Unity of Walnut Creek - Messages
- 2020
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2020-12-31
December 27, 2020 – Affirming Our Divine Source
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2020-12-27
Guest: Bob Hardy "Letting Go"
In this heartfelt message, Bob Hardy reflects on the frustrations and emotional challenges of 2020 while inviting listeners to practice the sacred art of letting go. Drawing on personal experiences of disrupted holiday traditions, media overwhelm, and the pain of separation, Bob encourages the community to release judgment, fear, and thoughts that no longer serve - and to return to the frequency of love through meditation, prayer, and affirmation. He reminds us that despite the chaos, we are living in a time of remarkable possibility, and that only through our own individual heart work can the world truly change for us all.
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2020-12-24
December 20, 2020 – Emergent Joy
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2020-12-20
Advent, Week 4 - "Joy"
In this fourth week of Advent message on joy, the speaker weaves together the ancient celebration of winter solstice with the Christmas story, exploring how the 2020 Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn mirrors the cosmic dance of expansive spiritual energy meeting grounded, focused presence. Drawing parallels between our evolving relationship with Santa Claus and our spiritual journey with the Divine, the message invites us to embrace uncertainty with childlike wonder while remaining fully present on holy ground. Like Mary, we are called to be receptive to the mighty gift of emergent joy - both cosmically expansive and firmly rooted on earth - as the light returns after the darkest days.
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2020-12-13
Advent, Week 3 - "Love"
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2020-12-06
Advent, Week 2 - "Peace"
Rev. Kristin Powell invites us into the second week of Advent by exploring the theme of peace through the parable of the Chinese farmer, whose steady response of "maybe so, maybe not" teaches us to release judgment and trust the divine unfolding we cannot yet see. She draws a beautiful parallel between Mary's receptive surrender and the season of yin - the feminine, inward energy of winter - encouraging us to embrace stillness, silence, and going within rather than resisting what is. Rev. Kristin Powell reminds us that by dropping drama and resistance, we become "no drama teachers" who radiate peace into a world that deeply needs it.
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2020-11-29
Advent, Week 1 - "Faith"
In this heartfelt Advent message on faith, Cathy Norman shares her personal journey from 36 years of church ministry to becoming a business owner - all by trusting in the synchronicity of life. Speaking from her kitchen with freshly baked cookies, Cathy Norman illustrates how letting go of control and being "in love with life" opened doors she never could have imagined, including a keto baking company guided by remarkable signs and divine timing. Cathy Norman offers a powerful formula for elevating faith - be in love with all that is, acknowledge even the smallest manifestations with gratitude, and allow God's ingenious ways to work beyond your wildest dreams.
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2020-11-22
Fall Series, Part 8 - Gratitude
In this heartfelt conclusion to the Fall Series, Brenlee shares her deeply personal journey from 36 years of suffering to awakening joy through the spiritual practice of gratitude. Drawing from her work as a psychotherapist at Kaiser Addiction Medicine Clinic, Brenlee weaves together ancient wisdom from the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu with modern neuroscience showing how gratitude boosts dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin. Brenlee invites us to see every moment - whether pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral - as a gift containing an opportunity for growth, encouraging us to find the gift within the gift of each experience.
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2020-11-15
Fall Series, Part 7, Generosity
Rev. Kristin Powell explores generosity as a pillar of enduring joy, drawing a powerful parallel between the life-giving Sea of Galilee - which both receives and gives back - and the stagnant Dead Sea, which has no outlet. She addresses how polarization and division close our hearts, offering Pema Chodron's "Just Like Me" practice as a way to bridge divides and reconnect with our shared humanity. Through touching stories of a child saving a spider, strangers helping a determined college student, and a comfort spaniel offering love, Rev. Kristin Powell reminds us that generosity can be beautifully simple - just an open heart following the divine flow of giving and receiving.
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2020-11-08
Fall Series, Part 6, "Compassion"
In this sixth installment of the Eight Pillars of Enduring Joy series, Rev. Kristin Powell explores compassion as both a practice and a way of being, drawing from the wisdom of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama's Book of Joy. Rev. Kristin Powell highlights two transformative truths - that self-centered thinking is the source of suffering, while compassionate concern for others is the source of happiness - and shares the powerful story of Anthony Hinton, who found joy on death row through serving others. She invites us to reach across divides with grace, reminding us that compassion is contagious and ripples outward to heal our communities.
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2020-11-01
Fall Series, Part 5 "Forgiveness"
Rev. Kristin Powell delivers a heartfelt exploration of forgiveness as the fifth pillar of enduring joy, drawing from the wisdom of the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. She shares the inspiring example of Nelson Mandela and South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission to illustrate how forgiveness can transform not only individual hearts but entire societies. Rev. Kristin Powell offers practical tools for the forgiveness journey, including Colin Tipping's Radical Forgiveness Steps, while reminding us that forgiveness is not weakness but a courageous act that frees our bodies, minds, and hearts to love more fully.
