Dear Ones,

I’ve been watching all the way through quite a few of the vids YouTube’s been suggesting for me over the last week, so now YouTube thinks she knows me. YouTube and my ten-minute writing breaks have been getting along nicely these days, so when the first suggestion was an orchestra concert clip entitled “Orchestra plays THE HISTORY OF MUSIC,” I gave the tv both my eyes squinted and pre-rolled, and the benefit of the doubt. Oof.



What followed was not all that surprising, when I really thought about it. Intended comically, the orchestra employs a reader to tell the story of music over the course of human history while underscoring with punchlines and such. We begin with a description of cavemen and early rhythm (which actually had nothing to do with the truth, but that’s not really the point). For some reason (maybe being in work mode) the first thing my brain stopped for was the paleness of skin on the faces of the graphic slides depicting these, our early ancestors. I noticed right then how quickly my mind snapped into prediction and analysis. 

My eyes whipped down the screen to take a measure of the orchestra, the conductor, the reader, the audience. They widened as I knew what was about to happen. If there’ll be no mention of Africa or Asia in this part, there ain’t gonna be. 

It can be hard to describe how frequently something like this happens to a black person in America, where you’re looking directly at something that you know is supposed to have you in it. It’s like looking in the bathroom mirror at the empty space that’s somehow misplaced your reflection. This black man experiences such an erasure so constantly he often forgets to feel any of it. 

And with that paragraph, I’ve just lost some readers. Readers predicting where I’m going with this, or sure they know. “Here he goes again” is the same everyday invisibilization of my people that keeps supremacy in motion in different clothing. Dear one, my kin in this faith of love and justice, you cannot know where I’m going with this. And you mustn’t stop now. 

After the whitened cavemen, we’re told the next step is Bach. The reader explains plainly that there were other composers in the middle there, “but they were all rubbish.” The entire rest of the orchestral folly features picture after picture, tale after tale of European male faces whose livelihoods were largely paid for by European aristocrats. There is no mention of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745 – 1799), or Florence Price (1887 – 1953). No mention of George Bridgetower, or William Grant Still, Margaret Bonds, Samuel Coleridge Taylor, Francis Johnson, Wynton Marsalis. Not a single black life in “the History of Music.” No mention of a woman at all, except for a handful of fictional characters in works written by European men. And for each of them, care is taken to mention (or it’s well known already) the scandal and infamies that landed them their fame, or to straight-up fat-shame a woman, in the case of Beethoven’s Elise (to whom the writer refers as “Elise, the cow”). 

There is a faint rhythm toward the end of the video that actually has quite a bit of history in black American musical innovations of the 20th century (but I only know that because I have three degrees of colonized music education, and was fortunate enough to wake up one day and start the ceaseless effort of deconstructing the prejudices even I had been taught). That rhythm, as the video posits in its final joke, would be what took all the world’s music “back to the caves,” which, albeit offensive, is kinda true. After all, if you don’t cut the bungee cord attaching your waist to the ways things have always been, you’ll eventually bounce right back to where you started. It doesn’t matter how far you managed to get away. 

You know, it’s not the erasure that gets me, per se. And this isn’t so much an advantage taken to shame the white folks I happen to know for the short-sightedness perpetrated by the white folks I don’t. Petty revenge isn’t really all that black a thing, actually. It’s not graceful, and my people are unstoppably, bafflingly ever that. 

No, what’s getting me here about this video going around the world is that it’s funny to everybody in the room, and that it was uploaded three weeks ago. Satire is critical to art’s ability to critique power and restore equity to conversations drunk on Potemkin progress. It’s critical to the church’s ability to do this, too. So, how did we show up to 2023 with a monochromatic hall of people laughing while races and genders go missing? How is such a thing in the world now and not abhorrent and conspicuous? And how many times does this have to happen every day, everywhere, until the only response by anybody is “enough” until the music stops.   

Van Gogh once wrote to his brother about his process: “I dream of painting; then I paint my dream.” For those of us in the arts and faiths of freedom for all people, the dream has long inspired us to imagine a better world of better actions in community. The dream has also kept too much of our awareness asleep, our selves satisfied by change in trickle. 

What stops now so we can start doing enough of what we dreamt and all people might see themselves in the stories we highlight as our great histories? What does the church have to stop doing in order to bring more of the dream to life? What’s music look like in a community of people hellbent on modifying this dependency on systems that erase people, reduce them to punchlines and empty space, tolerating injustices of all sizes in service of an unwillingness to change what we know? That’s what we ought to build. Now. At all costs.

This Sunday, the Rev. Ashley Horan, Aimee Bryant, and I are leading worship with you at the bandshell at Lake Harriet. By the waters, we’ll embody the joy and talk the truths of willful change we can make to the ways we do community. We’ll live a little of love’s post-pandemic, not-far-along-enough-yet call. Truth be told, it has more to do with play and laughter and loving yourself than we’ve often understood. And the possibilities, when we’re willing to untether from the needful, are more wonderful even than we could have dreamed. Don’t you miss it. 

