Read the full issue of this week’s newsletter here: The Weekly Liberal Sept. 6

In this week’s newsletter, Rev. Justin Schroeder writes:

What is your North Star? What values guide you during difficult, unsettling times? What spiritual practices help you stay grounded when life churns with discomfort, uncertainty, and change?

We are living in tumultuous times; you read the headlines: because of human related carbon emissions, weather patterns are changing, ice is melting, storms are intensifying. Our democracy feels imperiled, as the United States of America seems to lurch and stagger about on the world stage, our moral compass confused and spinning. These are anxious, stress-filled times, and it is easy to fall into a reactive, defensive posture.
Which is why, in times like these, we need communities of hope, resistance, and vision. We need communities of faith, places that sustain our spirits, inspire us to act on the values we profess, and remind us that we are not alone. We need communities like First Universalist, places that shape us, and call us to welcome one another, to listen to voices at the margins, to work for justice, and to let hope and possibility, not fear, be our guide.

These are the reminders we so often need. And this is what our intergenerational Water Communion/Homecoming Service is about this Sunday (at 9:30 and 11:15). During our worship service, we will sing, pray, and gather and merge the waters from the sacred and special places in our lives, as we reconnect with the power and promise of our faith, as we collectively name our North Stars, and the values that guide and sustain us.

Yes, these are troubling times; alone, change seems impossible. But together, in the Universalist Spirit of Love and Hope, we can shape change, in partnership with many others, as we build a more racially just and sustainable world.

We hope to see each and every one of you this Sunday, as we begin the church year together.

In faith,
Rev. Justin

P.S. Don’t forget to bring a small amount of water from a sacred or special place in your life. And you are welcome to bring water that represents your sacred or special place.