Longing for Change

Dear Ones,

Last week, Rev. Arif, Rev. Jen, and I were on pilgrimage in Boston with nine of our recent Coming of Age graduates. These tenth-graders—around 15 or 16 years old—journeyed with the intention to deepen their understanding of our shared Unitarian Universalist heritage, to make new connections with their own spiritualities, and to strengthen their relationships with one another and with our congregation. The five days we were in Boston were filled to the brim with experiences and learning, and I am returning home both exhausted and rejuvenated because of the time we spent together. 

Any time I hold my faith and spirituality up to the light of community, and especially when doing so in relationship with young folks, I feel shifts in my own spirit. On this trip, the legacy of our Transcendentalist ancestors was clearly resonating with our youth. Many of them shared that they felt most connected to their own spirituality and to the Divine in nature, whether when we were walking around Walden Pond, picnicking by the beach in Gloucester, or having a chilly morning prayer on the grounds of the retreat center where we were staying. I was taken back to the faith statements they shared with us in May, in which many of them referenced nature’s centrality in their spiritualities, naming the ways that nature connected them with God, goodness, or the holy. 

These youths’ care and reverence for the woods, branches, beaches, and ponds on our pilgrimage reminded me how the rhythms of the earth have long grounded my own spirituality and faith. As the leaves turn from green to brown and collect under the maple tree in my backyard, I root myself again in the truth that change is inevitable. These leaves will become compost under Winter’s snow, nourishing the earliest buds and sprouts in the coming Spring, which will cover my yard in grass and clover next Summer until they are covered again by leaves. And the cycle repeats. As Octavia Butler writes in the Parable of the Sower, “All that you touch / You Change. All that you Change / Changes you. The only lasting truth / is Change. God / is Change.”

In this election season, in this time of climate crisis and genocide, in this moment when all generations are drowning under loneliness and despair, I feel myself longing for change. Not for just any change, but for change that brings goodness, justice, liberation, life, and love, to all beings and to our earth; for change such that all people know, in the words of Rev. Jen, that they are “whole, holy, and worthy, welcome and wanted.” That’s what we’re about here at First Universalist. 

After spending these five precious days with our young folks in Boston, I am even more proximate to the reality that their bodies, spirits, minds, presents, and futures need caring for and tending to, in ways that require radical, loving change from all of us. May we share the ministry of that change-making together, across lines of generation and difference, until we all are free.

In solidarity,

Allison

Did you get a text from First U?

On Tuesday, Oct. 22, we tested the SMS (short message system, or text messaging) that is available through our Breeze database. Breeze alerted all customers, including First U. that due to a new legal requirement, sending text messages after October 23 would become much more difficult if people in the database had never before received a text message from the church. You may have received a second message that was automated, from Breeze, inviting you to opt in or out of text messaging. We hope you will opt in. We imagine using SMS/text to communicate briefly and infrequently with you.

Please know that opting in to texting is not required or expected. Some of you don't text, and that is just fine. 

Intro

Longing for Change



Sunday Worship

This Sunday, Oct. 27

9 & 11 a.m.

Last Sunday's Recordings

Cycle of Life

Programs Calendar

Fall Program Guide

Membership Class

Qigong for Liberation

Adult OWL

Saturday Sprouts

Theologies for Racial Justice

Sage-ing Wisdom Circle

Meditation Group

Pastoral & Community Care

Fall Grief Group

Fall Caregivers Group

Faithful Action

UUJME

EJ Team

Habitat

Election News

Life After Doom Salon

News

Habitat Leadership

Community Events & Affiliated Orgs:

Film Premiere, AUW, 12-Step Spirituality

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October 27 - Honoring UU Activists

Two services: 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.! Livestream at 11.

See Children & Youth section below for Religious Education Classes.

This Sunday, we honor the legacy of UU activists, whose courage, resilience, and vision continue to shape justice movements today. Their work reminds us that care, both personal and communal, is the foundation of justice. Care fuels justice, strengthening the bonds that sustain our shared work—work that remains just as crucial in the face of political challenges.

Worship Info

IN PERSON AND ONLINE

In person at 9 a.m.

In person and and livestreamed at 11 a.m. Watch the livestream here. 

Our digital order of service is available here. (Updated weekly before worship.)

Masks are welcome but not required in the sanctuary; please review our Covid-19 Gathering Guidelines. 

CHILDREN & YOUTH 

Religious Education is class this Sunday. 

Please check the website and the Children, Youth, & Families calendar for more information - different age groups frequently have different schedules or special events. 

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.

