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Services start at 10:30 a.m.
Our services are also available live via Zoom. Please send a request to [email protected] for the link.
Nov. 2, 2025
Speaker – Bill Payton
Biography:
Bill Payton grew up in Akron, Ohio and attended the University of Akron where he graduated with a degree in Banking and Finance. He spent forty years in the insurance industry in a career that took him to seven different cities and states. He retired from the University of Missouri in January of 2007 where he served as the Director of Risk & Insurance Management. While in that capacity he was honored in 2006 as Distinguished Risk Manager of the Year by the University Risk Management and Insurance Association.
While attending a high school reunion in Akron he became reacquainted with a high school classmate, Mary Fran Raynault. Mary Fran was raised Universalist and was President of her UU congregation in Paramus, NJ. Bill and Mary Fran are now life companions and moved to Sarasota in December of 2010. He became both a UU and a member of Unitarian Church of Sarasota in January of 2011 and has been active on several committees, and has served a total of five years as President of the Board of Trustees. He has three children, seven grandchildren, and three great grandchildren, plays tennis, golf and bridge and loves attending Sunday services with the Unitarian Universalists of Sarasota.
Topic: Honesty
Whatever happened to honesty? One only has to listen to the news today, to know that honesty is sadly lacking in our society. Notable people who have been recorded or videoed violating the law or a regulation simply say, I didn’t do it!” And half the viewers seem to agree with them. A young man is caught on video gunning down an executive and enters a plea of “not guilty.” How does honesty fit into our world? How does honesty fit into your world?
Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025
Speaker – UU Rev Steve Crump
Biography:
The Reverend Dr. Steve J. Crump is Minister Emeritus of the congregation of the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge. He holds religion and ministry degrees from the University of Chicago Divinity School and Meadville-Lombard Theological School, Chicago. He is an occasional guest host for a local public radio talk show in Baton Rouge.
Topic: If it Weren’t for This & Weren’t for That
A pop hit song that has streamed over 10 million times this year is the springboard for the sermon this Sunday. How often we have said in life, “If it weren’t for this or weren’t for that, we’d have a better life, even a better world.” Pondering “what might have been” could lead us to despair for our current situation or lead us to anxiety concerning the future. But living “in betwixt-in between,” is a common component of being human. Let’s take time to reflect on what it means personally and as citizens of the world.
Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025
Speaker – Dr. Jeff Nall
Biography:
Dr. Jeffrey Nall-Bradford is a husband, father, and civically engaged scholar and writer. Dr. Nall-Bradford is dedicated to connecting the wisdom of the humanities—from philosophy, history, and the arts—to the issues we face in our daily lives. He brings this mission to the courses he teaches for Florida Atlantic University and the University of Central Florida. His Substack newsletter, “Humanities in Revolt,” is read by more than 4,000 subscribers across 50 states and 97 countries. You can explore his work and subscribe at JeffreyNall dot Substack dot com.
Topic: How to Train Your Dragon and Liberate Men, Lessons from Hiccup and Mister Rogers
Many today are aware of the privileges that patriarchy affords men as well as the harms it does to women. What is less recognized is the existential price men pay for their privilege, from lower life-expectancy to higher rates of suicide, incarceration, and workplace deaths. Today Jeffrey Nall, Ph.D., will draw on his research and experience teaching “Men and Masculinities” at Florida Atlantic University, to argue that the painful and destructive price men pay for male privilege almost invariably outweighs what they gain.
Nall contends that the “man box” forged of stereotypes is a prison of fear, pain, and denial; one that not only denigrates women and girls but also constricts and inhibits the full humanity of boys and men. But there is a way out. Feminist thinkers and the unassuming and often overlooked masculinity of men like Fred Rogers–Mister Rogers–offer men and boys a guiding light to liberation.
Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025
Speaker – Monk San
Biography:
Monk San is from the island country of Sri Lanka, where he joined a monastery at ten years old. He completed his primary education at the monastery. He later earned two bachelor’s degrees—one in theology, the other in Buddhist studies—as well as a master’s degree in theology. He also earned his Master of Science degree and is a nurse practitioner.
Monk San came to the United States at the invitation of the Venerable Bhante Sujatha of the Blue Lotus Temple in Illinois. He now lives and works in Clearwater but continues his travels to provide Buddhist teachings free of charge in Venice, North Port, and Sarasota. A dedicated teacher, he also provides dharma talks along Florida’s Suncoast.
Topic: Gratitude
Gratitude is the foundation for building strong friendships, relationships, congregations, and communities. As the Buddha said, those who are truly grateful are rare in this world. The Buddhist framework of gratitude encourages individuals to cultivate kindness, patience, friendship, and mutual respect. Through gratitude, people learn to appreciate others more deeply and to create harmonious connections grounded in compassion and understanding.
Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025
Speaker – Erin Powers
Biography:
Erin Powers (they/them) is a Professional Religious Educator and an aspirant for UU ministry. They are currently studying at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities and plan to graduate in May of 2027.
Erin brings a liberation minded perspective rooted in our interconnectedness. Trans justice and equity are near to their heart and how they work to bend the arc towards justice and build the world we dream about.
Topic: A Relational Faith
How does the Cambridge Platform of 1648 call us to live our faith in 2025?
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