First Universalist Church of Minneapolis Sunday Service Podcast

December 27, 2020 - A Year-End Prayer- Rev. Arif Mamdani

Rev. Arif Mamdani shares: In a year that has seen so much, how we gather, how we mark this passing, is not as clear cut as it may have been in other, less tumultuous years.

Back in the spring, almost a year ago now, I asked “what is the story that we want to be able to tell about this time?” I invited us then to imagine ourselves into a future where we’d be sharing the story of this pandemic with young ones who hadn’t lived through it or were too young to recall. This was before George Floyd was murdered, before the cities across our nation and around the world rose up in a cry for justice that is still reverberating, before it became evident that Line 3 was going to be a significant fight, before our president would make numerous attempts to destroy our democracy and we would wonder (we are still wondering) if we’d have a peaceful transition of power or if we would need to be in our streets defending our democracy. And in the background of all this, the drumbeat of loss, and loss, and loss that has been a constant refrain of 2020.

It has been a year. And so, when we gather as a community on the 27th, let’s gather with this question in mind: “how shall we end this year? And what comes next?” And when we gather, let’s see how we answer it, together.

Words of Welcome- Rev. Arif Mamdani (:34)

Opening Hymn, Sanctuary - Seth Anderson-Matz (3:01)

Collective Prayer- Rev. Arif Mamdani (4:59)

Homily- Rev. Arif Mamdani (19:27)

December 6, 2020 - In the Interim Time - Rev. Justin Schroeder

In his poem, “For the Interim Time,” John O’Donahue writes, “You are in this time of the interim/Where everything seems withheld,” and “The old is not old enough to have died away; the new is still too young to be born.”

These words capture right where we are: we are in a season of waiting, of anticipating the arrival of Christmas, of the Solstice, of Hannukah, of the turning of the planet, and the returning of the light. We are in a season of waiting, anticipating the vaccine for Covid-19 and the end of the pandemic, but “when?” and “how?” remain just out of reach. We are in the in-between place, the liminal space, a time of miracle and magic, fear and anxiety, wonder and grief.

In such a space, where do we cast our eyes for hope? In such a space, what is the spiritual work as we wait for the new dawn?

 

Words of Welcome - Rev. Justin Schroeder (:31)

Wisdom Story - Aimee K. Bryant (1:45)

Hymn- Lo, How a Rose/The Rose - First Universalist Choir (12:54)

Sermon - In the Interim Time - Rev. Justin Schroeder (18:18)

Interlude - Why Shouldn't We - David Lauth (34:20)

Blessing - Rev. Justin Schroeder (34:56)

November 22, 2020 - The Seeds We Are Planting - Rev. Arif Mamdani

From Rev. Arif: These last many weeks, I’ve been returning to the notion of the fractal nature of reality that adrienne maree brown writes about in Emergent Strategy. As she writes: “Dandelions contain an entire community in each spore that gets blown on children’s breath.” Here in the Twin Cities, the dandelions are long gone. Winter is coming. COVID rates are on the rise. Hospitals and those who staff them are at the very edge. This may well be a very hard season. And yet, I wonder in this emerging winter, what spores are we crafting that will reseed the Earth as it awakens in spring? How might we, individually and collectively share the burdens, lighten our load, and move, even just a little, toward the world we dream of? Let’s gather up on Sunday- Breathe together and share word and song as we turn our hearts toward the season ahead, grab each other’s (digital, imaginary) hands, and make our way through.

 

Words of Welcome, Julica Hermann de la Fuente (:28)

Wisdom Story- Tigers Above, Tigers Below, Seth Anderson-Matz (3:41)

Interlude - Be Here Now, David Lauth (6:30)

Sermon- The Seeds We Are Planting, Ref. Arif Mamdani (7:45)

November 15, 2020 - Living Our Values During the Pandemic Holidays, Rev. Justin Schroeder

The costs of the global pandemic have been high: lives and jobs lost; family gatherings, celebrations, and memorial services postponed, or cancelled; and physical contact limited with friends and loved ones. At the same time, for some of us, the lockdowns and different pace of life have given us a glimpse of what else might be possible. For a time, the smoggy sky over major world cities cleared. Carbon emissions dropped. Many of us became more clear what really mattered and why. How might these new “pandemic insights” shape our holiday season this year? What would it mean to put the earth first this year? To prioritize what really matters? Though the votes have been counted, and a new president elected, every day, we get to vote with our dollars, our actions, and our relationships. Everyday, we can cast a vote for a more just and fair world, or a vote for the status quo. This Sunday, we explore these questions as we launch our annual Holiday Giving Project, in support of Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism.

