Episodes
Monday Nov 20, 2023
Nov. 19, Staying at the Table Starts with Grace
Monday Nov 20, 2023
Monday Nov 20, 2023
This Sunday’s ‘Staying at the Table: Starts with Grace’ celebrates the joy of embracing new members, showcasing the grace that defines our community spirit across our whole lives long. As Thanksgiving approaches, bringing its complex weave of anticipation and anxiety around encounters with all kinds, we invite you to a service that rekindles the essence of connection through the simple, yet profound act of sharing grace.
Opening Hymn- Gathered Here - Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (:31)
Call to Worship and Welcome- Sherry Merriam (5:04)
Time for All Ages- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (13:10)
Welcoming New Members Ritual- Jeff Snyder, Rev. Arif Mamdani, Liz Farmer (19:53)
Prayer- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (28:38)
Giving and Receiving- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (36:01)
Wisdom Story- The Parable of the Lost Spoons- Sherry Merriam (40:31)
Amthem- Building Bridges- Paolo Dubuque and Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (42:02)
Message- Staying at the Table Starts with Grace- Rev. Arif Mamdani (46:04)
Singing Together- Love Will Guide Us - Paolo Dubuque and Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (1:00:56)
Benediction- Rev. Arif Mamdani (1:02:57)
Monday Jun 05, 2023
June 4, 2023- Flower Communion
Monday Jun 05, 2023
Monday Jun 05, 2023
This coming Sunday, June 4, we’re celebrating Flower Communion, and we could use your help! Bring a flower to share with the community (don’t worry: we’ll have more flowers available if you don’t have one). We’ll make a beautiful arrangement with whatever flowers come! At the end, we each get to take a different flower with us as a gift and reminder of beauty in our unity and difference. This special ritual has been performed for years here at First Universalist. And this year marks the 100th anniversary of the very first Flower Communion ever!
Singing to Gather- Come, Sing a Song with Me- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (:29)
Call to Worship- Rev. Jen Crow (2:26)
Introduction to Flower Communion- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (7:07)
Hymn- We Would Be One- (10:35)
Flower Communion Ritual- Rev. Arif Mamdani (14:57)
Prayer and Meditation- Rev. Jen Crow (36:33)
Celebrating Lauren Wyeth- Revs. Jen Crow and Arif Mamdani (41:55)
Practice of Giving and Recieving- Rev. Arif Mamdani (47:29)
Offertory- This Little Light of Mine (52:18)
Benediction- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (55:03)
Tuesday May 16, 2023
May 14, 2023- Generation to Generation
Tuesday May 16, 2023
Tuesday May 16, 2023
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote that “Love, like a carefully loaded ship, crosses the gulf between the generations.” This Sunday, love will make its way across the generations as we dedicate our children, welcome the wisdom of our Coming of Age youth, and care for each other in times of celebration and grief.
Singing to Gather- Gather the Spirit- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout, Franco Holder (:29)
Call to Worship and Words of Welcome- Lauren Wyeth, Rev. Jen Crow, Lóre Stevens, Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (4:11)
Hymn- Come, Sing a Song With Me- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout, Franco Holder (8:43)
Child Dedication Ceremony- Lauren Wyeth, Rev. Jen Crow, Lóre Stevens (12:14)
Prayer and Meditation- Rev. Jen Crow (15:24)
Chant- I Will Be Your Standing Stone- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (21:31)
Coming of Age Spiritual Statements- Lóre Stevens, Max, Isla, Rasana, Rev. Jen Crow (26:38)
Practice of Giving and Receiving- Lóre Stevens (46:25)
Offertory- Franco Holder, piano (49:52)
Singing Together- Make Channels for the Streams of Love- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (52:32)
Benediction- Rev. Jen Crow (54:29)
Music for Going- Where You Go, I Will Go, Beloved by Shoshana Jedwab
Tuesday May 02, 2023
April 30, 2023- All Beginners Here
Tuesday May 02, 2023
Tuesday May 02, 2023
The Zen practice of shoshin calls us each to bring a “beginner’s mind” to every day we live. This Sunday, as we celebrate how our community has grown with new members, we are reminded to bring this same spirit to our relationships with one another. We can know each other more deeply with fresh curiosity. We can deepen our bonds with fresh compassion. We can build a stronger “we” when each of us takes every opportunity to “tell our story from deep inside and listen with a loving mind.”
