Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

“Annual Hanging of the Greens Service”
Sunday, December 18, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream

We will gather as a full community to build connection through the ritual of creating the greens for our sanctuary. In honor of the sacredness of each person born, we will create stars that highlight each of us that are present. Join us for a lovely tradition of joy and merriment.

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Dennis Adams, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir; Mark Sumner, Music Director; Jon Silk, Drummer; Wm. García Ganz, Pianist

Shulee Ong, Camera; Jackson Munn, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; DeAndre Smith, Sexton; Athena Papadakos, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, November 27, 2022.

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, December 4, 2022.

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, December 11, 2022.

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, December 18, 2022.

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, January 1, 2023.

“A People Without Vision Shall Perish”
Sunday, January 8, 2023, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream

Emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, we realize that there is no turning back to what we once thought was normal. San Francisco has always been a destination for those who want to be their authentic selves and dream dreams. Sunday's sermon will speak to the challenges and opportunities of this time of recalibration and how people of faith can and should be a part of the equation for charting a vision for a brighter future.

Michael G. Pappas, M.Div., Guest Preacher; Wonder Dave, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; Maria Roodnitsky, Guitarist and Singer; Cal Ball, Guitarist; Nancy Munn, Songleader

Eric Shackelford, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Remigio Flood, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Amy Kelly, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

Joni Mitchell famously sung "We are stardust... and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden." What does it mean for us to be made of stardust, floating around on a speck of a speck in the vastness of the cosmos? Does it provoke a sense of wonder that we are here at all? Or maybe a sense of profound uncertainty as to how we got here, or where we are going? These feelings have been provoking us for millennia to create religions about how the stardust turned into us, and also about how we might get back to the garden. Maybe instead of explaining it all, these feelings can remind us how rare it is that we get to consciously exist at all, and maybe this can create a new kind of religious impulse... one that expands our worlds rather than limits them. This message was delivered on Sunday, January 8, 2023 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar in The Point Humanist Hour. SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH SERMONS FROM OUR MINISTERS: WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST: GIVE TO SUPPORT LOVE BEYOND BELIEF: http://www.allsoulschurch.org/GIVE or text LOVEBB to 73256 LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: Instagram: All Souls Church Website:

"Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will." — Frederick Douglass As we celebrate and learn from the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. this MLK Sunday, Rev. Gerald Davis reflects on the "santa-clause-ification" of MLK, a process in which we remember him as a soft and simply well-meaning figure, when in reality he was a radical political and social advocate — to the point that powerful people wanted him killed. This message was delivered on Sunday, January 15, 2023 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Rev. Gerald Davis in The Point Humanist Hour. SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH SERMONS FROM OUR MINISTERS: WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST: GIVE TO SUPPORT LOVE BEYOND BELIEF: or text LOVEBB to 73256 LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: Instagram: All Souls Church Website:

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

What does it mean for a myth to be true? Does it have to be literal and factual in order for us to glean meaning from it? This Sunday, Rev. Marlin explores the value of myth in our lives and in our world. It might require us to expand our imagination and interpret - indeed, to co-create the universe through our understanding. This message was delivered on Sunday, January 22, 2023 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar in The Point Humanist Hour. SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH SERMONS FROM OUR MINISTERS: WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST: GIVE TO SUPPORT LOVE BEYOND BELIEF: or text LOVEBB to 73256 LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: Instagram: All Souls Church Website:

“Once to every Soul and Nation…”
Sunday, January 15, 2023, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream

Their voices roll down through history -- cutting through like the thunder before a storm -- warning us, reminding us, showing us by the lives they lived/live that prophetic words can be met by life-changing deeds and that the future is not yet written, that there is another way.

Ukrainian President Zelensky did that recently on a podium before the most powerful audience in the world.. and so did Martin Luther King some 60 years ago through his letter from inside a Birmingham, Alabama jail.

