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 20, 2020- A Christmas Pageant

Our beloved annual Christmas Pageant, adapted for the small screen with creativity, humor, and extra layers of meaning will remind you of what matters most in this extraordinary season, as 2020 draws to a close.

This year’s Pageant is born of the time and talents of so many, including: our children and youth, who will co-lead the service and act out our story; Aimee K. Bryant, Randy Buikema, Franco Holder, the First Universalist Choir, Seth Anderson-Matz, Andrew Tralle, Dave and Ani Peichel, several caroling families and our virtual children’s chorus, who crafted amazing music; and a great deal of technical wizardry from dedicated church members and staff.

December 13, 2020 - Question Box Sermon - Julica Hermann de la Fuente

Sunday, December 13, Julica Hermann de la Fuente, our Director of Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Ministries, offers a Question Box Sermon. Do you have a burning inquiry about anti-racism and anti-oppression work, especially as it applies to our congregation? We create the message together when you provide the questions for the sermon part of our worship service.

Words of Welcome - Rev. Justin Schroeder (:22)

Story for All Ages - The Wonder Box- Julica Hermann de la Fuente (3:04)

Sermon - Question Box - Julica Hermann de la Fuente (13:48)

Anthem - Make Them Hear You, from Ragtime - First Universalist Choir, Dr. Randal Buikema, conductor, Dominique Wooten Embretson, soloist, Franco Holder, piano, First Universalist Instrumentalists, Shelley des Islets, editor (40:33)

 

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 29, 2020 - Harvest the Power: Thanksgiving Reimagined

Historically, UU ministers were instrumental in creating this U.S. holiday and the “Pilgrims and the Indians” pageant tradition that roots the holiday in an historically inaccurate and harmful colonial narrative. Many UU congregations in New England can trace their lineage directly back to early settler congregations that had a role in the genocide of Native communities. As a religious tradition, we cannot decide who we will be without reckoning with the truth of who some of our ancestors were.

This year, let us be grateful in a genuine manner. Let our gratitude flow from our deep, ongoing commitment to justice and equity. Let our gratitude grow from the opportunities we have to be together authentically—whether virtually or in person. Please join me as we reimagine this day and gather in community to honor Indigenous ancestors, experiences and traditions. May it be a time to reflect and find meaning in how our shared values connect us. ” – UUA President, Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray.

This podcast includes portions of a UUA service offered Nov. 22, 2020 as part of a 6-week initiative, “Harvest the Power.”

 

Words of Welcome- Julica Hermann de la Fuente (:31)

Opening Ceremony- Mashpee Wampanoag Powwow 2018 (3:22)

Call to Worship- Nina Lytton, First Parish in Cambridge (5:30)

Reflection - Hartman Deetz, Mashpee Wampanoag artist and activist (8:30)

Poem - I am accused of tending to the past by Lucille Clifton; spoken by Nina Lytton (16:37)

Interlude- excerpt from All Nations Rise by Lyla June (17:41)

Sermon- Rev. Dr. Susan Frederick-Gray (18:12)

Interlude- excerpt from One World (We Are One) by Taboo, IllumiNative and Mag 7 (35:20)

Invitation and Blessing - Aly Tharp, UU Ministry for Earth (35:56)

 

 

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

 

November 8, 2020 - What Now? - Rev. Justin Schroeder

The election is over. The votes counted and still being counted. What now? What next? What guides, holds, and shapes us in these coming months? How might we live with, wrestle, and be challenged by these words of the great American poet, Langston Hughes, who wrote,

“Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain—
All, all the stretch of these great green states—
And make America again!”

 

Words of Welcome - Rev. Justin Schroeder (:32)

Story for All Ages- Aimee K. Bryant (2:59)

Sermon- What Now? - Rev. Justin Schroeder (9:11)

November 1, 2020 - On God and Country, Rev. Ashley Horan

On November 3, the United States will hold our 59th national presidential election day–and in the midst of pandemic, climate catastrophe, rising authoritarianism, and widespread uprising, this is perhaps the most significant election in our country’s history. In the context of extreme polarization and threats to so many communities, what trust can we have in the traditional systems and structures of democracy in the United States? And if that trust has been eroded–or never existed–in what can we place our trust, and our hope? Rev. Ashley Horan explores of our current moment and what our faith offers and compels us to do in these times.

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

Story for All Ages, Julica Hermann de la Fuente (5:45)

Sermon- On God and Country, Rev. Ashley Horan (15:52)

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)