THE PROMISE AND PRACTICE OF COMMUNITY At the heart of our Unitarian Universalist tradition is the intention to create and sustain caring communities in which participants are supported and encouraged to live lives of principle and service and care for one another. What does this look like? What are the...

LEAVING HOME, AGAIN AND AGAIN Question: What does Cole Porter’s song “Don’t Fence Me In” have in common with the following: a)  Unitarianism Universalism history and culture; b)  your individual religious journey; c)  and the First Chakra? Answer: All will be revealed on February 3, 2013. Cynthia Johnson, a retired Unitarian...

RELIGIONLESS CHRISTIANITY German Lutheran Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer responded to the horror of the Third Reich with both radical action and revolutionary theology. Rev. Michael Brecke is Pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in beautiful downtown Juddville. Music: Gerri Friedberg Service Leader: Phil Hansotia

ORIGINS OF COMPASSION Concern for others and desire to alleviate suffering are at the core of compassion. Compassion in human relations, along with justice and equity are one of the seven UU Principles. We are not alone in affirming this value; it is prominent in all major religions, albeit sometimes...

THE NECESSITY OF SOLITUDE In the modern world religion is primarily a social enterprise. But everyone requires solitude, a being apart, remote and isolated. It is the profound act of listening to your own inner voice. Alfred North Whitehead, the philosopher, defined religion as what the individual does with his...

ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS As the New Year approaches, we touch the memories we have created in the year just past and look together at the wishes and hopes we have for the year to come. Joan Shiels is a long-time friend and frequent speaker at our Fellowship. Music: Tanner Lundquist...

OUR INNER APES: EVOLUTION OF HUMAN EMPATHY Human empathy is based on the evolution of the social brain in monkeys, apes, and prehistoric hominids.  Six million years of social behavior provides evidence for this aspect of our moral nature.  How does this relate to values and actions in our present day...

WISHES, HOPE, REGRETS, AND SORROW These words have wandered in and out of my mind for years, sort of like elusive lyrics. Why do they keep hanging around?  What are they doing there?  A reflection on “Words, words, words, words, words” a quotation attributed to Phil Sweet by one of...

POINTS OF VIEW What you see depends on where you are standing. Joan Shiels is a teacher, preacher and storyteller who has been bringing messages to our fellowship for many years. Music: Gerri Friedberb Service Leader: Susan Leeder

THE CHALLENGES OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM AND THE UNIVERSALIST OPTION Awareness of religious pluralism presents believers not only with theological options but also with potential theological problems. How is it possible for a person to commit to one religious tradition while other traditions seem to offer equally valid accounts of “the...