"The Rope of The Generations"

Dear Ones,

What is church for? Why do we exist, and for what purpose in the world? These are questions that are continually on my mind and in my heart - and this past week was no different. On Monday afternoon, I arrived home to Minneapolis after spending six days in the Boston area with 11 of our Coming of Age graduates. Along with Rev. Arif and Allison, we accompanied our 10th graders on a pilgrimage to historic and present day sites of Unitarian, Universalist, and Unitarian Universalist congregations. From Walden Pond to Salem, from Concord to Gloucester and from Harvard to the seats of power in Boston we dug into the big questions about religion, faith, fear, and power and we listened for the stories that inspired and challenged amidst all the facts.

Traveling through Boston and the surrounding areas, the youth suggested more than once that we should have brought a rope along that each of us could hold on to as we walked through busy areas. Remembering their preschool days, the youth talked about how their teachers would stretch out a rope like this, and each kid would put their hand on it and promise to hold on through whatever journey they were taking together. As we’ve returned home and dropped back into each of our full and sometimes overwhelming lives the image of that rope that is sticking with me. 

There’s a creative tension I’m appreciating as I hold this image of the preschool travel rope and some wisdom words I’ve been sitting with recently. 

The poet, William Stafford reminds us in his poem, “The Way It Is” that there is a thread we can follow. It’s a trustworthy thread - something we can hold onto as time unfolds and life happens. The thread goes among things that change, but the thread stays the same.

The author, Heidi Priebe, offers this:

“To love someone long-term is to attend a thousand funerals of the people they used to be. The people they're too exhausted to be any longer. The people they grew out of, the people they never ended up growing into… But it is not our job to hold anyone accountable to the people they used to be. It is our job to travel with them between each version and to honor what emerges along the way.” 

Sitting with our new 80+ year-olds Spirituality Circle on Tuesday morning, fresh from my return from Boston, I felt the tug of the rope of the generations. What is church for? Why are we here, and what is our purpose in the world? I don’t know all the answers, but I do know that love is one of them. Loving long-term. Loving each other and our world into a more just and joyful becoming. Love that cheers us through changes and all of the cycles of life. I’ve got my hand on that rope, and I hope you do, too.

In gratitude,

Rev. Jen

Intro

"The Rope of The Generations"

Sunday Worship

This Sunday, Oct. 29, 9 & 11 a.m.

Sunday, Oct. 22 Recording

Cycle of Life

Feature

Visionary Goals

Fall Programs

Families Halloween Party

Saturday Sprouts

Young Adults

Membership Class

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

News

Superheroes Recap

OWL Facilitators

Faithful Action

Film Showing

Habitat for Humanity

Community Events & Affiliated Orgs:

MUUSJA, Hats for Unhoused People, Women's Ritual Circle, AUW, 12-Step Spirituality

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Sunday, October 29

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



"Walden Ripples"

In a dynamic, multi-generational community, wisdom flows in every direction, reminding us to value the experiences of others to gain a broader understanding of life. It is important to break free from the belief that only older people have wisdom, as this limits our personal growth and potential. 

Recently, our youth returned from a trip to Boston, a city rich in Unitarian Universalism history, and their fresh perspectives and thought-provoking questions are reshaping our understanding of our common faith. Through their encounters with our traditions, legends, and seminarians, their connection to our faith and our spiritual community deepens. Their reflections are sure to have a profound impact on your journey, too. Join us in embracing the wisdom and challenges that come from the young waves of insight, fresh from Walden Pond.

Join us for worship this Sunday, Oct. 29, 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.

"Your People Are My People"

• Watch the Oct. 22 service on YouTube
• Oct. 22 full service podcast
• Oct. 22 Rev. Ashley's sermon and podcast of small-group discussion portion of service

Podcast Archive | Recording Archive | Sermon Archive

Mike Casserly, beloved husband, dad, stepdad and grandpa died at home on October 6th after living with multiple myeloma for 5 years. We send our love and support to his wife, Karin Wille, his children, stepchildren, grandkids and all who loved him. His memorial service will take place here at First Universalist on Saturday, October 28th at 10:30am.

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. The following opportunities are currently scheduled with more to be added: 

• October 29: Board members available in Social Hall for Q & A between & after services
• November 8: Feedback Session after Community Dinner: Sign up link

Families Halloween Party

Saturday, Oct 28 in the Social Hall 5-7 p.m.

RSVP REQUESTED

Eat, drink, and be scary! Families with babies through 5th graders are invited to join in for crafts, games, songs, community building, and light snacks. Children will engage in age-appropriate activities with other children in their age group. Older siblings are welcome! Enjoy some coffee or cider, as well as some delicious seasonal treats. This is a wonderful way to connect with other families while your kids make some awesome memories and deepen their ties to one another and to our congregation. Come celebrate Halloween and the joys of Fall with the younger members of our church community.

Saturday Sprouts

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!

Young Adults

Crafternoon

Sunday, Oct. 29; 12:45-2:45 p.m. at church - fly on over to the Cummins Room for lunch after the second service, then head to the Craft Room

RSVP Requested

Join Cameron, Zoey, and other young adults for a spook-tacular “Crafternoon!” Embrace your creative spirit as we dive into Halloween-themed crafting fun (or just regular crafting if you’ve already got a project in-progress). Maybe you can help us transform a bunch of regular pumpkin sugar cookies into grinning Jack-o’-lantern sugar cookies?! Either way, don’t miss out on this ghoulishly good time with fellow young adults — grab your broomsticks (and/or crafting supplies) and fly on over after the second service for a relaxed afternoon of crafting and chatting. See you there!  

