Hi are there any unitarian churches on the united states territories like Guam and Puerto rico?
I just saw a big "Flatch Unitarian" sign on a promo for a new Fox sitcom. Anybody else notice?
https://sports.yahoo.com/locally-shot-welcome-flatch-premieres-182135669.html ... I guess that's what this show is about.
Could be good, could be terrible. It is weird seeing mainstream culture acknowledge that UU's exist, outside the random Simpsons joke.
βOrdinary Daysβ
Sunday, August 14, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream
Life is made up of ordinary days. And they are often some of the best days we have. A sermon musing on the ordinariness of a sweet life.
Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Mari Magaloni Ramos, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; Laurel Sprigg, Soprano; Mark Sumner, Pianist; Richard Fey, Songleader
Shulee Ong, Camera; Eric Shackelford, Camera; Donald Shearer, Camera; Jackson Munn, Camera; Max Benbow, Camera; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Remigio Flood, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Carrie Steere-Salazar, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
βRetraining the Dragonβ
Sunday, August 7, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream
When threatened some of us fight - even "breathing fire" if provoked, others freeze or retreat. We all know life is better when we are not stressed all the time, but some seem more resilient and able to shake off strife and difficulty than others. Recent brain science points to the limbic system as the place filtering our experience and deciding whether to act on a threat or choose to go with the flow of life. Rev. Sonya Sukalski has found that resetting the switch that sends the mind, body and spirit into rest and digest chemistry rather than fight or flight to be a satisfying spiritual practice. Her practice includes elements of prayer, meditation, movement, and employs theology UUs might find useful and life-affirming.
Rev. Sonya Sukalski, Guest Minister; Kat Liu, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; Maria Roodnitsky, Mezzo Soprano; Mark Sumner, Pianist; Richard Fey, Songleader
Shulee Ong, Camera; Eric Shackelford, Camera; Donald Shearer, Camera; Jackson Munn, Camera; Max Benbow, Camera; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Remigio Flood, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Carrie Steere-Salazar, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
βAre We Normal?β
Sunday, September 25, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream
What is it about the human condition that is normal? And what is normal anyway? By taking lessons from our time in the pandemic, from my time as a hospital chaplain, and from our collective experiences as humans, we can explore how normal is not a concept to compare ourselves to others, but rather a way to build a shared understanding of what it means to be human. This shared understanding can then be the cornerstone to create a lifespan religious education program.
Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Mari Magaloni Ramos, Worship Associate; Mark Sumner, Pianist; Ben Rudiak-Gould, Songleader; Eric Hamilton, Guitarist
Eric Shackelford, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Remigio Flood, Sexton; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
βGood Troubleβ
Sunday, July 31, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream
In March of 2020, the late John Lewis called on everyone to "get into good trouble, necessary trouble and redeem the soul of America" as he spoke from the Edmund Pettis bridge in Selma Alabama commemorating the tragedy of Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965. Join us on Sunday July 31st for a special service led by worship associate Mari Magaloni Ramos: βGood Troubleβ
Our collective values of democracy, privacy and bodily autonomy are under active attack and we have suffered setbacks. And as is always the case, it is our BIPOC and LGBTQ folx that will be most negatively impacted in the coming years if we do not act. One of the most powerful things that we can do to stem this tide is to support and motivate our fellow Americans to vote. We can do that by meeting hate and grievance with love and beloved community.
Mari Magaloni Ramos, Guest Preacher; Dennis Adams, Worship Associate Cal Ball, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; Tommy Kesecker, Percussionist; Ben Rudiak-Gould, Songleader
Shulee Ong, Camera; Eric Shackelford, Camera; Donald Shearer, Camera; Jackson Munn, Camera; Max Benbow, Camera; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Remigio Flood, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Athena Papadakos, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
βWhat am I going to do?β
Sunday, July 24, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream
This is the question we ask ourselves at major pivotal points in our lives: graduation, career choice, retirement. βWhat am I going to do?β is also the question we ask ourselves when there are decisions to be made about: relationships, medical options, questions of moving and choosing where we will live. I find it useful to distinguish between what I can do, and how I can be in the world. I will try to explain what that distinction means to me, and how I have found it helpful in making my choices in life.
Rev. Margot Campbell Gross, Minister Emerita; Sam King, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; Giacomo Fiore, Guitarist; Richard Fey, Songleader
Shulee Ong, Camera; Eric Shackelford, Camera; Donald Shearer, Camera; Jackson Munn, Camera; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Remigio Flood, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Athena Papadakos, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
I notice that the moderators of this liberal religion forum censor the voices of minority and marginalized UUs if their beliefs are different from the moderators. I also ironically notice that the minister moderator of this forum is a white man.
Perhaps the moderators can explain what "centering the voices of minorities and marginalized peoples" actually means. In practice here, it appears to mean centering the voices of minorities who follow your personal views. The idea that minority UUs should only have and express one view is an ignorant, condescending, narrow-minded, and, frankly, bigoted philosophy.
I have noticed other racial and ethnic minorities in this forum have expressed that they left their UU congregations because of the expectations of narrow ideological and political conformity. Such expectations of conformity, censorship, and "we only welcome and listen to minorities who believe what we expect them to believe" makes UU only more unwelcoming to most minorities. This is in particular as the prevailing expressed UUA positions run counter to the views of most minorities in this country.
Many white privileged American progressives have had a long history of arrogantly and condescendingly informing minorities "what they should believe" "for their own good." The new UUA, new UU ministers, "white allies" and this forum appear to be continuing this self-righteous tradition.
This is how you create a really tiny church, and, ironically, a really tiny church that most minorities in this country will not want to join.
It appears that the UUA and many UU ministers have forgotten what liberal religion means.