 

Words of Welcome- Rev. Schroeder (:21)

Story for All Ages- Lauren Wyeth (2:28)

Hymn, Glory Glory- Aimee K. Bryant and Franco Holder

Holiday Giving Reflections- Rev. Schroeder, Lena K. Gardner, Lamboglia Family, Isabel Quast (7:00)

Outro Music, We Shall Be Known - Seth Anderson-Matz

 

October 25, 2020 - The Ordination of Rev. Arif Mamdani

Some say that the most unique element of Unitarian Universalism is its individualism - the idea that each one of us is an essential source of religious authority for our own spiritual journey. But individualism and personal authority are not all there is to it. Our faith requires community, and our faith communities call out the good - and the god - in us. This Sunday, we set one among us apart as we ordain Arif Mamdani to the Unitarian Universalist ministry. Our faith community will call out the good - and the god - in him - and we will reaffirm our commitment to call out the good and the god in ourselves and each other.

 

Words of Welcome, Rev. Justin Schroeder (:30)

Story for All Ages, Seth Matz (2:29)

Hymn: Gather the Spirit, Aimee K. Bryant and Franco Holder (7:38)

Homily, Rev. Jen Crow (10:30)

Act of Ordination, Bryana French and congregants (21:42)

Presentation of Stole (26:20)

Laying on of Hands, Revs. Janne and Rob Eller-Isaacs (31:00)

Hand of Kinship, Rev. Ashley Horan (35:45)

Charge to the Minister, Rev. Karen Hutt (39:33)

Charge to the Congregation, Rev. Meg Riley (46:10)

Hymn: For All That is Our Life, Fawzia Khan and Franco Holder (49:11)

Benediction, Rev. Arif Mamdani (51:14)

October 18, 2020- Magnitude and Bond, Arif Mamdani

The poet Gwendolyn Brooks, in a poem and tribute to Paul Robeson writes “…we are each other’s harvest/ We are each other’s business/ We are each other’s magnitude and bond.” These lines reflect one way we might understand what we’re driving at at church when we talk about being a community of communities. This Sunday, Aimee Bryant, Arif Mamdani, and Lauren Wyeth weave together music, story, and prayer and in the process endeavor to lift up some ways we might enter into all this: these words from Gwendolyn Brooks, the invitation of community, and a heart’s yearning to be known and beloved.

 

Wisdom Story- Lauren Wyeth (:29)

Hymn- Aimee K. Bryant and Franco Holder (5:08)

Sermon- Arif Mamdani (6:30)

 

August 23, 2020- New Beginnings Ritual

 On Sunday morning, August 23, we celebrated our annual back-to-school ritual (formerly known as Backpack Blessing) in a new way for new times.

 

Song- Seth Matz (:22)

Wisdom Story- Aimee K. Bryant (2:49)

Song- Count on Me by Bruno Mars, First Universalist Choir (11:25)

Sermon-Rev. Jen Crow (14:43)

Back-to-School Blessing- Ministers and Staff (30:36)

Song- Go On Your Way in Peace, First U Summer Campers (32:57)

July 26, 2020 - Mining the Museum

Museums tell us stories about the past and challenge us to understand the present. The images from museums penetrate our consciousness and linger in our psyche often shaping our values, beliefs and theologies. Come take a museum tour with Rev. Karen and view the dioramas of your mind. 

 

Words of Welcome- Rev. Justin (:30)

 

Story- Fred Wilson, via San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (5:30)

 

Music- Upside Down Star Spangled Banner (9:27)

 

Sermon- Rev. Karen Hutt (11:27)

 

July 19, 2020- The Languages We Speak

This Sunday, through story, song, prayer, and word, we open up this question of what it means to exist in and between multiple worlds, cultures, and realities as we continue to explore our summer worship theme of “Here We Are.” Arif Mamdani will be joined on the virtual chancel by Isabela Alvarez, with music from Seth Matz. 

 

Wisdom Story- Isabela (:32)

 

Song- Seth (6:30)

 

Sermon- Arif (8:42)