First Universalist Church of Minneapolis Sunday Service Podcast

July 3, 2022- American Stories

On this Fourth of July weekend, we’ll hear different versions of the story of the United States of America. What kinds of stories build resilience and trust and what kinds build fragility and fear? This Sunday we’ll explore how the stories we tell create meaning.

Words of Welcome- Rev. Kate Tucker (:30)

Time for All Ages- Mark Caswell (5:49)

Prayer and Meditation- Rev. Kate Tucker (13:16)

Message- American Stories- Rev. Meg Riley (21:28)

Invitation to Give to Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity (41:04)

Benediction- Rev. Kate Tucker (42:42)

June 19, 2022- BOGO Worth and Dignity

The equation for calculating price per unit is a simple one, handy for finding the best value at a store. Yet trying to fit our values and Principles into that equation complicates it quite a bit. In this time of rainbow capitalism, performative activism, and faltering progress, let us double check our trajectory. Are we on our way to the heaven on earth Universalists dreamed of, or do we need a new equation? Join us this Sunday as we welcome guest preacher Nico Van Ostrand, who will lead worship along with Rev. Kate Tucker, Lauren Wyeth, Aimee K. Bryant, and pianist Barb Brooks.

Words of Welcome- Rev. Kate Tucker (:30)

Time for All Ages- Lauren Wyeth (4:13)

Hymn- Gather the Spirit (7:45)

Reflection and Prayer- Rev. Kate Tucker (8:54)

Message- BOGO Worth and Dignity- Nico Van Ostrand (12:39)

Invitation to Give to CLNE- Rev. Kate Tucker (26:26)

Benediction- Rev. Kate Tucker (27:28)

 

June 5, 2022- Flower Communion

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)

May 8, 2022- A Big Enough Story

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)

 

 

May 1, 2022- Our Sacred Trust

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)

April 10, 2022- Organized People

Folks in organizing circles say that Power requires Organized Money and Organized People. This congregation does an excellent job of organizing its money every Sunday, and sharing generously with important partners. What else is possible if we organize our people similarly? What would it take for us to take our organizing and mobilization to the next level? Join us for a dialogue with poets and movement mediators to explore what else might be possible as we get stronger and clearer together. (And don’t miss the next installment in the story series, As The Acorn Sprouts, where our acorns learn to organize!)

Words of Welcome- Rev. Jen Crow (:30)

Poem- The Butterfly Effect by Rev. Theresa I. Soto (4:09)

Hymn- Come and Go With Me- Aimee K. Bryant, Franco Holder (6:40)

Call to Worship- Nancy Jones (9:48)

Story for All Ages- The Acorn Saga continues! (13:03)

Prayer and Cycle of Life- Rev. Jen Crow (27:04)

Message- Organized People- Julica Hermann de la Fuente (33:29)

Postlude- Building a New Way- Aimee K. Bryant, Franco Holder 

April 3, 2022- Yeast, Baking Powder, and Other Ways We Rise

Things rise and fall every day: not just baked items in the oven but energies, emotions, commitments, willingness. Though the idea of ‘onward and upward forever’ has been long proven to be a lie; most of us use our days trying to create more of what we want in ourselves, our families, our communities, and our world. What are some of the obstacles and what can help us to rise, even a tiny bit?

Words of Welcome- Rev. Arif Mamdani (:29)

Call to Worship- David Bach (7:59)

Story for All Ages- Grandmother Spider Weaves the World (12:53)

Prayer and Meditation- Rev. Arif Mamdani (20:56)

Reading- The Butterfly Effect by Rev. Theresa I. Soto- Rev. Arif Mamdani

Sermon- Yeast, Baking Powder, and Other Ways We Rise- Rev. Meg Riley (29:21)

Piano throughout- Franco Holder; Vocals throughout- Aimee K. Bryant

March 27, 2022- Living Through the Lens of Love

We talk a lot about love here. A love that will not let us go. A love that draws a circle so wide that everyone is included. A love that works to end oppression in all of its forms and build beloved community. The Universalist spirit of love and hope. But what does it mean to live a life through the lens of love? This Sunday, as author bell hooks would say in her essential text, it’s all about love.

Words of Welcome- Rev. Jen Crow (:20)

Hymn- This Little Light of Mine- Aimee K. Bryant (6:09)

Call to Worship- Peter Kimball (8:03)

Story for All Ages- Lauren Wyeth (12:00)

Prayer and Meditation- Rev. Arif Mamdani (17:30)

Sermon- Living Through the Lens of Love- Rev. Jen Crow (22:43)

Piano Throughout- Barb Brooks

March 20, 2022- The Covenant of Covenant

In this bigger togetherness, what do you need promised to you?

In this bigger togetherness, what do you promise to those around you?

In this bigger togetherness, what aspirations stretch you to who you want to be?

This Sunday, March 20, let’s talk about covenant and the promises we make, the promises we want made to us, and what it is that we’re reaching for when we covenant together in this ever bigger togetherness.

 

Words of Welcome and Land Acknowledgement- Rev. Arif Mamdani (:30)

Call to Worship- Liz Short (5:01)

Story for All Ages- Worship Leaders (9:01)

Interlude- Come and Go With Me- Libby Turner, Franco Holder (14:43)

Connecting with One Another- Rev. Karen Hutt (17:10)

Message- The Covenant of Covenant- Rev. Arif Mamdani (22:50)

Offertory- Imagine by John Lennon, revised- Libby Turner, Franco Holder (39:38)

 

 

March 6, 2022- A Bigger Togetherness

As we live into new and more expansive ways of being together, what will we hold on to, and what will we release? What fierce and holy imagination will guide us as we drop the ways of being that weigh us down, taking only what we need into a future full of justice, liberation, love and joy for the generations to come? 

Prelude- Gather Together- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout and Franco Holder

Welcome and Call to Worship- Rev. Jen Crow (2:25)

Story for All Ages- Acornology- Lauren Wyeth and the Worship Team (9:19)

Interlude- Building A New Way- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout and Franco Holder (13:52)

Prayer and Meditation- Rev. Arif Mamdani (16:16)

Message- A Bigger Togetherness- Rev. Jen Crow (28:47)