First Universalist Church of Minneapolis Sunday Service Podcast

October 15, 2023- Mental Health Sunday

Our mental well-being is deeply linked with the relationships we cultivate and the social networks we are part of. By learning to understand and nurture each other in deeper ways, we can gain insight into our own mental health and well-being.

Just like our Earth thrives on diversity, so do we. The diversity of our connections and experiences make us stronger. However, to tap into this strength, we need to be open to giving and receiving wisdom, even when it's uncomfortable or challenging. 

Along this enlightening journey to worship and wisdom, we will also create a simple ritual of candlelight–a time to honor our individual and collective mental health journeys, to learn and remember that we can navigate these journeys together, as a community. 

There is space for hope if we break down the walls of communication and stigma that often separate us. This service promises to be a thought-provoking exploration of how we are part of each other's health, and an invitation to the heart to honor the many truths of each unfolding story.

 

Singing to Gather- Open the Window, Children - Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout, Paolo Dubuque, piano (:29)

Call to Worship- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (6:43)

Mental Health Sunday Ritual Intro- Rev. Arif Mamdani (15:45)

Singing Together- This Little Light of Mine-Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout, Paolo Dubuque, piano (20:21)

Lighting Candles for our Mental Health- (23:51)

Prayer and Cycle of Life- Rev. Arif Mamdani (31:48)

Practice of Giving and Receiving- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (37:48)

Offertory- Paolo Dubuque, piano (43:10)

Message- Katherine Harrell (51:47)

Anthem- Lean On Me- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout, Paolo Dubuque, piano (1:07:19)

Benediction- Katherine Harrell (1:08:24)

 

 

Oct. 8, 2023- Rules of Engagement

We know that listening deeply to each other changes both the speaker and the listener – but what are the rules of engagement for how and when and who we listen to, and who we speak to? Who controls the expectations of how we will be with each other in society and relationships, and what happens when the limits change? What role might grace play in all of this? 

Singing to Gather- Oh, We Give Thanks (:25)

Call to Worship- Deb Keller- (2:14)

Singing Together- Building Bridges- Paolo Dubuque (9:45)

Story for All Ages- Red by Michael Hall- Rev. Ashley Harness (13:50)

Prayer and Cycle of Life- Rev. Jen Crow (20:35)

Practice of Giving and Receiving- Rev. Ashley Harness (26:57)

Offertory- Paolo Dubuque (28:23)

Poem- Saving Grace by Rosemary Wahtola Trommer (31:24)

Message- Rules of Engagement- Rev. Jen Crow (33:16)

Singing Together- Blue Boat Home (52:19)

Benediction- Rev. Jen Crow (56:26)

 

Oct. 1, 2023- Loosen, Loosen, Baby

A single cylinder of interlaced bamboo strips seems delicate around two pointers–at least at first. But soon, they’ll want out. Without thinking, the digits back away from their closeness and find themselves stuck in place. Neither force nor frenzy will help; not twisting, not waiting, not pulling apart. The mind will need to calm to think of something beyond what’s worked before. The hands will need a wiser, more elegant idea to get free from the finger trap.

Hubris would teach us to limit our trust to the ideas we already know. Panic for the problems around us will tighten our grip on what’s familiar. Living from fear for the future will only make it harder to remember the wisdom in the generations. To make space for what we’ve not imagined, we’ll need to release some of what we have. To get free will mean to decenter a lot of what we think we can control, what’s common, what’s cozy, what’s currently clear.

To grasp what love needs from us now, how can we relieve the tensions which trap us? To get to freedom, what would happen if we found the way to loosen up and let go?

Singing to Gather- Woyaya- Aimee K. Bryant (:31)

Call to Worship- Dallas Rising (3:26)

Singing Together- Loosen, Loosen, Baby- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (10:45)

Story for All Ages- Aimee K. Bryant (14:59)

Prayer and Meditation- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (24:40)

Practice of Giving and Receiving- Rev. Arif Mamdani (35:25)

Offertory- Aimee K. Bryant and Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (38:23)

Reading- Generous Listening by Marilyn Nelson- Dallas Rising (42:19)

Anthem- Aimee K. Bryant (44:09)

Message- Loosen, Loosen, Baby- Rev. Jen Crow (48:29)

Hymn and Benediction- (1:06:09)

Sept. 24, 2023- Tough Love

The experience of being welcomed with open arms can change us, rooting us in communities of care that transform individuals and society. Practicing this kind of love requires a tough mind and a tender heart, Dr. Martin Luther King once wrote, urging us to develop the characteristics that can ground us in transformative love.