Opening Hymn- When Our Heart Is In a Holy Place - Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (:27)
Words of Welcome and Call to Worship- Rev. Ashley Harness (2:59)
New Member Welcome- Come, Come, Whoever You Are- Liz Farmer, Matt Keller, Daryn Woodson (9:04)
Singing Together- Turn the World Around - Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (22:03)
Meditation Prayer and Cycle of Life- Rev. Jen Crow (26:28)
Message- All Beginners Here- Liz Farmer (35:54)
Practice of Giving and Receiving- Rev. Jen Crow (45:31)
Offertory- Franco Holder (47:28)
Singing Together- The Fire of Committment - Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (49:17)
Benediction- Liz Farmer (52:38)
Song for Going- Where You Go, I Will Go, Beloved by Shoshana Jedwab
Monday Nov 21, 2022
November 20, 2022- Becoming Together: Child Dedication Sunday
Monday Nov 21, 2022
Monday Nov 21, 2022
This Sunday, Nov. 20, we will celebrate the miracle that is at the center of our larger story and the cycle of life. We will welcome, name, and dedicate ourselves to the care of children in our congregation through a Child Dedication Ritual. Together we will discern and practice the spiritual work of committing ourselves to the care of our youngest and making room for the people they will become over the course their lives.
Singing to Gather- Come, Come Whoever You Are
Words of Welcome- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (2:21)
Child Dedication Ritual- Lauren Wyeth, Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout, Rev. Ashley Harness (7:47)
Silence, Meditation, Prayer- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (15:09)
Practice of Giving and Receiving- Rev. Ashley Harness (22:46)
Offertory- Glen Thomas Rideout (25:36)
Message- Becoming Together- Rev. Ashley Harness (26:56)
Benediction- Rev. Ashley Harness (42:13)
Wednesday Nov 16, 2022
November 13, 2022- The Company We Keep
Wednesday Nov 16, 2022
Wednesday Nov 16, 2022
We are members of many things: families, gyms, affinity groups, and faith communities. Our culture likes us to think of “membership” as an administrative task: a series of tasks that lead us to checking off a box. This Sunday, November 13, we welcome and celebrate the commitment of our newest members of First Universalist, and invite you into reflecting on- and participating in!- membership as a creative, relational process, one in which we change and by which we are changed by the company we keep.
Hymn for Gathering- Morning Has Come- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (:29)
Words of Welcome- Rev. Jen Crow (7:52)
Time for All Ages- The Messiah Lives Among You- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (14:46)
Hymn- Woyaya- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (20:37)
Prayer, Meditation, Cycle of Life - Rev. Jen Crow (25:49)
Offertory- What Wonderous Love is This- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (35:27)
New Member Ceremony- Liz Farmer, Rebecca Slaby, Daryn Woodson (38:35)
Singing Together- Come and Go With Me- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (45:24)
Homily- The Company We Keep- Liz Farmer (48:12)
Singing Together- Be Thou My Vision- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (57:04)
Benediction- Liz Farmer (1:03:02)
Monday Sep 19, 2022
September 18, 2022- Belonging to Beloved Community
Monday Sep 19, 2022
Monday Sep 19, 2022
The dream has been alive for years – Beloved Community. A place, a people, a moment in time when we might truly be, as our Visionary Goal proclaims, “a multi-racial, multicultural, and intergenerational faith community of mutual caring and support where people bring all of who they are and welcome each other with joy. Our sense of who we are as a community of faith is ever expanding.” What does it mean to belong to that Beloved Community, and what will be required of us as we unlearn soul-killing patterns of oppression and practice liberating, life-sustaining ways? What does it mean to belong to this Beloved Community?
