Our culture regards the accumulation of things as the greatest human aspiration– but does having a lot of stuff really make us happy? What are our spiritual and moral responsibilities around the material things we own and use?

9:15 AM: An In-Person, All-Ages Service – Hobbs Hall

Led by DRE Colleen Thoele, Music Director Emily Hall, and Rev. Kristina Church.

10:00AM

Facilitated Drop-In Small Reflection Groups for Adults

New Location! Fessenden Hall

This is an opportunity for members, friends, and visitors to reflect and share on wondering questions based on the day’s sermon topic. Everyone (including first-time visitors) is welcome to drop in and join us in Hobbs Hall for this small group connection time.

Religious Education for Children and Youth

See the latest schedule and locations.

This Week’s Wondering Questions:

1. What does the UU Value of Interdependence mean to you, when it comes to the stuff we consume, use, and own? How can we practice gratitude towards the people who make our stuff?
2. How do you see our responsibility to one another and to our planet for our material existence? Are there ways you try to live lightly on the Earth?

11:00 AM: A Multi-Platform, Traditional Service (both in person and on Zoom)

Led by Rev. Kristina Church, Music Director Emily Hall, Jennifer Gregg, and Worship Associate Heidi Shaffer-Bish

CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service for 11:00 AM.

Believe it or not, joy can be a powerful form of resistance! Humans need experiences of jubilation and delight, in order to sustain our spirits for the long fight against injustice. How can we bring more collective delight to our lives and our communities?

9:15 AM: An In-Person, All-Ages Service – Hobbs Hall

Led by DRE Colleen Thoele, Music Director Emily Hall, and Rev. Kristina Church.

10:00AM
Facilitated Drop-In Small Reflection Groups for Adults

New Location! Fessenden Hall

This is an opportunity for members, friends, and visitors to reflect and share on wondering questions based on the day’s sermon topic. Everyone (including first-time visitors) is welcome to drop in and join us in Hobbs Hall for this small group connection time.

Religious Education for Children and Youth

See the latest schedule and locations.

This Week’s Wondering Questions:

1. Describe a memory of collective joy you experienced with a group of other people. Did this moment just arise spontaneously, or did you or others plan and create it? 
2. How do building experiences of joy and delight together help us survive difficult times? How can we have more fun, connection, and laughter in our congregation?

11:00 AM: A Multi-Platform, Traditional Service (both in person and on Zoom)

Led by Rev. Kristina Church, Music Director Emily Hall, and Worship Associate Heidi Shaffer-Bish

CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service for 11:00 AM.

When things are at their bleakest, what gives us hope? We will explore the Christian Easter story through music, scripture, poetry, and our own experiences in today’s troubled world.

Led by Rev. Renee Ruchotzke, Music Director Emily Hall, and Worship Associate Heidi Sumser

Books/Writings Referenced:

• Unitarian Christianity William Ellery Channing (1819)
• The Five Gospels: What Did Jesus Really Say? The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus by Robert W. Funk (1996)

CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service for 11:00 AM.

Sometimes in life we find ourselves in the midst of joy killing situations. We may be going through some unresolved conflict, dissension at work, or in your family. We may find ourselves in a joy robbing circumstance even now with this current political state of affairs. How do we maintain our joy under these conditions? What are you doing to maintain your joy? There are no easy answers but we may be able to return to joy in these times. We will explore the possibilities as we examine “Returning to Joy” together.

9:15 AM: An In-Person, All-Ages Service

Led by DRE Colleen Thoele, and Rev. Renee Ruchotzke. This service will begin in the Church Sanctuary then progress over to Hobbs Hall.

10:00AM Facilitated Drop-In Small Reflection Groups for adults and youth

This is an opportunity for members, friends, and visitors to reflect and share on wondering questions based on the day’s sermon topic. Everyone (including first-time visitors) is welcome to drop in and join us in Hobbs Hall for this small group connection time.

This Week’s Wondering Questions:

1. Share about a time when you experienced joy? How was it different than happiness?
2. What are you doing in these times to make room for joy? How can we help each other practice joy?

10:00 AM Social Hour

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

11:00 AM: A Multi-Platform, Traditional Service (both in person and on Zoom) held in Hobbs Hall.

Led by Randy Bish and Worship Associate CLM Kathy Kerns.

CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service for 11:00 AM.

In a world fraught with so much difficulty, do we have the luxury to be creative? How does creativity help us move in the direction we desire? Where do we start? Let’s gather as our vibrant musical community as we explore creativity and the place of creativity in our revolutionary love.

9:15 AM: An In-Person, All-Ages Service

Led by Rev. Kristina Church, DRE Colleen Thoele and Director of Music Ministries Emily Hall.

10:00AM Facilitated Drop-In Small Reflection Groups for adults and youth

This is an opportunity for members, friends, and visitors to reflect and share on wondering questions based on the day’s sermon topic. Everyone (including first-time visitors) is welcome to drop in and join us in Hobbs Hall for this small group connection time.

