Our Year Apart – Together
Sunday, Mar 14, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis and a Cast of Thousands Overview: This weekend marks the anniversary of the major lockdown in response to COVID-19. This service is a chance to reflect on the past year. What needs to be named,...Ministry as Improv
Sunday, Mar 21, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Darrick Jackson Overview: From Rev. Jackson: This afternoon you celebrate the commitment between minister and congregation. Improv can provide a way for you to think about the possibilities of your...
Reverend Jennifer Innis Installation Ceremony – Mar 21
Sunday, Mar 21, 2021 @ 3:00 pm Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis ...O Preacher, O Pioneer!: The Legacy of Olympia Brown
Sunday, Mar 28, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: The stories of our elders serve as mirrors for how we know ourselves now and for how we wish to be in the future. Hear the story of the Universalist minister, Olympia Brown. She was the...
The Great End
Sunday, Feb 28, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: In the early 19th century, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “The great end in religious instruction is not to stamp our minds upon the young…The great end is to awaken the soul, to excite and...
Beloved Disagreement
Sunday, Feb 21, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: Congregational life is aspirational, inspirational, and intergenerational. The church and our faith are products of our differences as they are of our common vision. Where do we begin when...
Widening the Circle
Sunday, Feb 7, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: Rev. Mark Morrison-Reed reminds us, “Alone, our vision is too narrow…and our strength too limited…Together, our vision widens and our strength is renewed.” As we begin the theme...
Brave New Worlds
Sunday, Jan 31, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: What do our science fiction dreams tell us about ourselves and our future? In a year when we have so many reasons to recast what “normal” means, where do we begin with creating a new world?...
The Edge: Imagination and Transformation
Sunday, Jan 24, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Allison Farnum Overview: Join the Reverend Allison Farnum as we reimagine what is possible in our interdependent web of life through the lens of the work of the Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois....
The Body of Freedom
Sunday, Jan 17, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: Deep in the heart of justice is the question of who controls one’s body. On this weekend when we reflect on the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. and prepare for Inauguration, we hear from...
Claiming Imagination
Sunday, Jan 10, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: Due to the attempted coup at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, this worship now focuses on the intersection of imagination, power, and language as part of our democratic society. The title...
Preparing the Space
Sunday, Jan 3, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: As we enter the New Year and a new decade, how shall we make ourselves ready? In January we pick up the Soul Matters theme of Imagination. We begin to explore what it means to be a people of...
Kwanzaa
Sunday, Dec 28, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Garry Moore Overview: Join us as Garry Moore shares a celebration of Kwanzaa and African culture through his stories, wit and music. Mr. Moore is a programming/radio consultant for WPNV-106.3 FM, former TV anchor, poet,...
Christmas Eve Service
Thursday, Dec 24, 2020 @ 7:00 pm Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis and Congregation Overview: Our online Christmas Eve service will include the deep story and the beautiful music of the season. Musicians include EmmaLee Holmes-Hicks and Andrei Baumann, along with...Winter Solstice Service
Sunday, Dec 20, 2020 @ 4:30 am Speaker(s): Amp Popp, CRE Overview: This year the eve before the Winter Solstice will be Sunday, December 20, and the church’s annual solstice service will be held as the sun is setting on that day (technically 4:34 PM) on Zoom at...
Night and Day
Sunday, Dec 20, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: In this Winter Solstice service we explore the long night even as we seek the new light. Order of Worship Coffee Hour Afterwards & Offering...
“Home” for the Holidays
Sunday, Dec 13, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Amy Popp, CRE Overview:Many of us will be staying close to home for this year’s holidays, celebrating with our circles of loved ones in the warmth of our own dwellings. This special holiday service will celebrate all of the...
Waiting for Enlightenment
Sunday, Dec 6, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: Mahayana Buddhists tell the story of how the Bud-dha completed his search for Enlightenment by sitting under the Bodhi Tree. As part of our theme of Stillness, what is our practice of waiting...
Tradition Under Deconstruction
Sunday, Nov 29, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: To close our monthly theme of Healing, we explore times when the way to be more whole is to break down what already exists. Then we can begin to rebuild. Order of Service Coffee Hour...
The World’s On Fire (And We Still Fall in Love)
Sunday, Nov 22, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Rev. Erin J. Walter Overview: Feminist scholar Carol Meyers says Exodus is arguably the most important book of the Bible. This Sunday, musician and UU Rev. Erin Walter will lift up one small but key detail in that story of...
How the Light Gets In
Sunday, Nov 15, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview:Rumi reminds us, “The wound is where the light enters.” We explore the nature of brokenness and healing. Hint: They are not opposites Order of Service Coffee Hour Afterwards &...Blue Christmas Vespers
Tuesday, Dec 8, 2020 @ 7:00 pm Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview:The holiday season is not merry and bright for many of us. Share a quiet space with kindred spirits as we acknowledge the wider range of feelings and experiences of this time. This live Zoom...
Resilience and Resistance
Sunday, Nov 8, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview:On this Sunday after the election, the questions is: “Where to begin?” Order of Service Coffee Hour Afterwards & Offering...
Grief and Life Woven Fine
Sunday, Nov 1, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview:Join us for a service on grief and remembrance inspired by the All Souls tradition in Universalism. There will be times to remember our beloved dead. You may want to light a candle, gather...
Democracy Revival – Special Worship Event @ 10 AM
Sunday, Oct 25, 2020 @ 10:00 am Illinois UU Congregations Overview: YouTube: Democracy Revival Live Event Worship is at the special time of 10 AM. Join with hundreds of other Unitarian Universalists around Illinois for a Democracy Revival. Along with 16 Unitarian...
