First Universalist Church of Minneapolis Sunday Service Podcast

May 12, 2019 - Our First Sound

It starts early and remains complicated, lovely, weird, fun, scary and joyous. Our relationships with our mothers are at the root of our lives and they can not be ignored or celebrated lightly.

Sermon: Rev. Karen Hutt

May 5, 2019 - The Constant, Pt. 2

Rev. Justin writes: Nearly 10 years ago, I preached a sermon on an episode of the show “Lost.” The title of the Sermon was “The Constant.” I was reminded of this sermon in a conversation with a congregant two weeks ago. It had stuck with him all these years. I soon as he mentioned it, I also remembered the sermon, and thought, “as we begin our May exploration of ‘Thresholds’, let’s explore what, if anything, remains as we cross the thresholds in our lives — from student to graduate, from single to married, from married to single, from well to ill, whatever it might be. Is there anything that remains constant in those threshold moments — those moments marked by a ‘before’ and an ‘after?'”

Wisdom Story: Rev. Jen Crow (:30)

Sermon: Rev. Justin Schroeder (5:49)

April 28, 2019- Choir-led Service: Requiem, by Mozart

First Universalist Choir sings Mozart’s Requiem, a piece shrouded in mystery. Commissioned by a (then unidentified) stranger, possibly written for his own funeral, and eventually completed by Mozart’s student, the work is just as intriguing as its story.

This podcast includes First Universalist Choir & Orchestra performing Mozart’s Requiem and Rev. Jen Crow’s sermon, “Ours to Complete.”

Please see the Order of Service to follow along and to see the list of those performing.

Call to Worship - :32

Intro, Krie, Dies Irae - 4:35

Rex Tremendae - 13:44

"Ours to Complete, pt. 1" - 15:48

Confutatis, Lacrimosa - 20:44

"Ours to Complete, pt. 2" - 25:55

Agnus Dei, Lux aeterna - 31:24

 

April 21, 2019 - Rise Up

So often we are so tied up in knots by our fears, our heartache, and our attachments to certain ways of doing things that we don’t recognize the promise of transformation that is right in front of us. The invitation into new life doesn’t match the story line we are looping over and over again in our head. The religious life asks us to move deeper and wider than the repeated story line of either/or, good or bad, in or out. Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön says: “Feel the feelings, drop the story line.” How might this spiritual practice resurrect our lives? How might we open ourselves to the unexpected bits of grace that intersect with our lives everyday? How are we called to rise up?

Worship Associate: Daryn Woodson

Message for All Ages: Road to Emmaus; Luke 24:13-33, adapted by Ruth MacKenzie

Sermon: Rev. Ruth MacKenzie

April 14, 2019 - Asking the Right Questions

Joining Rev. Justin in the service will be the LaPointe family, a Lakota family that First Universalist has been in relationship with for a number of years.

The LaPointe Family shares some reflections on the importance of relationship in organizing, the Earth, and spirituality.

Then, Rev. Justin weaves a homily with the themes of the LaPoint family's work. What if the question is not “what do we do?” in the face of climate change, but “who are we in relationship with?” and “how can those relationships deepen?” 

 

Call to Worship: Thorne LaPoint

Reflections: The LaPointe Family

Sermon: Rev. Justin Schroeder

Piano Music: Franco Holder

April 7, 2019 - The Third Body

Our promises transform us. Being unwavering in our commitment may feel static, but it will shape us. Transformation will happen.
– The Third Body, by Robert Bly.

Wisdom Story: Life Itself, by Rev. Kristin Maier; read by Lauren Wyeth

Sermon: Rev. Elaine Aron Tenbrink

 

March 31, 2019 - It Takes A Village

Me'Lea Connelly has a compelling spiritual, moral, and economic vision for a black-owned credit union in North Minneapolis. Learn more about how this vision came to be and how we can support it.

Call to Worship: Rev. Justin Schroeder

Sermon: Guest Speaker, Me'Lea Connelly

March 24, 2019 - Called to Beloved Community

Unitarian Universalists are being called in this moment to live more powerfully and boldly into a vision of Beloved Community. What does this look like and how do we answer “Yes” to this calling in our lives and in our congregations?

Call to Worship: Rev. Jen Crow

Sermon: Guest Minister & UUA President, Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray

March 17, 2019 - Wisdom of Trees

What if sacrifice is more than a matter of giving something up? What if sacrifice moves us closer to what is essential, to what is holy and whole? What if in the act of sacrifice we move into the great exchange, where giving becomes receiving and offering transforms into blessing? What if the dynamics of sacrifice mean staying close to what is relevant — the “real” of reality? What if we quit paging through holy books and asked the trees to school us in the sacred work of community and sacrifice?

Worship Associate: Leila Ambrus

Sermon: Rev. Ruth MacKenzie

Music: Free Music Archive

March 10, 2019 - American Sacrifice

Sacrifice is an evocative word. We have immediate images when we hear the word. What role has sacrifice played in creating value? What does sacrifice in our culture teach us about agency and destruction? How do we challenge the the doctrine of American sacrifice as people of faith?

Worship Associate: Taylor Putz

Sermon: Rev. Karen Hutt

Piano music: Franco Holder