"Staying at The Table"

Dear Ones,

Hear a beloved tale of Mulla Nasruddin, the satirical Sufi figure known for his witty stories that weave profound wisdom into the fabric of humor:

One day, Nasruddin was invited to a grand banquet. He arrived, wearing his old, threadbare cloak, finding himself treated with disdain by the hosts and the guests alike. Ignored and given scraps to eat, the Mulla left abruptly, only to return shortly after wearing his finest coat. As he walked in, he was greeted warmly by all, ushered to a place of honor, and served the most sumptuous courses of the grand meal. Looking around him, Nasruddin started smearing the food onto his beautiful coat. Alarmed, the host asked, “Mulla, what are you doing?” Nasruddin replied, “Oh, I’m just feeding my coat. It seems the respect offered here is for my clothes, not for me.”

This age-old narrative sums the essence of our November worship theme “Staying at the Table.” It urges us to look beyond the superficial, to emphasize dignity, equity, and mutual respect, and to promote a deep, sincere understanding of our shared humanity.

The table is not just the physical space where we gather but also the larger sphere of our congregational community. It is a space where each one of us, adorned in our unique cloaks of life experiences, beliefs, and traditions, brings an irreplaceable, enriching flavor. The challenge and beauty lie in not just acknowledging these differences but encouraging a respectful exchange of ideas, fostering deeper insight and connection.

Like the banquet in Nasruddin's tale, our table too should be a place of honor for all, irrespective of the ‘coat’ they wear. It's on us to ensure everyone we encounter feels welcome, heard, and valued. It's not just about enduring disagreements or simply tolerating differences. It’s about actively embracing diversity, cherishing profound dialogue, and honoring the humanity of each individual.

As November unfolds, bringing with it a season of gratitude and sharing, let us embody this theme in every aspect of our lives. Let us extend our metaphorical and literal table to those around us, inviting them to join us in this journey. Remember, each new addition to our table doesn't just bring another chair, but a fresh perspective, a unique voice, and a renewed understanding of our shared human experience.



In doing so, we cultivate a community that radiates love, fosters understanding, and upholds the cherished Universalist principle of celebrating the inherent worth and dignity of every person.

I eagerly anticipate the spiritual growth, deep connections, and mutual understanding that we will cultivate during this shared journey of "Staying at the Table." Together, let us create a tapestry of unity and compassion that will leave a lasting impact on all those we encounter.

Peace, 

Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout, Director of Worship Arts Ministries

Intro

"Staying at The Table"

Sunday Worship

This Sunday, Nov. 5, 9 & 11 a.m.

Sunday, Oct. 29 Recording

Cycle of Life

Buy A Journal



Feature

Visionary Goals

Fall Programs

Saturday Sprouts

Young Adults

Repentance & Repair

Community Dinner

Inciting Joy

How to Talk to People

Square Dance

Ministry for the Future

Wellspring

Meditation Group

Daytime Connections

Improv for Seniors

Pastoral & Community Care

Grief & Caregiver Groups

Faithful Action

Habitat for Humanity

Community Events & Affiliated Orgs:

Concert, #FreePhilipVance, AFA Drive, Hats for Unhoused People, AUW, 12-Step Spirituality

Some email programs truncate long emails; watch for "message clipped; view entire message" or similar at the bottom of this email if you don't see all contents listed.

Sunday, November 5

In-person at 9 a.m.; In-person & Online at 11 a.m.



"Staying at The Table Makes All The Difference"

"The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what, we must eat to live." 

- Joy Harjo

Our spiritual gathering - much like a meal at a table, nourishes us, but also requires our participation. How does this 'meal' feed us and what does it ask of us in return? There might be instances that provoke us to consider leaving this 'table'. Yet, when should such a step become the necessary course?

Addressing our relevance in the contemporary world, why do we choose to belong to the church today? And how do we ready ourselves and our community for the church love calls us now to become? What do we do with our own resistance?

Our journey is about growing faith into real resilience, cultivating the skills we need to navigate challenging exchanges and open ourselves to evolving perspectives.



In worship this Sunday, we connect with our spiritual community to mutually nourish and learn from one another, to remember why we’re here, to gather the tools we need for a future arriving already and always. We warmly invite you to join us in this journey of self-discovery and collective growth. In staying at the table, we're choosing to make a difference, together.

