The Doctrine of Discovery
Sunday, Oct 10, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: Starting in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Doctrine of Discovery gave Christian Europeans the right to claim lands and resources of non-Christian people. With the discovery of more...
Essential Connections
Sunday, Oct 3, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: As we begin this month’s theme of “Cultivating Relationships,” we focus on the connections we choose. What are your most important relationships? How did they become part of your life? Coffee...The Body Is Not an Apology
Sunday, Oct 24, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: Sonya Renee Taylor promotes radical self-love for Everybody and Every Body in her book, “The Body is Not an Apology.” How do we tend to the relationship with our bodies? Coffee Hour...Thinning the Veil
Sunday, Oct 31, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: At this time of year, many cultures and faiths set aside time for when the veil between the living and the dead grows thin. This year we will remember those who have died from the lens of...
A New Normal?
Sunday, Sep 26, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: The pandemic has led to changes in how we work and how we regard the social contract. What is the role of Unitarian Universalism in the conversations about class, civility, and society?...
A Touch of Possibility
Sunday, Sep 19, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: “Ask what’s possible, not what’s wrong,” is a mantra from Rev. Sara LaWall. How do we dwell on the world? The weight of the world is real – and I wonder what is possible. Click here to join...
In-gathering Water Ceremony
Sunday, Sep 12, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis, Amy Popp CRE & the Congregation Overview: Our theme for this ingathering is “Tears of Sorrow, Tears of Joy.” The beginning of this year is unlike any other, including last year. The hope is to...
Lost Hearts, Human Hearts
Sunday, Sep 5, 2021 @ 10:30 am Click HERE to join the Zoom! Speaker(s): Reverend Pamela Rumancik, Reverend Jennifer Innis & Amy Popp CRE Overview:The pandemic year created an extra layer of loss in so many lives. While part of every human life, loss is usually...
For the Love of This Earth
Sunday, Aug 29, 2021 @ 10:30 am Service will be Online (Zoom) only this Sunday! Due to the Delta Variant, Service will be online this Sunday, August 29th There will still be a coffee hour on the patio Click here to join the zoom at 10:30am Sunday Speaker(s): Reverend...
Question? Questions!
***Due to technical difficulties, audio for the in-sanctuary portion of the service was lost*** Sunday, Aug 22, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis & Amy Popp [CRE] Overview: This Sunday is a chance to create the message along with Reverend...
The Gift of Play
Sunday, Aug 15, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: Giving ourselves and each other the time we need to explore our existence is one of the greatest gifts of a religious community. Reverend Jennifer will reflect on her long-term work with...
Give Me a Sign
Sunday, Aug 8, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Rev. Lara K-J Campbell Overview: Rev. Lara K-J Campbell is the 26th called Minister at First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church of Kennebunk, Maine. Throughout the ages, we humans have been flinging our arms to the heavens,...
Revisiting Redemption
Sunday, Aug 1, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Rev. Sean Parker Dennison Overview: Rev. Sean Parker Dennison, minister of Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Ashland, Oregon; and Alison Cole Duren-Sutherland, intern minister of the Southern Oregon UU...
Adventures in Misunderstanding: Lessons from Tim Burton’s the Nightmare Before Christmas
Sunday, Jul 25, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Rev. Christina Leone-Tracy Overview: Rev. Christina Leone-Tracy and the worship staff at the Fox Valley UU Fellowship in Appleton, WI This classic Tim Burton stop-motion animation movie tells the story of Halloween Town and...
Saving What We Love
Sunday, Jul 18, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Revs. Kristin Grassel Schmidt and Christian Schmidt Overview:Revs. Kristin Grassel Schmidt and Christian Schmidt, plus worship teams from UU Church of Silver Spring (MD) and UU Church of the Brazos Valley (Bryan, TX) The...
The Purposes of Time Travel
Sunday, Jul 11, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Rev. Barbara H. Gadon Overview: Rev. Barbara H. Gadon and the worship staff at Eliot Unitarian Chapel, St. Louis, MO 36 years have passed since this iconic film was released in 1985 – longer than Marty McFly travels to...
