The Sunday Sermon Podcast from First Universalist Church of Minneapolis

Oct. 29, 2023- Walden Ripples-10th grade COA Youth

Youth homilies from Oct. 29 worship.
Recently, our youth returned from a trip to Boston, a city rich in Unitarian Universalism history, and their fresh perspectives and thought-provoking questions are reshaping our understanding of our common faith. Through their encounters with our traditions, legends, and seminarians, their connection to our faith and our spiritual community deepens. Their reflections are sure to have a profound impact on your journey, too.

October 22, 2023- Your People Are My People- Rev. Ashley Harness

The sharing portion of the service, in which small groups discuss Llama Llama Red Pajama with Rev. Ashley.
Each week we sing, “Where you go I will go, Beloved” to end our worship service and send each other back into the world remembering we do not go alone. This week we’ll dig a little deeper into that song: how do we actually travel with each other as Beloveds and make real the idea that “your people are my people?" In this multigenerational service, we’ll experiment with building a spiritual practice of solidarity that begins with listening to our own bodies’ stories and moves outward playfully and meaningfully into family, church and wider and wider circles of community.

October 15, 2023- Mental Health Sunday- Katherine Harrell

Our mental well-being is deeply linked with the relationships we cultivate and the social networks we are part of. By learning to understand and nurture each other in deeper ways, we can gain insight into our own mental health and well-being.
Just like our Earth thrives on diversity, so do we. The diversity of our connections and experiences make us stronger. However, to tap into this strength, we need to be open to giving and receiving wisdom, even when it's uncomfortable or challenging. 
Along this enlightening journey to worship and wisdom, we will also create a simple ritual of candlelight–a time to honor our individual and collective mental health journeys, to learn and remember that we can navigate these journeys together, as a community. 
There is space for hope if we break down the walls of communication and stigma that often separate us. This service promises to be a thought-provoking exploration of how we are part of each other's health, and an invitation to the heart to honor the many truths of each unfolding story.

Oct. 8, 2023- The Rules of Engagement- Rev. Jen Crow

Rev. Jen's Oct. 8 Sermon, The Rules of Engagement
 
We know that listening deeply to each other changes both the speaker and the listener – but what are the rules of engagement for how and when and who we listen to, and who we speak to? Who controls the expectations of how we will be with each other in society and relationships, and what happens when the limits change? What role might grace play in all of this? 

Oct. 1, 2023- Loosen, Loosen, Baby- Rev. Jen Crow

Rev. Jen's sermon from Oct. 1, 2023- Loosen, Loosen, Baby
A single cylinder of interlaced bamboo strips seems delicate around two pointers–at least at first. But soon, they’ll want out. Without thinking, the digits back away from their closeness and find themselves stuck in place. Neither force nor frenzy will help; not twisting, not waiting, not pulling apart. The mind will need to calm to think of something beyond what’s worked before. The hands will need a wiser, more elegant idea to get free from the finger trap.
Hubris would teach us to limit our trust to the ideas we already know. Panic for the problems around us will tighten our grip on what’s familiar. Living from fear for the future will only make it harder to remember the wisdom in the generations. To make space for what we’ve not imagined, we’ll need to release some of what we have. To get free will mean to decenter a lot of what we think we can control, what’s common, what’s cozy, what’s currently clear.
To grasp what love needs from us now, how can we relieve the tensions which trap us? To get to freedom, what would happen if we found the way to loosen up and let go?

Sept. 24- Tough Love- Rev. Jen Crow

Rev. Jen's sermon from Sept. 24, 2023.
The experience of being welcomed with open arms can change us, rooting us in communities of care that transform individuals and society. Practicing this kind of love requires a tough mind and a tender heart, Dr. Martin Luther King once wrote, urging us to develop the characteristics that can ground us in transformative love.

September 17, 2023- Every Last Drop: Welcoming All People- Rev. Jen Crow

Rev. Jen's sermon from Sept. 17, 2023:
Spiders catch water from thin air and store it in the web. There’s no need to go and find it; they are quenched simply by the water the web holds. Spiders build webs to pull raindrops in toward the center which, in turn, make more room on the edges for new drops to arrive. 
 
What if entering the beloved community were a continuing cycle of coming out from the rain, closer and closer to each other? And what if welcoming those on the edges were the action at our core? 
 
Drops of water and wisdom await us on the web. The more we welcome well, the healthier we all are. What would it take to welcome all people? What would we have to lose? What’s not to gain?

Sept. 3, 2023- Lessons for Future Ancestors- Matt Meyer

“Let us measure success by how many of us can say: I am living a life I don’t regret. A life that will resonate with my ancestors…” -adrienne maree brown. Join us for a reflection of heavy suitcases, surprise turning points, and opening to welcome, even when the people are complicated and the path is unclear.

August 27- I Carry Your Heart- Rev. Jen Crow

Rev. Jen's homily from our Backpack Blessing service. 

August 20, 2023- To Change What We Know- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout

Dr. Glen Thomas' sermon from the Lake Harriet service, Aug. 20, 2023.