UU Wayland

“Our Vision, Mission and Covenant A Welcoming Congregation and a Green Sanctuary Our History Stories From Our Past Ministers and Staff Lay Ministry At First Parish Parish Leadership Job Opportunities Our Vision, Mission and Covenant A Welcoming Congregation and a Green Sanctuary Our History Stories From Our Past Ministers and Staff Lay Ministry At First Parish Parish Leadership Job Opportunities Our Vision, Mission and Covenant A Welcoming Congregation and a Green Sanctuary Our History Stories From Our Past Stories From Our Past Ministers and Staff Lay Ministry At First Parish Parish Leadership Job Opportunities Contact Us First Parish adheres to the time-honored tradition of Unitarian Universalist congregations in New England by holding simple, informal gatherings during the summer months. Dan Lewis July 19Skeptical ActivismSkepticism for me and many others is a mission to understand and discover reality, to expose myths that can hurt people in both subtle and explicit ways, to highlight biases that influence how groups treat one another, and to help people make wise, evidence-based decisions.   Carl Sagan, the charismatic astronomer and host of the show, Cosmos, popularized the phrase, “scientific skepticism”, which is the foundation of skeptical activism.  Scientific skeptics try to understand reality by applying empirical methods to the claims of others, promoting critical thinking, and recognizing how perception, memory, and biases can lead people to deceive themselves (skeptics aren’t immune to self-deception). In this unprecedented time of pandemic, false and distorted information, and social upheaval, skeptical activism can support large social action movements by challenging errors of fact or interpretation, speaking out on critical topics like the anti-vax movement or algorithms that influence home buying, gender-identity, getting a job, or health insurance.  Speaker/Leader: Here in Massachusetts, we live in a commonwealth, a vision of shared goods, but also laud the "Yankee Spirit" of ingenuity and individuality. How do we navigate the tension among these cultural values? How might our core beliefs about human nature shape our understanding of the value of togetherness - especially in a culture with a legacy of segregating humanity by difference? More questions and resources > > Dan Lewis July 19Skeptical ActivismSkepticism for me and many others is a mission to understand and discover reality, to expose myths that can hurt people in both subtle and explicit ways, to highlight biases that influence how groups treat one another, and to help people make wise, evidence-based decisions.   Carl Sagan, the charismatic astronomer and host of the show, Cosmos, popularized the phrase, “scientific skepticism”, which is the foundation of skeptical activism.  Scientific skeptics try to understand reality by applying empirical methods to the claims of others, promoting critical thinking, and recognizing how perception, memory, and biases can lead people to deceive themselves (skeptics aren’t immune to self-deception). In this unprecedented time of pandemic, false and distorted information, and social upheaval, skeptical activism can support large social action movements by challenging errors of fact or interpretation, speaking out on critical topics like the anti-vax movement or algorithms that influence home buying, gender-identity, getting a job, or health insurance.  Speaker/Leader: Here in Massachusetts, we live in a commonwealth, a vision of shared goods, but also laud the "Yankee Spirit" of ingenuity and individuality. How do we navigate the tension among these cultural values? How might our core beliefs about human nature shape our understanding of the value of togetherness - especially in a culture with a legacy of segregating humanity by difference? More questions and resources > >”

Sermons over time

Every audio sermon week across the years we have — a filled cell is a week with an upload, darker blue means richer topics. A steady weekly cadence shows as a solid band across years.

Video released

Weeks with a video upload (YouTube or livestream). These aren't transcribed, so this only marks presence — no topic coloring.

How this church compares

Against other uu and against every sermon on the site. Signals are approximate and grow more reliable as more of the archive is scored.

Most-preached topics

Recurring themes across the archive

Where this church’s sermons land on the site’s emergent topic map.

Themes they appear in

The recurring topics across the whole archive where this church shows up most.

Sermons that reach across topics

These touch the widest range of themes — often the richest listening.

Sermons included

How this website compares

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Most-saved moments

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