Richard Davis-Lowell, Guest Preacher; Bill Lowell, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir led by Mark Sumner, Music Director; Eric Shackelford, Baritone; Kelvin Jones, Soloist; Wm. García Ganz, Pianist

Shulee Ong, Camera; Eric Shackelford, Camera; Jackson Munn, Camera; Lyle Barrere, Sound; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Remigio Flood, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Amy Kelly, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour

“Gaining Vision at the Edge of the Miraculous”
Sunday, January 22, 2023, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream

At this time of year in the Jewish community we read the text of the Burning Bush. Can Moses’s response to that encounter inform how we might vision our lives as we in the every day face barriers and fears that block us? Do the miracles of this textual tradition – a burning bush, a well of water, a parted sea, teach us that we are always standing at the edge of miraculous and if we look deeper can find inspiration to go forward with blessing?

Rabbi Jonathan Singer, Guest Preacher; Sam King, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir; Bill Ganz, Conductor; Nancy Munn, Soprano; Leandra Ramm, Mezzo Soprano; Luis Maurer, Pianist

Eric Shackelford, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Carrie Steere-Salazar, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

Perhaps nothing is more desirable for humans than healthy community to hold us, to make our lives more meaningful and bearable, so why is it so hard and rare to find this community? The scarcity of beloved community only highlights our profound need for it. So what does it take? At All Souls, we aren't bound by a creed or a cross, instead we are held together by our covenant - our commitment to each other to love beyond belief. It turns out that our differences aren't problems that keep us from community - they are the very opportunities to reach out and create bridges to one another. As Søren Kierkegaard said, “When one has fully entered the realm of love, the world — no matter how imperfect — becomes rich and beautiful, consisting solely of opportunities for love.” This message was delivered on Sunday, January 29, 2023 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Randy Lewis in The Point Humanist Hour. SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH SERMONS FROM OUR MINISTERS: WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST: GIVE TO SUPPORT LOVE BEYOND BELIEF:  or text LOVEBB to 73256 LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: Instagram: All Souls Church Website:  

“A Religious Center With a Civic Circumference: Unitarians in San Francisco Since 1850”
Sunday, January 29, 2023, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream

Our past Senior Minister returns to our pulpit to speak about the history of our congregation. Since his retirement five years ago, he has been working on a book, which will be available soon, about this history. When the book comes out, he will lead an Adult Rel. Ed. course on the phases of UU history in SF.

Rev. John Buehrens, Sunday Preacher; Dennis Adams, Worship Associate; Andrés Vera, Cellist; Adam Ward, Vocalist; Bill Ganz, Pianist

Shulee Ong, Camera; Eric Shackelford, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Carrie Steere-Salazar, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, January 8, 2023.

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, January 15, 2023.

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, January 22, 2023.

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, January 8, 2023.

Have you ever acted on an incomplete story and paid the price for it? Every story has multiple sides depending on where we sit. As we launch our theme of “Freedom” and celebrate Black History, this month, we will examine the power of the stories we tell and how they can bless or curse our life. Some stories involve the casting of a spell which creates a false reality. This message may come like a kiss to break the spell that keeps us fractured. This message was delivered on Sunday, February 5, 2023 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar in the 10am Service. SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH SERMONS FROM OUR MINISTERS: WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST: GIVE TO SUPPORT LOVE BEYOND BELIEF: or text LOVEBB to 73256 LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: Instagram: All Souls Church Website:  

Sunday, February 5, 2023, 10:50 am
“Gongxi Gongxi: A Will to Hope in the Lunar New Year”

The Lunar New Year loudly celebrates the spring amidst the chill of winter. What can a festival so focused on positivity tell us about our not-so-positive experience?

Rev. Seanan Fong, Guest Minister; Carmen Barsody, Worship Associate; Lori Lai, Board Treasurer; Alexandra Lee-Jobe, UU Davis; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir led by Mark Sumner, Music Director; Rusty Harris-Bishop, Soloist; Jon Silk, Drums; Bill Ganz, Pianist

Shulee Ong, Camera; Eric Shackelford, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Judy Payne, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, February 5, 2023.

