Posted on April 1, 2024

An Amazing World Below / Ecotopia

9:15 AM: An Amazing World Below

There are more living things in one teaspoon of soil than there are people on the planet. How does this impact us humans? An in-person all-ages service led by Affiliated Minister Rev. Renee Ruchotzke with Transitional Music Director Emily Hall. Reflection by Randy Ruchotzke.

10:00 AM Lifespan Religious Exploration

Religious exploration for our children and youth in classrooms.

Facilitated small reflection groups for adults in Hobbs Hall using our wondering questions:

1. Do you (or have you ever) garden? How connected do you feel to the soil, and all of the life that is a part of it?
2. What are ways that we can widen our understanding of the interconnected web of life in a way that includes all of the life we cannot see?

10:00 – 11:15 AM Community Café

Our social hour in Hobbs Hall is open to all. Connect with others, learn about the church, find out about programs and other opportunities to connect.

Acme, Giant Eagle, and Meijer grocery gift cards are available for purchase every 2nd and 4th Sunday each month. Learn more about this fundraiser.

11:00 AM: Ecotopia

A multi-platform service (both in-person and on Zoom) led by Heidi Shaffer Bish with Worship Associate Randy Bish.

What can an offbeat novel written in 1975 offer us today? In the face of apathy, denial, apocalyptic or dystopian thought, can we vision our own ecotopian societies and live into them? Join worship leader Heidi Shaffer Bish and worship associate Randy Bish in an exploration of ecology, culture and the interdependent web.

CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service.

Learn more about our “new” Sunday morning format.

“We Need One Another” / “Engage!”: Embracing the Liberating Religion

9:15 AM: “We Need One Another”

An in-person all-ages service led by Rev. Sunshine Wolfe, Director of Religious Education Colleen Thoele, and Affiliated Minister Rev. Renée Ruchotzke.

We are the faith where everyone is loved because we make promises (covenants) to love and care for one another. How might we live into those promises?

10:00 AM Lifespan Religious Exploration

Religious exploration for our children and youth in classrooms.

Facilitated small reflection groups for adults in Hobbs Hall using our wondering questions:

• How do you relate to the difference between punitive and restorative practices of reconciliation?
• How do you think covenant helps guide the relationship and connection between you and members of the congregation and community?

10:00 – 11:15 AM Community Café

Our social hour in Hobbs Hall is open to all. Connect with others, learn about the church, find out about programs and other opportunities to connect.

Acme, Giant Eagle, and Meijer grocery gift cards are available for purchase every 2nd and 4th Sunday each month. Learn more about this fundraiser.

11:00 AM: “Engage!”: Embracing the Liberating Religion

A multi-platform service (both in-person and on Zoom) led by Rev. Sunshine Wolfe and Worship Associate Lori McGee.

As religious communities, we are called to meet the spiritual needs of the people in our communities and those who will find and continue our sacred promise. We will explore the interdependent nature of our religious communities within and beyond our walls. How do we set the direction of our liberating religious communities so that when it is time to engage, we know everyone has played a meaningful and spiritually grounded role in what comes next. We will engage with themes of interdependence, restorative justice, collaborative ministry, and collective liberation. Come join us in the troublemaking!

CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service.

Learn more about our “new” Sunday morning format.

Celebration of Life

A memorial service to celebrate the life of Mary Maske will be held in the sanctuary on Friday, April 5, 2024 at 12:00 pm with a reception to follow in Hobbs Hall.  

CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service.

Threading the Web of Interconnection / Love at the Center

9:15 AM: Threading the Web of Interconnection

An in-person all-ages service led by Director of Religious Education Colleen Thoele, Transitional Music Director Emily Hall and Affiliated Minister Rev. Renee Ruchotzke. The reflection will be offered by Mary Ann Kasper.

What does our interdependence look like in practice? How might we care for the earth as well as one another?

10:00 AM Lifespan Religious Exploration

Religious exploration for our children and youth in classrooms.

Facilitated small reflection groups for adults in Hobbs Hall using our wondering questions:

• The motto “Reduce-Reuse-Recycle” is often just associated with “recycle.” What are some practices where you reduce the amount of trash you produce, or reuse things that other people might throw out?
• What are some things you do in your own life that care for both the planet and for other people?

10:00 – 11:15 AM Community Café

Our social hour in Hobbs Hall is open to all. Connect with others, learn about the church, find out about programs and other opportunities to connect.

Acme, Giant Eagle, and Meijer grocery gift cards are available for purchase every 2nd and 4th Sunday each month. Learn more about this fundraiser.

11:00 AM: Love at the Center

A multi-platform service (both in-person and on Zoom) led by affiliated minister Rev. Renee Ruchotzke, Worship Associate Randy Bish, and Transitional Music Director Emily Hall.

Christian Nationalism is on the rise and the upcoming election will provide a stark choice about what kind of world we want to live in. We will explore how the national UU conversation about updating our seven principles is a conversation about our core values of inclusion and interdependence and how they can help us model a compelling alternative.

CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service.

Learn more about our “new” Sunday morning format.

Rise in Love: Easter Sunday / Things I Didn’t Learn in Sunday School

9:15 AM: Rise in Love: Easter Sunday

An in-person all-ages service led by Affiliated Community Minister Renée Ruchotzke, Director of Religious Exploration Colleen Thoele, Transitional Music Director Emily Hall, and Worship Associate David Weaver.

