We celebrate our official start to the church year with our annual water celebration, a setting of intentions for the year to come, and a reflection on what it means to live through a watershed moment in history. This year we celebrating our Ingathering Water Celebration virtually! Please email a photo (whether your own or … Continue reading Watershed Moments
This Labor Day service explores the quest for not only economic stability but dignity on the part of so many “essential workers” who, while a vital part of our interdependent lives, nonetheless too often struggle for either “bread or roses.” We consider how the spiritual health of all of us depends on the fair recognition … Continue reading The Garment of Destiny: On Essential Workers in an Age of Inequality
We observe our annual blessing of the animals, only this year we are doing it virtually! Please send a photo of the animal(s) you would like to have blessed along with their names to minister@nuuc.org by midnight on Wednesday August 26. We’ll use the photos in a video as a part of the blessing. The … Continue reading Likeness to God: A Blessing of the Animals
Rev. Susan Ritchie hosts this worship with Intern Minister Liora Malicdem offering the message. Chicano poet Francisco X. Alarcón concludes his poem “Face and Heart” with a call to “arrive as children to this huge playground – the universe.” This playful, expansive conclusion resides uneasily with the opening call to “hear what nobody wants to … Continue reading Of God and Garbage Trucks
Daniel Boone liked to say that he never once got lost in the forest even though there would be three days or more during which he would be completely bewildered.” These days, many of us feel like we are living in completely uncharted territory. In this service, we explore wisdom from people with experience on … Continue reading The End of the Known Path
Rev. Susan Ritchie hosts the worship with Rev Chris Jones Leavy preaching the message on the topic of how we can find havens for ourselves in these troubling times and how we can be those havens for others. Rev. Chris Jones Leavy is the Affiliate Community Minister Emerita at North Unitarian Universalist Congregation, and a … Continue reading Embodying Sanctuary
In this worship service, we examine modern (12 step) and ancient (Stoic philosophy) wisdom on facing uncertainty with a clear eye to what we can, and what we cannot, control. Also! Two piano solos by Wade Jones, and, we formally introduce our brand new Virtual Intern Minister, Liora Gubkin Malicdem. Susan Ritchie is inviting you … Continue reading The Control Dichotomy: Solace for Times of Uncertainty
Rev. Susan Ritchie hosts the service and NUUC Affiliated Community Minister Rev. Joan Van Becelaere offers the message. We have witnessed the astonishing growth of a movement for black lives and police reform in recent weeks. The quick rise of this movement and the diversity of those who participate in public witness have surprised many. … Continue reading Courage for the Revolution
Notice how fabulous many people’s gardens have been looking during this pandemic season? In this service, we reflect on gardens (literal, and scriptural) and how they connect us with our ultimate purposes and ends, reminding us that we have what we need to thrive. With two special piano numbers by our own Wade Jones! Susan … Continue reading Gardening in the End Times
Today’s message is an extended reflection on this quote from the poet Ranier Maria Rilke: “Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something looking for our love.” Today’s service is entirely … Continue reading The Courage to Be: How to Kiss Your Inner Dragons
