Join First U member Chris Tanita for a midweek worship experience for adults and older youth. This 30-minute service is a brief time of connection, centering, and reflection to help us find and keep our balance.

About Chris: Chris Tanita’s lifework is organizing people and money for social justice. She found First Universalist and Unitarian Universalism when she started working on climate justice in 2017 and needed community and hope to counter the horrors of climate change that she faced every day at work. At her core, Chris is driven by a deep love of all children, including her eight year old and babe number two on the way, and a fierce desire to help create the world they deserve. Her favorite people laugh and cry often and you will find her doing the same.

Connect to the live stream on Wednesday, July 28 between 6:55 and 7 p.m.: Enter the Wednesday Zoom webinar here. (webinar ID: 117-312-320). To join by phone (audio only), dial 1-312-626-6799 and enter the webinar ID.

Post-service Care Companions space (7:30 p.m.): Join the Zoom gathering here.

We hold Peter May’s family in our caring embrace this week. Peter died on Thursday morning last week surrounded by loved ones. Our hearts are with Karen and their family as they share memories and grieve through tears and through laughter. A service is being planned for September when we can return to the sanctuary and we will share specifics as we have them. The family welcomes your well wishes and appreciates all the support they’ve received from the congregation.

We send healing thoughts to Kira Berglund and wishes for a quick and easy recovery from a nasty bicycle accident. She welcomes our cards and well wishes.

We hold Mary Bohman and Jeff Sylvestre in our love and care as Mary continues to recover from her stroke earlier this year. They welcome your messages and calls and so appreciate the support they’ve received from this congregation.

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

Unitarian Universalists enjoy a wide embrace of experiences, religious backgrounds, and sources of faith. In particular, UUs live out the Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism by affirming and promoting six sources, the second of which “should fill us with a healthy level of fear and anxiety,” warns Rev. Karen. Why? Because the second source, the “words and deeds of prophetic people which challenge us to confront evil,” is written in the present-tense. Religious traditions — and our culture at large — love their prophets in the past-tense. They love their prophets when the prophets are dead or when their prophecies have been adopted or co-opted by companies well after they were first proclaimed, and after we’ve erected statues, named boulevards, and established holidays in their names. Unitarian Universalism calls us to rise against evil today, right now, following our contemporaries in their (seemingly “extreme”) calls for liberation and justice. Like the child in “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” who speaks the plain, unvarnished truth among the crowd, UUs must be among the first who affirm the truth with an emphatic yes! The scattered first followers make it acceptable for everyone else to follow, eventually creating a movement. As UUs, we cannot wait until the prophetic ideas of our day become more palatable to the mainstream. Instead, we must embrace our role as a force for justice by identifying and following our present-day prophets.

You can listen to Sunday's service in our worship podcast on Spotify or Podbean, and you can watch Sunday's service on our YouTube channel. Find questions to stimulate action and reflection in Sunday's Order of Service.

First Universalist is seeking nominations of organizations that would benefit from receiving our offering. First Universalist gives away a significant portion of Sunday offerings to nonprofit organizations in the community because we are committed to building a world that works for everyone.

First Universalist Church donates more than $50,000 each year from our offering plate to community organizations. Because the Church’s operating budget is primarily supported by annual pledges from members and friends, we deepen our practice of generosity by investing in exceptional community-based work through our Sunday offerings.

The Community Investment Team coordinates First Universalist’s Offering Plate contributions to charitable organizations that share our values and live out our shared commitment to justice and equity. It reviews nominations received and recommends recipient organizations. We accept nominations on a rolling basis and review them regularly. Organizations generally fall into one or more of these categories: Faithful Action Partners and allies, organizations doing racial justice work, and organizations responding to a timely and critical problem. Nominate an organization to receive our offering using the form found here on our website.

A few weeks ago, we sent out a survey about Daytime Connections to the 404 church members and sustaining friends who are over age 65. Ninety of you responded, with 24 saying they expect to attend 6–8 programs in the coming year, 52 expecting to attend 3–5 programs, and 14 attending 0–2. The three reasons for attending that you ranked the highest on the survey were: to learn something new (intellectual stimulation), to engage in meaningful conversations with others, and to be in solidarity with others who share your values.

Based on that lively interest, the church will host eight Daytime Connections programs at 10 a.m. on the third Thursdays of the month from October through May. These programs will be held in our newly renovated Social Hall, with better lighting, HVAC, and audiovisual support.

A special thanks to the 25 people who indicated an interest in volunteering their services on the planning team for Daytime Connections! We’ve put together a team of eight members: Marion Bauer, Peter Brower, Ben Cooper, Ray Dillon, Nancy Gaschott, Pat Gottschalk, Bill Lewis, and Diane Lindgren. They’ll start meeting this summer to plan a good variety of programs based on the feedback you gave in the survey.

Stay tuned for the descriptions of the upcoming programs!

Note: If you didn’t receive this survey or you’re not getting updates about programming for folks aged 65 and up, it’s probably because we don’t have your birthdate in our database! Fill out this simple form so we know how old you are and can include you in future messages.

Summer is for fun and building community! There are many groups meeting and programs happening at First U this summer, including gatherings for children, youth, and families, a Newcomers Circle, small groups, racial justice programming, a senior hiking group, and meditation and grief groups. As we navigate a summer of thresholds together, our commitment is to be as widely inclusive as possible! Learn more in our Summer 2021 Programs Flyer.

