 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| |
April 11, 2019 | Vol. 6 No. 15
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Larger Promises Kept Through Smaller Daily Actions |
 |
|
|
Rev. Jen Crow |
Our lives are more fractal than we know. The patterns we create in our smallest moments and interactions are mirrored in our bigger moments and our most significant interactions. Who we are in our daily lives cannot and will not be separated from who we are and the choices we make in our larger, communal life. Our world will look like our wildest dreams of possibility only when we live those wildest dreams of possibility in our day to day lives. These are the messages of authors and activists adrienne marie brown and Margaret Wheatley. They are also the lessons that have been taught by prophets for generations, and they are the lessons that my children teach me regularly when they point out the distance between what I say and what I do. Our lives are more fractal than we know.
In this month when we dive into the worship theme of Promise, I'm reminded of the way that our larger promises are kept through our smaller, day to day actions. There are the small but critical moves we make toward connection - or disconnection - with ourselves and others. There are the ways that we receive those bids for connection from our family members or friends or even those who simply seek to make eye contact on the bus. There are the ways we move toward each other in times of crisis and the ways we move away. There are all of the everyday choices that end up creating the whole of our lives.
With these somewhat weighty ideas pressing down on me, I'm reminded of the idea of making small bets and celebrating wins in whatever size they come. What small bets, what small risks can I take today that move me closer to living in alignment with my values? What relationships can I nurture, what stories can I listen to, what small move toward connection can I make? And what can I celebrate? Is it noticing the beauty of the snow right next to the sadness about still more winter? Is it gratitude for the quick connection of a text message or the joy of an unexpected lunch with someone I love? Is it hot tea on a cold day or the joy I feel when our church moves even more fully into alignment with our racial justice goals?
What small bet are you making today, and what can you celebrate - trusting that each seemingly small action creates the patterns and builds the life, and the world, we dream about?
In gratitude,
Rev. Jen
|
|
|
Sunday, April 14, 9:30 & 11:15 a.m.
|
|
|
Rev. Justin Schroeder |
"Asking the Right Questions: An Earth Day/Palm Sunday Sermon"
Rev. Justin Schroeder
11 years. Scientists around the world agree that that is the window we have to avert the worst of climate change. 2030 is just around the corner. What if the question is not "what do we do?" in the face of climate change, but "who are we in relationship with?" and "how can those relationships deepen?" Joining Rev. Justin in the service will be the LaPointe family, a Lakota family that First Universalist has been in relationship with for a number of years.
|
| April Worship Theme: Promise |
|
|
|
April Worship Theme: Promise |
Theologian and philosopher Martin Buber called humans "promise-making, promise-keeping, promise-breaking, promise-renewing creatures." We have bonds to which we want to remain true, ideals that are important to us, creative ventures that enliven us, personal goals that inspire us, practices of faith in meditation or out in the street that keep us in rhythm with what is holy. As beautiful as we may be, we are also broken. This land of "the free and the brave" has made and broken promises a thousand times over. This month, we explore the nature of promise, what keeps us true, where to go or what to hold onto when we fail - or the community fails - in its promise? How do we renew our promises, and begin again, in love?
|
|
Sunday, April 21, 9:30 & 11:15 a.m.
Lead Minister: Rev. Ruth MacKenzie
Multigenerational Worship; Easter Sunday
Music: Soul Band
Sunday, April 28, 9:30 & 11:15 a.m.
Lead Minister: Rev. Jen Crow
Choir-led Worship:
Mozart's
Requiem
Sunday, May 5, 9:30 & 11:15 a.m.
Lead Minister: Rev. Justin Schroeder
Sharing Sunday
|
|
|
|
|
April 7, 2019
"The Third Body"
Rev. Elaine Aron Tenbrink
March 31, 2019
"It Takes a Village"
Me'Lea Connelly
Listen to the podcast
March 24, 2019
"Called to Beloved Community"
Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Rev. Elaine Aron Tenbrink: "The Third Body" |
|
|
|
Rev. Elaine Aron Tenbrink |
Sermon recap by First U staff member Liz Farmer
In her last sermon as Minister at First Universalist, Elaine shares a heartfelt love letter to the congregants, staff, and Third Body of First Universalist. The First and Second bodies are Rev. Elaine and you - the plural you - respectively. The Third Body is what's been built, the very thing that, as Elaine points out, "we are breathing life into right now," as we worship together in this space. The Third Body is what came before Elaine - or any of us - as well as that which will be experienced, changed, and passed on in the generations to come. It is conversations, policy decisions, relationships, services, groups, celebrations, classes, music, more; it is everything that is created and nurtured together in the UU spirit of Love and Service. As Rev. Elaine journeys to where (and whom) Love is calling her next, she asks the congregation to consider the same, especially in the context of our racial justice journey: where is Love calling First Universalist next? Listen to Rev. Elaine's April 7 sermon here.