Church Financial Update - in the sanctuary at 12:30

Members of the Finance Committee will:

• Share a summary of how we ended last year’s fiscal year
• Report on financial outcomes so far this year and an overview of any implications of significant variance from budget
• Share a description of our various endowment accounts and what they are used for.
• Report on our decision to move our investments into ESG funds
• Share preliminary directions for our 25-26 fiscal year
• Hear from the Stewardship Team about the arc of fundraising for the coming year
• Invite us all to deepen our generosity and spirit of collective responsibility for this congregation and its financial wellbeing

Hear Worship Associate Dallas Rising's tender prayer and ritual that she shares with her dog, Oliver, each night.

Podcast Archive | Video Archive | Sermon Archive

There will be a memorial and reception for Gail Hanson on November 30 at 11 a.m. We hope you will make a plan to attend. If you are able to offer your help alongside the Memorial Reception Team to create a welcoming and caring space for all, please contact Roberta at roberta.haskin@gmail.com.

The Caring Corner in the library has cards for those who want to send well wishes to people suffering or celebrating. Stop by the library to share a message of love and care.

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.

Fall Program Guide

Qigong for Liberation

Thursdays, October 24, 31, Nov. 7, 14, 4:00-4:45 p.m.

In person at church and via Zoom

Register here

We will gather in person and online to practice the beautiful and healing moving meditation of Spring Forest Qigong created by Master Chun Yi Lin, who I met and began learning from in 2000. This has been a liberating practice for my mind, body and spirit and I want to share it with others. Movements are gentle and accessible and can be done standing, sitting, or lying down.

Facilitated by Denise Konen

Adult OWL (Our Whole Lives)

Fridays, Oct. 25, Nov. 1, 8, 15, 22, Dec 6, 13, 20. No class Nov. 29, 10 a.m. to noon

In person at church in Room 201

Register here

Welcome to OWL (Our Whole Lives) for older adults! OWL has programs and curriculum for adults as well as youth. We welcome all adults aged 55 and older for this small group. As language, understanding, and ideas change, so must our ability to communicate about all things from healthy relationships, healthy bodies, gender identity, sexual orientation, sexuality and aging, and more.

The class will follow the OWL for older adults curriculum, and we will focus on the first half of the curriculum in the fall, and the second half in spring. We encourage participants to attend this 16-week session (spread over the two halves of the year), but we will not turn away any participant who can only attend for the fall or only attend for the spring class. Questions about this class can be directed to Claire Tralle, OWL Program Coordinator: claire [at] firstuniv.org.

Facilitated by CT Neal-Herman and Jane Jordan

Saturday Sprouts

Saturdays once per month, 10 a.m. to noon: October 26, November 23

No RSVP necessary

Saturday Sprouts is a monthly opportunity for families to socialize, worship, play, and offer and receive peer support. We start with snacks and time to get to know each other before moving into family worship, followed by playtime for kids and a peer sharing group for parents and caregivers. We close by sharing gratitudes and singing together.

Theologies for Racial Justice

Tuesday evenings, October 29, 6:30-8pm, in person in Room 207

Register here

Why does theology matter for the work of dismantling white supremacy culture? What theological resources equip UUs to live out the anti-racist, anti-oppression values of our faith? This two-part series will explore Unitarian Universalist theologies for racial justice and the liberal theological tradition in which they are rooted. Part 1 explores Martin Luther King’s vision of Beloved Community and Bernard Loomer’s pantheistic theology of the divine. Part 2 explores African American religious humanism and Feminist Liberation Theology. Come for a conversation with Rev. Dr. Andrea Johnson about how theologies for racial justice can add rigor, passion, and fresh inspiration for our work around liberative truth-telling, transformation, and reparations. Facilitated by Rev. Andrea Johnson

Sage-ing Wisdom Circle

First Fridays of every month, 11-12:30 in Room 209

Registration Required

In Zalman Schachter-Shalomi’s book From Age-ing to Sage-ing, he introduced us to “Sage-ing,” which is “a new model of late-life development…a process that enables older people to become spiritually radiant, physically vital, and socially responsible ‘elders of the tribe.’” Karen West, a Certified Sage-ing Leader (sage-ing.org), and a member of First Universalist is inviting you to join a Sage-ing Wisdom Circle in which members explore how to “age triumphantly” together.

Facilitated by Karen West

Tuesday Meditation Group

Weekly Practice: 8:45-10:15 a.m. online and in-person

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.

Fall Grief Group (Online)

Sundays, Nov. 10, 24, Dec. 8, 22, 4:30-6pm

RSVP for Zoom link

The Grief Group meets second and fourth Sundays on Zoom. It is 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. We will be here for you.

Facilitated by Mark Caswell, church member and Ministerial Aspirant

Fall Caregivers Group (online)

Sundays, Nov. 17 and Dec. 8, 1-2:30 p.m. on Zoom

RSVP for Zoom link

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. 