Peace,

Dr. Glen Thomas

Intro

To Change What We Know

Sunday Worship

This Sunday, August 20, 10 a.m.

Sunday, August 13 Recordings

Cycle of Life

News & Features

Aug. 27 Backpack Blessing

Sept. 10 Water Communion

Fall Community Dinners

Programs Calendar

RE Begins Sept. 10

Young Adults

Community Events & Affiliated Organizations:

AUW, 12-Step Spirituality

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Sunday, August 20 — 10 a.m.

Worship at Lake Harriet Bandshell

This Sunday, the Rev. Ashley Horan, Aimee Bryant, and Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout lead worship with you at the bandshell at Lake Harriet. By the waters, we’ll embody the joy and talk the truths of willful change we can make to the ways we do community. We’ll live a little of love’s post-pandemic, not-far-along-enough-yet call. Truth be told, it has more to do with play and laughter and loving yourself than we’ve often understood. And the possibilities, when we’re willing to untether from the needful, are more wonderful even than we could have dreamed. Don’t you miss it. 

IN PERSON AT 10 A.M.

This Sunday, we worship in person at 10 a.m. at the Lake Harriet bandshell. The "pews" are directly in the morning sun; there is limited shade on the periphery. Bring sun protection including hats and suncreen, as well as water and small hand fans if you got 'em. We'll have plenty of water, as well. Sign up to usher or greet. Arrive at 9:20 to get ourselves organized.

NO 10 A.M. LIVESTREAM

The YouTube recording and podcast will be available next week.

AFTER WORSHIP

After worship, join us for a potluck at the tables up the hill from the banshell. Bring a dish to share; We'll have sections labeled for vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, and omnivorous diets.

August 13 Worship Recap:

Why Stop Now?

Listen to the entire August 13 worship here

Listen to Rev. Ashley's sermon here.

Watch the August 13 service on YouTube here

Podcast Archive | Recording Archive | Sermon Archive

We pray for and with Dick and Carolyn Young at this hinge of life and death, for them to be surrounded in all the care and wonderful love they can imagine. 

We pray for Cathy Strub as she grieves the death of her father, Dan Strub. He had recently celebrated his 90th birthday!

Our hearts are with the family and friends of Jim Chandler, who passed away on August 11 at the age of 95. Jim's memorial service will be at Hyland Park in Bloomington on September 10 at 2:30pm. We send our love to Jim's wife, Janet Chandler, and all who grieve his loss. 

We pray for the people of Hawaii weathering climate change and colonialism’s destruction, the deadliest wildfire in the US in the last century. 

Join us in celebrating with Jeanne Guignon at the healthy birth of her grandchild, Remy Robert Peppel, born August 5. Remy is welcomed by parents Scott & Michela, and sister Maya, who live in Seattle.

Our love surrounds Rev. Jen Crow as she heals from COVID. May she have space and time to rest and recover.

If you are experiencing a crisis or transition, celebrating a joy­ or marking a sorrow, please let us know. To be included in our Cycle of Life on Sunday in worship, or if you would like support, contact Rev. Arif Mamdani at arif@firstuniv.org or 612-825-1701.

Special Upcoming Sundays

Sunday, August 27- Backpack Blessing

As summer comes to an end, don’t miss our annual Backpack Blessing and worship service this Sunday, Aug. 27 at 10 a.m. The multigenerational service will offer children, youth, and adults of all ages the opportunity to reflect upon how we might carry the love of our church community and the tools of our faith with us wherever we go.

After worship on the 27th, we'll enjoy a community lunch under the tent and an Open Eye Theater Driveway Tour performance of Molly and the Magic Boot.

Sunday, September 10- Water Communion

We return to two services at 9 and 11 a.m. this Sunday for our annual in-gathering ritual. Religious Education classes for children and youth also begin this morning.

Fall Community Dinners

We had such fun meeting new folks and reconnecting with old friends, eating yummy homemade meals, and deepening our spirits in breakout groups last year. This year, Community Dinners are back starting Wednesday, September 13! Dinner starts at 6; Breakout groups from 7-8:15. All are welcome and there is no charge. We always offer vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, nut free and kid-friendly options. Mark your calendars and nourish your belly and spirit in community. RSVP and menu available soon. (Correction from last week: No family pre-party in September. The family pre-party from 5-6 p.m. will take place before the October dinner.) 

Update on Sponsored Asylum Seeker

Submitted by Karen Heegaard

Some of you may remember that in May of 2019 First Universalist Church and three congregant host families began supporting a transgender woman who was in detention in California and seeking asylum. At the time her name was Rosita. She lived with some of us in Minnesota for ten months. She now goes by Daniela and lives in the Bronx in NYC working two jobs as a server.

