Dear Jenn,

In recent weeks, I’ve been forcing myself to structure my attention differently. Like many of us, I’ve found my attention easily drawn to the crises of the moment over the last few years. Returning some portion of my attention to dreaming and imagination, to possibility and potential, has been a discipline. To put it metaphorically, I—and I think we—have often been so busy trying to keep the wheels on the bus we haven’t had much energy or attention to wonder if the bus is even the best option in the first place. Intentionally directing at least some of my attention and energy toward building the future we dream about is my spiritual practice this spring. 

In the small group I’ve been leading recently on Climate Resilience and Faith, I found myself sitting with an essay titled, “Becoming Resilient,” by Peggy Clarke and Matthew McHale from the book, Justice on Earth. In it, they pick up on a quote from Frederic Jameson who says, “it’s easier for us to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.” And they remind us, that “one of the most vital tasks in these times is to imagine alternatives to continuing business as usual; alternatives that offer us a way off the path of ecological destruction, and also reject the unjust and oppressive realities of the dominant system, in favor of a resilient and life-sustaining society… At this critical juncture, our world needs our congregations to be models of the life-sustaining society we want to create.” 

As we wrap up our Annual Giving campaign to fund our vision for the work of this church in the world, I’ve been directing my attention regularly to the ways our congregation is or could be a model of the life-sustaining society we want to create. I know that we are taking this question seriously here at church. Whether it’s at BIPOC Dinner Church, Community Dinner, Sunday morning worship, our Environmental Justice Team’s Drawdown Challenge, religious education experiences for children, youth, and families that explore big questions about race and racism, life and death and the role of faith and community, our Foundation and church Board meetings, or in one of our many Visionary Goals sessions this winter and spring—we are moving away from business as usual and building resilient communities that point toward the future. 

How we direct our attention, our intention, our energy, and our resources will ultimately shape our future. So I ask: 

• How are you directing your attention, energy, and resources? If you haven’t yet considered how you want to use your resources in support of First Universalist, I invite you to give to our annual fund here.

• How are we, as a congregation, directing our attention, energy, and resources? Join us on Monday, May 1 at 6:30 p.m. online (join here) for our Congregational Budget Meeting. This meeting will offer an opportunity to review and offer feedback on the annual operating budget that will come before the congregation for approval at the Annual Meeting on Sunday, June 11. 

Together, we can do what none of us can do alone. Join me in the spiritual practices of wondering, dreaming, imagining, and building.

In gratitude,

Rev. Jen

Rev. Jen Crow

Senior Minister

First Universalist Church of Minneapolis

Sunday Worship

Sunday, April 30, 9 & 11 a.m.: "All Beginners Here"

Sunday, April 23 Recording & Podcast: "Hot for Climate"

April 23 Cycle of Life

News & Features

Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt to Preach May 7

Visionary Goals Update

DRUUMM Public Worship

Right Relations Workshop

Child Dedication

Congregational Care Team

Prom Clothes for AFA

Future of Music Report

Church Lost & Found Cleanout

Calendar

Drawdown Challenge Celebration

Church Grounds Cleanups

Congregational Budget Mtg

Young Adults Springtime Nature Experience

"What Is Abolition and How Can it Free Us?"

Daytime Connections

Community Events & Affiliated Organizations:

AUW, 12-Step Spirituality

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Sunday, April 30 — 9 & 11 a.m.

"All Beginners Here"

The Zen practice of shoshin calls us each to bring a “beginner’s mind” to every day we live. This Sunday, as we celebrate how our community has grown with new members, we are reminded to bring this same spirit to our relationships with one another. We can know each other more deeply with fresh curiosity. We can deepen our bonds with fresh compassion. We can build a stronger “we” when each of us takes every opportunity to “tell our story from deep inside and listen with a loving mind.”

Worship leaders: Liz Farmer, Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout, Rev. Jen Crow, Rev. Ashley Harness, Franco Holder



ORDER OF SERVICE

IN PERSON AT 9 & 11 A.M. (masks required in sanctuary)

This Sunday, we worship in person at 9 and 11 a.m. Masks are required in the sanctuary for ages 2 and up; please review our Covid-19 Gathering Guidelines. Can you usher or greet? Sign up here!.

ONLINE AT 11 A.M.

