Open Minds, Helping Hands, Loving Hearts: RE Sunday / Open Minds, Helping Hands and Loving Hearts: RE and Bridging Sunday

9:15 AM: Open Minds, Helping Hands, Loving Hearts: RE Sunday / A Sacred Chord

An all-ages service led by Director of Religious Education Colleen Thoele, RE teacher and the children of UUCK!

The children are leading the service! The children are leading the service! Each Spring we celebrate our children on Religious Education Sunday. This morning you are invited to sit back, relax and open your hearts to the gifts they have to share with us. 

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:

*In the children’s chalice lighting we proclaim that “we are the church of the open minds, helping hands and loving hearts”….. Share a story of how you practice having an open mind.

1. What are some ways people have helped you?
2. How have you been inspired to help others?

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: Open Minds, Helping Hands and Loving Hearts: RE and Bridging Sunday

A multi-platform service (both in-person and on Zoom) led by Director of Religious Education Colleen Thoele and Chair of the Children’s Religious Education Committee, Amanda Rome.

Each Spring we celebrate our children and youth on Religious Education Sunday. This morning you are invited to sit back, relax and open your hearts to the gifts they have to share with us. This service will also celebrate the bridging of our high school graduates as they prepare to journey toward the next chapter of their lives.

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

Looking ahead . . .

On Sunday, June 2, 2024 we will begin our summer format of one service at 10 AM held in Hobbs Hall and on Zoom. Beginning on June 23, children and youth will begin in service and then be excused to their summer RE class together following the Time for All Ages.

Telling Multiple Stories / The 2%

9:15 AM: Telling Multiple Stories

An in-person all-ages service led by Music Director Emily Hall, DRE Colleen Thoele, with reflection by Rev. Renee Ruchotzke

Our faith has a long history with lots of changes to what we believe over the years as our faith has become more inclusive of diverse cultures. This year congregations have been thinking about how we might reframe our theology as we put love at the center. We will also have a special porcine guest!

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. Of the values Justice, Equity, Transformation, Plurality, Interdependence and Generosity, which is the most important to you, and why? 
2. How does Love influence that value?
3. What is the second-most important value, and how does Love influence it?

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: The 2%

A multi-platform service (both in-person and on Zoom) led by CLM Lori Mirkin-McGee with Worship Associate Wendy Mirkin-McGee.

May 5, 2024 is Yom HaShoah, International Holocaust Remembrance Day. When we think of the Holocaust, it is natural to think of the atrocities committed by the Nazis. We know that six million Jews lost their lives during this genocide. After one of the darkest chapters of human history, the Jews who survived began to tell their stories of how they endured, how they moved forward, and how they found hope. This service will explore some of those stories and shine a light on the survivors of this horrible human tragedy.

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

Learn more about our “new” Sunday morning format.

Come Sing a Song With Me / A Sacred Chord

9:15 AM: Come Sing a Song With Me

An all-ages service led Transitional Music Director Emily Hall, Director of Religious Education Colleen Thoele and Affiliated Minister Renee Ruchotzke.

You know that feeling when a song speaks to your heart? Or how sometimes a song can transport us back to a time and place or a memory?  Come and share in the magic of music and storytelling. This morning we will explore how sharing music together can strengthen our connections to each other. 

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. Who and what has been part of your relationship with music?
2. What yearnings do you have about expressing and embodying your musicality?

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: A Sacred Chord

A multi-platform service (both in-person and on Zoom) led by Transitional Music Director Emily Hall with Affilifated Minister Rev. Christie Anderson.

Making music together, or musicking, can be a sacred act. The collaboration and community that we embody when we make music together is more vast than what we can access individually, on our own. Join us on this Music Sunday, as we explore our theme of musical interdependence and celebrate the many talents, voices, and musical hearts of our congregation! 

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

Learn more about our “new” Sunday morning format.

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.