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βThe Tasks of Lifeβ
Sunday, September 18, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream
What is the purpose of a life, of life. It's always been the question religion was tasked to answer. Part of the work of answering that question involves the tasks of life, of each life and even its stages of tasks. As we step into a new church year perhaps we can ask where we think we are in this work so each of us can step intentionally, and more deeply, into that work.
Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Carmen Barsody, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir; Mark Sumner, Music Director; Claudine Jones, Mezzo; Jon Silk, Drummer; Wm GarcΓa Ganz, Pianist
Shulee Ong, Camera; Jackson Munn, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Athena Papadakos, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
Hello all and I hope everyone is having a great week. I felt guided to post on several subs today so here I am.
Some background info, my story is long but I'll try to summarize. I'm Unitarian Universalist, but I do identify as a Christian under that umbrella.
I've always been a very spiritual person and it has been a decades long journey to better understand God, the cosmos and my role in it all.
There have been a lot of changes in my life recently (I moved halfway across the world for one thing) and because I've had to make so many decisions, I've been
turning more and more to prayer. I find the practice of Ignatian discernment to be useful - what I do is that I surrender completely in prayer and if I experience
peace, essentially God approves and if I experience desolation (unease, worry, my body will shake in distress) I know that that is the wrong way to go.
A wise aunt of mine once told me that we also need our human wisdom, so I don't expect God to tell me what to wear, nor do I ask every little question. I tend to
trust my instincts and what guidance I have received in the past. I won't deny that it's been a long journey and it's been difficult to sort through all the
information I've read (hundreds of books, blogs, websites etc) to discern what is truth and what works. The short version is that yes I do believe and have
experienced matters of the spirit, but I'm also a scientist, so I seek to verify everything that I encounter and find.
Which explains why I am writing this post :) I've been using the method described above for a while now, and it seems to work, but some answers seem incongruent.
God works in mysterious ways, but yet He also works within the framework of creation - in that we still operate in a casual and physical world, and that free will
must be respected.
I would be the first to admit I don't know everything, so I am throwing this out here for discussion. How does one know you are guided? How do I ask questions that
will lead me in the right direction, to make the world a better place and live in harmony with spirit?
(My prayers are generally in this vein "Is it in the highest good to do such and such.")
βThe River of Life: An Ingatheringβ
Sunday, September 11, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream
This week is a joyous regathering: virtually and in person we will come back together for our official start to a church year. Children will join us in worship and we will sing and speak in words and ritual of our journeys apart and what we bring back with us.
Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Rev. Laura Shennum, Minister of Congregational Life; Sam King, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; Wm. GarcΓa Ganz, Pianist; Nancy Munn, soprano soloist; UUSF Choir; Mark Sumner, Music Director
Shulee Ong, Camera; Jackson Munn, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Remigio Flood, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Athena Papadakos, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
βBirthing a New Worldβ
Sunday, September 4, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream
For our annual Labor Day service, Rev. Millie Phillips celebrates a struggle that ebbs and flows, but has never died; the struggle for economic survival and dignity on the job. Playing off the multiple meanings of the word "labor," do we have the courage to do what it takes to give birth to " a new world from the ashes of the old?" Whatever the obstacles, increasingly, working people, especially young and marginalized workers, are rediscovering the power of union organizing and are putting the movement back into the labor movement.
Rev. Millie Phillips, Guest Minister; Dennis Adams, Worship Associate; The Labor Heritage/Rockin' Solidarity Chorus; Pat Wynne, Labor Chorus Director; Mark Sumner, Pianist; Ben Rudiak-Gould, Songleader
Shulee Ong, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Remigio Flood, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Amy Kelly, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
submitted by /u/DebunkFundamentalist [link] [comments] |
A UU Minister answers the question (From 2009):
βThe Arc of the Universeβ
Sunday, August 28, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream
August 28th is the 59th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Racial Equality. Its keynote address by Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. has become the most famous speech in modern history. Echoed in his remarks that day were the paraphrased words of an early Unitarian minister, Theodore Parker; that the arc of the moral universe bends towards justice.
Earlier this summer, the remarkable achievement of the Webb telescope began challenging humanity to look deeply into the past in order to make sense of today and what is to come. Indeed, in so many ways, we won't ever create the future of our dreams without understanding the past.
Join us as we explore Dr. King's inspiration in the words of a radical Boston minster, how those words convinced a cultural icon to continue to go "where no man had gone before" and finally, how we're learning, through science, that there is indeed an arc in the universe and that it bends towards truth.
Richard Davis-Lowell, Guest Preacher; Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Katrina Walter, Flautist; Charmian Stewart, Violinist; Nancy Munn, Pianist; Richard Fey, Songleader
Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Remigio Flood, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Amy Kelly, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
βTransforming Perfectionβ
Sunday, August 21, 10:50 am, Worship Service Livestream
This Sunday, join Guest Preacher Charlotte Cramer exploring the concept of perfection and how it influences our lives and society. Perfection is everywhere in our country, and it has impacted how we treat one another and ourselves. What is the mindset and healing that is needed to work against the strong drive towards being perfect? How could overcoming perfection foster a more wholesome and healthy life, and society?
Charlotte Maitreya Cramer, Guest Preacher; Sam King, Worship Associate; Asher Davison, Bass Vocals; Larry Chinn, Piano
Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Remigio Flood, Sexton; Kelvin Jones, Sexton; Judy Payne, Flowers; Linda Messner, Head Usher; Ralph Fenn, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour
Moving to Michigan next month and looking for a church to check out. So far I'm interested in visiting First UU in Detroit. Has anyone been? Or visited any other UU churches in MI?
I'm making a Christmas gift for my minister. I would like a short (5 words or less) quote or slogan that would be appropriate. I was thinking "Deeds not Creeds" but I would love more suggestions.
Thanks in advance!!