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.

Membership Class Open for Registration!

Virtual Session: Wed. Nov. 1, 6:30-9 p.m. on Zoom

Registration Required

Membership Classes offer a way to make your membership official! Learn the “nuts and bolts” of church ministries and governance through videos ahead of time, then come to class for conversation about what will make your membership engaged, life-giving, and relevant. Class time also includes a Membership Book signing ritual.

Facilitated by Liz Farmer, Coordinator of Membership and Congregational Connections, and Ginny McAnninch, First U Member

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 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.

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.

Superhero Reunion & What's Next?

The Breast Cancer Superhero Painting Project reunion was an amazing experience. Watching the room fill with people who had never seen the paintings before and those who were involved from the very beginning was truly exciting. There was such energy as the superheroes reunited with their paintings and met each other (some for the first time!). The Breast Cancer Education Association's Community Champions added an important aspect. GayLynn Richards was an incredible spokeswoman and Luella Williams offered her steady and knowing presence.

What happens next is important. The hope is to raise funds so the next artist in line, Geno Okok, will be able to expand the superhero painting project to underserved communities. We also need to garner the attention of patrons and major sponsors who can purchase the original paintings for permanent donation to health care settings so they can continue to do their work in the world. We would love to hear from anyone inspired to volunteer or serve on the board. It's time for a new team to determine where the project goes from here. We welcome your donations so the project can continue.

A big thank you to Bette DeMars and the Visual Arts Committee for your support in bringing this exhibit and programming to First Universalist. This has been a great space and congregation to share in this reunion show. I’ve enjoyed meeting you and seeing you add your own superhero images.

I can't wait to see what happens next!

Barbara Porwit

info@breastcancersuperheroes.com

Breast Cancer Superheroes on WCCO!

Donate (breastcancersuperheroes.com)

Seeking OWL Facilitators

Hello First U Adults! We are searching for a few more OWL (Our Whole Lives) Facilitators to join our 1st and 5th grade OWL teams! Our 1st and 5th grade OWL programs occur during the winter/spring months and are 7-9 week long sessions. You do not need to have previously or personally attended OWL programming. You do need to have interest, empathy, responsibility, and inclusive values. If you are interested, or have questions, or would just like to chat and connect, please contact Claire Tralle, OWL Program Coordinator.

The Letter: A Message for our Earth (film)

Sunday, Oct. 29; 3:30-5:00 p.m. at church - stay for dinner after (5:00-7:00)! 

RSVP Requested for film showing

Join the Environmental Justice team after the showing of “The Letter” this Sunday for an informal lite supper, fellowship, and updates on EJ activities within and outside the church.

Staying for dinner? RSVP here for dinner.

Join the Environmental and Climate Justice Team’s film showing of The Letter, a 2022 Youtube original film, which tells the incredible story of the Laudato Si’ encyclical letter by Pope Francis through the eyes of frontline leaders battling the ecological crisis across continents. A powerful – and surprising – dialogue with the Pope in the Vatican brings new hope for our common home.

Featured in the film are Arouna Kandé, a climate refugee in Senegal; Cacique Dadá, an environmental defender and leader of the Maró Indigenous territory in the Brazilian Amazon; Ridhima Pandey, a youth climate activist from India; and Greg Asner and Robin Martin, biologists studying coral reefs in Hawaii. The film features exclusive footage from their encounter with Pope Francis, alongside the personal stories and scientific findings throughout the documentary. Join the EJ team for refreshments as we share this beautiful film about the climate crisis of Mother Earth and hope for our future.

Preview the film’s trailer here.

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.

Rooted in Care Workshop

Thursday, November 2, 10-11:30 a.m. Join MUUSJA and Dallas Rising for an online discussion about how community care among congregants can build a foundation for powerful action and organizing beyond church. We’ll look at some of the common reasons folks do not participate in calls to action and how mutual aid within congregations strengthens and enhances our ability to show up as a community when we’re needed. Facilitated by community organizer and activist, Dallas Rising.

Register here.

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

Under Northern Skies Women's Ritual Circle

Gathering time 7:00 p.m. Ritual begins at 7:30p.m. in Room 209. Sat, Oct. 28 Full Moon in Taurus.

Under Northern Skies Women's Ritual Circle is a spiritual practice group in which

self-identified women with many different life experiences, backgrounds, and belief systems come together to change, grow, and celebrate the Divine in each other through earth centered ritual. The gathering dates are every new and full moon. There is not a permanent group leader. Volunteers take turns to design, guide, and direct the new and full moon rituals. The date's astrological aspects may guide the topics and themes rituals explore. Rituals also draw inspiration and meaning found in many other earth centered practices and beliefs. One does not have to espouse any particular religion or philosophy or believe in any particular deity or deities to participate in the group and derive meaning from its activities. All one needs is a desire to live in a way that acknowledges the cycles of life and nature, and to grow spiritually and personally alongside a mutually supportive group of other self-identified women. Contact Ann Hobbs with questions.

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.

October 28, 10 a.m. Meet at Wood Lake Nature Center Building. 6710 Lake Shore Drive, Richfield, MN. No designated leader for this hike. Let Marie know by Friday morning if you are going so she can cancel if no one wants to go.

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.