Facilitated by Rev. Arif Mamdani, Associate Minister

UUs for Justice in The Middle East

Second Sundays of the month, Nov. 10, Dec. 8, 1-2 pm, in Room 201

Sign up for UUJME Communications

This group is a collaboration between UU congregations in the area. Our hope is to create spaces and opportunities for UUs who want to deepen their understanding of collective liberation in the context of Israel and Palestine. From the Action of Immediate Witness, "Solidarity with Palestinians," passed at the 2024 UUA General Assembly: "Our faith community embraces the moral imperative of radical love, advocating for a world where liberation is realized for all and where every individual can thrive.“ Join us as we seek to broaden and deepen the Beloved Community!

EJ Team Monthly Meeting

Third Sunday of the month, Nov. 17, 1-2:30 pm, in person at church in Room 209

Sign up for EJ Team Communications

All are welcome to join fellow First U congregants and friends to discuss and explore personal and communal steps we can take to help address climate change. The format will be open and all will be encouraged to contribute. As environmental issues emerge in the coming months, topics and actions will be collected and advertised in advance of monthly meeting. RSVP to receive updates via email prior to the monthly gathering.

Habitat for Humanity

October's work site: 3094 Victoria north, Roseville, MN.

The October work site is a side by side duplex that had extensive water damage requiring a total renovation of the inside

one of our work crews on the Harrison townhomes we worked on this past spring, most all of which now have families in residence, at home…a magical word.

November 20, 8:30-2:30

Registration with Habitat Required

November 20 (10 open spots)

The Heights

1672 Hoyt Ave

St Paul, 55106

“Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity is proud to partner with the City of St. Paul, St. Paul Port Authority, Sherman Associates, and BIPOC development partner JO Companies on the largest modern-day investment in St. Paul’s East Side. The project is a redevelopment of the 112-acre former Hillcrest Golf Course at the intersection of Larpenteur Avenue and McKnight Road that will prioritize community connectivity, affordable housing, and outdoor amenities to residents who live, work, and visit the area. Construction is currently underway!

Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity will create 147 mid-density affordable housing units on 12 acres. The majority will be townhomes (twin homes, triplexes, and fourplexes), with some single-family homes. This will be the largest project in Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity’s history, and was the site of the 2024 Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project!”

Sign up here

2024 Election News

Congratulations, together we've mailed 70,000 postcards to renters in key MN districts! Let's double our impact! Getting a friendly text or call to follow up on a postcard can double turn-out when folks are uncertain whether or not to vote. To plan your follow-up with our apartment buddies, read MUUSJA's tips & tune in for training, at bit.ly/UUTVMN24 or call Karen at 612-270-6559, kwmuusja [at] gmail [dot] com.

Every Wednesday through 10/30/24, at 5:00pm AND by appointment:

Call or Text Young Minnesota Renters to Get Out the Vote in Key Districts

Save Minnesota as a "state of refuge" for reproductive and gender-affirming

healthcare. Learn to text or call young renters to get out the vote in key legislative

districts. Once trained, send messages from home, on your own schedule.

REGISTER FOR DETAILS 

CONTACT WITH QUESTIONS: Karen Wills, 612-270-6559 or

kwmuusja[at]gmail.com

​​Life After Doom Salon

Mondays through December 9, 7-8:30 PM, On Zoom only

Register Here

This is a come-as-you-are-able conversation based on Brian McLaren's book Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for A World Falling Apart. Drawing on science and spiritual traditions, including 12-Step Spirituality, we will work through the sections "Letting Go, Letting Be, Letting Come, and Setting Free." Reading is encouraged, summary-support notes provided, and all are encouraged to dip their toes into this caring conversation. We will hold particularly our Visionary Goal of connection and care for Earth.

Hosted by the Environmental Justice Team

Seeking New Leadership for Habitat Team

First Universalist is looking for a new coordinator to continue our long-standing work with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity to begin January 2025.

The responsibilities include coordinating with Habitat staff to plan our work days and working with church staff to let church members and friends know of these opportunities. In the past, First U has worked as few as two or three months out of the year (one day a month), or as many as eight or nine months during the year.

It’s a rewarding job. Those church members who have worked with Habitat over a number of years…affectionately known as “The Old Guard”…can attest to the rewards of friendship this has produced.

Those interested in learning more about this opportunity should contact Rev. Jen Crow by calling the church office (612-825-1701) or email (jen@firstuniv.org).

"Racism, Religion, & Reconciliation"

Film Premiere at Calvary Lutheran Church

Saturday, November 9, 2024

6 - 7 p.m. Food & refreshments

7 - 8:45 Film showing

9 - 10 Panel Discussion

Watch the trailer. This film was produced for Public Television and will most likely appear there next February.