This service is live-streamed at 11 a.m. Join the Zoom livestream here (Webinar ID: 861 805 984) or watch on YouTube. The recording will be available here after worship.

CHILDREN & YOUTH

Childcare for Nursery through Pre-K starts at 8:45/10:45 a.m. Registered children and youth in K through 12th grade begin their morning in the sanctuary with their families before being dismissed to Religious Education Classes. All ages are always welcome in the sanctuary! Learn more here.

Youth Fundraiser: Donuts in the Social Hall

Our youth will be selling donuts in the Social Hall after both services this Sunday to help fund their annual Boston pilgrimage trip to learn about Unitarian Universalist history. The suggested donation is $2/donut. We look forward to seeing you all this Sunday!

Drawdown Challenge Celebration

Join the Environmental Justice Team in the Social Hall after both services to celebrate the wrap-up of the First U Drawdown Carbon Challenge. Details in calendar section below.

Sunday, April 23: "Hot for Climate"

In this service, the Environmental Justice Team from First Universalist leads us through an Earth Day service that invites us to consider what it is that we love in this natural world, and why and how we might get more involved in fighting for it. Join us as the team ministers to us through music, story, and personal narrative and helps chart a pathway of hope for how we might more fully live into our interdependence with the web of existence of which we are a part. 

Watch the April 23 service here

Listen to the April 23 podcast here

Podcast Archive | Recording Archive 

Our hearts are with Stuart Hanson who is recovering from a broken femur. His spirits are good, he’s on the mend, and he appreciates our well wishes.

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.

On Sunday, May 7, we are excited to welcome the Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt to First Universalist Church as our guest preacher in services at 9 & 11 a.m.

In November 2022, the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Presidential Search Committee nominated the Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt to be the next President of the UUA. The Election for UUA President will take place at General Assembly this June.

“Together we can serve one another, organize for justice, widen the circle of concern, collectively imagine new ways forward in community, and grow spiritually. Our nation and denomination are experiencing immense ideological struggles. Our congregations worry for their future existence, and our religious professionals and lay leaders are worn down to the bone. Yet ours is the work of hope in the world; Unitarian Universalism has a vital, liberating message for our time,” Rev. Betancourt writes.

The Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt is a minister, educator, scholar, vocalist, poet, fiber artist, and change-maker. Her work in the world and her practice of Unitarian Universalism are informed by the belief that building mutual, accountable relationships with one another allows us to live our values more fully every day. As the child of immigrants from Panamá and Chile, and grandchild of a seventh-generation Unitarian, she knows the strength that comes from building lasting community at the meeting point of difference. She has served as a religious educator, a parish minister, a seminary professor, interim co-president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, and countless volunteer roles within the Association, giving her a wide-ranging experience of our dynamic community. She is an unabashed Universalist. The teachings of unearned grace, an all-embracing love, relational accountability, and dignity that surpasses all violent forms of oppression lie at the core of her understanding of life, living, and service in faithful community. She currently lives in the Washington, D.C., area.

You can learn more about Rev. Betancourt and her campaign for UUA President here.

By Rev. Arif Mamdani

Adrienne maree brown’s Emergent Strategy has been an influential text for many of us since it was published in 2017. Among its many pieces of wisdom is the direction to move at the speed of trust, to endeavor to live our lives as if the change we seek was already present (i.e. be fractal about it), and to be willing to reconsider plans and pathways as the conditions around us change—knowing that conditions are always changing.

In taking these lessons to heart, and in reflecting on the progress to date with our Visionary Goals work, I’m writing to share with you an update on the process following the last board meeting. 

We are about 100 people short of where we wanted to be in terms of participation in the Visionary Goals process. The goal number was based on our understanding of what threshold was needed to have a process that was reflective enough of the congregation. We expected that it would result in goals that would ask us all to stretch—that is what a visionary process is about—but we were mindful of not stretching too far. 

In a congregation our size, the idea of stretching “too far” is pretty complicated. In almost every conversation I have with people in this church who inhabit marginalized identities, I hear that they—that we—do not feel fully welcome here. Some part of us feels stifled. Some aspect of our beings feels constrained. We’ve chosen to be here, yes. And we want more and believe that together we are capable of more.

