Past Sermons

Worship Sweaty Sheep style!

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Rev Ryan is the recipient of the PCUSA Presidential Preaching award, 2010, and currently is the San Jose regional affiliate for diversity and inclusion for the National Presbyterian Church, and Minister of interfaith relations for the Santa Cruz Unitarian Fellowship.  He regularly leads services at churches throughout Santa Cruz/San Jose as a means of learning from and sharing with diverse communities while offering a playful view of spirituality!

Bring Rev. Ryan to your church or event by emailing ryan@saltysheep.org

 

Curious what a “sermon” is like? Give a look and/or listen…

 

Click to Listen/watch:

(or scroll  further down to read manuscripts):

 

  • Nov 27th 2022:   A UUA Santa Cruz reflection on the beauty of intentional wondering, and how to wander into this spiritual state…  

  • October 16th:  Rev Ryan at the Unitarian Universalist fellowship speaking on “The Courage to Be”

  • Sept 11, 2022:   A service in honor of national disability inclusion Sunday…   Skip to 18:30 and start with the children’s sermon if ya don’t want to sit through a whole service:).   Trinity Worship September 11, 2022.mp4 on Vimeo

  • May 22, 2022:  Pastor Kathrine McGinnis and Rev Ryan team up for a service on Mental Heath  at Trinity PC.  Katherine starts at 15:30 min and Ryan jumps in at 29min if ya wanna skip to the good stuff! 

  • Homeward Bound: Rev Ryan speaks on where we turn to for comfort when we can no longer hide in the past: UUA of  4-24-22.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • The most uplifting New Years sermon ever!!!    Preached by Rev Ryan at the UUA fellowship 1/2/22:  “36”

 

  • Dive in to the 12 days of xmas… Paganism, Jesus, a partridge and a pear tree…  12/26/21 

 

 

  • Sept. 6th, 2020: A sermon on Jonah FROM INSIDE A WHALE!!! 

 

  • To kick off Mental Health month, Rev Ryan was asked to preach to a regional Ministers network (the text was Duet. 28 27-29).    

 

  • Easter 2021 at the Unitarian Fellowship: Russ and Ryan tag team!

 

  • Dec 20th, 2020: Blue Christmas- Amidst the pandemic Rev Ryan and Russ explore the emotions of the season via 4 micro responsive sermonettes:

 

November 9th, 2002:  Pastor Ryan and Russ go off the cusp and spend a Sunday answering any/all questions and queries of the fellowship… watch em in action:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oct. 11th, 2020:  Listen to Rev. Russ and Rev Ryan split a pulpit on the topic of Fear as we ‘fearlessly’ approach halloween harvest season while ‘fearfully’ approaching one another!   Russ kicks things off on inner fear and Ryan counters with sociological… Enjoy!!!  (Santa Cruz Unitarian Universalist Church)

September 13th, 2020: Water Ritual Sunday and What it means to ‘Return Home) 

 

 Aug 23, 2020. A split sermon on MYTH

 

Rev Ryan & Councilmen Glover speak sheep and nonviolence: Jan 2020 KSQD Radio

Rev Russ kicks off a dual sermon with a reflection on Atheism before Sweaty Sheep’s Rev Ryan dives in with a reflection on Agnosticism! Not your typical Sunday!! May 17, 2020

 

The other day my esteemed colleague, Rev Russ Meek, and I tried something new… we went into a service with no notes and took questions instead of preaching… (things we do at our first Sunday Unitarian fundays!!! Take a gander at what happens when a UUA and PCUSA pastor get drilled unscripted from the pews!!!   

Click for our Q & A unscripted ‘sermon’2 -2-20

A kickoff to 2020 and our communal ability/responsibility to reverse the trends of the ecological/social world:  UUA of SC 1/5/2020

Not quite a sermon… but listen to Rev. Ryan’s Ksquid Radio interview: 

Enjoy a split Sermon on The act/fear of giving.   Santa Cruz Unitarian Universalist Church 10-5-19

 Enjoy a sideway short sermon: ‘Generosity vs Reciprocity – SC UUA aug. ’19:  

Embrace the Watercolor Rainbow!    Diversity Month– Unity by the Bay 6-9-19

How to present Christianity to a Unitarian Church (a split sermon) 5-5-19 UUASC

“Doubt!!” A a split sermon (2 10 min views from Rev Ryan and Rev Russ) SC Unitarian Jan 2019

“Flying Cats and Red nose Reindeer!” A 6th day of Christmas sermon preached at Westview PC Dec. 30th, 2018

Rev. Ryan Plays with the Unitarian crew… “A New Dog-ma” (May 7th, 2017). (listen by CLICKING HERE!)

“Running For or from abundance?” Isaiah 55, Cherokee Park, Louisville KY (May 3, 2015)

Easter Sunrise Service in Cherokee Park, Louisville KY (Easter 2015)

Post Valentines day/pre-Ash Wednesday… 1 John 4 (Feb 15th, 2015)

“New Beginnings” Gen 1 and John 1 (Jan 4, 2015)

The Temporal Church… 1 Tim 4:8, Hebrews 10:25 (Jan 11, 2015)

Post Christmas “Epiphany” Service… Matthew Chapter 2 (Dec. 28, 2014)

A Leader or a Benchwarmer??  Matthew 5:1-5)

 

Trinity Presb May 24th, 2020

Click below to read

Atheism 4 Lent???   An adventure into the wilderness within… without a spiritual safety net!  Preached at the Santa Cruz Unitarian Fellowship 3-2020

Advent: a Journey of ritual or habit of repetition? -Evergreen Presb 12/19

Giving… Whats enough? And what are we giving? – Covenant Presbyterian Palo Alto: 11-19

Darwin, Doubt, and Unicorns!–  Trinity Presb Santa Cruz 4-28-19

Transcendental intro: Unitarian Universalist 4-7 (co-service with Buddhist  Swami)

Reel Apostleship: Trinity Presbyterian Santa Cruz 2-10-18

The Gospel of Piglet and Pooh… & Jesus too 8-26-18

The Pursuit of Happiness… a 4th of July Call to independence and Interdependence! 7-8-18

 Oneness apart from Sameness UUA 2:18:18.  SC Unitarian Fellowship, 2/28/18

The “Heresy of Happiness… and Bum of God!”     Covenant PC Aug 20th

Rev. Ryan Plays with the Unitarian crew… “A New Dog-ma” (May 7th, 2017).  (listen by CLICKING HERE!)

Best of the 4-letter words:  Gonzales PC; Dec. 11th, 2016)

Heaven on Earth: the power of PEACE (Garfield Park Christian; Aug 21st, 2016)

Diversity…  Surrender to the Watercolor Rainbows (Garfield Park Christian; June 5, 2016)

slide 7

Heinz 57, French fried Potatoes… and a side of Prana?   (Feb 28, 2016)

 


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