Speaker: Rev. Sheri Prud'homme

So He Did Not Die in Vain – Two Worship Services, 9:20 AM and 11:20 AM

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On this Martin Luther King Sunday, his legacy challenges us anew to live into his bold vision of economic equality and human fellowship, upholding the most sacred values of our religious tradition and the best in the American dream. Our children and youth will have the chance during the service to spread lucky pennies and poppy seeds in our church neighborhood as is their tradition on Martin Luther King Sunday. Ted Curran will provide music at both services, and Joyful Noise will be with us at 11:20.

“Hallelujah, Life Is Worthy of Praise”, Sunday – December 25, 10:20 AM

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The word hallelujah is a Hebrew word that means Praise the Lord. In our Unitarian Universalist context let us come together and give praise for all that which is holy. Please join Rev. Jacqueline, Rev. Sheri, Renee Witon and Trente Morant as we lift our collective voices in song and praise for life and welcome Hanukkah. Special music “Christmas In the Trenches” will be offered by Trente Morant and Stefan Schneider. Childcare will not be available. There will be a craft project during our time together for our children and youth. Members, friends and allies, come, come and be with one another on Christmas morning. Bring all your loved ones along.

“Holy Labor & Miracles of Life” 8:00 PM Service

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Our whole lives we are laboring to bring into being-ness. At 8:00PM, please join Pianist Renee Witon, Crescendo Choir, Rev. Sheri and Pastor Jacqueline and be fed by stories and songs of labor and creation. Our service will conclude by lighting holiday candles and singing Silent Night. Come expecting a miracle and to be transformed. Please bring cookies to share for a joyful reception in Wendte Hall after the services! Invite your family and friends.

Nurtured in Shimmering Darkness

Join us for our annual intergenerational celebration of the winter solstice. As we rest in the longest nights of the year, the darkness invites us to meditate on the dark chaos, the fertile loam out of which all life emerges. What is being nurtured in the shimmering dark deeps of your soul? Of our communities? Come prepared to participate in this family-friendly ritual, which will close with our traditional children’s hunt for the sun. Children and youth worship with us for the whole hour. Childcare available for children 5 and under. Harpist Betsy Littell will provide Celtic music at both services.

Prepare Your Heart

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For many of us the first Sunday in December marks a time of increased frantic activity in preparation for the holidays. Let us come together to pause and consider a different kind of preparation. If the world is indeed full of beauty and grace, full of everyday miracles like the birth of a newborn babe, then what kind of transformation might allow us to soak in the blessings all around us?

Joyful Noise and Crescendo Choir will perform at the 11:20 service and special music by Trente Morant at the 9:20 service.

This is a Time for All Ages service.

Pardon Me

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Please join Pastor Jacqueline, Rev. Sheri, and Worship Associate Loretta Gaines as we reverently sit with the complicated relationships between forgiveness and pardon. I ask you, where does vengeance come from? Our youth and children are in worship for the first 20 minutes of both services. Music in our first worship service will be offered by John Shinnick. In our second service we will delight in our Youth Choir, Signs of Love. Worship services are 9:20 and 11:20. I look forward to seeing you.

This is a Time for All Ages Service.

Have Mercy On Me

We talk a lot about justice in our communities but less about mercy and forgiveness. What would it mean to use our religious voice to shift those conversations and why might we want to reclaim a role for the liberal church in doing so? How might it help us come to terms with the ways that we are complicit, through no choice of our own, in massive injustices like climate change, broken immigration policy, and global economic inequalities?

This is a Time for All Ages Service.

Forgiveness Matters

We return to two services at 9:20 and 11:20. Rev. Sheri and Worship Associate Lynn Gallogly are joined by Soprano Susan Keiter and at 11:20 Joyful Noise. The story of the citizens of Grudgeville provides a light-hearted entree into a serious topic that affects our relationships, our happiness, and our health — forgiveness. Where does forgiveness — for ourselves and others — come from? And why does it matter? What guidance does our Unitarian Universalist faith tradition offer?

Children and youth join us for a Time for All Ages service.

Water Communion

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Our annual water communion ritual as we gather back together after the summer. One Service at 10:20 am.

Bring some water from a place that is meaningful to you to contribute to the ritual!

Welcome to the first worship service of our 2016-2017 program church year. Please join Rev. Jacqueline, Rev. Sheri, Crescendo Choir and Joyful Noise as we celebrate our annual Water Communion. Using the image of water we will reflect, refresh and recommit ourselves to our highest aspirations as people of faith. Please bring a few ounces of water that represent your summer travels or something that you engaged in that touched your soul. We will mingle our waters together and use the water to bless our church building and grounds. The water will also be used in sacred rituals like child dedications and anointing those in the midst of major life transitions. There will be one service at 10:20. Our children and youth will be in worship for the entire service. Let us celebrate and worship with joy and thanksgiving. Come and bring a friend.