In early July, Daniela had her asylum hearing before a very challenging judge. While it did not go as we hoped — she was not granted asylum — she is allowed to stay in this country under what’s called a “withholding of removal” order. This means you are allowed to stay in the US and work legally, but cannot travel outside the country, bring your family here, or be granted citizenship, important differences from full asylum. Under very rare circumstances, you can still be deported to a third country (not Guatemala) that will accept you. Her NY attorney intends to appeal this ruling but that could take a very long time.

We did want to share the good news that she will not be returned to Guatemala, which is a huge relief, and to extend our great thanks to her attorney, Victoria Jenn of Unlocal in New York, her local immigration attorney Sally Silk and her translator and advocate Marvic Salmin-Murillo who have done so much for Daniela. From asylum sponsors: Laura and Ron Schlatter, Marjorie Herdes, Chuck LeGros and Karen Heegaard, and our fearless organizer Katherine Harrell.

August Board Meeting

The August Board of Trustees Meeting takes place August 17 at 6:30 p.m. in person and on zoom. Materials here.

Register Now: RE Begins Sept. 10

Religious Education runs from Sept. 10, 2023-May 19, 2024. Learn more and register your family today.

In RE, and in all stages of life, we seek to expand our hearts and minds, make a difference in the world, mark important milestones, and explore big questions in the context of a supportive, anti-racist, anti-oppressive, radically welcoming religious community.

We are a church dedicated to racial justice, and we honor all kinds of families, recognizing our interdependence and our common foundation of love.

Young Adults go to Music in the Parks

Friday, August 18, 6:30 p.m. BYO meal, 7:30- 9 p.m. music

Dine al fresco by Lake Harriet and enjoy live music from Minneapolis-based Nunnabove. Heralded as “the next generation of Minneapolis sound,” the sibling quartet produces danceable, soul-pop grooves. RSVP Requested.

*A cancellation due to poor air quality would be sent to those RSVP'd and those on the YA email list by Friday at 3 p.m.

AUW sponsors activities for people who identify as women, non-binary and/or gender fluid.

Fall Kickoff Event: September 16, noon-2 p.m. This is a time to KICK OFF our AUW mission for our new program year, greet old friends and meet new ones! Please come!

Hiking Group: Meets most Saturdays at a park or trailhead at

10 a.m. Bring sun protection, sunscreen, and bug spray. For questions, contact Marie Sorenson, 612-419-3620 or Lynn Richardson, 612-323-2776.

August 19 Wood Lake Nature Center, 6710 Lake Shore Drive , Richfield, MN.  

August 26 Normandale Lake. 84th and Chalet Road. Bloomington, MN.

Game Group: Meets at the church on the second Thursday of each month to play board games and socialize. The next game night is September 14. You are welcome to bring snacks to share and a game you would enjoy teaching others. To receive email updates, contact Anne Frenchick. If no one responds to Anne that they are coming, the Game Night will be canceled early that day. Please let Anne know if you plan to attend.

Weekly Happy Hour: This online Zoom gathering is a way to stay connected with AUW friends. We meet at 7 p.m. every Thursday. Hosts are Liz and Carol. Here is the Zoom info to tune in: Evening Happy Hour

Women Who Read: We read books written by women. We host an in-person and a virtual meeting on the fourth Monday of each month. Request an invitation to our next meeting and be added to our email list by sending your contact info to Abbie Finger. The next meeting will be Monday, Ausust 28 at the home of Debbie Cash (612-363-7794). We will be discussing The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré. In Person Potluckat 6:30 p.m.; discussion at 7:30 p.m.; Zoom Discussion at 7 p.m.

Give and Take a Book! *new!*

To share books we love and build more literary connections, we are starting a new project. If interested, please bring 1 or 2 books (no more!) to give at the monthly book club. If interested, pick a book to take home. To help make connections, put a post-it note on the book with your name and a reason you liked the book. If a book you brought is left over, please take it home or it will be donated to a Free Little Library. Any questions or ideas, contact Nora Whiteman cell 612-250–1661.

Saturdays, 9:30–10:45 a.m. online via Zoom

This weekly online meeting focuses on people who are actively working in any of 12 Step programs. It is focused on the 11th step through the practice of Centering Prayer Meditation. Meeting details are available at 12stepspirituality.org.



Church Office & Building Access

The church office is open on Wednesdays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The door bells are not monitored outside of this time. Access to the building at times on other days can be arranged by contacting Jim Poulter, Building & Office Manager, at jim@firstuniv.org.

Based on ongoing monitoring of COVID levels in Hennepin County, masking is welcome, but not required, inside the building—including the sanctuary. Learn more about our Covid and Community safety policies on our website.