This Sunday, Randy Lewis challenges our understanding of race through the lens of black and white by exploring the simple fact that none of us are actually black or white — we are all simply varying shades of very light to very dark brown. A black/white dichotomy sets up false archetypes that serve to separate us. This message was delivered on Sunday, February 12, 2023 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Randy Lewis in the The Point Humanist Hour. SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH SERMONS FROM OUR MINISTERS: WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST: GIVE TO SUPPORT LOVE BEYOND BELIEF: or text LOVEBB to 73256 LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: Instagram: All Souls Church Website:

"Keeping Love Alive"

Sunday, February 12, 2023, Worship Service

What does it take to keep love alive? What are some skills or practices that help us nurture the best in our relationships with one another?

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Daniel Jackoway, Worship Associate; Bell Choir led by Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir led by Mark Sumner, Music Director; Jon Silk, Drummer; Bill Ganz, Pianist

Jackson Munn, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Judy Payne, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

Come for the music and stay for the message! The soundtrack of our lives is infused with influences from African American musicians and creators. To distinguish between American music and Black Music would be impossible. In the same way, it is impossible to distinguish between American History and Black History. This Sunday with the help of our musicians and our special musical guest, Booker Gillespie, we will tap our toes, move our hearts and consider how the soul of Black music has helped shape our own soul. This message was delivered on Sunday, February 19, 2023 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar in the The Point Humanist Hour. SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH SERMONS FROM OUR MINISTERS: WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST: GIVE TO SUPPORT LOVE BEYOND BELIEF:  or text LOVEBB to 73256 LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: Instagram: All Souls Church Website:

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

"Mourning and Celebrating"

Sunday, February 19, 10:50 am

At a recent trip to the DeYoung Museum, to see the exhibit by Black South African artist Lhola Amira, I was made aware of (at least) two parts of the righting of the heart and mind around our shared human history.

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Sam King, Worship Associate; Shawnette Sulker, Soprano; Mark Sumner, Songleader; Jon Silk, Drummer; Wm. García Ganz, Pianist

Shulee Ong, Camera; Eric Shackelford, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Carrie Steere-Salazar, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

"Some of What I Learned on My Sabbatical: Reclaiming Time and Empathy"

Sunday, February 26, 10:50 am

The gift of sabbatical is supposed to be about time -- fallow time, time "on the balcony" of your own life, time to rekindle flames that burn low. What I found was a new thread in an ongoing tapestry I have been weaving about time and my struggles with and against it; and about empathy. The two are related.

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Mari Magaloni Ramos, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir led by Mark Sumner, Music Director

Shulee Ong, Camera; Jackson Munn, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Carrie Steere-Salazar, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

How do we manage the contradictions inherent in our group identities?  Can we authentically agree to disagree, or does going along to get along actually fracture our authenticity?  The answers to these questions are never static, but it matters that we get ahead of the questions — it’s better to address our civil rights and needs before a civil war becomes necessary!   This message was delivered on Sunday, February 26, 2023 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Carlton D. Pearson in the The Point Humanist Hour.   SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH SERMONS FROM OUR MINISTERS: https://www.youtube.com/user/allsoulsunitarian  WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-souls-unitarian-church/id193096943   GIVE TO SUPPORT LOVE BEYOND BELIEF: http://www.allsoulschurch.org/GIVE or text LOVEBB to 73256   LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allsoulstulsa Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allsoulstulsa/  All Souls Church Website: http://www.allsoulschurch.org/connect

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

Are you ever afraid you might say the wrong thing or ask the wrong question? Do you wonder what to think about current debates, such as the ones about Transgender issues?  Are you unsure where and when you can raise your concerns and receive a respectful and well-considered answers? This is a message about courageous love and the problem of certainty.  On both sides of the current debate about whether a person can “change their gender” there are people who are certain.  One side says, “Absolutely not!” and the other says “Absolutely yes” and there is not much room to question.   In between these polarities most people wrestle (silently) with real questions and concerns about what is right and age-appropriate regarding gender fluidity, hormone treatments and various laws that seek to regulate gender in school sports, education and society.   Who has the authority to decide a person’s gender?  The person? Parents? Pastors? Politicians? Pediatricians? Coaches? This message is much more than a talk about gender and rights, it is a deeply personal exploration of what it means to be human and how we show up for one another.   This message was delivered on Sunday, March 5, 2023 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar in the The Point Humanist Hour. SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH SERMONS FROM OUR MINISTERS:   WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST: GIVE TO SUPPORT LOVE BEYOND BELIEF:  or text LOVEBB to 73256 LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: Instagram: All Souls Church Website:  

"Greatness"
Sunday, March 5, 10:50 am

I have been thinking about the notion of mediocrity and envy, good enoughness (and its power) but also greatness. As we head into thinking about and raising money for our next year of life together, I'd like to talk about greatness.