Join us for worship this Sunday, Nov. 5, in person at 9 and in person and livestreamed at 11 a.m.

IN PERSON AT 9 & 11 A.M.

This Sunday, we worship in person at 9 & 11 a.m. Masks are welcome but not required in the sanctuary; please review our Covid-19 Gathering Guidelines. 

ONLINE AT 11 A.M.

This service is live-streamed at 11 a.m. Watch the livestream here. 

CHILDREN & YOUTH

If you have not yet registered your family for this year of Religious Education, please register your family today. All families — new and returning, with babies through high schoolers — must register each church year.

AFTER WORSHIP

Coffee Hour in the Social Hall

Visit with old friends and meet new ones over coffee and cookies in our social hall.

A Place to Start

Sunday, Nov. 5, immediately after 9 and 11 a.m. services

Are you new or new-ish to First Universalist and wondering where to begin? Here’s “A Place to Start!” Whether you're simply curious or are considering making this your spiritual home, in this casual, 45-minute class, you'll learn some of the basics of Unitarian Universalism, as well as how to get connected to what you’re seeking here at church. Meet at the front of the sanctuary immediately after the service on a 1st or 3rd Sunday. No RSVP necessary.

Facilitated by First U members

"Walden Ripples"

• Watch the Oct. 29 service on YouTube
• Oct. 29 full service podcast
• Oct. 29 youth homilies

Podcast Archive | Recording Archive | Sermon Archive

Support Our Youth by Buying A Journal

Our 10th graders recently returned from their pilgrimage to Boston to learn more about their UU ancestors.

As you heard on Sunday in worship, this is a formative trip for our youth that connected them deeply to the people, the history and the possible future of our shared tradition.

We invite you to purchase a journal with art from one of our high-school youth, illustrating our worship theme for the year. They are available on a sliding scale and all proceeds will benefit the Boston Pilgrimage Fund.

Buy a Journal

This Saturday, November 4 at 2 p.m., there will be a memorial service at church for Carolyn Ann Young. We continue to hold her husband, Dick, and their whole family, in deepest care and compassion.



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.

Visionary Goals Feedback

In early 2023, the Board of Trustees of First Universalist Church initiated an appreciative inquiry process designed to uncover the hopes and dreams of our congregation as the basis for developing a new statement of Visionary Goals. This process engaged roughly 160 people through in-depth workshops and collaboration sessions, including large and small group work, outreach and engagement of marginalized communities in the church, and specific engagements with children, youth, and families as well as young adults. Using the results of that process, and led by our consultant Laura Park, the Board created these Visionary Goals:

The people of First Universalist practice BELOVED COMMUNITY among and beyond us. We do this by:

1. Honoring the complexity of our Unitarian Universalist faith and embodying its love within our congregation and beyond; 
2. Fostering our connection with, care for, and action on behalf of Earth's environment and all of life;
3. Pursuing our individual and collective work for justice, in relationship with those most affected by systems of oppression; 
4. Widening the circles of power and engagement with our shared ministry; 
5. Providing meaningful presence to one another in times of joy, grief, and change.

The Visionary Goals are not meant to enumerate specific initiatives or programs. Rather, they guide, from a high level, the overall work of the church and point the congregation toward the ways that the church will impact our lives and the wider world. They offer guidance to the staff and ministry team of the church in how and what the staff and teams do.

These goals are a statement of the congregation’s will, of who we want to be and how we want to change and grow during the time that they govern the church’s expression of its mission and vision in the world. Given their importance, the board would appreciate your thoughts on the draft goals before asking for a congregational vote of approval early next year. To that end, we request that you take a few minutes to fill out the following survey: Draft Visionary Goals Feedback.

We are also planning to have additional opportunities for feedback & discussion. Right now, we hope you'll sign up for this scheduled session:

• November 8: Feedback Session after Community Dinner: Sign up link

Saturday Sprouts for Families

Nov. 4, 10 a.m.-noon

RSVP REQUESTED

Saturday Sprouts is a new seasonal opportunity for families to be nourished in community, deepen relationships, and grow together in our First U values and faith. Saturday Sprouts includes time for family worship, parent & caregiver support, and faith formation, play, and creative time for our kids and youth. Children in grades 8 and younger are welcome to join, as are parents and caregivers of children and youth of all ages. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to stay for the duration of the gathering to connect with other families, but are also welcome to drop off their kids and return at noon if they have other obligations or need some time for self-care or errands. Both adult and kid programming will connect with our Autumn worship theme: “The Will and Work of Belonging.” Snacks and beverages provided for all ages. Please join us!

