Episodes
Monday Feb 13, 2023
February 12, 2023- Are We Sleeping Through a Revolution?
Monday Feb 13, 2023
Monday Feb 13, 2023
Multiple choice question:
Who said: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice”?
- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
- Theodore Parker
- None of the above
This Sunday morning we learn the answer, not just for this question but more so for what these ministers and theologians had to say to Unitarians and Universalists in the past, and what their words say to us today. In particular, how do their words point us toward two essential movements in our spiritual and religious lives and what do they call us to today?
Music for Gathering- by composer Robert Glasper- Franco Holder (:22)
Welcome - Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (4:50)
Singing Together- Guide My Feet (9:17)
Reading- Practice by Omar Bronson- Rev. Ashley Harness (15:19)
Hymn- My Life Flows on in Endless Song (18:12)
Loving Kindness Meditation- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (26:47)
Practice of Giving and Receiving- Rev. Ashley Harness (36:08)
Offertory- Franco Holder (37:16)
Message- Are We Sleeping Through a Revolution?- Rev. Arif Mamdani (40:43)
Hymn- Make Channels for the Streams of Love (1:08:52)
Benediction- Rev. Arif Mamdani (1:10:19)
Music for Going- Where You Go, I Will Go, Beloved by Shoshana Jedwab
Monday Jan 09, 2023
January 8, 2023- Remembrance Sunday
Monday Jan 09, 2023
Monday Jan 09, 2023
Remembrance Sunday is a yearly service in which we name and honor those we’ve lost in the congregation and the wider community. Through story, song, and ritual, this service invites us to name and make room for the loss, grief, and sadness in ourselves, within this community, and beyond in the wider world. This service includes an invitation to name with a neighbor, in-person or at home, any losses you’d like to hold in community, as well a candle lighting ritual in which we name and honor the deaths in our congregation this last year. Join us on Sunday to be and become the community of love and know that together, love can make every grief and suffering bearable for us all.
Singing to Gather- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (:20)
Words of Welcome- Rev. Jen Crow (5:45)
Time for All Ages- Making Room for Sadness- Lauren Wyeth (14:00)
Hymn- Come Sing a Song With Me- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (21:03)
Practice of Giving and Receiving- Rev. Arif Mamdani, Isabel Quast (26:02)
Poem and Cycle of Life - Kindness by Naomi Shihab Nye- Rev. Ashley Harness (30:49)
Remembrance Ritual- Rev. Arif Mamdani (35:29)
Benediction- Rev. Arif Mamdani (54:00)
Music for Going- Where You Go I Will Go, Beloved by Shoshana Jedwab
Monday Nov 28, 2022
November 27, 2022- One in Gratitude
Monday Nov 28, 2022
Monday Nov 28, 2022
On this multigenerational Sunday, our shared attention will turn to the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address, a practice created and shared by the indigenous people of the Turtle Clan, Wolf Clan, and Mohawk tribe. This practice invites us to begin and end our days with gratitude, and together we will experiment and wonder about how we might choose to begin and end our days, and how we and our relationships might be changed by our practices.
Intro- Ashgrove (Welsh Tune)- Franco Holder, piano
Hymn- We Give Thanks (1:43)
Words of Welcome- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (5:19)
Singing Together- The Welcome Table (7:42)
Prayer and Cycle of Life- Rev. Jen Crow (11:36)
Gratitude Ritual- Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address- Rev. Jen Crow, Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout, members of the congregation (17:54)
Practice of Giving- Rev. Jen Crow (40:11)
Offertory- You Matter to Me by Sara Bareillis- Franco Holder, piano (44:56)
Singing Together- For the Earth Forever Turning
Benediction- Rev. Jen Crow (49:58)
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)
Monday Oct 17, 2022
October 16, 2022- Mental Health Sunday
Monday Oct 17, 2022
Monday Oct 17, 2022
This Sunday, October 16 is Mental Health Sunday, a service where we commit ourselves to creating a world where struggles with mental health are normalized and where seeking mental health care is destigmatized. Through word, song, and ritual we will make visible these commitments of our hearts, bodies, and minds, knowing that mental health care is something we all need access to, and that while not all illness can be cured, in community, we all can find healing.
