Correction: this week's article in the News & Features section honoring Rev. Jen Crow's 10 years at First Universalist, part of a series authored by various church members, was incorrectly attributed in today's newsletter. The article "Celebrating Jen Crow's Ability to Inspire" was written by Meleah Houseknecht, and the byline is corrected below.

Dear Jenn,

Please join me in welcoming Rev. Ashley Harness to the staff of First Universalist Church. Rev. Ashley will join us as Assistant Minister starting in late September, and her portfolio will focus on digital ministry and supporting pastoral care and worship with a core focus on strengthening and expanding our connections online and in person. Rev. Ashley has recently served as co-lead minister at Lyndale United Church of Christ, and if you have been part of justice work in the Twin Cities over the last ten years you have most certainly seen her at rallies, protests, and marches supporting Black Lives Matter, marriage equality, immigration justice, and environmental justice.

Rev. Ashley says: “I am honored to join the wise, passionate, and joyful staff team at First Universalist this fall. I have long admired your collective presence of Love in the Twin Cities and beyond. As your new Assistant Minister focused on cultivating digital and multi-platform community, I am excited to explore with you all what it means to be church in these times - in person and online. I look forward to learning with you and from you.”

Reverend Ashley will be working for the church in a part-time capacity (20 hours/week) and will start with us on Monday, Sept. 26.

A little more about Ashley:

Rev. Ashley Harness is a Christian Universalist ordained in the United Church of Christ. She is also a communications strategist with over 15 years of experience at working at the intersection of religion, media, and social change. She joins us after almost a decade enjoying leading worship, nourishing justice and listening deeply as a pastor at the Minneapolis-based Lyndale UCC. She also consults through the New York-based Auburn Seminary, providing confidential training and counsel to progressive religious leaders across the country using social and traditional media as a pulpit and organizing tool. Ashley received her Masters of Divinity at Union Theological Seminary in 2012 and her Bachelor of Arts at Brown University in 2005. She lives in southwest Minneapolis with her wife and two toddlers.

We’re excited to have Rev. Ashley joining our team and look forward to her start in late September.

Jen

Rev. Jen Crow

Senior Minister

First Universalist Church of Minneapolis

Worship

Sunday, Aug. 28, 10 a.m.

Recordings & Podcasts

Cycle of Life

News & Features

Welcome Rev. Ashley Harness

Dr. Randy Buikema Departs

Celebrating Rev. Jen Crow

Families Moving Forward

Habitat Build Days Return

Nature Photo Exhibit

Happenings

Vigil at the Whipple Building

Women's Ritual Circle 

12-Step Spirituality

Sunday, Aug. 28 — 10 a.m.

Backpack Blessing: Ready? Set? Go!

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. In this season of returning and restarting, we affirm the boundless worth of each and every person, and encourage one another to act with integrity and compassion.

Children and youth are encouraged to wear their school backpacks to church so that we can include them in the Backpack Blessing ritual.

Worship leaders: Rev. Jen Crow, Lauren Wyeth, Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout, Rev. Arif Mamdani, Lóre Stevens, and Franco Holder

ORDER OF SERVICE

IN PERSON AT 10 A.M. (masks required)

In person worship over the summer months is offered as a single service at 10 a.m. Masks are required indoors. Please review our current COVID-19 policies for gathering.

Can you help as an usher or greeter? Sign up here!.

ONLINE AT 10 A.M.

This service will live-streamed on Zoom and YouTube Live at 10 a.m. Join the Zoom livestream here (Webinar ID: 861 805 984) or watch on YouTube. The recording will be available here after worship.

The edited recording and podcast from this past Sunday's Lake Harriet worship service are not yet available online. We expect to have them ready in the next few days. Our apologies for the delay!

Podcast Archive | Recording Archive

A memorial service for Tom Jackson will be held at church on Saturday, Aug. 27 at 11 a.m. The service will be held in the sanctuary and also streamed online on Zoom. To view the livestream, join the Zoom webinar here. (Webinar ID: 826 6521 5936 Passcode: 378248) You can read Tom's obituary here. 

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.

A Note from Rev. Jen Crow:

This past Sunday when we gathered for worship at Lake Harriet, our choir modeled an important truth for us all. Alone, our voice and our song cannot last for long, but together, our song goes on and on. Together, the poet Joy Harjo reminds us, we sing ourselves and our children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren into and through existence. 

I am sorry to say that one voice has left our community. Dr. Randy Buikema, our Choir Director for the past 11 years, finished his ministry and his employment with us today. Randy provided critical and caring leadership to our choir through some of the hardest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and his musical gifts have nourished us all over the years. As we adjust to Randy’s absence, we’ll take some time to discern what is next for our music ministry together. Please share your thoughts, hopes, and concerns with me and Rev. Arif as we find our way. Your voices are welcome and wanted as we sing our larger song together.

