The God of Your Understanding Part II with Rev. Joan Shiels I used to have this really great dog. She came from the pound. She was a mixture of about ten different breeds, but seemed to have inherited the finest features of them all.  She was brown. When people asked me, “What kind of dog is that?” […]

Dismantling Ableism: A Rallying Call For Allies with Pey Carter Most people know that June is Pride Month celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community but few people know that July is Disability Pride Month.  Join guest speaker, Pey Carter, as they discuss the great difference between the two including the level of support from allies along with their […]

“God Cares About Racial Reconciliation. You should too!” with Tracey Robertson In 2 Corinthians 5:19 the Apostle Paul writes that God has given us “the ministry of reconciliation.” In an increasingly racially-divided world, what does that mean to faith communities around the globe today? What’s the Church’s responsibility to racial reconciliation? Acclaimed Anti-racist Educator and Speaker, Tracey Robertson […]

Honoring Our Species: Hands and Feet with Kathleen Smythe I will share what I think is an important way of thinking about the health of the planet and the health of our species together. The premise of this presentation (extracted from my larger work Whole Earth Living) is that healing the planet and human communities are remarkably […]

Surface Tensions: Three Landscapes with Terri Warpinski My talk, described with the broadest of strokes, is about borders and bordering. Surface Tension began as a continuation of my long-time interest in the landscape subject – in the physical marks or traces demarcating geo-political borders. That impulse shifted and expanded over time in dramatic ways. French philosopher Jacques Ranciére’s view is that art can be summoned to put […]

The God of Your Understanding Part I with Rev. Joan Shiels Many Christians were offered a vision of God as children and young people that did not satisfy them as adults. As a result, some people abandoned God altogether. Others found a mature vision of God which is, as it turns out, is quite different […]

Three Stories – Three Lessons with Dick Smythe A huge public library’s astonishing decision that reduces its income by several million dollars. The discovery and subsequent  study of ancient North American Indian footprints without any involvement by Native Americans either in their study or subsequent interpretation.  An innocent Black man shot dead in his apartment […]

The Ukrainian Refugee Crisis – The Refugee’s Journey with Claudena Skran The war between Russia and Ukraine has created one of the largest refugee movements in modern European history. Join Professor Claudena Skran, Lawrence University, as she traces the journey of women, men, and children from their homes in Ukraine to places of safety in […]

Eating Dessert First with Rev. Dr. Tony Larsen About his sermon, Tony says, “I have a t-shirt that reads, ‘Life’s Uncertain: Eat Dessert First!’  My sermon will explore this particular conundrum: When should we save the world; when should we savor it?” Service Leader: Bob Lindahl Music: Birch Creek Trombones             […]

Vexillolatry with Rev. Dr. Tony Larsen On this 4th-of-July weekend Tony’s sermon will explore an interesting (and, he hopes, timely) subject. If you are not familiar with the word “vexillolatry,” you can either look it up (probably online–many dictionaries don’t include this word yet). OR you can wait till this Sunday. Rev. Dr. Tony Larsen […]