Repentance & Repair Discussions

Four weeks of sessions with Rev. Jen Crow

Sundays, Nov. 5, 19, Dec. 3 at 1 p.m., Dec. 17; at noon at church

Registration Required

The UU Common Read On Repentance and Repair explores the writings of the 12th-century Jewish physician and scholar, Maimonides. Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg offers a contemporary, lively interpretation of the ancient text, inviting people of any and all faiths toward accountability practices that can transform our relationships and help to make us whole. The discussions will invite participants to apply the book to their own experiences through conversations that explore repentance and repair in (1) interpersonal relationships, (2) communal spaces, such as our congregations, and (3) wider communities, such as nations, and systems we are part of. Rev. Jen Crow will lead the conversations. Participants are encouraged to attend all the sessions if possible, and can still participate if you can only attend some.

November 8 Community Dinner 

& Breakout Groups

Wednesday, Nov. 8, 6-8:15 p.m. at church 

RSVP Requested

Dinner at 6pm (in the Social Hall)

Breakout Groups at 7pm-8:15pm (throughout the church)

Swing by church for a delicious home-cooked meal of spaghetti, bread, and salad at 6 p.m. in the Social Hall. All are welcome and there is no charge. We always offer vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, nut free, and kid-friendly options. All church events are alcohol-free. Following dinner, stick around and join a breakout group to learn more about one of the many opportunities for deeper engagement at church. 

Breakout Groups include: Inciting Joy Book Group with Dan, Welcome, and Arif; Creating Beloved Community with Revs. Jen and Andrea; A Place to Start (visitor class) with Dallas; Visionary Goals with the Board - RSVP Here; and Regenerative Farming and Thanksgiving with the Environmental Justice Team.

Young Adults

Media Show & Share

Sunday, Nov. 12- 12:45-2 p.m. at church

RSVP Requested

We all consume so much and such interesting media these days: books, podcasts, YouTube series, etc. Come show and share what you’ve really been digging recently–with no obligation to add anything to “your list.” This is purely a moment to nerd out about who you’re reading and learning from, your latest podcast binge, or a niche topic, and we will rejoice with you! You never know- perhaps someone else might be yearning to connect over it, too!

Hosted by Mats Jacobsson, First U Community Member

Young Adults are folks in their 20s and 30s in varying social/cultural life stages. We are in school, job-searching and working, single, married, partnered and dating, with kids and without, newly moved to the area and longtime residents. We gather about twice a month for structured and unstructured conversation, spiritual practice, and activities.

Book group on Inciting Joy by Ross Gay

Nov. 8 and Dec. 6 after Community Dinner

(Dinner is at 6, group is from 7-8:30. Come for dinner, stay for the group!)

Registration Requested

Ross Gay’s Inciting Joy is a collection of short pieces in which poet and author Ross Gay invites us to explore the practice of joy and how we might incite it in ourselves, and in and with each other, particularly in times that are hard. For Gay, joy is the fundamental emotion of connection, and as we increase our capacity for joy, so too follows our ability to be more deeply connected to ourselves and crucially to each other. As the publisher notes, Gay’s book asks us: “What might be possible if we turn our attention to what brings us together, to what we love?”Join Dan Berg, Welcome Jerde, and Rev. Arif for a 2-session gathering in which we’ll explore the book and how we might more intentionally practice joy within ourselves, amongst us in church, and out in the wider world.

Facilitated by Dan Berg, Welcome Jerde, and Rev. Arif Mamdani

"How to Talk to People" Workshops

Three Saturday mornings; coffee at 9:45, conversation from 10-11:15 a.m.

Registration Requested

Nov. 11 - How to Make Small Talk

Feb. 24 - The Infrastructure of Community

April 27 - How to Not Go It Alone

There is much talk about community in our church. Yet many members report that they don’t feel a sense of belonging here. Activities and groups can help. Good communication is also crucial. But what’s between these things? A warmth, a sense of comfort, ease, and a preemptive assumption that all people do belong here. These workshops, based on three different episodes from The Atlantic podcast How to Talk to People, are meant to open us up to possibilities in moving toward deeper relationships through talking and listening, and to brainstorm about ways that church gatherings and infrastructure could facilitate these kinds of interactions and relationships. The first workshop, on Saturday, Nov. 11 is on "How to Make Small Talk." What are barriers and strategies to small talk, and how do we engage in it (or go beyond it) in a multi-generational, multicultural community of faith?