To Be Free or Free From
Sunday, Jul 4, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis & Amy Popp, Credentialed Religious Educator Overview:President Franklin Roosevelt spoke of the Four Freedoms in 1941, including freedom of speech, freedom to worship, freedom from want, and freedom...
Sunday Morning Worship
Sunday, Jun 27, 2021 @ 10:30 am Hosted in the Sanctuary by Reverend Jennifer Innis. Speaker(s): First Universalist Church of Minneapolis Overview:We will join Unitarian Universalists from around the globe for this online worship with the UUA General Assembly. The team...
Juneteenth
Sunday, Jun 20, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, but it took two years for the news to travel to Teas. Juneteenth is a celebration of the day the news arrived. What does this...
Wishes and Blessings at the Threshold
Sunday, Jun 13, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: We come to the end of my first year with you and with reopening the building after 14 months. What do we wish for in this next season of congregational life? How shall we bless each other as...
Church Building Reopening
Effective June 7, the church building is open to the congregation for the first time in 14 months! The plan was presented at the May 26 meeting of the board by further discussion with Towards Live Church (TLC) and the Admin Team to reach a final decision by email vote...
Let’s Play
Sunday, Jun 6, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: From Diane Ackerman: “The world of play favors exuberance, license, abandon. [In it,] selves can be revised.” This month’s Soul Matters theme is Play. Join us for a first response to the...
The Truth About Stories
Sunday, May 30th, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Rebecca Gant Overview:The truth about stories, writes Thomas King, is that that’s all we are. If King is correct, then to know the truth about the people around us means to know their stories– and in order to be...
The Flower Communion: A Treasury of Grace
Sunday, May 23rd, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis and Amy Popp, CRE Overview: Join us for a celebration of story and the abundance of life as we honor our ritual of the Flower Communion. This Sunday also includes a chance to honor our senior high...
Widening the Circle
Sunday, May 16th, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview:Members, ministers, and educators from five UU congregations just spent 11 weeks studying the major report from the UUA called, Widening the Circle of Concern. Join us for reflections on...
Freed into Being
Sunday, May 9th, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: Bernard Loomer, process theologian asks, “What is the size of your soul?”. In other words, what is your ability to grow into life, amid the contradictions and hardship that comes your way?...
With Principle
Sunday, May 2nd, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: The Principles in Unitarian Universalism is one of the most accessible ways to talk about our tradition, beginning with, “We affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every...
Saving Earth’s Life…
Sunday, Apr 18, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Dale Goodner Overview:Earth Day is 51 years old on April 22nd. We can become a beneficial species… The goal is not just an environment of clean air and water and scenic beauty, but an environment of respect for ALL species....
Becoming
Sunday, Apr 11, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: African-American First Lady Michelle Obama has this question for us, in her book, Becoming: “Do we settle for the world as it is, or do we work for the world as it should be?” As we find...
Rolling and Rising
Sunday, Apr 4, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: Easter is a time of transformation. At its heart is the experience of letting go for the sake of what can emerge. What will be revealed this time? Join us for the music and the messages on...
UU Justice Revival – Taking a Collective Breath
Sunday, Apr 25, 2021 @ 10:00 am Worship begins at 10am – Note earlier time Speaker(s): Unitarian Universalists in Illinois Overview: Twenty five Unitarian Universalist congregations in IL, the UU Advocacy network and UU Prison ministries are gathering to take a...
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...
Installation of Reverend Jennifer Innis – Mar 21
Sunday, Mar 21, 2021 @ 3:00 pm JOIN the Zoom Meeting Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Order of Worship Overview:You are invited to join us as we celebrate our new ministry with Reverend Jennifer Innis on March 21 at 3:00 PM. She will be formally installed as our...
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...
A Living Religious Liberalism
Sunday, Mar 7, 2021 @ 10:30 am Speaker(s): Reverend Jennifer Innis Overview: James Luther Adams offered a challenge to liberal and moderate churches after witnessing the rise of Fascism in Europe. What does it mean to live as a religious liberal today? Coffee Hour...
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,...
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...
Side With Love Sunday
Sunday, Feb 14, 2021 @ 10:30 AM Speaker(s): Unitarian Universalist Leaders What if to “side with love” meant making bold, faith-full choices? What if it were even a little bit scary? This worship service brings together worship leaders and musicians from...
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...