Summer Programs at Church: “Stroll through the fields”

Mary Oliver writes of the grasshopper—
“the one who has flung herself out of the grass…
who is moving her jaws back and forth…
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.”

And then:

“I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention…
how to be idle and blessed…”

Summer invites us into that kind of attention. Here in Minnesota, it also invites us into movement—travel, shifting schedules, long evenings that stretch and loosen our usual rhythms. We scatter a bit. And still, we long to remember that we belong to one another.

This summer, we’re trying a small experiment: inviting offerings to center on Wednesdays (10 a.m.-8 p.m.) and Sundays (noon-6 p.m.), so that even in the midst of unpredictable schedules, we might find one another again—notice each other, practice together, and remember the threads that hold us in community.

Summer programming will run from June 14 through September 20.
Program submissions are due by Sunday, May 17.

You can submit your offering here:

Summer programming at First Universalist has always been shaped by the community itself. It’s a season where what you are noticing, practicing, wondering, or tending in your own life becomes something you can offer.

What is drawing your attention these days?
Where are you finding wonder, or rest, or curiosity?
What helps you “stroll through the fields” of your own life?

We invite you to share that. A walk, a conversation, a creative practice, a question you’re living into—something simple, something real.

Not because it’s polished. But because it’s yours.

Tell us—what might you offer from your one wild and precious life?

With gratitude,