Speaker: Rev. Dr. Todd Eklof

UUCS Minister

Cosmic Advent Service

This special service will be held from 6 – 7:30 PM
Our annual candlelight service utilizing traditional Christmas hymns, readings from a variety of religions, and short homilies to help us celebrate the miracle of every birth and the birth of the Universe itself.

Rudolph, Santa & the Red Scare

Sunday Services are held at 9:15 & 11:00 a.m.
The tendency toward fascism has been persistent throughout modern history, including in the U.S. When a society becomes fascist, the only recourse for opposition often comes in the form of sarcasm and art. Such is the case with the two classic Christmas Claymation films following the era of McCarthyism during the 1950s. This message will include clips from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Santa Clause is Coming to Town as a creative response to such groupthink.

The Dark Knight of the Soul

Sunday Services are held at 9:15 & 11:00 a.m.
Few people wake up in the morning wondering what evil they can bring about today. We are all the heroes of our own stories. But, as in the Batman movies, sometimes it’s difficult to tell the hero from the villain when they look and act just alike. Yet, to consider one a courageous defender of truth and righteousness, someone else has to be the villain. Our heroism depends upon demonizing and dehumanizing at least one somebody else. Perhaps a better way of being in the world is abandoning the hero’s way and adopting the human way.

Gandhi, King, and Jesus: Similarities and Differences

Sunday Services are held at 9:15 & 11:00 a.m.
These are among the most remembered and accomplished social reformers in human history. What secrets did they share in common? What made them unique? What can we learn from these three great reformers that might inform our own lives and work?

Remembering Carl Maxey

Sunday Services are held at 9:15 and 11:00 a.m.
Carl Maxey, the late Civil Rights attorney and activist, remains one of Spokane’s most celebrated figures. Maxey also happens to have been a member of our church, including once serving as our Board President and is famously remembered for being our annual Santa Claus.

The Road to the Gadfly Papers and Beyond

Sunday Services are held at 9:15 and 11:00 a.m.
I consider writing The Gadfly Papers one of the most important, courageous, and, obviously, controversial decisions of my career. In this sermon I’ll talk about why I wrote it, its content, its impact, and about where I see our liberal religious movement going from here.

Make Americans Great Again: A Prayer for Civility

Sunday Services are held at 9:15 and 11:00 a.m.
I continue to believe the age of the Nation State has come to an end, only most of us don’t realize it, while others unconsciously react to its loss by retreating into isolationism and authoritarianism, nostalgically longing for “good old days” that never existed to begin with.

Set and Setting: Fostering Mind Altering Experiences in Everyday Life

Sunday Services are at 9:15am and 11:00am
Emphasizing the importance of “set and setting” is something often reserved for those seeking to expand their consciousness through mind-altering compounds. But we don’t have to ingest peyote or ayahuasca to benefit from the wisdom and practice of this valuable principle. Approaching everything we do with such intention can transform what seems ordinary into extraordinarily enriching experiences.

The Humanism of Abundance: Following My North Star

Sunday Services are at 9:15am and 11:00am. Since completing my courses at Singularity University last year, I have continued to be inspired as a member of the Abundance Digital Community, also founded by Dr. Peter Diamandis. Some might think hanging out with entrepreneurs talking about technology is the last place a minister would find inspiration, but I am profoundly moved and enriched everyday just knowing those involved in these endeavors are as motivated by the humanistic ethic as I am.