Celebrating Rev. Jen Crow’s Ability to Inspire

By Meleah Houseknecht

We will honor Jen’s 10th Anniversary at First Universalist on Sunday, Sept. 18

Among the many ways that Rev. Jen Crow has been a force in building a more loving, interdependent, just and liberated world is through her leadership and inspiration for faithful action—helping us all find meaningful ways to apply our deepest principles through actions large and small, visible and invisible, personal and political. In the 2015–16 church year Jen was instrumental in establishing a team tasked with bringing greater focus to our congregation’s justice ministries, using a racial justice lens and a commitment to partnership with community-based organizations. 

The outgrowth of this team was the Faithful Action Council, which over the past several years has evolved into a coordination and support hub for our justice teams and community partnerships. You can learn more about our community partners and opportunities to get involved through our monthly Faithful Action newsletter (generally found in the Weekly Liberal). In it you’ll find spiritually grounded ways to support neighbors, use your time and talents to build more just communities, and show up as a person of faith and conscience in witness, protest, and celebration. 

Jen has led both by changing structures and through inspiration, giving others room to follow. In addition to establishing the Council, she initiated the annual holiday giving project, designed to rethink the meaning of gift-giving by putting meaningful resources into a project that will contribute to personal and social transformation. In many ways, our holiday giving has embodied our evolving understanding of what it means to live out our commitment to anti-racism and mutual liberation. In 2019 we selected Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU) to be the recipient of our congregation’s holiday gift for five consecutive years.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Jen’s fierce commitment to living out her faith—taking real risks, putting her body in the way of injustice, and speaking with prophetic force in the public square—has been an important source of inspiration for my own call to ministry. I know of others who joined this congregation because of Jen’s example and the desire to be a part of a community working actively for liberation and justice at a time when complacency is simply not an option. Jen’s leadership has been the steady rudder that kept us on course, even when we found ourselves at the center of national protest and political uprising. Faithful action has been at the center of Jen’s ministry, and like many, I am filled with gratitude every day for the chance to be on this journey with her.

On Sunday, Sept. 18, both services will focus on honoring Jen’s ministry. We will be celebrating with cake after each service. We hope you’ll join us on this important day!

Sharing messages with Jen

Congregants (adults and youth) may share messages with Jen Crow as we celebrate her 10 years of ministry at First Universalist. Ways to contribute:

• Drop a note in a special box in the atrium or office
• Send a card to 3400 Dupont Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55408 with “Jen’s celebration” on the envelope
• Email a message for Jen to member Bette DeMars at jbdemars2@gmail.com  
• Bring your message to the celebration and place it in the special box  

We encourage you to keep reading the series of articles in the Liberal celebrating aspects of Jen's ministry. The articles began July 28 and will continue through September 15.

Cake cutters needed! 

Consider helping cut and serve cake for the celebration. Individuals will be needed during first service, after first service, during second service and after service. Please contact Bette DeMars at jbdemars2@gmail.com with the time frame that works best for you.

Families Moving Forward is a program of Beacon, an interfaith housing collaborative, which provides temporary housing for people seeking permanent shelter. During a two week period between September 4 & 17, First U volunteers will provide prepared meals and snacks for families housed in a local hotel. Sign up to help pick up groceries, cook at home or church, or deliver prepared meals. 

Submitted by Chuck Coskran

Our church is re-starting its long history of working with Habitat for Humanity. On Monday, October 3, 15 church members will spend the day (8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) helping build a home for a family in need. 

If you recently retired and are looking for where you can volunteer your time, or you're still employed but have some free time, or you're a high school student (minimum 16 years old) or college student looking for a volunteer opportunity, Habitat has some unique advantages:

1. the only requirement is a willingness to work… Habitat staff will teach you what you need to know for each task;
2. you will spend the day with other church members, building new friendships;
3. at the end of the day you will be able to stand back and see what you’ve accomplished, the product of your meaningful work.

Interested in being part of the team on October 3? Sign up here!

In the Social Hall through Sept. 4 is an exhibit featuring photos taken by congregants, collected by the Climate & Environmental Justice Team.

The images, which were projected during the 2022 Earth Day celebration, are now on display in the Social Hall. Photographers share where their photos were taken along with a brief description of how nature inspired them. 

All of the photos are for sale with profits going to our church’s climate and environmental justice work. In these final weeks of the exhibit, photos are half price!

Women (cis and trans) as well as non-binary folks who find their home in women-centric spaces who are interested in earth-based and pagan spirituality are invited to upcoming open rituals of the Under Northern Skies Women’s Ritual Circle. We will meet in room 209 in the First Universalist building on the following dates:

Saturday, Sept. 10

Sunday, Sept. 25

Sunday, Oct. 9

Tuesday, Oct. 25

We gather at 7:15 pm and promptly begin an hour-long ritual at 7:30 p.m., with time for questions and socializing to follow. For members who choose to commit to the circle, the commitment ritual for this cycle will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 8, after which the circle will close to new members until September 2023.

Please contact Ann Hobbs at g.annhobbs@gmail.com with any questions.

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.