This Week’s Wondering Questions:

1. What benefits do you derive from yours or others acts of creativity? What nourishes your creativity? How does your creativity contribute to your resilience?
2. How does music help us embody the world that we want to exist? We might have a sense-This is a song I want to live in- what songs/lyrics or poetry speak to the world that you want to live in?

10:00 AM Social Hour

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

11:00 AM: A Multi-Platform, Traditional Service (both in person and on Zoom)

Led by Director of Music Ministries Emily Hall and Worship Associate Rev. Christie Anderson.

CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service for 11:00 AM.

Healthy relationships are based on mutual trust, a ‘bridge between solitudes’ that’s effortful and time-consuming to build– yet so fragile, it can be shattered in an instant. How can we cultivate trustworthiness? Can trust, once broken, ever be re-earned? What does it take for us to open our hearts to one another, again and again?

9:15 AM: An In-Person, All-Ages Service

Led by Rev. Kristina Church, DRE Colleen Thoele, and Music Director Emily Hall.

10:00AM Facilitated Drop-In Small Reflection Groups for adults and youth

This is an opportunity for members, friends, and visitors to reflect and share on wondering questions based on the day’s sermon topic. Everyone (including first-time visitors) is welcome to drop in and join us in Hobbs Hall for this small group connection time.

This Week’s Wondering Questions:

1. Brene Brown breaks trustworthiness down into seven elements that spell the acronym BRAVING. The “I” is for Integrity: choosing courage over comfort; choosing what’s right over what’s fun, fast, or easy; and practicing our values, not just professing them. How do you try to practice integrity in your own life?
2. Have you ever been disappointed in someone who broke trust with you, but then managed to rebuild that relationship? What did it take for you to trust again? How did they show they were trustworthy? And if you’re not there yet, what would it take to rebuild your trust?

10:00 AM Social Hour

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

11:00 AM: A Multi-Platform, Traditional Service (both in person and on Zoom)

Led by Rev. Kristina Church with Music Director Emily Hall.

CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service for 11:00 AM.

When it feels like the world has been turned upside down, we need to know where we can place our trust. What can possibly hold us when life itself is out of control? Could this be the very moment when the call of faith is most clear?

9:15 AM: An In-Person, All-Ages Service

Led by Rev. Kristina Church, DRE Colleen Thoele, and Music Director Emily Hall.

10:00AM Facilitated Drop-In Small Reflection Groups for adults and youth

This is an opportunity for members, friends, and visitors to reflect and share on wondering questions based on the day’s sermon topic. Everyone (including first-time visitors) is welcome to drop in and join us in Hobbs Hall for this small group connection time.

This Week’s Wondering Questions:

1. Do you have a “sacred text” that reveals wisdom to you again and again? It could be a book– but it might also be a landscape, a poem, a song, work of art, a manifesto like our UU statement of values, or even a very wise elder. How does your source of truth help you navigate life’s twists and turns?
2. Is there a practice that you do regularly that helps you stay calm and steady? This could be a physical practice, like running or yoga, or a daily walk with a pet. But it could also be mindfully watering your plants, singing or playing an instrument, crafting or making art, or a daily check-in with a friend. What is your practice, and how can you stay faithful to it, even when life gets chaotic?
3. In Sanskrit, “sangha” means a community of faith and practice that help each other grow. In modern life, your sangha could be a club, your extended family, a faith group (like UUCK!) or even an online group you stay close to. Do you have a “sangha”? If yes, how does this community help you stay grounded in who you are? If no, how can you find your people if they haven’t revealed themselves to you yet?

10:00 AM Social Hour

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

11:00 AM: A Multi-Platform, Traditional Service (both in person and on Zoom)

Led by Rev. Kristina Church, Worship Associate CLM Lori Mirkin-McGee, and Music Director Emily Hall.

CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service for 11:00 AM.

It can be daunting to stay on course with our goals and values when we feel they are not consonant with the larger culture or political forces. This service will share about the Iowa Sisterhood, an early group of Unitarian women ministers who followed their calling despite obstacles. We will consider what we might learn from their experiences.

9:15 AM: An In-Person, All-Ages Service

Led by Rev. Kristina Church, DRE Colleen Thoele, and Music Director Emily Hall.

10:00AM Facilitated Drop-In Small Reflection Groups for adults and youth

This is an opportunity for members, friends, and visitors to reflect and share on wondering questions based on the day’s sermon topic. Everyone (including first-time visitors) is welcome to drop in and join us in Hobbs Hall for this small group connection time.

This Week’s Wondering Questions:

1. Think of a time that you had a goal, but ran into obstacles. How did you respond?
2. What are a couple of core values that guide you during the current moment? How do you articulate them to others? How are they making a difference for you?

10:00 AM Social Hour

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

11:00 AM: A Multi-Platform, Traditional Service (both in person and on Zoom)

Led by Commissioned Lay Minister Kathy Kerns, Worship Associate Heidi Sumser, and Music Director Emily Hall.

CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service for 11:00 AM.

