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.
As we approach the beginning of a new school year, Rev. Alison imagines a world where the needs of children are our top priority, and lifts up some of the beloved, faithful, prophetic voices that call us to put children at the center.
Can you imagine a world without punishment? Most of us have learned from an early age that punishment is essential, in parenting, in prisons, in geopolitics. Today, Rev. Alison will ask us to consider the possibility that we could build a healthy society that cared more about harm reduction than about punishment. Led by the … Continue reading Let Go The Need To Punish: Universalism, Abolition & Disarming the Warden Within
Rev. Alison returns to the pulpit with a reminder that Great Goddess has always been present within Judaism, Christianity, & even Unitarian Universalism. While at times She has been explicitly condemned, some practices of devotion to Her have also been normalized and even embraced. Our present-day UU value of Pluralism allows us to explore the … Continue reading Shekhinah, Sophia, Mother God: The Divine Feminine in Our Judeo-Christian History
On this Faith Formation Sunday, we’ll share in the rituals that tell the stories of our growing community, including a Child Dedication and a Bridging Ceremony for a youth who was dedicated as a child and has now entered adulthood! We’ll also explore the role of the Storyteller in shaping our understanding of what is … Continue reading Storying Our Lives: Faith Formation Sunday
On the longest days of the year, what in your life is ripening as our piece of this tilted, turning planet draws near to the sun’s abundant energy? Rev. Alison will share elements of the Covenant of UU Pagans Summer Solstice ritual she attended at her first Unitarian Universalist General Assembly as we honor the … Continue reading The Ripening Season: A Summer Solstice Worship
Bring a flower to share for the Unitarian Universalist ritual of Flower Communion as we celebrate the trans women of color who were the mothers of queer liberation, their strength and beauty like the wildflowers that blossom all around us, no less beautiful because some would call them “weeds.”
What would it be like if our UU worship service centered entirely around the voices and the experiences of Black Unitarian Universalists? What truths might we hear, however difficult? What might we learn? How might these Black UU leaders teach us to be better allies, better siblings in faith, and even better citizens in our … Continue reading The Promise & The Practice in The Present
In this multi-generational worship service, Rev. Alison, Jessica, and the Faith Formation Team, return to Deepa Iyer’s Social Change Roles to explore the role of the Weaver with stories, words, reflections, and embodied practices.
Betty & her banjo band join Rev. Alison and Tom to celebrate the labor movement with song, stories & words of labor leaders who have shaped our past and present, and who give us hope for the future.
In the mid-20th century, an ornithologist’s discovery that some birds sing seemingly for joy alone led him to a profound theological revelation: Living beings participate in the co-creation of the universe. Through his engagement with birds and science, Charles Hartshorne came to the conclusion that the Divine is both immanent and transcendent, co-creating the universe … Continue reading For The Birds: Process Theology & Singing for Joy
