University UMC Sermons ATX UUMC

We continue our sermon series, Climate Justice and Creation Care. Pastor Earl preaches on Famine and Feeding.

We continue the sermon series “Creation Care and Climate Justice.” This week's sermon will center on the theme of climate migration. We will hear the account of disciples on the road to Emmaus from Luke’s Gospel and consider what it means to recognize and welcome those God sends our way.

All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matt 25:35). – from The Rule of St. Benedict

Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair. Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift. – Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants

We continue our Sermon Series on Creation Care and Climate Justice. This week the theme is on floods and we’ll hear part of the Noah’s Ark story in worship. Pastor Teresa will be exploring the theme of water in the physical world as well as our spiritual lives.

“When you are working on something as challenging as climate change advocacy, it is important to find things to give you hope. That was the message Katharine Hayhoe gave us as the keynote speaker of the South Central Climate Resilience Forum, a gathering of scientists, city government officials, engineers, and planners.” - Dr. Becca Edwards,

Join us for worship as we begin the sermon series “Creation Care and Climate Justice.” In this first sermon Pastor Teresa will consider the gift and challenge of fire both in our spiritual lives and in the natural world. The sanctuary choir will sing “A Blessing by Fire” Diana Macalintal at the in person service and the online service premiers at 11 am on our YouTube channel.
“You are not Atlas carrying the world on your shoulder. It is good to remember that the planet is carrying you.” – Vandana Shiva

“All creation is the Lord’s, and we are responsible for the ways in which we use and abuse it….let us recognize the responsibility of the church and its members to place a high priority on changes in economic, political, social, and technological lifestyles to support a more ecologically equitable and sustainable world leading to a higher quality of life for all of God’s creation.” – The Social Principles of The UMC

Join us for Easter Sunday. We will hear the resurrection story from the Gospel of John and Pastor Teresa’s sermon is entitled, “Choosing Joy.

Death is natural. Loss is natural. Grief is natural. But those stones have been rolled away this happy morning to reveal the highly unnatural truth. By the light of this day, God has planted a seed of life in us that cannot be killed, and if we can remember that then there is nothing we cannot do: move moutains, banish fear, love our enemies, change the world. – Barbara Brown Taylor in “Home By Another Way”

Joy is an act of resistance against despair and its forces. – Willie James Jennings, theologian

Join us as we celebrate Palm Sunday! Palm Sunday begins in celebration and transitions to the sorrow of Holy Week ahead. You can read more about our Holy Week services at uumc.org/easter.