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Daniel Jackoway; Worship Associate; Dolores Perez-Heilbron and David Heilbron, Annual Giving Co-Chairs; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir led by Mark Sumner, Music Director; Laurel Sprigg, Soprano; Nancy Munn, Soprano; Wm. García Ganz, Pianist

Shulee Ong, Camera; Jackson Munn, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Amy Kelly, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

"A Hermit's Life"
Sunday, March 12, 10:50 am
Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister, Preaching

A part of me dreams of being a hermit -- not all year, but part of every year, and not completely alone but a lot alone. And so I spent part of sabbatical reading about hermit's lives and the pieces that feel most gorgeous.

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Dennis Adams, Worship Associate; Gregory Stevens, Canvass Testimony; Ben Rudiak-Gould, Songleader; Bill Ganz, Pianist

Eric Shackelford, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Carrie Steere-Salazar, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, February 12, 2023.

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, February 19, 2023.

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, February 26, 2023.

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, March 5, 2023.

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, March 12, 2023.

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

How do we manage all of the roles we play in our lives — and does playing a role make us inauthentic?  This Sunday, Carlton Pearson explores the what it means for us to remain authentic as we inhabit all of the pressures that surround what we hold to be precious.  There are so many versions of us that we present that sometimes it can be challenging to find our true inner voices. This message was delivered on Sunday, March 12, 2023 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Carlton D. Pearson in the The Point Humanist Hour. SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH SERMONS FROM OUR MINISTERS:   WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST:   GIVE TO SUPPORT LOVE BEYOND BELIEF:  or text LOVEBB to 73256 LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: Instagram: All Souls Church Website:  

We cannot understand religious authority without understanding our relationship to consent. What is our relationship to our own consent? What does it feel like to be fully bought in? What do we do when we feel someone else is not fully bought in? How do we work with the parts of ourselves that are not bought in when someone imposes on us? Join me at the 10:00 am Worship service as we explore how we can be (as in 1 Corinthians 3:9) co-workers in G*d’s service and at the same time be the field and the building. This message was delivered on Sunday, March 19, 2023 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Rev. Tamara Lebak in the 10am Service.   SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH SERMONS FROM OUR MINISTERS: WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST:   GIVE TO SUPPORT LOVE BEYOND BELIEF:  or text LOVEBB to 73256   LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: Instagram: All Souls Church Website:  

"From Special Creation to Kin: How Scientific and Indigenous Understandings Call Us to a New Relationship with Nature"

Sunday, March 19, 10:50 am

For much of Western history, the dominant creation story has placed humans at the apex of the natural order. This Sunday we will look at how the scientific creation story calls us to a different relationship with life, one which is consonant with many indigenous understandings and with Unitarian Universalism as well.

Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger, Guest Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Sam King, Worship Associate; Sara Ferree, Canvass Testimony; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir led by Mark Sumner, Music Director; Bill Ganz, Pianist

Shulee Ong, Camera; Eric Shackelford, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Athena Papadakos, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

This Sunday is a special Family Festival Heritage Sunday Service, celebrating All Souls' 102nd birthday.  Both Marlin and Barbara deliver messages about what it means for us to honor the legacy of those who came before — they planted seeds that grew into trees for us, and we in turn plant seeds from those trees for those will be here beyond us. This message was delivered on Sunday, March 26, 2023 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar and Rev. Barbara Prose in the 10am Service. SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH SERMONS FROM OUR MINISTERS: WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST: GIVE TO SUPPORT LOVE BEYOND BELIEF: or text LOVEBB to 73256 LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: Instagram: All Souls Church Website:  

"What Need One?"
Sunday, March 26, 10:50 am

Shakespeare’s King Lear asked the perennial question, "What need one?" I remember it from high school AP English class. Mrs. Laster, who was a force of nature — and put the class at 8 am to discourage the lazy, the dilettantes, the weak — drove it home. The question, that is, not the answer.