Music for Gathering- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (:19)
Words of Welcome- Rev. Arif Mamdani (3:42)
Call to Worship- To Be of Use by Marge Piercy- Lóre Stevens (16:18)
Story for All Ages- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (18:26)
Prayer and Meditation- Rev. Arif Mamdani (26:11)
Practice of Giving- Rev. Jen Crow (33:28)
Celebrating Rev. Jen's Ten Years- Rev. Sara Smalley and the Team (37:17)
Message- Belonging to Beloved Community- Rev. Jen Crow (44:30)
Music for Going- Love Will Guide Us (1:03:05)
Monday May 16, 2022
May 15, 2022- Everybody In
Monday May 16, 2022
Monday May 16, 2022
Almost 30 years ago, First Universalist Church dared to dream of a physical space that might mirror our mission – a place where there would always be room for one more, where our sense of who we are is ever-expanding, a building that might embody a love that will not let anyone go. This Sunday, May 15, we celebrate the completion of our capital project, Not for Ourselves Alone: Building an Inclusive Future, as we welcome everybody in and say thank you to our past, present, and future selves.
Music for Gathering- Everybody In- Peter Mayer (:30)
Words of Welcome and Land Acknowledgement- Rev. Arif Mamdani (5:19)
Wisdom Story- Rev. Jen Crow (12:02)
Meditation and Prayer- Peter Mayer and Rev. Arif Mamdani (20:59)
Message- Everybody In- Rev. Jen Crow (33:49)
Gratitudes and Celebration- Rev. Jen Crow (39:41)
Invitation to Give- Rev. Jen Crow (55:23)
Music for Going- The Wonder- Peter Mayer
Tuesday May 10, 2022
May 8, 2022- A Big Enough Story
Tuesday May 10, 2022
Tuesday May 10, 2022
This Sunday, May 8, we will celebrate the miracle that is at the center of our larger story and the cycle of life. We will welcome, name, and dedicate ourselves to the care of children in our congregation through a Child Dedication Ritual.
Words of Welcome and Land Acknowledgement- Rev. Jen Crow (:20)
Call to Worship- First Universalist 6th Graders (6:26)
Child Naming and Dedication Ritual- Lauren Wyeth, Rev. Jen Crow, Rev. Arif Mamdani (10:58)
Hymn- Come, Come Whoever You Are- Aimee K. Bryant and Franco Holder (18:41)
Prayer and Cycle of Life- Rev. Arif Mamdani (19:47)
Message- A Big Enough Story- Lauren Wyeth (27:11)
Invitation to Give- Rev. Jen Crow (39:31)
Benediction- Lauren Wyeth (42:05)
Wednesday May 04, 2022
May 1, 2022- Our Sacred Trust
Wednesday May 04, 2022
Wednesday May 04, 2022
This Sunday, May 1, we celebrate the culmination of Earth Week and honor the mutual commitment between members and community in the ongoing story of this congregation. Join us to explore the sacred trust we hold to create a sustainable future for our children and our children’s children, and to celebrate how our collective breath, prayer, activism, and meaning making reflect the roots of our community, like those in a forest, deeply intertwined. And don’t miss the next installment of the acorn story, “The Wood Wide Web.” The young acorns in our community will welcome new members, and keep encouraging us all to sprout and grow together.
Welcome and Land Acknowledgement- Rev. Meg Riley, Dallas Rising (:30)
Anthem- Earth Song by Frank Ticheli- First Universalist Choir, Dr. Randy Buikema, conductor (2:52)
Time for All Ages/New Member Ceremony- Liz Farmer, Daryn Wodson, Rev. Meg Riley (6:32)
Hymn- Blue Boat Home (15:17)
Message- Our Sacred Trust- Julica Hermann de la Fuente (18:22)
Song- What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong- Aimee K. Bryant and Franco Holder (44:34)