Opening Hymn- My Life Flows On In Endless Song (:25)

Call to Worship & Words of Welcome- Nanette Stearns (6:43)

Singing Together- Lone Wolf- Shelley Des Islets and Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (12:59)

Time for All Ages- Allison Connelly-Vetter (20:48)

Prayer & Cycle of Life- Rev. Ashley Harness (28:44)

Practice of Giving and Receiving - Rev. Jen Crow (36:42)

Offertory- Paolo Dubuque (38:21)

Reading- from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (41:34)

Singing Prayer- Standing Stone - Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (45:23)

Message- Tough Love- Rev. Jen Crow (47:39)

Singing Together & Benediction (1:06:31)

September 17, 2023- Every Last Drop: Welcoming All People

Spiders catch water from thin air and store it in the web. There’s no need to go and find it; they are quenched simply by the water the web holds. Spiders build webs to pull raindrops in toward the center which, in turn, make more room on the edges for new drops to arrive. 

What if entering the beloved community were a continuing cycle of coming out from the rain, closer and closer to each other? And what if welcoming those on the edges were the action at our core? 

Drops of water and wisdom await us on the web. The more we welcome well, the healthier we all are. What would it take to welcome all people? What would we have to lose? What’s not to gain?

Call to Worship- Rev. Arif Mamdani (:42)

Singing Together- Come, Come, Whoever You Are and Make Channels for the Streams of Love - Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (2:38)

Lighting the Chalice (7:27)

Singing Together- Hold Everybody Up! - Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (12:17)

Time for All Ages and Blessing for RE- Rev. Jen Crow, Rev. Arif Mamdani (17:05)

Prayer and Meditation- Rev. Jen Crow (25:09)

Practice of Giving and Receiving- Rev. Arif Mamdani (30:59)

Offertory- Paolo Dubuque (36:14)

Reading- What We Need Is Here by Wendell Berry (39:54)

Sermon- Every Last Drop: Welcoming All People- Rev. Jen Crow (41:45)

Benediction and Singing- Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (1:02:04)

 

 

September 3, 2023- Lessons for Future Ancestors

“Let us measure success by how many of us can say: I am living a life I don’t regret. A life that will resonate with my ancestors…” -adrienne maree brown. This Sunday, we reflect on heavy suitcases, surprise turning points, and opening to welcome, even when the people are complicated and the path is unclear.

 

Singing to Gather- Enter, Rejoice, and Come In and Bright Morning Star- Matt Meyer (:27)

Words of Welcome- Rev. Jen Crow (7:28)

Reading- by adrienne maree brown - Matt Meyer (12:09)

Singing Together- Wake Now My Senses- Matt Meyer (13:03)

Story for All Ages- Redefining Success- Matt Meyer (17:06)

Singing Together- Anthem, words by Leonard Cohen - Matt Meyer (24:37)

Community Prayer- Rev. Arif Mamdani (28:24)

Practice of Giving and Receiving- Rev. Arif Mamdani (35:37)

Offertory- Not Heavy by Faya Ora Rose Toure- Matt Meyer (37:08)

Reading- What You Missed That Day You Were Absent in Fourth Grade by Brad Aaron Modlin- Rev. Arif Mamdani (40:40)

Homily- Lessons for Future Ancestors- Matt Meyer (44:04)

Benediction and Closing Songs- We Are the Ones by Bernice Johnson and Where You Go I Will Go, Beloved by Shoshana Jedwab (59:19)

 

August 13, 2023- Why Stop Now?

We often exclaim church to each other as a place, a sanctuary, a place away from other places. Isn’t it at least as much a moment we make special together? A present-day prophet, the Black science fiction writer Octavia Butler describes “God is change.” How would your relationship with holy things shift if you were looking not for things that have become divine, but instead were on a hunt for the becoming itself in progress? Would that change what goodness you discovered in you?