|
|
|
Please note: due to the weather, evening activities, including tonight's scheduled Open Labyrinth Walk, have been cancelled, and the church office will be closing at 5 p.m. today, Thursday, April 11.
|
|
Co-Location Listening & Information Sessions
|
As we explore whether co-location with Shir Tikvah at 3400 Dupont is the right path for us, we strongly encourage all to attend a Co-location Information & Listening Session this spring.
Ultimately, First Universalist members will be making the decision about co-locating or not, via congregational vote later in 2019 (likely in the fall). It's important to be informed and know what the implications of this decision are. This is your opportunity to learn about what either path will mean for the future of First Universalist Church, and to participate in the decision-making process.
At these sessions, we will share more detailed information about what co-location would look like and what the alternative is. You will have an opportunity to share hopes, concerns, questions, and ideas in small groups, and all of that input will be collected and compiled. You'll also be invited to share thoughts in writing at the end of the session. Your feedback is incredibly valuable, and we want as many voices as possible to be part of this conversation!
- Thursday, April 11, 10 a.m.-noon (cancelled due to weather and will be rescheduled for another Thursday morning)
- Monday, April 15, 7-8:30 p.m.
- Thursday, April 25, 7-8:30 p.m.
- Sunday, May 5, 1-2:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, May 8, 7:45-9 p.m. for the Choir
- Sunday, May 19, 1-2:30 p.m.
|
|
|
12-Step Spirituality
Saturday, April 13, 9 a.m.-noon
12-Step Spirituality meets one Saturday per month in the Social Hall and is designed for those actively working a 12 Step program, as well as those wanting to explore & deepen their spirituality through meditation. Each session includes Centering Prayer meditation instruction, two 20-minute Centering Prayer sessions, reading from 12 Step literature, and presenters sharing personal experiences and on selected topics. No registration necessary.
|
|
|
|
|
Pathway to Membership Class
Saturday, April 13, 8:30 a.m.-noon
Have you been considering membership? Our next new member class on April 13 will be the last class we offer until Fall. Becoming a member is a symbolic, spiritual act of saying "yes" to growing your soul in this place, with these people, within our free faith tradition. This new member class is a great chance to build community, explore Unitarian Universalism, and learn how to get involved.
To register, contact Sandy at
Sandy@firstuniv.org
or 612-825-1701.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Daytime Connections
Thursday, April 18, 11 a.m.; lunch at 1 p.m.
As we anticipate spring, how can we prepare ourselves to experience nature's rebirth? Can we find it in thoughts of garden strolls, our inside potted plants, our gardens or walks through our neighborhoods? Join us as we cultivate gardens in our minds and in the earth. We will receive tips on finding nature spaces and cultivating our own gardens - small or large. Program at 11 a.m.; lunch at 1 p.m. (suggested donation: $5-15).
To register,
contact Sandy DiNanni at
sandy@firstuniv.org
or 612-825-1701.
|
|
|
|
|
On April 19, known as Good Friday by our Christian cousins, we will gather to hold and remember losses in a ritual in which we name the forces of crucifixion that we contend with all the time, collectively and individually.
This will be a service of singing, silence, naming, storytelling, and beauty.
Join Rev. Justin Schroeder, Rev. Ruth MacKenzie and Pastor Stephanie Voss for this counter cultural service of being with our sorrows, our endings, so that we might better understand the hints of resurrection.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Seniors Hike with Daytime Connections
Thursday, April 25, 10 a.m.
Meet at: Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden at Theodore Wirth Park (map)
This month's seniors hike will be more of a gentle stroll through the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden at Wirth Park. The garden is located
on
Theodore Wirth Pkwy,
between I-394 and Glenwood Ave. Parking is at a metered lot.
