First Universalist Church of Minneapolis Sunday Service Podcast

Holiday Giving & Choir-Led Worship

Led by the music ministry of our choir and orchestra, we are held by exquisite voices and sounds, as we prepare our hearts to make our Holiday Gifts to BLUU (Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism.) Back on November 17, we invited the congregation to consume less this holiday season, to live into our core values, and to re-imagine what joy and justice might look like this holiday season. This Sunday, we pooled our gifts (from the money we didn’t spend this holiday season) to support the work of BLUU. 

Call to Worship by Holiday Giving Team Members (:31)

Fantasia on Christmas Carols, Part 1, Shelley des Islets, Libretto (2:12)

Holiday Giving Team Members Reflection (6:16)

Fantasia on Christmas Carols, Part 2, Shelley des Islets, Libretto (10:32)

Homily, Rev. Justin Schroeder (13:00)

Holiday Giving Offering to Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (23:00)

Fantasia on Christmas Carols, Part 3, Shelley des Islets, Libretto (26:22)

December 8, 2019 - Home: A Philosophical Problem

The greatest problems of philosophy are the most common and mundane aspects of everyday life. Why is the idea of home such a gripping metaphor that evokes deep desire, angst and comfort?  Let’s get past the platitudes and mind numbing nostalgia about home and take a deep dive into the philosophical nature of home.

Call to Worship - Daryn Woodson (:21)

Sermon - Rev. Karen Hutt (5:45)

December 1, 2019 - I Will Light A Candle

Thanksgiving is behind us. December stretches out in front of us. Some of us are entering the season of Advent, looking forward to Christmas. Others in our community look forward to celebrating the Winter Solstice, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa. While our celebrations are diverse and many, home will be a part of all of our celebrations. Whether we're preparing our homes (and hearts) to receive guests, or visiting others, we'll be moving in and between experiences of home.

Call to Worship - Sara Smalley (:32)

Homily - Arif Mamdani (4:45)

November 24, 2019 - Radical Welcome

When have you felt like you truly belonged somewhere? What did it feel like? If you’ve rarely or never had that feeling of belonging, what made you keep showing up in places that didn’t feel comfortable? We claim that Universalism is grounded in a love big enough to hold us all, no exceptions – but how are we doing living into that core belief, and what might we do to become even more radically welcoming?

Call to Worship- Rev. Jen Crow (:29)

Sermon- Rev. Jen Crow (3:51)

November 17, 2019 - Reimagining Joy & Justice

This holiday season, join us in actively engaging in ways to re-imagine our relationship to the holidays, to our families, to our planet, and to our communities. Over the coming weeks, we are inviting the whole congregation to explore what truly brings us joy in this season, to more fully live into our values as people of faith, and to put in motion new practices and ways of being that might live with us throughout the year.  In this service, you’ll hear from Rev. Justin, youth and adult members of our Holiday Giving Team, learn more about about Holiday Giving Recipient, Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism, and be invited to re-imagine what joy and justice might look like in your life this holiday season. 

Youth Reflections (:30)

Reflections from Holiday Giving Team Co-Chairs, Isabel Quast and Rev. Justin Schroeder (4:57)

November 10, 2019 - Doin' Church

What are the spiritual muscles we need to exercise in order to take our place and make room? How do we tone up our aerobic capacity to lift up the whole of our stories, take in the whole of another’s story, the particular of our community’s story, and within the context of our national story? This week, we will talk about the meaning of “reparations,” and develop a musculature to hold “the full acceptance of our collective biography and its consequences (Ta-Nehisi Coates).” In this service, we listen to where love is taking us next in all the complexity, pain, joy, failure, and richness of our multifaceted stories.

Call to Worship- Shawn Neel (:31)

Sermon- Rev. Ruth MacKenzie (4:26) 

November 3, 2019 - You Reading This, Be Ready

Our theme this month is “Taking our Place, and Making Room.” Both of these practices require noticing our ego and its movement in our lives. Are we willing to step back, make room, and let other voices, experiences, and realities hold center stage? Are we willing to step forward when that feels dangerous, uncertain, and vulnerable? So often, deep spiritual work involves navigating and understanding our egos. But what about when we have an encounter in which our ego totally disappears? What place do we take up then?

Call to Worship- Rev. Jen Crow (:32)

Reading- Rev. Justin Schroeder (3:35)

Sermon- Rev. Justin Schroeder (5:10)

October 27, 2019 - History Is What We Make

Ever wonder why and how our church was founded? What does it mean to celebrate the anniversary of a minister’s ordination and installation? Are we consciously using our history to inform our future as a faith movement? This week, we remember and dream together.

 

Call to Worship- Monroe Chumklang

Sermon- Rev. Karen Hutt

October 20, 2019 - Where the Sky Meets the Sea

Disney’s Moana tells the story of a young woman who hears the call of the ocean. In answering the call, Moana embarks on a voyage to save her people, and find the place she belongs in the process. Most of us aren’t called forth into our belonging so dramatically, and few us are accompanied by a soundtrack featuring The Rock. This Sunday, we listen for how the story and music of Moana speak (and sing!) to us in our continued exploration of The Edges of Belonging.

Wisdom Story- Rev. Karen Hutt & members of the congregation (:32)

Reading- Arif Mamdani (3:35)

Sermon- Arif Mamdani (5:25)

October 13, 2019 - Living Beyond the Binary

One of the most important and powerful longings of the human heart is for belonging. Perhaps more important even than food or shelter, belonging can offer us a sense of purpose, meaning, and connection that can sustain us no matter what ups and downs life may throw our way. On this episode, we explore what it might mean to honor that human longing for belonging, for ourselves and each other. 

Call to Worship- Satya Mamdani (:30)

Sermon - Rev. Jen Crow (4:40)