Come into this place which we make holy by our presence...  We gather here to be who we are and who we are called to be.
 

15 June Celebrate Summer

Host:Carolyn Witthuhn Musician: David Heath

22 June Celebrating Poets

Host:Peg Guilfoyle Speaker:Ann Bushnell Musician: Mark Kotz

The spiritual aspects of poetry cannot be denied since all human activities have a spiritual connotation of some sort. Ann Bushnell and Dan Zeddies will explain why the Adult Education Poetry Group was formed three years ago, what was studied on the fourth Wednesday of each month, and what its future might be. Poetry Group members will read poems of their choice, commenting on why they chose them. Talk-back from the audience will be encouraged.

29 June Gay Pride

Host:Guest Speaker:Ann DeGroot Musician:Mary Duncan

Ann DeGroot is a nationally-known human rights leader. The founding Director and former Executive Director of OutFront Minnesota in Minneapolis, she will lead us on a historical tour of the struggle for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender rights in America. What have we learned from’ and since- the Stonewall uprising that began on June 28, 1969? What legacy do we proudly carry forward?

Following the service, join others at the Annual Gay Pride parade in Minneapolis!

6 July Eugene J. McCarthy: Muses & Mementos’ A Documentary Film

Speaker:Mick Caouette Host:David Heath Musician:Carol Caouette

Documentary filmmaker Mick Caouette gives a fascinating glimpse into the mind of an interesting, controversial, and unlikely politician, Eugene J. McCarthy. In the film Muses and Mementos Caouette blends archival footage with McCarthy's own recollections from two interviews he filmed of McCarthy. This writer, poet, scholar, and satirist explores a wide range of subjects with his uniquely rare wit and intellect from his early years in Minnesota to his political views to his relationships with congressional colleagues. McCarthy recites two of his most powerful anti-war poems at the end of the film, and Carol Caouette composed the music for the documentary. Mick will speak briefly about his time with McCarthy and he'll touch on his major project for PBS, Hubert H. Humphrey: The Art of the Possible.

13 July An Edge that Doesn't Cut: the Yin/Yang of Border Control

Speaker:Karen Hering Host:Gloria Ferguson Musician:Mary Duncan

The many borders in our world and our lives can be places of conflict and defense or places of rich exchange. How might the ancient Taoist concept of Yin and Yang deepen our understanding of border dynamics today, and of options for relating to both national and personal boundaries?

20 July UU Home-Based Rituals

Guest Speaker:Bill Doherty Musicians: Meyerding-Dedrick Family

As a professor of marriage, parenting, and family systems, I'm convinced that religion is caught more than taught, and it's caught most fully in the family. Traditional church-centered programs are not enough. We need a new way of thinking and a new set of practices. For the last decade I've been learning a different approach to solving community problems by becoming a cultural change activist and community organizer. For the past several years I've been applying this way of working, a citizen-engagement approach rather than a service-providing or educational approach, to the Family Chalice Project in Minneapolis/St. Paul. A collaborative effort of sixty Unitarian Universalists, the Family Chalice Project is forming networks of families and developing home-based traditions that are strengthening our ties to each other and to our UU tradition. We have spent five years developing the Family Chalice Project at First Universalist Church in Minneapolis and Unity Church-Unitarian in St. Paul.

Because we recognize that the religious development of our children occurs mostly in the home -- its mission statement says, "The Family Chalice fosters the spiritual growth of families through home-based religious practices and conversations tied to the church community. The Family Chalice is a democratic, family-led initiative that engages the energy, knowledge, and experience of the whole community."

27 July What I Saw During 28 Days in the West Bank of Palestine

Guest Speaker: Bill McGrath Host:Jerry Condon Musicians: Bill McGrath and Russell Packard

This presentation follows the travels of Bill McGrath, a member of the UU fellowship in Northfield, while he was living with an Arab family last summer. He worked as a journalist, studied Arabic and walked around in Bethlehem, Ramallah, Jerusalem, Jenin, Nablus, Hebron, Jericho and the Negev Desert of southern Israel. McGrath will show slides of his travels and will provide some music and some Middle Eastern food.

3 August It Matters What We Believe

Host:Mark Kotz Speaker:Kristin Maier Musician:Nita Gilbert

Writing a half-century ago, Unitarian educator Sophia Lyon Fahs left us with the sage advice that it matters what we believe. She called for what was then a new understanding of how religious beliefs are formed, from within a child's (and adult's) whole life experience rather than externally imposed catechism. Much of what she wrote still informs us, especially the "new cosmology" that she offered. Does Unitarian Universalism have a "new cosmology" today? What can we say about the beliefs we hold in common as a religious movement? What experiences did they arise from? Where do they point next?

10 August Labyrinth

Host:Carol Caouette Guest Speaker:Lisa Moriarty Musicians:Women's Singing Group

The Twin Cities has more public labyrinths than any other metropolitan area in the world. Why are we so "labyrinth rich"? Will this trend continue? Where are labyrinths found? What do these meandering patterns have to do with creativity, spiritual practice and sacred space? How is this related to the current social climate? Is this of value for me? We will examine these questions and more with the help of a local expert as we explore the fascinating world of the labyrinth. Come, learn, experience.

17 August Disconnections, Loneliness, and Intimacy or, "You people should see somebody" - Confessions of a lifetime career in marriage and family therapy"

Speaker:Ken Stewart Host: Roxy Cruz Musicians:Joe & Roxy Cruz

We could all use a caring community, a village, a tribe, or at least someone who will call and check in on us. It seldom happens. Instead we have individualism run amok, secrecy, isolation, anger, and exhaustion. And the occasional deep connection. We stick our neck out, temporarily transcend our defensive certainty and venture into open-ended curiosity. You might say something good any minute now.

24 August Jesus: Myth or Mystic? Or, How Unitarians Helped Me Find a Christology I Can Live With

Speaker:Doug Federhart, M.Div. Host: Helen Duritsa Musicians:Doug Federhart & Stuart Holland

Dare we talk about Jesus in a UU church? And what does it mean to "come out" as a christian (small "c") in this setting? WBUUC's Director of Congregational Life will attempt to answer this, and other questions, in this talk. Come ready, not to be proselytized, but to be engaged in a lively conversation around Doug's understandings of the Jesus myth and what it might mean for us today.

31 August Hymn Sing

Host:Pat Zeddies Led by Dan Zeddies Musician:Dan Zeddies