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Daniel Jackoway, Worship Associate; Jordan Ong, Canvass Testimony; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir led by Mark Sumner, Music Director; Bill Ganz, Pianist

Shulee Ong, Camera; Jackson Munn, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Athena Papadakos, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, March 19, 2023.

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, March 26, 2023.

"You Are Loved"
Sunday, April 2, 10:50 am

If folks from theologians to psychologists to wise elders are correct, love comes first. For all of us to be fulfilled, healthily liberated to be our full selves, we have to know and believe we are loved, for ourselves, as we are. How does it inform how we live, to take that necessity seriously?

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Daniel Jackoway, Worship Associate; Allen Biggs, Percussionist; Tommy Kesecker, Percussionist; T. Mychael Rambo, Soloist; Mark Sumner, Songleader; Bill Ganz, Pianist

Eric Shackelford, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Judy Payne, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

This message was delivered on Sunday, April 2nd, 2023 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Randy Lewis in the Humanist Service. SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH SERMONS FROM OUR MINISTERS: WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST: GIVE TO SUPPORT LOVE BEYOND BELIEF: or text LOVEBB to 73256 LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: Instagram: All Souls Church Website:  

Marlin gives his Easter message This message was delivered on Sunday, April 9th, 2023 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar in the 10am Service. SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH SERMONS FROM OUR MINISTERS: https://www.youtube.com/user/allsoulsunitarian WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-souls-unitarian-church/id193096943 GIVE TO SUPPORT LOVE BEYOND BELIEF: http://www.allsoulschurch.org/GIVE or text LOVEBB to 73256 LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allsoulstulsa Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allsoulstulsa/ All Souls Church Website: http://www.allsoulschurch.org/connect

"What Prepares us for Sunrise?"
Easter Sunday, April 9, 10:50 am

Easter morning with its tradition of Sunrise Services is about the good news of life resurrected. You can hear that as the story of Jesus as told and passed down, as a reminder of the natural cycle of seasons, or as a metaphor for so much of life that moves from loss to new beginnings and to loss and new beginnings again and again. But like cheap grace, Easter without the days and nights before it, resurrection without loss doesn't make sense. What happens in the in between of all that that we need to remind ourselves of and then celebrate?

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Richard Davis-Lowell, Worship Associate; UUSF Handbell Choir led by Reiko Oda Lane, Organ; UUSF Choir led by Mark Sumner, Music Director; Jason Park, Trumpet; Bill Ganz, Piano

Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Jackson Munn, Camera; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Judy Payne, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

"Heartbeats"
Sunday, April 16, 10:50 am

I was 29 years old when I served as assistant minister to Diane Miller back in 79/80. 18 years in Hayward, then 17 in Columbus, 7 years retired. And bam! Just like that, I am 73 and have heart problems. I’m afforded good care through Ohiohealth, Medicare and supplemental insurance, gratefully. But there is no obvious Medicare of the spirit to help me, and most everyone I know, through these present difficult times of tumult, hurt, anger, fear and escalating injustice in the US and the rest of the world. I know my own metaphoric heart hurts more and more daily, but there are many things I remember from earlier in my life to remind me how to move through the present world with my heart beating with courage, freedom and love.

Rev. Dr. Marco Belletini, Guest Minister; Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Sam King, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organ; Mark Sumner, Music Director; UUSF Choir; Nancy Munn, Soloist; Brielle Marina Nielson, Soloist; Richard Fey, Soloist; Bill Ganz, Piano

Shulee Ong, Camera; Jackson Munn, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Tom Brookshire, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Carrie Steere-Salazar, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

This message was delivered on Sunday, April 16th, 2023 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Carlton D. Pearson during The Point service.   SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH SERMONS FROM OUR MINISTERS: https://www.youtube.com/user/allsoulsunitarian  WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-souls-unitarian-church/id193096943   GIVE TO SUPPORT LOVE BEYOND BELIEF: http://www.allsoulschurch.org/GIVE or text LOVEBB to 73256   LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allsoulstulsa Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allsoulstulsa/  All Souls Church Website: http://www.allsoulschurch.org/connect

"The Problem with God"
Sunday, April 23, 10:50 am

For a lot of people it's the notion of "God" that gets in the way of coming into a religious community. So I want to explore some of what the "problem with God" is and some ways folks have reframed that word -- or reclaimed it -- so that we can see what possibilities there are for God (and where we hit some limits).