The story of Easter is a story of resistance to power and oppression, grounded in the love that surpasses all. How has the story of Jesus been changed over the millennia? Reflection dialogue between David Weaver and Rev. Renée Ruchotzke.

10:00 AM Lifespan Religious Exploration

Religious exploration for our children and youth in classrooms.

Facilitated small reflection groups for adults in Hobbs Hall using our wondering questions:

• What was your understanding of the Easter story growing up? What parts (if any) still resonate with you?
• Our Universalist heritage is grounded in the redeeming power of God’s love for the world, with no exceptions. What are ways the Universalist part of our faith shows up in your personal beliefs?

10:00 – 11:15 AM Community Café

Our social hour in Hobbs Hall is open to all. Connect with others, learn about the church, find out about programs and other opportunities to connect.

Acme, Giant Eagle, and Meijer grocery gift cards are available for purchase every 2nd and 4th Sunday each month. Learn more about this fundraiser.

11:00 AM: Things I Didn’t Learn in Sunday School

A multi-platform service (both in-person and on Zoom) led by CLM Lori Mirkin-McGee and Affiliated Community Minister Rev. Christie Anderson.

For Christians around the world, Easter is the most holy time of the year. It is both solemn–the crucifixion and death of Jesus–and joyous–the resurrection of Christ as the saviour of humankind. But who was Jesus, really? How did his socio-political environment influence his actions? What would have happened had he not died on the cross? Please join us as we explore the life, and death, of Jesus of Nazareth.

CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service.

Learn more about our “new” Sunday morning format.

Each a Beloved Part / Who Are We Now?

9:15 AM: Each a Beloved Part

An in-person all-ages service led by Director of Religious Education Colleen Thoele and Affiliated Community Minister Renée Ruchotzke.

In these times of struggle, we journey together seeking refuge, hope and safety within our communities.  This morning we will turn to the transforming power of community care to guide us. Reflection by guest minister Rev. Dr. Elaine Strawn.

10:00 AM Lifespan Religious Exploration

Religious exploration for our children and youth in classrooms.

Facilitated small reflection groups for adults in Hobbs Hall using our wondering questions:

• Did you have a community of support beyond your family when you were younger? Share a story of how you helped one another.
• What support communities do you have now? What kind of communities do you yearn for?

10:00 – 11:15 AM Community Café

Our social hour in Hobbs Hall is open to all. Connect with others, learn about the church, find out about programs and other opportunities to connect.

Acme, Giant Eagle, and Meijer grocery gift cards are available for purchase every 2nd and 4th Sunday each month. Learn more about this fundraiser.

11:00 AM: Who Are We Now?

A multi-platform service (both in-person and on Zoom) led by Rev. Dr. Elaine Strawn and Worship Associate CLM Kathy Kerns.

There is a lovely children’s book in which a young girl flees her mirror image because it misses so much of her true persona. Congregations can be like that, too.  Sometimes we have a much bigger (or smaller) version of ourselves and we flee the image.  But our quest is to join together, moving forward into a deep and abiding vision.

CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service.

Learn more about our “new” Sunday morning format.

The Alchemy of Ancestors / Not The Saint You’re Thinking Of Today

9:15 AM: The Alchemy of Ancestors

We are part of the Web of Life along with those that came before us. This morning we will spend time illuminating and honoring our connections to the ancestors. 

An in-person all-ages service led by Director of Religious Education Colleen Thoele, Transitional Music Director Emily Hall, and Affiliated Community Minister Rev. Renée Ruchotzke with a reflection by Kevyn Breedon.

10:00 – 10:45 AM Lifespan Religious Exploration

Religious exploration for our children and youth in classrooms.

Facilitated small reflection groups for adults in Hobbs Hall using our wondering questions:

• What is a gift that you have received from your ancestors? How has it shaped the person that you are today?
• Think of yourself as an ancestor of the next seven generations. (This doesn’t necessarily have to be of people you are actually related to, but could be those that you might influence.) What is a gift that you might be remembered for?

10:00 – 11:15 AM Community Café

Our social hour in Hobbs Hall is open to all. Connect with others, learn about the church, find out about programs and other opportunities to connect.

Acme, Giant Eagle, and Meijer grocery gift cards are available for purchase every 2nd and 4th Sunday each month. Learn more about this fundraiser.

11:00 AM: Not The Saint You’re Thinking Of Today

A multi-platform service (both in-person and on Zoom) led by Elaine Bowen and Worship Associate Heidi Sumser.

The calendar tells us March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day but you may not know that it is also the feast day of Catholic saint, Gertrude of Nivelles. She is the unofficial cat lady and patron saint of cats (and mice / rats plus a few other things). Hers is a medieval tale of a young Benedictine nun in Belgium in the 600s C.E. who founded an abbey and found new found fame in 1982. You will be surprised to learn how. We’ll explore Gertrude’s life as a holy feminist and her relationship to the interconnected web of all existence of which we are all apart.

^{_{Image: By Jean-Pol GRAND MONT – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7946983}}

CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service.

Learn more about our “new” Sunday morning format.