JD Stillwater: Science Ambassador, UU Lay Leader
JD Stillwater moves and inspires UU congregations all over North America and the globe with messages of awe, deep kinship, diversity, and healing, enriching our spirituality and our culture with insights from science and nature.
With a gift for making difficult science concepts graspable for average people, and doing so in the context of UU worship and workshops, JD offers insights from how nature works that help us discern who we are and our place in the world.
Booked months in advance for Sunday mornings, JD Stillwater is in demand as a Lay worship leader, RE/LFD presenter, and collaborator with Peter Mayer. JD is a frequent contributor to Braver/Wiser and Worship Web, and in 2025, JD and Ann Stillwater co-led a workshop for General Assembly.
JD Stillwater has designed and led over 150 worship services in 33 states and provinces. He is registered as a Guest in Your Pulpit in the Regions that offer that, and frequently leads worship remotely through Zoom. JD is a past President of the Unitarian Church of Harrisburg, PA, and is active on the UCH Worship and Music Teams.
Letters of reference from ministers and lay leaders are below.
To see what JD offers churches, the Talks and Workshops page includes a partial list of programs and worship services.
JD says: “With me it’s never “just a sermon”! When I guest-preach, I like to work with your Worship Team or Worship Associate to ensure that the whole service is a cohesive and inspiring experience. I provide suggestions for service elements that are in good alignment with the sermon/message. I also work with you to ensure that what I bring aligns well with any ongoing worship themes, relevant holidays, and congregational activities like stewardship. I tend to fall in love with the many congregations I visit, and I want my work to advance their missions, and improve members’ lives.
Most of my sermons are multimedia because my teaching career taught me that a message is more engaging and inspiring if visuals augment what’s spoken.”
[On Cosmology in Concert with Peter Mayer]
You offered us something far greater than a performance. You opened a way of seeing—through the vastness of creation, through the patterns of galaxies and the fragile beauty of this life. You invited us to hold paradox—to stand between knowing and mystery, between the infinite and the immediate. Your gifts landed here, in this space, and in the hearts of this community. [3 wks later] I can’t thank you both enough for the beautiful and deeply moving evening you created. People are still reflecting on it, and I keep hearing how much it meant to them. Your music and presence brought such a sense of connection and meaning—what a gift to our community.
—Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout, First Universalist, Minneapolis, MN
“I heard very positive feedback on your talk from a number of our members, especially on the topic, your presentation skills and the way you wove multiple themes together. We would like to have you back…”
—L.V., UU Meetinghouse, Chatham, MA
“I can always tell when you’re speaking, because the parking lot is full.”
—Sally, UUF of Greater Cumberland, MD
“Thank you so much, JD, for the inspiring service! Would we had a speaker like you every week!”
—Mary, FMUU, Fargo, ND
“Today’s service with JD Stillwater was so life changing for me. I feel like I’m looking at the universe, earth, fellow humans, animal, plant life, etc. in an entirely new way! I’ve never believed in heaven but now I see we are all living on after death or at least our atoms and molecules will live on. I find that reassuring and it seems really part of the divine. Thank you so much for inviting him! He provided me with a clarity I had not experienced before.”
—N.M. St. Petersburg, FL
“Whoever found JD Stillwater: thank you. Just what we needed to hear.”
—S.W. Nashville, TN
“Thank you for that brilliant, brilliant sermon, JD!”
—C.C., Lancaster, PA
Rev. Ben Atherton-Zeman
Rev. Krista Taves,
Senior Minister of Eliot UU Chapel, St. Louis
Heather Lunergan, Worship Chair
UU Fellowship of Fredericton, NB
Rev. Dr. Sandra Fees
Dorothy Swain,
Lay leader of the UU’s of Grants Pass, OR
Tom Hawk,
Founder, UU Fellowship of Cumberland, MD
“Our congregation really eats up your sermons. A first-time visitor was hoping you were our every-Sunday speaker.”
—M.S., Hurst, TX
“We wanted to thank you for your recent sermon at UU Falmouth. Several of the people who attended this service remarked on your explanations & descriptions as being the best they have heard in talks that attempt to explain how nature works and to help us undersand our place in the universe. You are such a talented and gifted speaker. We are so appreciative of your contribution to our education on the cosmos.”
—Caring Committee, UU Fellowship of Falmouth, MA
“I was able to watch the entire service in the late afternoon yesterday. I was really impressed by the comfort and ease of everyone – including the audience members – at the program. There is an exceedingly high level of trust between you and our crowd. Good going! … THANK YOU FOR YOUR HEART AND SOUL-FELT PRESENTATIONS.”
—L.J., UUF Pottstown, PA
“I didn’t get to see you after the service as I had to get off to my day job, but I just wanted to say you had a fantastic sermon this morning. Now if we can only get the people who need to hear it the most to listen! We all enjoyed your message today!”
“Thank you for this amazing service! I received so many compliments from so many people about the service. You now have a northwest MT UU fan club. Many folks asked to make sure we get you on the schedule regularly. Your presentation skills are exemplary. It all seemed quite smooth on this end.”
“WOW!!! What an amazing and important reminder that people of ALL ages, stations in life and circumstances are HUMANS WHO ARE WORTHY OF OUR ATTENTION!!!! We all need this reminder in these inhumane and troubling times!!”
“I think the spontaneous applause says it all. We loved the inspiring message presented with pictures and humor. I know the image of the dung beetle will stick with me. It was a warm and uplifting experience. I, for one, felt an instant connection, like I already knew you. Thanks again.”
(Fellowships, Synagogues, Ethical Societies, Mosques, Ashrams)
Remote Service
(Design/sermon)
$300
In-Person:
Sunday Service design/lead $400+Travel/stay
1- or 2-hour Workshop or Talk $300+Travel/stay
2.5- or 3-hour Workshop $600+Travel/stay
Sunday Package
(Worship & 1-2 hour)
$600 (save $100)
Weekend Package
(Sat 3-hour & Sun Worship)
$800 (save $200)
Weekend In-Depth
(Two days/three events)
$1,000 (save $300)
Note: Car travel is the norm. Mileage can often be rolled into a package. Willing to consider home hospitality.
Those gorgeous cast-bronze chalices you see at so many UU gatherings were created by beloved old friend Mordecai Roth who, with me and dozens of others, spent 1986 walking from Los Angeles to Washington DC, on The Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament.
Mordecai was already retired (from dentistry); I was a naive young man.
To me, Mordecai was a friend, mentor, and emergency dentist. He and his loving spouse Lenore still serve as role models for Ann and me. I miss them.
Seeing Mordecai’s chalices in UU gathering places all around the country always brings both joy and tears. A UU World article about Mordecai.
[Mordecai’s chalices are no longer available. I was fortunate enough to purchase the very last one from his granddaughter.]
I’m also missing dear friend, mentor, and inspiration Rev. Michael Dowd, so soon gone, with so much he still wanted to do. Michael and his spouse Connie Barlow spent many a Sunday in UU spaces, offering the “gospel” of cosmic evolution as a source of unity and revelation.
Their* book, Thank God for Evolution, was a huge impetus in my entry to this work. It is his footsteps I try to follow. I miss you, Michael. The work continues.
*[Michael is the nominal author, but he told me it would never have happened without Connie’s critical editorial input. I can relate.]
