FREE CYBER-SERMONS

    Free Cyber-Sermons are short written discourses on any subject
which are suitable for use in Unitarian Universalist congregations
—and other very liberal religious organizations.
Many themes would also be appropriate for non-religious organizations.

    These short articles are also available for use by study groups,
such as adult education programs in congregations
or discussion groups on campus.
Of course, they may also be read by individuals.  

    They are free in the sense that they are available for anyone to use
without paying any royalties to the author.  

    They are cyber-sermons in the sense
that they are presented on the Internet,
where they can be read and/or downloaded
by anyone in the world who has Internet access.  

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WHO USES FREE CYBER-SERMONS?

    For people who have never heard of Unitarian Universalism,
these Free Cyber-Sermons might give them a good introduction
to this very liberal, creed-free religious movement.  

    Free Cyber-Sermons are also designed to be used
on Sunday mornings by small UU congregations
that do not have professional religious leadership
and by small study-groups of UUs
gathered in homes or near college campuses
who want to read a short text
during their meetings as a discussion-starter.

    Groups that communicate by e-mail
could also distribute a cyber-sermon (or its URL) by e-mail,
so that it could be discussed later in a face-to-face group
or even discussed electronically by means of e-mail.
When these discussions take place in cyber-space,
the author would also like to be included,
since gathering at a specific time and place will not be required.

    Because discussion is such an important part of such use,
Free Cyber-Sermons are intentionally kept very short.  
It should take no more than 15 minutes
to read a Free Cyber-Sermon aloud to a group of listeners.
In most small UU congregations and study-groups,
this will not be a continuous 15 minutes.
Probably there will be two of three obvious places to pause
for discussion among all the people present.

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HOW ARE FREE CYBER-SERMONS ORGANIZED IN THE LIBRARY?

    Free Cyber-Sermons are organized according to subject,
which enables people looking for
a Sunday morning presentation on a particular subject
to see several possible sermons on closely related themes.  

    The same organization by subject enables all readers on the Internet
to go directly to the Free Cyber-Sermon of most interest to them.

    Here is the complete list of Free Cyber-Sermons by James Park.

    In the first version of this listing of free cyber-sermons
(sermons created before 2005),
these Free Cyber-Sermons were also organized
using the Library of Congress classification system.
If a particular sermon were a book,
what subject heading or classification
would be assigned by the Library of Congress?
The title line of each Free Cyber-Sermon
(the very top line on your computer screen
—this screen says UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCHES)
is the most appropriate Library of Congress subject heading.
And here is the alphabetical listing of all the Library of Congress
subjects used for Free Cyber-Sermons written before 2005:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/FCS-LC.html
The above link also gives the title for each Free Cyber-Sermon
offered by this website thru 2005.

    These earliest Free Cyber-Sermons were also grouped
with other sermons on similar themes.  
The Free Cyber-Sermon Library was organized for browsing
using the following broad subjects:

RELIGION

SPIRITUALITY

LOVE, SEX, & RELATIONSHIPS

LIFE-STYLES & PERSONAL GROWTH

PEACE & SOCIAL JUSTICE

    As said earlier, these links above
lead only to cyber-sermons created before 2005.
For a complete listing of cyber-sermons by James Park, click those words.
This current list of over 75 cyber-sermons has 9 sub-divisions.

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WHAT IS THE FORMAT FOR FREE CYBER-SERMONS?

    Each Free Cyber-Sermon contains 4 format elements:

(1) a meaningful title that describes the content of the sermon.

(2) a synopsis of the content of the cyber-sermon
—one or two paragraphs to catch the interest of readers.

(3) an outline of the various points to be included.

(4) the body of the Free Cyber-Sermon,
no longer than 3 pages, about 100 sentences, or 10KB.
Free Cyber-Sermons should not take longer than 15 minutes
to read aloud at a moderate pace.

    The synopsis and outline are included at the beginning
of each Free Cyber-Sermon.

    The body of each Free Cyber-Sermon
also contains section headings,
which are the same as the items in the outline.

    When Free Cyber-Sermons are presented
to small congregations or small study groups,
these sections divisions might be good places
to pause for discussion.

    As an aid to easy reading
—both aloud to a small congregation
or study group or on a computer screen—
the lines of Free Cyber-Sermons
are divided according to meaning,
as illustrated by the lines you are now reading.

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HOW SHOULD THE AUTHOR
OF FREE CYBER-SERMONS BE ACKNOWLEDGED? 

    When a Free Cyber-Sermon is announced in a newsletter
and before it is read to the congregation,
the name of the author and other facts about him
mentioned at the end of the Free Cyber-Sermon should be included.

    Preachers and lay leaders are also welcome to use Free Cyber-Sermons.
And when they do, they also should acknowledge the source.
If they have adapted the ideas, that should also be explained.

    The author should be acknowledged
at the beginning of the presentation, rather than at the end.
And if the cyber-sermon is being adapted for Internet presentation,
a link to the original formulation should also be provided.

    If the brief description of the author
at the end of each cyber-sermon does not give enough information,
here is a more complete description for Unitarian Universalists.

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BY WHAT AUTHORITY DO FREE CYBER-SERMONS 'SPEAK'?

    It is often a surprise to people discovering UUism for the first time
to find out that this religious movement has no given doctrine or creed.
Unitarian Universalism has no bible, no pope, no dogma.
This permits Unitarian Universalism to be very open to the future.  

    Free Cyber-Sermons have not been approved or disapproved
by any individual leader or group of leaders.
This is also true of any regular sermon heard in any UU congregation:
The speaker cannot claim to be presenting UU doctrine.
Listeners and readers are free to disagree
with anything they hear or read.

    The authors alone are responsible for their opinions.
Listeners and readers are responsible to think for themselves.

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PLEASE FORWARD FREE CYBER-SERMONS CAREFULLY

    Free Cyber-Sermons are intentionally kept very short
so that they can easily be read on a computer screen
and so they can be forwarded to others who would be interested.   

    If you have found something to appreciate in a Free Cyber-Sermon,
you are invited and encouraged to share it with others.
You could either copy the cyber-sermon and forward it
or you could provide its URL to others who might be interested.
(The link to the URL has the additional advantage
of referring to the most recent version of the cyber-sermon.
Most are revised and updated at least once per year.)

    When you do share these cyber-sermons with others,
it might be helpful to tell them
why you think they might be interested. 

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