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Dennis Adams, Worship Associate; Rheinber Award Committee; Jennifer Peringer, piano; Mark Sumner, piano; Ben Rudiak-Gould, songleader

Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Asani Seawell, Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Carrie Steere-Salazar, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

This message was delivered on Sunday, April 30, 2023 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar in the 10am Service.   SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH SERMONS FROM OUR MINISTERS: https://www.youtube.com/user/allsoulsunitarian  WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-souls-unitarian-church/id193096943   GIVE TO SUPPORT LOVE BEYOND BELIEF: http://www.allsoulschurch.org/GIVE or text LOVEBB to 73256   LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allsoulstulsa Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allsoulstulsa/  All Souls Church Website: http://www.allsoulschurch.org/connect

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, April 2, 2023.

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, April 9, 2023.

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, April 16, 2023.

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, April 23, 2023.

"A May Day Convergence"
Sunday, April 30, 10:50 am

On May 1st, it would appear that everything is converging at the same moment, whether it be the international worker's holiday, the Beltane festival, or a desperate call for help.

Rev. Millie Phillips, Affiliated Community Minister; Mari Magaloni Ramos, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir led by Mark Sumner, Music Director

Shulee Ong, Camera; Eric Shackelford, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Santana Gonzalez-Gomez, Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Athena Papsadakos, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, April 30, 2023.

"Little Did I Know"
Sunday, May 7, 10:50 am

An anthology on caring for young people, a grief (or preparation project) around the Empty Nest Chapter that was on the horizon. That's how the book project began, but it took me places that were so different than I expected... as our journey loving and caring for the young people in our lives, I guess, always does.

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Carmen Barsody, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir led by Mark Sumner, Music Director; Wm. García Ganz, Pianist

Shulee Ong, Camera; Eric Shackelford, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Santana Gonzalez-Gomez, Chat Moderator; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Amy Kelly, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

Is there a limit to mercy, and who decides?  And when we don't know how to forgive ourselves, where can we find the permission, or the courage, to do so?  In this timely message, Rev. Randy reflects on the challenges of forgiving ourselves, even from terrible things we've done, and the importance of letting mercy courageously enter our lives. This message was delivered on Sunday, May 7, 2023 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Rev. Randy Lewis in the 10am Service. SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH SERMONS FROM OUR MINISTERS:   WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST:   GIVE TO SUPPORT LOVE BEYOND BELIEF: http://www.allsoulschurch.org/GIVE or text LOVEBB to 73256 LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: Instagram: All Souls Church Website:  

"A Sacred Choice: Reproductive Justice"
Sunday, May 14, 10:50 am

On this day honoring mothers, what does it mean to truly support the choice to become a mother or not? What does the upcoming resolution call us as a congregation to do to support this choice?

Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Bree Shennum, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir led by Mark Sumner, Music Director; Peg Lisi, Soloist

Shulee Ong, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Amy Kelly, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, May 7, 2023.

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

This message was delivered on Sunday, May 14, 2023 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Rev. Barbara Prose in the 10am Service. SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH SERMONS FROM OUR MINISTERS: WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST: GIVE TO SUPPORT LOVE BEYOND BELIEF: or text LOVEBB to 73256 LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: Instagram: All Souls Church Website:

This message was delivered on Sunday, May 21, 2023 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar in the 10am Service. SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH SERMONS FROM OUR MINISTERS: WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST: GIVE TO SUPPORT LOVE BEYOND BELIEF: or text LOVEBB to 73256 LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: Instagram: All Souls Church Website:

"Nap Ministry"
Sunday, May 21, 10:50 am

Tricia Hersey, ordained and tired, got drawn to the idea of a ministry around rest, nap-in-happenings but also the larger idea of rest as revolution. Tied deeply to undoing some of the patterns of a culture that has made models of extraction more than colonial models abroad, Hersey unpacks what virtue around rest and work and justice embodied ask of us. It is all very fun and deeply powerful to consider. Note: This Sunday is the Sunday of the Bay to Breakers run so if you come to church in person (please do, if you are inclined!) just check your route against the route of the race!