Register for one, two, or all three. We encourage listening to at least part of the podcast episode (or reading the transcript) before attending. 

Facilitated by member Nancy Nyquist Potter and Membership Coordinator Liz Farmer.

Square Dance

Sunday, Nov. 12, 2-4 p.m. RSVP Requested

Come one, come all to First Universalist’s Fall Barn Dance and Social (without the barn)! There will be rousing LIVE MUSIC, square dance calling and mixers, space and time to chat with old friends and new, potluck snacks, activities (and supervision – by request) for kids, and no other agenda.



Coffee, water and tea will be provided. If you’re inspired, bring a snack to share. Feel free to dress “creatively!” To request childcare from the church, please fill out the form here by Nov. 5. Masks are optional. Let us know you’re coming, and tell your friends to join us!

"The Ministry for The Future" Book Group

Tuesdays, Nov. 14, Jan. 23, April 23; 6-7:30 p.m. at church

Registration Required

Please join us for a careful, caring conversation of Kim Stanley Robinson's breathtaking and inspiring 2020 epic, The Ministry for the Future. This deeply researched speculative fiction is a work of page-turning prophetic imagination that reads like an account of our "faster than expected" experience of global ecological and civilizational crisis, written with loving compassion and keen insight.   No other work of fiction or nonfiction explores the human predicament in a way that is both thoroughly researched and inclusive of how this crisis looks and feels for people - and for the more-than-human beings - all around the earth. This book study will be helpful and encouraging as we carefully reflect on the unfolding global polycrisis and the many possible local and global human responses. How do we do life together as a faith community living within an extinction event? How do we hospice what is passing away while helping to midwife a future we do not fully control? Let's kindle the gentle flame of imagination in our hearts and minds this fall and winter as we read The Ministry of the Future. Facilitated by Gary Hoover and Rev. Arif Mamdani

Wellspring Spiritual Practices

Every other Tuesday, starting Nov. 14 and through May, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at church Registration Required

This is a special opportunity just for Wellspring alum – that is, anyone who has already participated in a year-long Wellspring group – to take a deeper dive with a new circle of spiritual companions. We believe that spiritual practice is essential to spiritual living and to our spiritual development as Unitarian Universalists. It is our foundation for being in the world and being of service to others in times of pain and joy. We will engage in spiritual practices that help us move toward these states of consciousness, among others: wakefulness, gratitude, compassion, awe, stillness, presence, connection, and wholeness, and an ability to hold the travails of life in a larger container. The homework for each session includes pre-work - usually at least one reading, plus a chapter from Awakening Together by Larry Yang.

Co-facilitated by participants on a rotating basis; Coordinated by Lynn Wilbur and Amy Zimmer, First U members.

Tuesday Meditation Group

Weekly Practice: 8:45-10:15 a.m. online and in-person; Monthly learning sessions on Nov. 14, Dec. 12

You are invited to meditate with our lay-led practice group. None of us are experts. Our practices come out of our own experiences, and we share inspiration from many sources including Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Pema Chodron, Thich Nhat Hanh, Tara Brach, Tai Chi, Loving Kindness, poetry and more. We don't follow one method or another, but we do share what we learn with each other. After meditation we practice deep listening to hear from each person, if they choose. No registration required. Email Sara McMullen for Zoom details.

Daytime Connections

Thursday, Nov. 16, 9:45 coffee, 10 a.m. program in the Social Hall and on Zoom, 11:30 optional lunch

Register here by the Monday before the program 

Dementia Friends: How can we actually help a friend or loved one who is living with dementia? How can we turn an expanded understanding of dementia into behaviors which support these individuals and their caregivers? Colleen Fritsch, our presenter from Dementia Friends organization, will offer practical strategies and more. Join us.

Improv for Seniors

Fridays 10-11:30am, November 17th- December 22nd (no meeting November 24th)

RSVP REQUESTED

Staying responsive and fluid can get harder as we age and get a little set in our ways.  Improvisation is a fun and creative way to stretch our ability to yes to surprises, and to engage with other people.  This time together will include improv games and opportunities to create scenes together.  Regular attendance is preferred but not absolutely necessary.  All abilities welcome. Teacher: Rev. Meg Riley started doing improv in classes for people over age 55 ten years ago, and wishes she had done it decades earlier.  Friends from her classes will assist in leadership. 