Three lunch options are: Milda's, Breaking Bread, or Sammy's Avenue Eatery. Vote for your choice when you RSVP to Dick Kern at KernwatchMN@aol.com. Will the beautiful Red Trilliums still be in bloom? The Marsh Marigolds? Join us and find out. This park is partly hilly so bring your hiking poles if you use them.
|
|
|
|
|
Wellspring Info Sessions
Sunday, April 28, 1 p.m. in Room 200; Thursday, May 2, 7 p.m. in Room 203
Wellspring is a uniquely Unitarian Universalist program of spiritual deepening that offers the opportunity to learn more about ourselves and our faith through a year-long small group experience. It has five components: commitment to a daily spiritual practice, monthly spiritual direction, small group meetings, reading about the theological and historical foundations of our faith, and putting our faith into action. After a day-long opening retreat on August 24, 2019, Wellspring meets every other week through May 2020. Attendance at an info session is required if you wish to participate in Wellspring. Information sessions will be held on Sunday, April 28, 1 p.m. in Room 200 and Thursday, May 2, 7 p.m. in Room 203.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Celebrate Earth Day with the Environmental Justice Team this Sunday, April 14
|
Our Environmental Justice Team invites you to join Earth Day activities around the Earth ball in the Social Hall this Sunday, April 14! Write your representatives about urgent environmental issues of our times at the "Write Now, Write Here" table. We will focus on the Green New Deal and Line 3 and the rights of indigenous peoples as well as protecting our water resources.
You're also invited to a special repeat showing of "The Human Element" at 1 p.m. in Room 200 both this Sunday, April 14 and Sunday, April 28.
This inspiring documentary follows environmental photographer James Balog on his quest to highlight Americans on the front lines of climate change. Be inspired to re-evaluate our relationship with the natural world!
|
|
Habitat for Humanity Summer Work Week: Sign Up Now!
|
|
|
|
Deb Keller, Shannon Steven, Patsy Egan and Leslie Colerin became friends in a circle group at church and decided to volunteer together at last year's summer work week.
|
Please join in First Universalist's Habitat for Humanity Summer Work Week, and help a hardworking family in our community achieve the joy and stability of homeownership. The dates are Monday, June 24 through Friday, June 28. Our build site is in Richfield.
Volunteers must be over sixteen years of age, and sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds must be accompanied by an adult. The work day is from 8:15 a.m. until 4 p.m., and lunch will be provided.
Many hands make light work - and they make for a fun work site, too. Please consider joining in! Sign up here; you can register for one day, multiple days or the whole week.
Concerned that you don't know much about building or how to use tools? No worries! Your fellow volunteers and our Habitat site supervisor will help you.
Hope to see you this summer!
|
Your fellow church community members are counting on you to do your part to help our ministry thrive!
I
f you are one of the nearly 180 individuals/families that we have yet to hear from about plans for financial support next year, please be in touch. Give us a call (612-825-1701), fill out a yellow giving card next time you're at church, or set up your giving
online
.
|
|
Apply to Serve on the Holiday Giving Team
|
The 2019 Holiday Giving Team is currently accepting applications for new team members. Do you like giving away money to local organizations doing work aligned with our Unitarian Universalist values? Are you interested in living in the intersection of generosity and spiritual growth? If so, please apply to serve on the Holiday Giving Team! Families and youth are particularly encouraged to apply.
The team, working closely with Rev. Justin Schroeder and our Faithful Action Council, will select a local organization to be our 2019 Holiday Giving Recipient. (Every other year, we invite the entire congregation to cut back on their holiday spending, and we pool those collected savings together to make a generous holiday gift to our chosen recipient.) The Holiday Giving Team will begin its work this spring, selecting a recipient in the early fall. The ideal recipient will operate with a racial justice lens, and be an organization that our entire congregation can get behind and support.