The Middle is a Mess-age
Sunday, Oct 18, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Order Of Service & Lyrics Overview:We are 8 months into a pandemic marathon that nobody wanted. The finish line is a question mark. Where are we now, and what is our liberal religious response to...
Greater Expectations
Sunday, Oct 11, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Amy Popp, CRE Overview:A service on the importance of loosening our expectations and hopes about life, so we can listen for what Life hopes and expects from Unitarian Universalism. The sermon is by Reverend Sandra Fees. This...
Sunday Promises
Sunday, Oct 4, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview:As this congregation deepens into what it means to be a liberal religious community in this time, let us explore the nature of covenant. How are we called to live out our promises and hopes in...
Audacity of Faith
Sunday, Sep 27, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview:September 30 marks the 250th anniversary of John Murray’s first Universalist sermon in the United States. But it wouldn’t have happened without the determined faith of one country farmer....
Opening the Heart
Sunday, Sep 20, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview:As the High Holidays of Judaism begin, we explore the practice of reflecting on the year, taking responsibility, and making amends. Coffee Hour Afterwards Facebook Post...
Ingathering Water Communion
Sunday, Sep 13, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview:Join Reverend Jennifer and a Cast of Thousands (You!) as we begin the new year. Congregations across the country start the church year by inviting members and friends to share a bit of their...
Questions? Questions!
Sunday, Sep 6, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: This Sunday is a chance to create the message along with Reverend Jennifer. She will take your questions and respond during the sermon. Your input also helps her plan for the year. Send your...
Sexuality Through a UU Lens
Sunday, Aug 30, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Dr. Melanie Davis Overview: Celebrating the 20th anniversary of Our Whole Lives (OWL) Sexuality Education, this service explores the Unitarian Universalist perspectives on sexuality and our internationally acclaimed Our...
A Pilgrim Church, A Servant Church
Sunday, Aug 23, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: As the winds of summer and our shifting world blow about us, what is the purpose of the church? How might we manifest our beloved community in this moment? Share the Plate: Peoria Friendship...
Blessing the Beginnings
Sunday, Aug 16, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview:Join Reverend Jennifer for a time to honor the beginnings in our lives. All ages are welcome! This service will include a “blessing of the backpacks” where we will recognize what we carry...
Guided by Echoes: A Personal Encounter with History
Sunday, Aug 9, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Lindy Peterson Overview: Honoring the past can provide insight for today and the future. Lindy Peterson shares some personal family history and how it shapes her perspective in the present. Share the Plate: Peoria Friendship...
Emotional intelligence and what we can learn about it from Disney movies
Sunday, Aug 2, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Mary Kuester Overview: Emotional intelligence is about 5 key components of emotional health and the skills we need to interact with others. They can be indicative of life long happiness and success. There are many life...
The NEW New Covenant: Redefining UU Polity for the 21st Century
Sunday, July 26, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Rev. Marcus Fogliano Overview: As Unitarian Universalists around the country grapple with what, if anything, connects us, questions of power and authority create narratives about how we are and aren’t in relationship. Rev....
My Time as a Grassroots Organizer in the Peoria Area
Sunday, Jul 19, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Chama St. Louis Overview:Join us on Sunday to hear Chama St. Louis talk about her time as a grassroots organizer right here in Peoria. Chama is the organizer for the Peoria People’s Project. The PPP is a community and labor...
Moving Forward with Our Troubling Past
Sunday, Jul 12, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Brad Keefauver Overview:Brad will speak on how stories reflect culture, and how to find good stories to move forward with amongst the bad stories of our past.. Share the Plate: Mom and Me Camp...
A New Birth of Freedom
Sunday, July 5 @ 10:30 AM Speaker(s): Reverend Martin Woulfe (Visiting Minister) Overview: On this July 4th Weekend, Rev. Martin Woulfe, minister of Springfield’s Abraham Lincoln Unitarian Universalist Congregation (ALUUC) will speak about the recent protests...
Sunday Morning Worship from Regional Assembly
Sunday, June 28 9:00-10:00 AM Sunday Morning Worship from Regional Assembly (registration not required)Click Here to Watch Overview: Join us for the largest annual gathering of UUs joining in worship. The worship service will include a collection for the Tomaquag...
Moving On
Sunday, Jun 21 @ 10:30 AM Speaker(s): Rev. Dave Clements & Rev. Lynnda White Overview: Within our life experiences we face many times where we find that the best choice or course is to just move on. Sometimes that can be painful and requires us to reimagine what...
Passages
Sunday, Jun 14, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Rev. Dave Clements Overview: Passage is defined as a way of exit or entrance: a road, path, channel, or course by which something passes. Our lives are made of the passages that unfold and the ones that we choose. With each...
Compassion in the Season of Recklessness
Sunday, Jun 7, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Rev. Lynnda White Overview:Does it feel as if money is more important than people right now? We are caught in some sort of Catch 22 where people are expected to risk their lives to make our economy work, and if they...
Youth Sunday
Sunday, May 31, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Rev. Dave Clements, Rev. Lynnda White, CRE Amy Popp Overview: We all pass through many thresholds in our lives. Please join us on Sunday to recognize our bridging youth as they pass through one important threshold in their...
Flower Communion Sunday
Sunday, May 24, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Rev. Dave Clements, Rev. Lynnda White, CRE Amy Popp Overview:We will celebrate how everyone is unique. Everyone is asked to send in a photo of them with their favorite flower, and/or please send in photos of what has become...
Threshold or Brink: What is the Difference?
Sunday, May 17, 2020 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Rev. Lynnda White Overview:Where are we, at a threshold or a brink? This is certainly a time when many of us are on edge. What are we learning about ourselves as human beings as we live into an unexpected future? Who out...