Grief Group (online)

Sundays, Nov 5, Nov 19, Dec 3, Dec 17, 4-5:30 p.m. on Zoom

A gathering for those who are grappling with the web of feelings associated with loss. A group of souls who share, listen and care. A community interested in exploring new life invitations. Come as you are, when you feel moved to attend on any or all dates. We will be here for you.

Facilitated by Mark Caswell (he/him/they/them), a member of First Universalist Unitarian Church of Minneapolis and an aspirant on ordination track within the UUA. He attends United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities and lives in Minneapolis. He finds grounding in meditation, poetry, watercolor painting, and practicing deep listening. He also holds a BFA in Theater Design from Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Email Rev. Arif Mamdani for Zoom details.

Caregivers Group (online)

Sundays, Nov 12, Dec 10 1-2:30 p.m. on Zoom

Caring for a family member who needs special care is a demanding and often unseen or unacknowledged role. Whether you’re caring for an aging parent or a child with a chronic health condition, join the Caregivers group for mutual support, connection, and community building. When we gather, we’ll light a chalice, have time for introductions, and share a reading, then move into deeper sharing, support, and reflection. Come as you are, when you feel moved to attend on any or all dates. 

Facilitated by Rev. Arif Mamdani.

Email Rev. Arif Mamdani for Zoom details.

Habitat for Humanity Build Day

Saturday, Nov. 11, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Registration required

Come join our crew! All you need is a willingness to work – no experience necessary. Youth ages 16+ and their parents or caregivers are welcome to join this intergenerational opportunity. We will be working on a new home doing whatever the site supervisor asks of us; putting up siding, hanging sheetrock, painting…whatever needs doing with on-the-job training. Lunch will be provided.

"A Thousand Tongues" Concert

Friday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m.

Hennepin Ave. UMC in Minneapolis

Buy Tickets online or at the door

Paolo Debuque may be a familiar face--he has been a worship leader and accompanist at First U. You are warmly invited to attend a concert with Paolo and friends that reflects on the AAPI (Asian-American/Pacific Islander) experience.

First U Members help #FreePhilipVance

A few years ago, my friend and co-conspirator for justice, Jason Sole, formerly incarcerated, Criminal Justice professor at Hamline University, and a previous N.A.A.C.P president of Minneapolis, received a letter from a man named Philip Vance, who was incarcerated at Stillwater Correctional Facility. Jason met with Philip and became convinced of his innocence. I met Philip through Jason and I, too, am convinced that the officers of the Minnesota Gang Strike Force (who were later disbanded because of corruption) railroaded Philip because they had no oversight and had gone rogue. Since then, Jason and Philip have been working with the Convictions Review Unit within the Attorney General’s office. Two and a half years working within a biased system has led nowhere, so we are taking Philip’s story into the world. 

Here’s how you can help!

1. A #FreePhilipVance billboard is up for the month of November! It’s attached to the back of the Savoy Inn via the Lafayette Bridge near I-35 and I-94 and Regions Hospital. Right where some of the police who were involved in this injustice, can see it!
2. We need everyone to understand how the corrupt and racist police from the Metro Gang Strike Force framed Philip Vance! Please go to this website to read more about Philip’s story.  
3. We began a social media blitz on Tuesday and will continue it every day of November while the billboard is up. Please post #FreePhilipVance every day on all your social media and ask your networks here and across the country to read his story on the website and post #FreePhilipVance each day.
4. If you roll past the billboard located at the back of the Savoy Inn via the Lafayette Bridge near I-35 and I-94 and near Regions Hospital, park nearby to take a photo or video, and friend and tag me, Denise Konen, and others who care and post it on social media with the hashtag #FreePhilipVance.
5. Please go to this Free Philip Vance personal blog, and like, follow and share, and send him some love! Free Philip Vance  Make sure to use this page, not others you will see. 
6. If you are like me, until recently, someone that does not do social media, there are other ways you can help. You can share his website widely. You can help paint a #FreePhilipVance banner (a great family or youth project). Contact me if you want to do something!

We hope the billboard will create more awareness, help us secure a post-conviction attorney, amplify the demand to release him from solitary confinement, and get his case presented at an evidentiary hearing.