Come together to learn more about the role religion plays in who we are as an anti-racist faith community, and remind ourselves that there is life after elections—even this momentous one. This documentary will feature folks of faith that we have supported, co-struggled with, and grown alongside. The film includes national leaders like Rev. William Barber and local folks working for collective liberation like Shari Seifert, Marcia Howard (GFS), Rev. Dr. Kelly Sherman Conroy, Jim Bear Jacobs, and George Floyd’s Aunt Angela Harrelson, to name just a few.

In 2012, First Universalist Church made a commitment to racial justice education, action, and repair, to act on our values with integrity within our church and in the community. Hundreds of members participated in trainings and circles focused on understanding race, racism, and whiteness. We worked with the LaPointe family around the name change from Lake Calhoun to Bde Maka Ska. We put up a Black Lives Matter sign to publicly show our values. We joined with faith communities in the Twin Cities as a member of MARCH (multi-faith, anti-racist, change and healing) and held some collaborative trainings with other churches. We organized and participated in protests, rallies, and vigils when unjust murders and racist acts occurred. When Shari Seifert, author of Ashes to Action: Finding Myself at the Intersection of the Minneapolis Uprising, and member of Calvary Lutheran Church, located near where George Floyd was murdered, asked for support, we invested in helping make George Floyd Square a healing space. Watching this film together can help us honor the journey we traveled and look toward our next steps. Rev. Jen Crow said this is “a great opportunity for folks from First U to come together in community and keep learning, and hopefully get inspired, too, about the ways that religion can help us find and keep the motivation and imperative to undo racism and work for reconciliation and repair.”  

Please register here and let us know dkonen10@gmail.com if you can come so we can sit together. Rev. Jen and Denise Konen will be there and would love you to join us!

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

Fall Mini Retreat

November 16, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. - Tickets going fast!

Keynote: “Luminous Pragmatism 

What will we carry now into the future? Historian Tiya Miles uses the term “luminous pragmatism” to describe how the activist/healer Harriet Tubman answered her lifelong calling with all of her powers: her deep understanding of nature and human nature, her astute reading of the signs of her times, her will to serve, her mystical and unwavering spirituality. When the AUW gathers in November, our American landscape will be differently mapped than it is right now. No matter the outcome of this year’s election, how will we choose to move forward one-by-one in community?

Victoria Safford, our keynote speaker has served UU congregations in Massachusetts and Minnesota and currently serves as part time co-chaplain for the staff of the UUA. She lives with her family on the west side of St. Paul.

In addition to the keynote, we will have various breakout sessions including, a movement session, singing, how to write persuasive letters, needle felting and a more! Admission will be free to AUW members, $10 for non-members. All women are welcome! Registration is requested. Here is a link.

Hiking Group is Back: Hikes will be at 1 p.m. for winter. Look for Lynn in the red shirt. For questions or to get on the hiking group mailing list, contact: Marie Sorensen, 612-419-3620, mariefsor@aol.com or Lynn Richardson 612-323-2776, Kalelynn19@gmail.com.

October 26, 1pm. Lakewood Cemetery, 3500 Hennepin Avenue South, Mpls.  Meet by Chapel. Parking is available on the side of the road.

November 2, 1pm, Richardson Nature Center. 8737 East Bush Lake Road, Bloomington, MN.  Meet at the big sign on the edge of the parking lot.  

November 9, 1pm.  Nine Mile Creek. Moir Park.  Parking at 10320 Morgan Avenue South, Bloomington, or Morgan Avenue South and 104th.  Stairs at the beginning and end of the trail.  Be sure to text if you aren’t sure which parking lot.  I like the one west of the small Park Bldg.

November 16, No Hike—Come to the AUW Mini Retreat at First Universalist

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 Group meeting is November 14. 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. The next meeting will be Monday,

October 28 when the topic will be Absolution by Alice McDermott. 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. Attend via Zoom at this link. The reading list for 2024-25 is posted on the AUW website here. Location of the in-person meeting is available to those on the mailing list.

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. If interested, pick a book to take home. Any questions or ideas contact Nora Whiteman cell 612-250-1661.

SAVE THE DATE: May 2-4, 2025 - AUW Spring Retreat

“Let it Go & Imagine! Celebrating 25 Years & Beyond!”

We will gather again at Camp Courage True Friends, just an hour west of Minneapolis, 8046 83rd St NW, Maple Lake, MN, for a weekend of rest, renewal, laughter, & community. Stay tuned for more details!

First Saturday of each month through May 3, 2025, 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM.

In person – at First Universalist Church

And on Zoom:

The link to connect to Zoom is here.

These meetings are for people who are actively working any 12-step program.

The meetings focus on the 11th step, prayer and meditation, by using the practice of Centering Prayer Meditation.

We teach Centering Prayer Meditation, meditate for 20 minutes, visit in small groups and practice two other forms of prayer.

More information may be found at our group website.

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.

Care Resources

First Universalist offers a variety of care resources to our community. Find details on our website.