Last Sunday, we explored how there are many ways for human beings to relate to the land upon which they live. This service will consider this further, reflecting on what it would be like to act out of the spiritual understanding that we belong to the earth; the earth does not belong to us. This … Continue reading We Belong to the Earth
As we near the 400th anniversary of the landing at Plymouth Rock next year, the book An Indigenous History of the United States (this year’s UUA’s Common Read) invites us to consider the history of this nation beyond “the first” settlers and “the last” Native Americans. This service will point to the possibilities for hope … Continue reading A Doctrine of Recovery: Decolonizing the Collective Mind
The ancients remind us that this time of year is when “the veil is thinnest between the living and the dead.” In our annual Remembrance Service, we will honor both our beloved dead and those whose legacy includes pain and unfinished business. WUS friend and genealogist D. Andrews will invite us into ways we can … Continue reading “A Different Kind of Magic:” A Service of Remembrance
Unitarian Universalism is not “creedal but covenantal,” meaning that we are held together not by shared belief but by promises. We make promises about how we will behave with each other and how we will companion one another through life. We make promises to the wider world. Everyone knows what a promise is but sometimes … Continue reading “Show Us How to Love”: Living in Covenant
The High Holy Days, the Days of Awe between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur at the threshold of the Jewish New Year, invite us into reflection about the ways we have fallen short in our promises to one another. While this time of atonement often centers on experiences between individuals, it is also a time … Continue reading “For Our Failures of Justice”: History, Atonement and Yom Kippur
Unitarian Universalism affirms that everyone will be received in love after death. This faith does not ask anyone to profess a doctrine, creed or theology to belong in community. So practicing a Unitarian Universalist faith is easy, right? This service will explore how, despite our commitment to spiritual pluralism and inclusion, Unitarian Universalism expects much … Continue reading Great Expectations: The Challenge of the Liberal Religious Path
Many join and commit to a congregation “for community.” Whether we think about it at the time, we often seek community so that we do not live through our joys, transitions, sorrows and fears alone. This service will reflect on how we companion one another through the peaks and valleys of life. It will also … Continue reading “There is a Love Holding Us”: Celebrating Pastoral Ministry
There is a well-known saying: “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” But what makes us “spiritual beings?” What does “spirituality” mean to you? This service will explore how some having a human experience understand spirituality. In this season of summers end and back to … Continue reading “Grace Does Not Agree to Your Terms and Conditions:” Spirituality
“From Rain to River to Sea: The Power of Us” As the story goes, attendees of a UU women’s conference were asked to bring a little water from home so they could create a sense of home as they built community together. This is how we often begin our new year so please bring some water … Continue reading Water Communion
Norbert Čapek created the Flower Communion ritual as a way to celebrate both the unity and diversity in community. In this concluding spring service, we will practice Flower Communion and also consider the bigger story it tells about the cycle of birth, blossoming and enduring found in all of life. We will also celebrate Alison … Continue reading Branches, Blossoms and Leaves: A Flower Communion in Three Acts