This Sunday, we explore the ways the divine expresses in units of time. Guided by the ancient Hebrew practice of sabbath-keeping, we reflect on the special moments of life that keep us in motion. And we ask ourselves and each other: What will stop to have time for what’s holy? What gets a no, so you can be present to what’s right in front of you?

Music for Gathering- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout and Aimee K. Bryant (:29)

Words of Welcome & Call to Worship- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (3:51)

Story for All Ages- The Stuff of Stars by Marion Dane Bauer- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (12:49)

Meditation on Breathing- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (22:43)

Community Practice & Prayer- Rev. Ashley Harness (26:26)

Reading- from A Look to the Future (1957) by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (34:17)

Anthem- Amazing Grace- Franco Holder on piano (37:22)

Message- Why Stop Now?- Rev. Ashley Harness (40:52)

Giving and Receiving- (1:02:11)

Benediction- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (1:07:41)

August 6, 2023- Backing Into the Big Questions

Shifted schedules, evening sunshine, produce that doesn’t fit anybody’s plan for the week, movies and music and sunsets that take our breath away and demand that we stop and pay attention. As summer stretches into August, the Big Questions call to us. ThisSunday, August 6, we ask: what are yours and ours, and how might we respond?

 

Singing to Gather- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (:32)

Call to Worship- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (7:16)

Story for All Ages- What the Road Said by Cleo Wade- Rev. Arif Mamdani (15:56)

Singing Together- Blue Boat Home (23:51)

Prayer and Cycle of Life- Rev. Arif Mamdani (27:05)

Reading- The Path to the Milky Way Leads Through LA by Joy Harjo- Rev. Jen Crow (32:09)

Message- Rev. Jen Crow (34:50)

Offering- Rev. Jen Crow and Offertory- Franco Holder (54:33)

Hymn- Wake Now My Senses (58:39)

Benediction- Rev. Jen Crow (1:01:44)

July 30, 2023- ”Art & Soul” with Paolo Dubuque and You

Paolo Dubuque and Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout talk about re-imagining musical ensembles and using collaborative music to change the world. We make music together for a finale of sorts we’re calling We are the ones, after June Jordan’s famous end to her poem, “Poem for South African Women.” Together, we make music as a community (that’s right–the featured artist is you! But shhhhh…it’s a surprise.), and we explore the rich relationships and stories of American singing over centuries, across cultures. You’ll hear reflections on the Music Listening Session results. And we embrace the calling of this new day–for communities of justice to know the power of their own voice, and to build up beauty in the world starting from within.

Music for Gathering- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout and Aimee K. Bryant (:28)

Call to Worship- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (9:14)

Words of Welcome- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (16:17)

Singing Together- The Way Knows the Way- Shelley Des Islets and Dr. GTR (18:41)

Singing Together- With You- Shelley Des Islets and Dr. GTR (25:55)

Prayer and Meditation- Rev. Ashley Harness (27:59)

Field Trip through our Hymnals- Dr. GTR (31:45)

Practice of Giving and Receiving- Rev. Ashley Harness (41:12)

Offertory/Singing Together- (43:28)

Regarding Choir- Dr. GTR (51:51)

Conversation with Paolo Dubuque- (1:05:54)

Benediction- Dr. GTR (1:20:00)

July 23, 2023- ”Art & Soul” with Ellis Delaney

Each Sunday in July, worship will feature artists and musicians sharing their craft and some reflections on how their art is connected to their spirituality. We continue this worship series with musician, composer, and First U Member, Ellis Delaney. Ellis is at once funny and wise, thoughtful and uninhibited, with a captivating voice that is matched by tender, sometimes funny, uplifting lyrics. Their music is transformational; leaving audiences feeling better, with softened edges & opened hearts.

Music for Gathering and Words of Welome- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (:19)

Story for All Ages- Dinosaur Air by Rev. Nancy Shaffer (24:21)

Hymn- Building Bridges Between Our Divisions- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout and Aimee K. Bryant (26:15)

Meditation, Prayer, and Cycle of Life- Rev. Ashley Harness (33:08)

Message- "Art & Soul" with Ellis Delaney (39:44)

Transition Music- Prelude in C- The Well-Tempered Clavier (1:14:23)

"Art & Soul" with Ellis Delaney- Continued Conversation (1:18:55)