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2020-10-25
Fall Series, Part 4 "Acceptance"
In this timely fourth installment of the Fall Series on the eight pillars of joy, Rev. Kristin Powell explores acceptance as a powerful spiritual practice - not as passive resignation, but as the essential starting point from which real change can begin. Drawing on the wisdom of the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Rev. Kristin Powell illustrates how acceptance allows us to redirect energy from resistance toward co-creation with Spirit, making room for grace in our lives and relationships. She invites the community to cultivate acceptance through meditation, curious engagement with others, and collective action - including a pledge to hold no malice toward fellow citizens regardless of election outcomes - as we work together toward the beloved community.
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2020-10-18
Fall Series, Part 3 "Humor"
Rev. Kristin Powell explores humor as one of the Eight Pillars of Joy, drawing from the wisdom of the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu to show how laughter connects us through our shared humanity. She reveals that humor, humility, and human all share the same Latin root - humus, meaning earth - reminding us that lightening up literally brings us back down to earth and closer to one another. Through personal stories, jokes, and heartfelt examples, Rev. Kristin Powell invites us to embrace feeling ridiculous, find levity in our mistakes, and recognize humor as a spiritual quality that heals and connects. Her joyful message encourages us all to lighten up and spread laughter as a gift to the world.
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2020-10-11
Fall Series, Part 2 "Humility"
Rev. Kristin Powell explores humility as the second pillar of enduring joy, drawing from the wisdom of the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu as shared in The Book of Joy. She illuminates how true humility is not timidity or false modesty, but a grounded recognition that we are all essential threads in one beautiful tapestry - interdependent, gifted, and called to serve. Rev. Kristin Powell reminds us that comparison is the thief of joy, and that when we release the ego's games of puffing up or diminishing ourselves, we return to our truest nature as divine beings walking one another home.
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2020-10-04
Fall Series - Enduring Joy, Part 1 "Perspective"
Rev. Kristin Powell launches an inspiring eight-week fall series on the pillars of joy, drawing from the wisdom of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and His Holiness the Dalai Lama as captured in their Book of Joy. She explores the first pillar - Perspective - inviting us to cultivate both an expansive view that goes wide and long, and a deeper view that finds wonder in life's details. Rev. Kristin Powell shares how shifting our perspective serves as a "skull key" that unlocks happiness, reminding us that whether we look through the poet's eye or the visionary's gaze, widening and deepening our view opens the window to greater joy.
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2020-09-27
Prayer Series, Part 4 "The Grace Prayer"
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2020-09-20
Prayer Series, Part 3 "The Metta Prayer"
Rev. Kristin Powell introduces the ancient practice of metta - loving kindness meditation - as part of her Prayers of Perseverance series, tracing its origins from the Buddha's teaching to 500 monks who needed a "weapon of protection" against the disturbing forest devas. She guides listeners through the traditional stages of metta practice - blessing oneself, a loved one, a neutral person, a difficult person, and all beings - while encouraging flexibility in adapting the order to meet individual needs. Rev. Kristin Powell reminds us that we were born to live in these transformative times and that our spiritual practice of offering kindness is both a gift to ourselves and a profound service to the world.
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2020-09-13
Prayer Series, Part 2 "23rd Psalm"
Rev. Kristin Powell offers a timely and deeply comforting exploration of Psalm 23 as part of the Prayers of Perseverance series, reframing this beloved scripture as a guide for navigating our collective dark valley of pandemic, racial injustice, and environmental crisis. She reminds us that the valley is not a permanent dwelling place but a passage we walk through with divine guidance and protection, and she invites us to sit at the table with those who hold opposing views - sharing the powerful story of C.P. Ellis and Ann Atwater as proof that transformation happens when enemies meet face to face. Rev. Kristin Powell closes with a beautiful invitation to accept our anointing, trust the journey, and commit to building a world overflowing with goodness and mercy.
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2020-09-06
Prayer Series, Part 1- "Serenity Prayer"
Rev. Kristin Powell opens a new sermon series called Prayers of Perseverance by exploring the timeless Serenity Prayer, unpacking its three essential elements - acceptance, courage, and wisdom - as gifts that support us through challenging times. Drawing from a recent backpacking trip in Yosemite, Rev. Kristin Powell shares stories of divine intervention and synchronicity that emerged when she set clear intentions and trusted the flow of life. She invites the community to practice the Serenity Prayer together daily at noon, building collective spiritual energy and deepening our relationship with the inner guidance system that leads us toward peace, right action, and divine timing.
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2020-08-30
August 30, 2020 – What’s New?
Rev. Sandra Campbell
Rev. Sandra Campbell delivers an inspiring message on the power of imagination as one of Charles Fillmore's Twelve Powers, drawing from the story of the widow and the jar of oil in 2 Kings to illustrate how faith and vision can transform seemingly impossible situations. She shares her personal journey of imagining herself graduating with honors - and then doing so three times - before ultimately fulfilling her lifelong dream of becoming a Unity minister. Rev. Sandra Campbell encourages us to use our God-given faculty of imagination intentionally, reminding us that thoughts held in mind produce after their kind, and inviting us to see new possibilities even amid the challenges of pandemic life.