And, as a minister of this congregation, I often wonder about who sets the pace of change, and if people who feel stretched “too far” get to slow everything down because of their discomfort, and equally, as a minister of this congregation, I wonder about my own tendencies toward impatience and the ways that my gender prods me to push when I should perhaps ease up. Perhaps in this community of communities, we’re “getting it right” when we all feel somewhat uncomfortable with what we’re doing and how things are moving ahead?

Moving a community of communities that is flexing its diversity is not an easy project, and there are few if any clear roadmaps. And, endeavoring to live into our fractal understanding of change, I know that we need more of us on board with charting our future for that future to feel like it is one that we share. Living our change now means slowing down, listening, and providing more opportunities to share the future we’re imagining and making sure that we’re crafting a shared future that more of us can imagine ourselves in—maybe not always fully comfortably, maybe not always at the center of things—but each of us in the picture, under the tent, and at the table in meaningful ways.

To that end, here’s how the process is going to change:

• We are moving the date for a congregational vote on the Visionary Goals to early in 2024. This vote will most likely happen at our State of the Church meeting, but that will be for the next board to decide.
• In August and September, the board and staff will share a “working draft” of the visionary goals and staff interpretation and invite the congregation to provide input and feedback.
• In September, October, and November, we’ll ask Ministry Teams to work with the “working draft” visionary goals and interpretation to assess if and how they speak to the work of that ministry. We’ll invite teams to work with their staff liaisons to reflect on areas of alignment, divergence, any gaps that exist between the goal and work as it has been, and perhaps most importantly, we’ll ask teams to consider if the visionary goals prohibit or constrain the team from carrying out work that it imagined doing.
• This feedback will be used by the board to revise and shape the visionary goals and the staff will revise its interpretation and workplan in accordance.
• Through these processes of feedback, additions and revisions, we will arrive at a final draft that will be brought to the whole congregation early in 2024.

As is always true, I welcome your feedback, questions, and concerns, and I’m grateful to be serving this congregation with you. I can be reached at arif@firstuniv.org.

Thursday, May 11, 7 p.m. Central, online

DRUUMM (Diverse & Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries) is the oldest and largest Unitarian Universalist People of Color ministry and anti-racist community organization based in North America. Every year, they host a DRUUMM-led worship service that is open to all. First Universalist Church of Minneapolis is pleased to sponsor this event this year, and we encourage you to attend!

About the service: Shine on resilient and beautiful people with DRUUMM for their annual public worship on Thursday, May 11 at 7 p.m., featuring a festival of Black and Brown joy and resilience through original works of music and preaching. Musical director Amanda Thomas and guest minister Rev. Katie Romano Griffin are joined by gifted black and brown colleagues from across UU-verse to help bring some shine to your day including The Rev. Dr. Kristen Harper, Nasreen Khan, and Cassie Montenegro. We will feature original works of music, prayer, and poetry.

Learn more and register to attend here. Free & open to all; register to receive Zoom/livestream information.

You are invited to attend an upcoming workshop led by Rev. David Pyle and Rev. Sharon Dittmar of the Mid-America Regional Staff. This workshop is part of our efforts to build the congregation’s skill in engaging conflict in more generative ways. It is also one of the recommendations from Rev. David Pyle’s report to our congregation.

This workshop—scheduled for Saturday, June 3 from 9:30 a.m.–2 p.m. at Unity Church - Unitarian in St. Paul—is held in collaboration with Unity Church - Unitarian and White Bear UU Church. It is a step in the longer process of developing congregational teams that can help our churches engage conflict in productive ways. Because space is limited, we’re asking members to apply to join this workshop and will respond to applicants by May 24.

Each church can bring up to 30 participants. As a participant in this workshop, you are not committing to be part of the team that is created and trained to help to hold conflict productively. You are saying that you want to be part of larger efforts to change the culture of conflict in our congregations here at First Universalist, and beyond. 

As Rev. Pyle notes: This is something we need because “Unitarian Universalist Congregations have a higher expectation for how to engage with, support, and care for one another than does much of society. Practicing Right Relationship is in many ways counter-cultural, and it takes some support, especially during times of conflict and change. Right Relationship Teams help provide that support to congregations and their members during times where it can be difficult to remember our commitments to one another.” 

Applications will be reviewed by members of the Commitment to Beloved Community Team and Rev. Arif Mamdani. 

Questions? Contact Rev. Arif: arif@firstuniv.org. Fill out the application here.

