
Episodes

Monday Jun 14, 2021
June 13, 2021- Making Room- Rev. Jen Crow
Monday Jun 14, 2021
Monday Jun 14, 2021
After over a year of being physically apart, this Sunday, June 13 marks our first time together in person and online as a church community when we gather at the Lake Harriet Bandshell and on zoom. How will it feel to be together in person? How will it feel to be online when others can gather face-to-face? What will it be like? As people of faith, we promise to pay attention, to be curious with ourselves and each other, and to make room for all of who we are and all of the feelings and experiences that arise. We’ve got this, together.
Words of Welcome- Rev. Jen Crow (:30)
Prelude- How Can I Keep From Singing, First Universalist Choir, Dr. Randal Buikema conducting, Franco Holder on piano (6:09)
Story for All Ages- Just Ask by Sonia Sotomayor- Jill Braithwaite (10:56)
Reading- Spilling the Light by Rev. Theresa I. Soto- Jill Braithwaite (16:56)
Anthem- Love Is Love by Abbie Betinis- First Universalist Choir, Dr. Randal Buikema conducting, Franco Holder on piano (18:50)
Message- Making Room- Rev. Jen Crow (19:58)
Outro- Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield- Aimee K. Bryant and Franco Holder

Monday Apr 05, 2021
April 4, 2021-Practicing Resurrection in this Moment - Rev. Justin Schroeder
Monday Apr 05, 2021
Monday Apr 05, 2021
Easter is about new life, new hope, and resurrection of the spirit in the face of despair. Easter speaks to a miraculous force and a love that is stronger than death. In this time of global pandemic and this time of the trial of Derek Chauvin (which has global implications), how do we make sense of Easter? Easter speaks to the timeless cycle of death and rebirth, and this Easter, we ask, “Given the world as it is, what in us might die, so that something new and life giving might be born?”
Words of Welcome- Rev. Justin Schroeder (:30)
Wisdom Story - Lauren Wyeth (5:31)
Interlude- Lo The Earth Awakes Again- Members of First Universalist Choir
Message pt. 1- Practicing Resurrection in this Moment- Rev. Justin Schroeder (13:28)
Special Music- Lift Every Voice and Sing- Give Get Sistet (26:41)
Message pt. 2- Practicing Resurrection in this Moment- Rev. Justin Schroeder and Julica Hermann de la Fuente (28:44)
Hymn- Over My Head- Aimee K. Bryant and Franco Holder (39:41)

Monday Feb 22, 2021
February 21, 2021- Remember, You Are Water - Rev. Jen Crow
Monday Feb 22, 2021
Monday Feb 22, 2021
The truth is, grief hurts. It is exhausting, disorienting, and downright awful when we lose someone or something that matters to us. As we approach a year of pandemic living and losing, grief is our everyday companion. The author and activist, adrienne maree brown, reminds us that we are water, that the salt trails of our tears are the natural outcome of our living and loving. This Sunday, we continue to recognize our losses and the love that keeps us connected.
Words of Welcome- Rev. Justin Schroeder (:28)
Story for All Ages- Seth Anderson-Matz (3:54)
Interlude music by Dean Magraw
Message- Remember, You Are Water- Rev. Jen Crow (9:37)
Anthem- Gaelic Blessing- First Universalist Choir, Dr. Randal Buikema (33:05)

Monday Feb 08, 2021
February 7, 2021 - Is the Truth Broken? - Rev. Karen Hutt
Monday Feb 08, 2021
Monday Feb 08, 2021
The word “truth” is a major construct in any discussion of Unitarian Universalism. We pride ourselves on being seekers of truth, but who has this truth? How is it confirmed? What happens when the truth appears broken? Can we let go of our need for universal truths?
This Sunday, we delve into our February worship theme, “Truth Telling,” with this message from Rev. Karen Hutt. Rev. Jen Crow and Lauren Wyeth will share a story for all ages, and we’ll also enjoy newly recorded music from Franco Holder and Aimee K. Bryant — and a special reading and musical reflection from Franco.
Words of Welcome - Rev. Jen Crow (:30)
Story for All Ages- Rev. Jen Crow and Lauren Wyeth (3:37)
Hymn- For All That Is Our Life- Fawzia Khan (12:05)
Sermon- Is the Truth Broken? - Rev. Karen Hutt (12:40)

Tuesday Aug 18, 2020
August 16, 2020- Radical Imagination - Bryana French and Rev. Justin Schroeder
Tuesday Aug 18, 2020
Tuesday Aug 18, 2020

Monday Mar 09, 2020
March 8, 2020- A Time For Everything
Monday Mar 09, 2020
Monday Mar 09, 2020
At First Universalist, we promise to give, receive, and grow together. Sometimes though, we don’t have a whole lot to give. What does it mean to engage in the spiritual practice of receiving? How can we lean into the strength of community, trusting that there is more than enough to go around, trusting that we will be held, and that there is so much to learn by receiving?
Call to Worship- Satya Mamdani (:21)
Reading- Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (4:41)
Sermon- Rev. Jen Crow (6:24)

Monday Jan 27, 2020
January 26, 2020- Living in the Layers
Monday Jan 27, 2020
Monday Jan 27, 2020
Every Sunday, we are invited to bring our whole selves into worship, to bring our joys and our sorrows, giftedness and woundedness, the smooth and the rough edges. This is a profoundly counter-cultural invitation. So often we are asked to prove the text our lives- that is, to only focus on the passages, the feelings, and the events that prove a point or justify a particular framing of our theology or worldview. What if we actually took our faith community up on its invitation and sat with the whole of our lives in the company of faithful companions? What if we “live in the layers, not on the litter” of this precious life?
Call to Worship- Daryn Woodson (:31)
Reading- The Layers by Stanley Kunitz (6:30)
Sermon- Living in the Layers, Rev. Ruth MacKenzie (9:08)

Tuesday Jan 21, 2020
January 19, 2020- Radical Imagination
Tuesday Jan 21, 2020
Tuesday Jan 21, 2020
On this Dr.King Sunday, we hear a Wisdom Story and a sermon from Rev. Jen Crow.
Wisdom Story- Sue Searing (:30)
Reading- In the Spirit of Martin, by Nikki Giovanni (7:28)
Anthem- Rise Up, featuring Anoka-Hennepin Community College musicians Thomas Yoder, Danny Thompson, and Maddy Stoeckmann (10:50)
Sermon- Radical Imagination, Rev. Jen Crow (14:10)

Monday Jan 13, 2020
January 12, 2020 - Reading the Story of Your Life
Monday Jan 13, 2020
Monday Jan 13, 2020
This month’s theme invites us to view our life as sacred text. What exactly does that mean? And how might we go about doing it? Arif Mamdani and Worship Associate Shawn Neel open up this question and explore how this theme might come alive in the text of our lives.
Call to Worship- Shawn Neel (:30)
Readings- Arif Mamdani (4:19)
Sermon- Arif Mamdani (6:02)

Monday Jan 06, 2020
January 5, 2020 - Remembrance Sunday: The Cure for Sorrow
Monday Jan 06, 2020
Monday Jan 06, 2020
Remembrance Sunday is an annual service that is a time to remember and reflect on our losses over the past year and to honor those we love who have died. This service can also be a time to mark other significant losses in the life of your family, such as a separation or divorce, saying goodbye to friends who’ve moved away, or any number of other things.
Wisdom Story- Lauren Wyeth (:29)
from the Cycle of Life, Rev. Ruth MacKenzie (4:55)
Readings (8:32)
Sermon, Rev. Jen Crow (10:08)