Thank you for your love and encouragement for a wrongfully convicted and imprisoned human! 

Denise Konen, LPE phone | website

AFA Winter Clothing Drive

Thanks to all who brought underwear for our October drive! Now we are seeking new gloves, gloves for texting, leggings, and warm socks, as well as new or gently used t-shirts and hoodies. Please bring items to the First U Social Hall on Sundays in November: 5, 12 and 19.

AFA is a public charter high school serving students in the Phillips neighborhood; many experience housing and food insecurity. AFA is a long standing Faithful Action Community Partner and First Universalist congregants have generously supported a Food and Clothing Closet for AFA students for over 10 years. Contact Cindy Marsh with questions.

Hats for Unhoused People

Think big, warm, and wooly! Are you a fiber artist who knits/crochets/weaves/felts? Donate your handmade hats at First Universalist, October through January. Donated hats will be distributed to local schools, shelters, and community service agencies that serve people in need. Sizes requested: Large and XL,

Time frame: October - January, Drop-off site: Basket by the elevator (see photo), Contact: Barb Melom • More Info

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

Registration Now Open for AUW Fall Mini Retreat

November 18, 2023 11 a.m.-4:15 p.m.

"Enhancing Wellbeing and Resilience, Mindfully"

AUW invites those who identify as women to a November 18th afternoon at First Universalist Church, filled with resilience strategies to help manage health and wellbeing challenges, be they major or every day. Luncheon is followed by Keynote speaker, Mariann Johnson (pictured here), a wellbeing and mindfulness instructor at the Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing at the University of Minnesota, who will discuss the Bakken Center’s six-dimensional wellbeing model and explore mindfulness as an innate capacity that can be strengthened to promote wellbeing and resilience. Mariann has studied and practiced mindfulness meditation for over 25 years and is a certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction instructor through Brown University’s Mindfulness Center. Before dedicating her professional life to teaching mindfulness, Mariann served as an organization development consultant and mediator, working with leaders of Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and nonprofit organizations. Her writings on mindful leadership have appeared in the Huffington Post and Mindful Magazine.



Three breakout sessions, following the keynote, will offer different strategies with solid ways to enhance resilience. Our closing session provides an opportunity to connect with others and reflect on opportunities for progress.

Join us to nurture deep-rooted friendships and begin new ones!

Registration: AUW Members $10, Non-members $20 Another great reason to join AUW!

For further details and to register, click here.

Hiking Group: Meets most Saturdays at a park or trail head. For questions or to get on the hiking group mailing list, contact: Marie Sorensen, phone / email, or Lynn Richardson phone / email.

November 4, 2 pm. Meet at Minnehaha Falls by the Falls. 4801 South Minnehaha Drive, Minneapolis Minnesota. Marie will lead.

November 11, 2 pm. Lakewood Cemetery, 3600 Hennepin Av So, Mpls, MN 55408

Meet by Chapel. Park on side of road. Lynn will lead.

November 18 - no hike. AUW Mini-Retreat at First U. Come to the event. 

November 25, 2 pm. Lake Harriet, Minneapolis. Meet at the bandshell. Marie will be out of town. Unsure if will be a leader. Thanksgiving weekend.

Game Group: Meets at the church on the second Thursday of each month to play board games and socialize. You are welcome to bring snacks to share and a game you would enjoy teaching others. To receive email updates, contact Anne Frenchick. The next game night is November 9. 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.

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 email invitation to our next meeting and be added to our email list by sending your name and email address to Abbie Finger. The next meeting will be November 27. We will be discussing Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Gamus. Location of the in-person meeting is available to those on the mailing list. The Zoom version of the meeting convenes online at 7:00 pm.

Give or Take a Book!

To share books we love and build more literary connections, we are going to start a new project. If interested please bring 1-2 books (no more!) to share with someone at the monthly book club. Pick a book to take home. To help make connections pls put a post-it note on the book with your name and the reason you liked the book. (Post-it notes will be available). 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.

These meetings are intended for people who are actively working any 12-step program. The program is focused on the 11th step and the practice of Centering Prayer Meditation. 

Weekly on Zoom

and

First Saturdays of each month, 9:30 a.m. to noon, in person at First Universalist

In-person 12-step spirituality meetings gather in the church on the 1st Saturday of each month, ending on May 4, 2024.

In-person and Zoom meeting details are available here.



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.