Past Holiday Giving recipients include Habitat for Humanity (2013), Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative (2015), and Marnita's Table (2017.)
|
|
Part 3: Mde Maka Ska Community Conversation
|
 You're invited to Part 3 of the Mde Maka Ska: Community Conversations on Saturday, April 13 from 2-6 p.m. at First Universalist, as indigenous peoples, youth, and allies come together to give form to values and vision. In Part 1 & 2 of the Mde Maka Ska: Community Conversations, proponents of environmental justice, racial justice, community organizations and members explored collective values, vision, and transformative possibilities venturing into previously unexplored areas of unity. You are cordially invited to help bring a more transformative future into the present.
|
|
Calling All Graduating Seniors!
|
|
Seeking Delegates to the UUA General Assembly 2019
|
General Assembly (GA) is the annual meeting of our Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). Attendees worship, witness, learn, connect, and make policy for the Association through democratic process. Anyone may attend; congregations must certify annually to send voting delegates. General Assembly 2019 will take place in Spokane, WA, (and online) June 19-23.
If you wish to attend as one of First Universalist Church's official 20 delegates,
please talk to someone on the Nominating Committee or email nomination@firstuniv.org by May 27
.
In order to be a delegate, you must be an active member of First Universalist Church.
Delegates need to be officially approved by the congregation at our annual meeting on June 2.
Registration info and more is available here.
|
|
Join First U Members at Habitat on the Hill April 29
|
Each year, a group from First Universalist travels to St. Paul to join others from around the state to advocate for affordable housing and to eliminate homelessness as part of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity's annual Habitat on the Hill Day. Twin Cities Habitat is one of our six Faithful Action partners. We build houses with Habitat, but we also play a meaningful role in legislative advocacy. It is a meaningful day on so many levels -learn, laugh, be inspired, and join a small group to tell your elected officials about why affordable housing makes a difference for kids, families, and communities.
Minnesota has among the largest racial homeowner and wealth gaps in the nation. We can do something by asking that our state do its part to address decades of systemic racial bias by funding affordable housing and housing services across the state. Join Rev. Justin and others from our congregation for this annual Day on the Hill starting at 9 am. Lunch is provided. Questions? Contact Joan Naymark at jnaymark@gmail.com.
Ready to sign up? Register here and send an email to Joan so we know who is attending from First Universalist. Car pooling can be arranged. Find the Facebook event here.
Our Religious Education kids wrote advocacy postcards to Gov. Walz in February. One child said it best: "It is important to me that everyone I know and don't know has a safe place to live! Please support homes for all on your budget."
|
|
Spring Donations for Augsburg Fairview Academy (AFA)
|
First Universalist is the primary sponsor of Food and Clothing Closets at
Augsburg Fairview Academy
(AFA), a public charter high school located within two miles of church. The 100+ high school students come from diverse backgrounds and many are homeless or marginally housed during the school year. Students have specifically requested the following:
- Microwavable single serving dinners - especially chili
- Clothing: all sizes of men and women's khakis and dress pants suitable for interviewing and work; leggings and tights; hoodies;
- Winter toiletries: chapstick and lotions, men and women's deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, ethnic hair products, sanitary products, condoms
Bring items to the Information Desk on Sundays or drop off during the week at the shelves labeled for AFA by the 34th Street entrance.
Thank you for your generosity!
|
|
Space Reservations for Meetings and Events
|
Are you responsible for reserving meeting space for a church committee you serve on? Are you a volunteer planning a church-sponsored event?
Spaces are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and requests must be communicated to Events Coordinator Lucia Webb.
|
|
Cycle of Life and Pastoral Care
|
Let Us Keep You in Our Thoughts and Prayers
If you are experiencing a crisis or transition, or celebrating a joy, please let us know. To be included in our Cycle of Life each Sunday in worship, contact Sandy DiNanni at
sandy@firstuniv.org or 612-825-1701. If you would like support, call the office at 612-825-1701 or contact any member of our
Pastoral Visitors Team.
|
|
|
Join Our Mailing List
Subscribe to
The Weekly Liberal
here.
Sign up to receive our weekly Children Youth & Family Ministries news
here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Church Office Hours
|
Sundays 9
a.m.-1 p.m.
Mondays-Thursdays 9
a.m.-8 p.m.
Closed Fridays and Saturdays
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weekly Liberal Submissions
We encourage you to submit news!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Contact Us
|
First Universalist Church of Minneapolis
3400 Dupont Ave. S.,
Minneapolis, MN 55408
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First Universalist Church of Minneapolis
3400 Dupont Avenue S.
Minneapolis, MN 55408
612-825-1701
|
|
| |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