Unitarian Universalists believe that every child brings new life and hope into the world. During the Child Dedication ritual, the congregation pledges itself to partner with and support parents and families in the religious upbringing of the child. Infants and children of members and those on the path to membership at First Universalist Church may be dedicated.

Registration for Child Dedication is now open online. If you have questions, please reach out to Lauren Wyeth, Director of Spiritual Growth for All Ages, at 612-825-1701 x111 or lauren@firstuniv.org.

The Congregational Care Team is accepting applications to join the many caring ministries at church. Congregational Care includes everything from sending cards to folks at church who could use some words of support, to making meals, to being a listening and compassionate companion for congregants when life gets "lifey"—and so much more. 

Apply here to be part of the team that extends the care of the church to those who need it —and remember, we all need care. 

First U will again host the AFA Prom in our social hall on Saturday, May 6! We will collect prom dresses and dress pants and shirts on Sundays, April 23 and 30. The women students like short, dressy dresses as well as long prom dresses; some may also like dressy pants outfits. The young men like dress pants and shirts. All sizes are needed (small to extra large).

AFA is a public charter school serving high school students in the Phillips neighborhood. AFA is a long standing Faithful Action Community Partner. Due to the generosity of our congregation, we have supported student Food and Clothing Closets for over 10 years and hosted spring proms in 2018 and 2019.

Please bring contributions to the Social Hall on Sunday, April 30. For more information contact Cindy Marsh at cindy.marsh2588@gmail.com. Thank you!

Thank you, dear community. You invested in First Universalist’s music ministries with your insight and your voice. You were candid, expressive, reflective, and earnest. You welcomed the newest among us into dear memories and beautiful stories. And together, we journeyed with possibility and emerged with hope refreshed. In total, 130 of you (about 13% of our congregation) showed up in-person and online, through surveys and snowstorms, to dream about our music ministries’ future.

The organizing team for our listening sessions worked to treat all that you shared with respect and grace. We consciously made time for deeper, honest conversations in the planning process. We made space to go further than our first impressions. We approached this process with intention and moved at the speed of consensus. 

The resulting document captures the imaginings of the community. It represents some of the dreams for our music ministries as they are. For some of you, this was a chance to lift up musical experiences here that we loved and imagine their return. Many of you imagined all kinds of possibilities our community’s never seen! 

Our conversation about First Universalist’s music ministries is a shared and ongoing one. Your collected insights will be one of the key documents to inform our music leadership—along with the church’s Visionary Goals, the principles of our faith, and our music leaders’ ongoing discernment.

The reflections represented here will help to shape our community’s vision for vibrant music ministries as the next chapter unfolds. Still, only your participation, your willingness to be a part of what we build will bring any of this to life. Music ministry at its heart is people-powered! 

We offer this reflection back to you, now: we asked you to imagine, and this is what you told us. Journey with care through this work of yours. You’ll hear our hearts, our history, and our hope calling in the data. They are asking us how we plan to help the community we love realize its life-giving dreams.

You can read the Listening Session & Survey Summary here.

Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout, Director of Worship Arts Ministries

and the Listening Session-Survey organizing team:

Shelley des Islets, Ann Kay, Shelley Thron, and Lou Quast

The church Lost and Found has been cleaned out. Items will be held until May 1. If you are missing something that might have found its way into the church Lost and Found, please contact church member Anne Frenchick (tedanne@pro-ns.net) to check and she will find a way to reunite you with your favorite: water bottle, thermos, coat, hat, gloves, mittens, snow pants, fleece jacket, or other miscellany.

Sunday, April 30 after both services

Submitted by Todd Pierson

Our First U Drawdown Carbon Challenge is wrapping up this Sunday, April 30, with awards and celebration after each service in the social hall. It's not too late to record your efforts and to add to the over 130 actions our congregation has taken to date to tackle climate issues. If you haven't had a chance, check out these climate solution planning sheets to connect with 40 local actions you can take today. Record your actions before Sunday to add to our First U combined effort of 3,235 points.

Join us in the social hall this Sunday for our Drawdown Challenge celebration with refreshments!