Our Soul Matters theme of the month is Inclusion. As we’ve been made painfully aware in the past weeks, DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) programs and practice are being dismantled in many spheres of life across our nation. In order to live into the value of inclusivity within Unitarian Universalism, we’ll discuss how we can assist those with invisible challenges (mental health / neurodivergence / less than obvious different abilities) and not only include but understand, support and integrate them into our church and our lives.   

9:15 AM: An In-Person, All-Ages Service

Led by DRE Colleen Thoele and Music Director Emily Hall.

10:00 AM: Children’s Religious Exploration

Religious exploration for our children and youth in classrooms.

11:00 AM: A Multi-Platform, Traditional Service (both in person and on Zoom)

Led by Elaine Bowen and Worship Associate Lori Mirkin-McGee, with Music Director Emily Hall.

CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service for 11:00 AM.

We try to be compassionate and inclusive as UUs, but how do we set boundaries so that we are not overwhelmed? 

9:15 AM: An In-Person, All-Ages Service

Led by DRE Colleen Thoele, Mike Hovancsek, and Music Director Emily Hall.

10:00 AM: Pancake Breakfast!

In Hobbs Hall. Adults $10; Children 12 & Under $5

11:00 AM: A Multi-Platform, Traditional Service (both in person and on Zoom)

Led by Mike Hovancsek, Commissioned Lay Minister Kathy Kerns, and Music Director Emily Hall.

CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service for 11:00 AM.

As we explore Liberating Love through the Practice of Inclusion this month, let’s turn to the creation of a favorite hymn for inspiration and instruction. How can we answer the call of love, and find ways to widen the circle of belonging in our faith?

9:15 AM: An In-Person, All-Ages Service

Led by Rev. Kristina and DRE Colleen Thoele

10:00 AM: Children’s Religious Exploration

Religious exploration for our children and youth in classrooms.

10:00AM: Youth & Adult Religious Exploration: ABCs of Covenant

Part 2 of our 3-part “Skill-Up” series (in place of our Theme-based reflection circles) to explore the “A-B-Cs” of covenant: Awareness of our interpersonal dynamics, healthy Boundaries around each other and the community as a whole, and skills for better Communication to help us develop more trusting and deeper relationships. Read more…

Located in Hobbs Hall. Coffee and Tea will be available!

11:00 AM: A Multi-Platform, Traditional Service (both in person and on Zoom)

Led by Rev. Kristina, and Worship Associate Randy Bish

CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service for 11:00 AM.

Let’s celebrate the legacy  of our Unitarian spiritual ancestor, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, was a free Black suffragist and abolitionist who achieved fame as an orator, novelist, poet, and teacher. Throughout her life she spoke truth to power for the causes of freedom, inclusion, and dignity for all. How can her writings and life story inspire Unitarian Universalists, as we meet our current moment in history?

9:15 AM: An In-Person, All-Ages Service

Led by Rev. Kristina, DRE Colleen Thoele with Music Director Emily Hall.

10:00 AM: Children’s Religious Exploration

Religious exploration for our children and youth in classrooms.

10:00AM: Youth & Adult Religious Exploration: ABCs of Covenant

A 3-part “Skill-Up” series (in place of our Theme-based reflection circles) to explore the “A-B-Cs” of covenant: Awareness of our interpersonal dynamics, healthy Boundaries around each other and the community as a whole, and skills for better Communication to help us develop more trusting and deeper relationships. Read more…

Located in Hobbs Hall. Coffee and Tea will be available!

11:00 AM: A Multi-Platform, Traditional Service (both in person and on Zoom)

Led by Rev. Kristina, Music Director Emily Hall, and Worship Associate Heidi Sumser.

CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service for 11:00 AM.

As we move into the next presidential chapter of the American story, let’s ground ourselves in our UU values of Justice and Equity. We’ve said that every human being has inherent worthiness and dignity. We have declared that every person has the right to flourish. How do we work to bring this about? 

9:15 AM: An In-Person, All-Ages Service

Led by Rev. Kristina and DRE Colleen Thoele.

10:00 AM: Lifespan Religious Exploration

Religious exploration for our children and youth in classrooms.

10:00AM Facilitated Small Reflection Groups for adults and youth

This is an opportunity for members, friends, and visitors to reflect and share on wondering questions based on the day’s sermon topic. Everyone (including first-time visitors) is welcome to drop in and join us in Hobbs Hall for this small group connection time.

This Week’s Wondering Questions:

1. Our UU Values commit us to dismantle racism and other oppressions, and to work towards the Beloved Community where all people can thrive. What’s one thing you would like to do, learn, or contribute to this year to live into our value of Justice?
2. Each of us has some identities that lend us privilege–through our racial, cultural, educational, economic, gender, sexual orientation, or health status. And some of us have identities that can marginalize us, or even put us in danger. What’s one identity you hold that could help you protect others? What’s one way you might speak up or act up on behalf of the vulnerable in the coming days?

10:00 AM Social Hour

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

11:00 AM: A Multi-Platform, Traditional Service (both in person and on Zoom)

Led by Rev. Kristina and Worship Associate Elaine Bowen

CLICK HERE to view, download, or print the Order of Service for 11:00 AM.