Rev. Alison Duren-Sutherland is Saltwater’s contract minister for the 2023-24 church year, operating in a hybrid/remote capacity from her home in Southern Oregon and onsite at Saltwater one week per month.
With our heritage grounded in both Christianity and in the use of human reason in religious life, Unitarian Universalism is uniquely positioned to critique the false ideology of Christian Nationalism that is tarnishing Jesus’ name in the US today. Rev. Alison will draw from sources within and outside of Christianity to remind us that the … Continue reading Resisting the False Doctrine of Christian Nationalism
When business as usual isn’t working, sometimes someone needs to shake things up so change can happen. During this all-ages service, will explore the power of disruption and hear from disrupters in our community. On the second Sundays of the month in 2026, our Faith Formation Team will offer an all-ages service focusing on how … Continue reading Faith Formation Sunday: The Power of Disrupters
Today, we’ll celebrate the way Unitarian Universalism welcomes neurodiverse people, and the way that our faith is enriched by the diverse brains among us. Our monthly theme for January is Practicing Resistance, and we begin this practice by resisting the demonization of neurodiversity.
We name ‘Transformation” as one of the six key values of Unitarian Universalism, with Love at the center. Drawing from Buddhist teachings and practices of impermanence, we’ll explore the hope we can find in the knowledge that change is constant and transformation is unending.
At this time of lengthening nights and seemingly ubiquitous holiday cheer, it can be easy to feel blue. Unmet holiday hopes, loved ones who can no longer join our celebrations, and the state of the world may leave some of us feeling bereft of holiday cheer. If this time is hard for you, Rev. Alison … Continue reading ONLINE Blue Holiday Vespers
The community we create at Saltwater Church is special, and we’re here because we appreciate its uniqueness. Rev. Alison will help us pause this morning to reflect deeply on the many sources of gratitude right here in our congregation.
The abundance of the more-than-human world exists in contrast to false narratives of scarcity that we have learned from capitalism. Rev. Alison leads us in practicing gratitude for the abundant earth that feeds us, and reminds us that in so doing, we begin to notice that sources of gratitude are more abundant than we think.
Through Samhain, Dia de los Muertos, All Souls and All Saints Days, cultures around the globe recognize late October and early November as a time when departed ancestors draw near. In this season of remembrance, we will tell the stories, hear the songs, and become students of the wisdom of the ancestors of this place, … Continue reading Honoring Ancestors of Place
Members of Saltwater’s meditation group will join Rev. Alison to explore the ways in which the Buddha’s teachings and their interpretations across the globe have shaped our own practices of compassion.
Led by Rev. Alison Duren-Sutherland Rev. Alison will invite us into practices of self-compassion, with a reminder that the Love that Unitarian Universalists put at the center isn’t just for everyone else, but for you as well.