Opening Hymn- Come Thou Fount of Ev'ry Blessing- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (:28)
Words of Welcome- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (3:17)
Story for All Ages- Rev. Ashley Harness-Jiminez (9:56)
Hymn- I've Got Peace Like a River- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (17:43)
Meditation and Message- Rev. Arif Mamdani, Carol Jackson (22:14)
Ritual (32:14)
Song- Sending You Light by Melanie DeMore- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (49:55)
Singing Together- For All that is Our Life- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (53:26)
Benediction- Rev. Arif Mamdani (56:08)
Wednesday Oct 05, 2022
October 2, 2022- The Heart Left Open Will Heal Itself
Wednesday Oct 05, 2022
Wednesday Oct 05, 2022
As we begin our exploration of the monthly theme, “You Can Count On This,” we’ll start with our hearts. What do our hearts tell us, and how do we listen? Where and with whom do we place our hearts? And what do we do with the inevitable heartbreak that comes? We’ll explore all of these questions and more through stories, songs, meditation, and prayer together.
Singing Together- Circle 'Round for Freedom (:28)
Words of Welcome- Rev. Jen Crow (1:35)
Story for All Ages- Rev. Ashley Harness (8:54)
Hymn- Lean On Me by Bill Withers- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (14:33)
Prayer and Cycle of Life- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (23:02)
Practice of Giving- Rev. Jen Crow (37:45)
Offertory- Franco Holder, piano
Message- The Heart Left Open Will Heal Itself- Rev. Jen Crow (42:50)
Benediction- Rev. Jen Crow (1:01:39)
Outro- Franco Holder, piano
Monday Sep 12, 2022
September 11, 2022- Water Communion: The Ocean Refuses no River
Monday Sep 12, 2022
Monday Sep 12, 2022
We are water. 60% give or take, and about as salty as the ocean. So at least metaphorically, each of us is a body of water. When we gather in community, it is as if each of us is a drop in a larger body of water, held by the vessel that is our church. Our Water Communion and in-gathering service invites us to experience the truth of our interconnection through ritual, word, and song.
Singing Together- Love Will Guide Us (:30)
Words of Welcome- Rev. Jen Crow (2:36)
Invitation to Give- Lauren Wyeth (10:13)
Silence, Prayer, and Cycle of Life- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (12:45)
Water Communion Ritual - Rev. Arif Mamdani, Rev. Jen Crow, Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (21:42)
Singing Together- For the Earth Forever Turning (44:42)
Benediction- Rev. Arif Mamdani (47:02)
piano- Franco Holder
Wednesday Aug 31, 2022
August 28, 2022-Ready? Set? Go! (Backpack Blessing)
Wednesday Aug 31, 2022
Wednesday Aug 31, 2022
How do we prepare ourselves for a new year? A big transition? New experiences? With the help of stories and spiritual practices, our worship leaders will guide us through our annual Backpack Blessing ritual.
Music for Gathering- I'm On My Way- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout and Franco Holder (:25)
Words of Welcome- Rev. Jen Crow (4:46)
Time for All Ages- Lauren Wyeth (11:13)
Song- There Is More Love Somewhere-Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout and Franco Holder (17:36)
Prayer and Cycle of Life- Rev. Arif Mamdani (21:26)
Homily- Rev. Jen Crow (29:18)
Invitation to Give- Lore Stevens (41:02)
Backpack Blessing- Lauren Wyeth and Youth Staff (43:58)
Music for Going- I'm On My Way and Where You Go I Will Go (48:43)
Monday Jun 06, 2022
June 5, 2022- Flower Communion
Monday Jun 06, 2022
Monday Jun 06, 2022
99 years ago, almost to the day, Rev. Norbert Capek led the first Flower Communion ritual. He developed it then, and we observe it today, as a ritual of giving and receiving, of connecting with the beauty in each of us, and the bigger story of that beauty when we come together in community, in fellowship, and in the spirit of love that is this church. We’ll have music from Dean Magraw and his band, and a special guest vocalist, Thomasina Petrus.
Prelude- Feelin' Good by Nina Simone- Dean Magraw, guitar; Thomasina Petrus, vocals; and the band
Words of Welcome- Rev. Jen Crow (3:13)
Time for All Ages- Saying Goodbye to Julica (12:18)
Flower Communion Ritual- Rev. Arif Mamdani (20:15)
Prayer and Cycle of Life- Rev. Arif Mamdani (28:51)
Homily- Rev. Jen Crow (31:42)
Invitation to Give- Rev. Jen Crow (38:28)
Benediction- Summertime by Miles Davis- Thomasina Petrus, Dean Magraw and the band (41:15)
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)