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Mari Magaloni Ramos, Worship Associate; The Bernal Hill Players: Martha Rodríguez-Salazar, flute; Leah di Tullio, clarinet; Jennifer Peringer, piano; Richard Fey songleader; Wm. García Ganz, pianist

Shulee Ong, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Tom Brookshire, Live Chat Moderator; Judy Payne, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

This message was delivered on Sunday, May 28, 2023 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Carlton D. Pearson in the 10am Service. SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH SERMONS FROM OUR MINISTERS: WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST: GIVE TO SUPPORT LOVE BEYOND BELIEF: or text LOVEBB to 73256 LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: Instagram: All Souls Church Website:  

"Extravaganza!"
Sunday, June 4, 10:50 am

Join us for this multigenerational celebration of the end of our year together. Bring a flower to be part of our celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Flower Communion introduced by Unitarian minister Norbert Čapek of Prague, Czechoslovaki and hear the story of Čapek and the ritual. Let's sing, hear the bells, enjoy the choir and tell stories. Service will be followed by our Annual Meeting! Please bring a flower from your garden to be part of this Sunday's Flower Communion ritual!

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Dennis Adams, Worship Associate; UUSF Bell Choir led by Organist Reiko Oda Lane; UUSF Choir led by Mark Sumner, Music Director; Wm. García Ganz, pianist

Eric Shackelford, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Gregory Stevens, Live Chat Moderator; Athena Papadakos, Flowers; Matias Salazar, Sexton; Dan Barnard, Facilities Manager; Linda Messner, Head Usher

This message was delivered on Sunday, May 7, 2023 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar in The Point Humanist Hour. SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH SERMONS FROM OUR MINISTERS: WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST: GIVE TO SUPPORT LOVE BEYOND BELIEF: or text LOVEBB to 73256 LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: Instagram: All Souls Church Website:  

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

"Life is Pure Jazz"
Sunday, June 11, 10:50 am

There are so many metaphors for life: a journey, an unfolding (like a flower), a cycle (like the cycle of the seasons), a drama ("Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player/That struts and frets his hour upon the stage"). And there are just as many metaphors about how to approach life so you weather it with grace, find some joy, meaning and come out on the other side having made something of it. How about life as jazz, pure jazz?!

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Wonder Dave, Worship Associate; UUSF Choir led by Mark Sumner, Music Director; Jon Silk, Drummer; Wm. García Ganz, Pianist; Richard Saunders, Bassist; Lambert Moss, Soloist

Shulee Ong, Camera; Eric Shackelford, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Asani Seawell, Live Chat Moderator; Matias Salazar, Sexton; Tony Miller, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Judy Payne, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

This message was delivered on Sunday, June 11, 2023 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Rev. Randy Lewis in the 10am Service. SUBSCRIBE TO WATCH SERMONS FROM OUR MINISTERS: WANT TO LISTEN? SUBSCRIBE TO AUDIO PODCAST: GIVE TO SUPPORT LOVE BEYOND BELIEF: or text LOVEBB to 73256 LET'S CONNECT: Facebook: Instagram: All Souls Church Website:  

"Our Authentic Selves"
Sunday, June 18, 10:50 am

To parent (officially or unofficially) we have to be our best selves, but also increasingly I realize the gift of being our authentic self -- as parents, more so perhaps than in any other role. That gift is not an easy one to offer, but we find ways to do it. And the world splits gorgeously open when we do.

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Richard Davis-Lowell, Worship Associate; Michele Kennedy, Soprano; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; Mark Sumner, Pianist

Eric Shackelford, Camera; Santana Gonzalez Gomez, Live Chat Moderator; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Judy Payne, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher

Watch the Service: To enable YouTube provided closed-captioning while viewing the service, click the “CC” icon on the bottom bar of your YouTube video player.    

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, May 14, 2023.

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, May 21, 2023.

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, May 28, 2023.