Sundays, April 30 & May 7 after both services

The Climate and Environmental Action Team is sponsoring two Clean-Up Sundays on April 30 and May 7, after each service. Bags will be provided to collect trash, and if you could wear some old washable gloves to protect your hands, that would be great. This is a great family activity and we can notice all the new green plants coming up through the earth. We may even see some bugs! Please meet members of the Team in the parking lot to get directions. Thank you for your help!

Monday, May 1, 6:30 p.m. on Zoom

The Board of Trustees invites you to a congregational budget meeting to introduce the operating budget for the 2023-2024 church year. Join on Zoom here.

Thursday, May 18, 10 a.m. program in the Social Hall / on Zoom

Salad & Soup Lunch follows at noon

REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Daytime Connections programs begin at 10 a.m. on the third Thursday of each month, from October through May. They include fabulous presenters about fascinating topics, a delicious lunch, and an opportunity to meet new people and rekindle old friendships. On Thursday, May 18, we’ll explore the topic of charitable giving.

Ross Levin and Dan Berg will help us understand why we should consider giving away what we can while we are still alive. Participants will consider how giving impacts other things we want to do in our lives, and learn how to:

• Create a charitable mission statement
• Vet charities
• Be tax effective
• Determine how much to give

Ross and Dan are both well-known in the First Universalist Community. Ross is the founder of Accredited Investors Wealth Management, is a past chair of the University of Minnesota Foundation, and also writes a regular column in the Business section of the StarTribune. Dan was for 18 years Philanthropic Advisor at the Minneapolis Foundation and has made many contributions to congregational life.

Sign in and coffee at 9:45 a.m. Soup & salad lunch follows program at 12 p.m.: $5-15 sliding scale (more if you can; less if you can’t; no one will be turned away for lack of funds). Registration is requested a minimum of four days in advance.

Monday, May 1

Congregational Budget Meeting

Sunday, May 7

A Place to Start

BIPOC Book Group

Young Adults Group Springtime Nature Experience

Thursday, May 11

Abolition Circle Begins

Sunday, May 14

Child Dedication

Grief Group

LGBT Spirituality

Thursday, May 18

Daytime Connections

Sunday, May 21

Youth Sunday; switch to one service at 10 a.m. for the summer

A Place to Start

Wednesday, May 24

Community Dinner

Thursday, May 25

Board of Trustees Meeting

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

Hiking Group:  Meets most Saturdays at a park or trailhead. For questions, contact Marie Sorenson. April 29, 2 p.m. Lakewood Cemetery, 3600 Hennepin Av S, Minneapolis. Meet by the Chapel. Park on the side of road. Marie will not be there. Lynn may be able to come. This could be a “Walk With Friends.” May 6, 2 p.m. Roseville Central Park, 2540 Lexington Av N, Roseville. Go to the parking lot off Lexington Avenue North. Free parking. Option to walk around the Lake. Marie will not be there.

Game Group: Meets at the church on the second Thursday of the month to play board games and socialize. Request an invitation to our next meeting and be added to our email list by sending your name and email to Anne Frenchick. Next date: May 11, 7 p.m.

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

Women Who Read: We read books written by women. We host an in-person and a virtual meeting on the fourth Monday of each month. Request an invitation to our next meeting and be added to our email list by sending your name and email address to Abbie Finger.

First Saturdays, 9:30 a.m.–noon in person at church

12 Step Spirituality meetings will gather in our church on the 1st Saturday of each month beginning on Oct. 1, 2022 and ending on May 6, 2023. The meeting focuses on people who are actively working a 12 step program. It is focused on the 11 step to the practice of Centering Prayer Meditation. Meeting details are available at 12stepspirituality.org.

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.

Our full updated Covid policies are available here. A summary of updates (as of November 2022) to our masking policy is as follows:

Highlighted Updates: 

• Masks continue to be required in the sanctuary on Sunday mornings and for special services for everyone ages 2 and up 
• Masks are optional in the rest of the building outside of the sanctuary on Sunday mornings/for special services, and at all other times and for all other church activities, when Covid community levels are Low or Medium, with the following exception:
• Masking will be required in classrooms and small groups when a participant reaches out to Lauren Wyeth, Director of Spiritual Growth for All Ages, in advance to make that request. Lauren will hold the name of the person making the request confidential, and will alert the group leader and participants that masks are required for that in person small group or class. 
• When Covid community levels are High, masks are required throughout the whole church building.

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.