It is not too late to sign-up for Anti-Racism in the Park!

Please join us at the Amphitheater at Lyndale Gardens for a 5-session series about anti-racism and the challenges we encounter as we work and learn to get free. Each session will begin with Julica Hermann de la Fuente sharing one of her favorite tools or frameworks to assess/make change, followed by guided small group conversations.

Please sign up here to let us know your interest. You can sign up for one, several or all sessions. Sign-up is required to attend sessions.

The Amphitheater is located at 6400 Lyndale Ave S, Richfield, MN 55423. It is accessible via routes 4L and 515 on the bus. Please park on the street or in the vacant lot east of the Amphitheater. Parking is not allowed in the Lakewinds Co-op parking lot. If parking is full, please use city streets for parking.

If you have them, please bring a lawn chair for yourself and one to share with someone else. There is seating in the Amphitheater itself, but lawn chairs will make it possible for us to gather under the canopy in the shade.

The Amphitheater is accessible to wheelchair users. Julica will be using a microphone and speaker for amplification; please be in touch (julica@firstuniv.org) if you need other accommodations for hearing accessibility.

This is a multi-racial, multi-generational offering for high school youth and adults. Small group conversations will occur in racial/ethnic caucuses.

The topics for our Monday conversations are:

Join the First U Environmental Justice Food Solutions Team for a Backyard Plant-Based Potluck at the home of Carol Gilbert and Liz Permar!

RSVP here by July 25. Sponsored by First U Environmental Justice Food Solutions team, part of a fast-growing movement of Americans (now 30 percent) eating less meat and more plant foods. Find more information in this flyer.

Newcomer Circles are four-session gatherings of six to eight participants who are new-ish to First Universalist who intend to deepen their connection with the church and want to meet others who are also early in their journey with the congregation. This Circle will be facilitated by members Emily Wallace and Channing McKinley. Learn more on our website and register here by Monday, Aug. 2.

We also look forward to worshipping with many of you in person, outside at the Lake Harriet Bandshell (4135 W Lake Harriet Parkway, Minneapolis, MN 55409), at 10 a.m. on Sunday, August 15. Read the Liberal on the Thursday before this service for details!

Find ways to get involved with our Faithful Action Partners in our July Faithful Action Newsletter. This newsletter contains opportunities to connect through volunteering, donating, advocating, and learning. Our Faithful Action Partners are community organizations that share our vision of love and justice. We work through Faithful Action Partnerships in order to leverage our energy, commitment and expertise. You can find more information about our Faithful Action Community Partnerships on our website.

What can we learn from the latest science to promote greater health and well-being as we age?

Register today for our third Healthy Minds LIVE series event, The Aging Brain: Developing Well-Being for Your Future. Join faculty and scientists at the Center for Healthy Minds and the University of Wisconsin–Madison for a conversation on promoting well-being as we age. This FREE virtual event will focus on the latest neuroscience and discoveries from decades of research on aging. Register for "The Aging Brain" here.

All registrants will receive a video replay and transcript of the event 2-3 days after the live event.

Do you know how you would help someone in a crisis? What would you say? Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR) Training is for Suicide Prevention. It is a 1-hour educational program designed to teach "gatekeepers" the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to respond. The training is appropriate for high school youth and adults. Educate yourself on suicide, suicide risk factors, and suicide prevention. Take this training on suicide prevention and save a life. Register for the QPR training here.

The care team at First Universalist is here to help in a whole lot of ways—from phone calls to say we’re thinking about you to a listening ear when you need someone to accompany you through whatever’s happening in your life. COVID-19 has changed some of the ways we provide care, but there is a lot we’re still doing. Here is one of the ways we’re here to provide support:

We Care Love Kits

In March 2020, we created Love Kits as a way to provide some resources and support to folks who were isolated, experiencing loss, families having a difficult time with the reality of COVID, and those experiencing hospitalization or illness in this time of enforced distance. To receive a Love Kit or to access or any of our other caring resources, contact Rev. Arif Mamdani at arif@firstuniv.org 

Spiritual Care - Your ministers and program staff are here for one-on-one confidential conversations of support. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to any of us to connect. 

Love Kits - Are you or someone you love ill? Is your family struggling? Do you live alone or feel isolated? Do you know someone else from church who might be? If so, please let Rev. Karen (revkarenhutt@gmail.com) know so that a package full of love and support can be delivered to your home.

Meal Trains - If you or someone you know at church would welcome a meal to help them through a difficult time, loss, illness or injury — and having someone else do the cooking for a bit would help —please let us know. Contact Rev. Arif Mamdani at arif@firstuniv.org.

Minister’s Emergency Fund - For many of us, these are difficult financial times. If you need help with a car repair bill, making rent, a doctor’s bill, groceries, gas, a mortgage payment, affording your medication, a bus card, or any other financial situation - please be in touch. We have financial resources available. Please contact a minister/staff member. 

Mental Health Connect - www.mhconnect.org - Need help finding a therapist? Want to learn more about particular mental health conditions and resources? Check out Mental Health Connect, a local organization supported by congregations like ours, that provides community-based resources, support and education to improve access to mental health services and connect individuals and families with the services they need. 

Counseling - The Walk In Counseling Center offers free counseling by phone or computer. Find out how to “walk in” on their website.