means to Proclaim Your Values to the World
Pastor Emma Peterson
Annual RE Kickoff
Pastor Emma Peterson & CVUU YoUUth
Walking an Ancient Spiritual Path
Lynn Williams
Hear about Lynn’s own journey on his pagan spiritual path, which hopefully will give some insight to others.
We’re All In This Together: Shared Ministry
Pastor Emma Peterson
Valuing the Arts: What It Means to Be a Creative Person
Jessica Lieb
We understand that the arts as a whole are important to humanity, but why specifically do we need to keep our creative habits alive? In this service, we explore music and other creative facets to discuss why the arts matter and what we can do to preserve the practice of creative pursuits.
Maybe You’ve Been Here Before?: The Possibility of Reincarnation
Pastor Emma Peterson
Change, Expectations, and Tolerance – Part II
John Miller
For Part I of this series, click here.
In the first part of this series, we talked a lot about our life changes that brought us to be UUs, but we didn’t talk much about other changes that have affected our lives and the expectations that go along with those changes. We will explore the expectations we have for ourselves and others and how to decide what we will tolerate and what we will not.
The Long, Hot Days of Summer: Planning for the Year Ahead at the CVUU
Pastor Emma Peterson
The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11
David Drum
Pilgrim Paths in Japan
Joyce Boss
Click here to view the slides referenced in the sermon.
Let’s Talk About Our Dads
Parker & Shawn McNally
The 8th Principle
Bill Chene
We Need to Talk About Abortion Rights: Evaluating the Threat to Bodily Autonomy as a Matter of Faith
Pastor Emma Peterson
Memorial Day Panel
Bill Chene, Moderator
The Memorial Day service was a panel discussion with our veterans on the various ways our military has changed in the time between our oldest veterans and our youngest veterans.
Flower Communion & Child Dedication
Pastor Emma Peterson
Witchy Woman
Pastor Emma Peterson
Learn about the history, popular culture, and private lives of witches and wiccans.
Change, Expectations, and Tolerance – Part I
John Miller
For part two of this series, click here.
We all change. We don’t believe the same things we did when we were in college or maybe even a few weeks ago. As we change, there are expectations for ourselves and from others. Do we tolerate the changes in others or don’t we?
On Kingdom Come?: What Resurrection Might Mean for Unitarian Universalists
Pastor Emma Peterson
What’s Love Got to Do With It?
Pam & Al Hays
How can the Seven Principles be the foundation for living a life of love?
The Virtue of Nationalism
Albert Browne
Don’t like nationalism? Wait till you see what’s likely to replace it.
The Web of Life
Bill Chene
This message is about understanding the Unitive world and the Web of Life beyond the environmental dimension. The message also covers how our human consciousness and awareness interacts with the Web of Life and its effect on our perceptions and misperceptions of the world around us.
On Grief
Pastor Emma Peterson & John Miller
Loss is a consequence of loving, and in this service, Emma and John share about their loves and losses.
Spiritual Reflection on Unity and Community
Lynn Williams
Unity is about working together respectfully to advance our common interests and to boost our common signal while we explore our individual traditions in depth. Building community will come from the results of having strong friendships and networking with others standing strong.
You Are Perfect, Queer Heart: Welcoming the LGBTQ Soul
Pastor Emma Peterson
Transgender 101 (Adult Forum)
Pastor Emma Peterson
Journeys to UU
Panel of CVUU Members
Our panel discusses their journeys in coming to CVUU.
How Does the Magic Happen?: Creating the Beloved Community at CVUU
Pam & Al Hays
Each of us has joined this community because we care about what it provides to us and the world — it represents love in action between us as members and in the world at large.
Rethinking Conventional Wisdom
Ruth Walker
Some of W.E.B. DuBois’ writings, especially from his later years, generated challenges to ideas Ruth had accepted with little study or thought. How much propaganda have we swallowed?
Beyond MLK: Racial Justice as a Matter of Faith
Pastor Emma Peterson
Love and Grief and Living: A Co-Sermon Conversation
Pastor Emma Peterson & John Miller
Let’s Get Cozy: Creature Comforts and the Danish Concept of Hygge
Pastor Emma Peterson
Winter is the time we crave comfort the most. We will hear how nesting can warm our spirits until springtime.
Getting Up On a Sunday Morning: A Non-Spiritual Case for a Blessed Community
Ken Taylor
If we remove the spiritualism, is there still any reason to gather together? What do we look for from each other, and what do we expect to share with our chosen community? Let us explore some of the ways in which we can and do lift each other up.
Fifty Years Growing as a UU
Del Carpenter
Listen to Del talk about his journey of spiritual growth through fifty years as a UU.
The Sounds of the Season
Pastor Emma Peterson
In the cold isolation of winter, music is a powerful force that can connect us on a deeper, warmer level.
Our Passions Can Transform Us
Floralyn Groff
Floralyn shares how three passions in her life — turtles, goddesses, and labyrinths — have taken her through a very transformational life process. She will challenge you to take a look at your own experiences and consider how they have transformed you.
Jesus Was a Refugee
Pastor Emma Peterson
Come hear how the story of Christ’s birth can inform our understanding of modern immigration.
Thanksgiving: The Last Frontier of Uncommodified American Holidays
Pastor Emma Peterson
Thanksgiving seems to be the last holdout of American holidays that are actually still about what they claim to be about — namely family, togetherness, and gratitude. Forget about Black Friday, and let’s focus on being thankful for what we’ve got.
And Now For the Good News
Pastor Emma Peterson
Sometimes, the bad news is good. “You’re not in control” and that’s okay! “Lower your expectations” and you may be happier in the long run! Reflections on turning your frown upside down, or learning to grin and bear it.
Thoughts On Retirement
Russ Campbell
Retirement is often not what was anticipated for retirees, or for those who deal with retirees. Neither try to do too much because there are too many good options, nor do nothing because you cannot decide which options to pursue.
Cloud of Saints and Witnesses
Pastor Emma Peterson
The meaning of All Saints Day, and a celebration of all saints, known and unknown.
Life As Improvisation
Dennis Harbaugh
Many of us think of “improv” — performances that are unscripted and spontaneous — as light-hearted, playful comedy, and often that is the desired result. But like all disciplines, improv has a few guidelines which lead to success — or at least an occasional chuckle. Is it possible the rules for improv reflect a few life lessons from which we all could learn a thing or two?
Columbus & Other Monsters
Pastor Emma Peterson
An examination of the lies children are told about Columbus and other “American heroes.”
Gifts of the Harvest
Pastor Emma Peterson
Think about the fall equinox and what the shifting seasons remind us about ourselves.
It’s Fall Y’all: Shifting In to the Shifting Seasons
Pastor Emma Peterson
The path we walk together as a congregation involves transitions and transformation.