Sunday, May 22- One Service at 10 a.m. at Minnehaha Park

Join us on Sunday, May 22 for Youth Sunday at Minnehaha Park! We’ll have just one service in person at 10 a.m., with a recording of the service available later in the week online. Come celebrate our youth and our transitioning seniors as they share their reflections and gifts with us all.

In our beloved annual Youth Sunday worship, our senior high youth offer a story, music, and reflections on our worship theme of “Who tells your story?”. The service includes a Bridging Ritual to honor our graduating seniors, marking the end of their time as First Universalist youth and welcoming them into young adulthood in our church. Youth Sunday is a moving expression of our vibrant multigenerational religious community that you won’t want to miss.

JOIN US:

Join us in person at the Minnehaha Regional Park Bandstand, located at 4801 S Minnehaha Drive in Minneapolis. The bandstand is very near the parking lot for Sea Salt Eatery and the Falls. There may be traffic and limited parking. We encourage you to arrive by 9:45 a.m.

Watch the recording: This service will not be livestreamed due to lack of adequate technology onsite, but it will be recorded and made available on our YouTube channel later in the week.

Directions & access info: Minnehaha Park is located in the southeastern part of Minneapolis, just off of Highway 55 and 46th Street. The park is accessible via Metro Transit bus routes 23, 46, 74, and the A line, and the light rail’s Blue line. The bandstand at the park is located just to the east of Sea Salt, and south of the parking lots.

Parking: There are two paid parking lots on the northern side of the park, off of Godfrey Parkway. There is free street parking on city streets to the north of the park. Bike parking is available on the southeastern side of Sea Salt.

Accessibility: The bandstand is wheelchair accessible via paved paths from the parking areas.

What to bring: We encourage you to bring water and to check the forecast and dress for the weather (layers!). The bandstand benches are slatted and wooden; please bring a cushion or folding chair if you have difficulty sitting on a hard surface.

Almost 30 years ago, First Universalist Church dared to dream of a physical space that might mirror our mission – a place where there would always be room for one more, where our sense of who we are is ever-expanding, a building that might embody a love that will not let anyone go. This Sunday, May 15, we celebrate the completion of our capital project, Not for Ourselves Alone: Building an Inclusive Future, as we welcome everybody in and say thank you to our past, present, and future selves.

ORDER OF SERVICE as a google doc or on our website

Offering: Give via our online giving portal, on the CashApp, or text firstuniv to 73256. You’ll receive a link to a secure form where you can enter your information. Select the “Offering Plate” fund from the dropdown menu.

First Step – cancelled May 15; next offered mid-June, date TBD
In the meantime, if you’d like to connect with us about some UU basics, we’d love to talk with you. Please fill out the Visitor Connect form so we can follow up with you. Thank you!

Facilitated by one of our members, First Step is a brief, casual orientation to Unitarian Universalism and First Universalist Church. During this 40-minute class, participants will learn about the foundations of our faith tradition and opportunities to get involved.

First Step meets in person generally every first and third Sunday of the month after each service. During the Summer months, this changes a bit due to holidays and church-wide events. Check our website or in the Weekly Liberal newsletter for the most up-to-date First Step schedule. If you join us in person, look for the facilitator holding a “First Step Meets Here” sign at the front of the sanctuary after the worship services. We look forward to welcoming you!

This Sunday, May 8, we will celebrate the miracle that is at the center of our larger story and the cycle of life. We will welcome, name, and dedicate ourselves to the care of children in our congregation through a Child Dedication Ritual.

Order of Service: as a google doc or on our website

Offering: Give via our online giving portal, on the CashApp, or text firstuniv to 73256. You’ll receive a link to a secure form where you can enter your information. Select the “Offering Plate” fund from the dropdown menu.

This Sunday, May 1, we celebrate the culmination of Earth Week and honor the mutual commitment between members and community in the ongoing story of this congregation. Join us to explore the sacred trust we hold to create a sustainable future for our children and our children’s children, and to celebrate how our collective breath, prayer, activism, and meaning making reflect the roots of our community, like those in a forest, deeply intertwined. And don’t miss the next installment of the acorn story, “The Wood Wide Web.” The young acorns in our community will welcome new members, and keep encouraging us all to sprout and grow together.

Order of Service– as a google doc or on our website

Offering: Give via our online giving portal, on the CashApp, or text firstuniv to 73256. You’ll receive a link to a secure form where you can enter your information. Select the “Offering Plate” fund from the dropdown menu.

First Step – in person, immediately after each service (option join via zoom after the second service on the first Sunday of the month)
Facilitated by one of our members, First Step is a brief, casual orientation to Unitarian Universalism and First Universalist Church. During this 40-minute class, participants will learn about the foundations of our faith tradition and opportunities to get involved. If you attend First Step, please fill out the Visitor Connect form so we can follow up with you! Thank you!

First Step meets in person every first and third Sunday of the month after each service- roughly 10:05 a.m. and 12:05 p.m. On the first Sunday of the month, there’s an option to join via zoom after the second service- roughly 12:05 p.m. If you join us in person, look for the facilitator holding a “First Step Meets Here” sign at the front of the sanctuary after the worship services. We look forward to welcoming you!

Please note: as of April 26, Wednesday Worship/Meditation has been discontinued.

We launched Wednesday Worship back in March 2020 as a way to foster connection and provide additional spiritual support during a time when we were reeling with the pandemic’s initial impact and unable to meet in person. For more than two years, though it has shifted in format under various leaders, we have continued to provide this online space of meditation, comfort, connection, and inspiration nearly every week.

So why discontinue Wednesday Worship now? On top of spring being one of the busiest seasons of our church year, we are currently experiencing a staffing shortage which means that we are having to make some adjustments, and discontinuing Wednesday worship now is one of them.

We know that the Wednesday evening service was an important touchpoint for many of you. We look forward to seeing you in person or online on Sundays, and if the absence of Wednesday night means that you’re looking for new ways to be more connected, please reach out and let us know. Additionally, if you’d like to be part of conversations exploring how this kind of space might continue to be offered in the future, please reach out to Rev. Arif Mamdani at arif@firstuniv.org.

In Unitarian Universalism, our congregations, and specifically the members of our congregations, are the only body that can ordain a minister, calling out and lifting up one whose ministry is formally recognized and named in the act of ordination. This Sunday, we gather to formally lift up the ministry of Stephanie Vos. Through word, song, and story, we’ll share some of her journey, tell a bigger story about what ministry can be in the world, and formally ordain Stephanie to the Unitarian Universalist ministry. Join us on Sunday, April 24 for this joyous and celebratory service.

ORDER OF SERVICE as a google doc or on our website

Offering: Give via our online giving portal, on the CashApp, or text firstuniv to 73256. You’ll receive a link to a secure form where you can enter your information. Select the “Offering Plate” fund from the dropdown menu.

Join us Wednesday evening for the continuation of our Spring Seminarian Series, hosted by Rev. Karen Hutt with a message from a seminary student. Wednesday Meditation is an online-only midweek time of meditation, reflection, and connection that usually lasts about 30 minutes.

Connect to the livestream here – 7 p.m.

Webinar ID: 117-312-320.
Dial in: 1-312-626-6799 and enter the webinar ID.

This Sunday, April 17, we will rise in the fullness of our community – inviting people in every age and stage of life to join together as one body in person at 9 and 11am and online at 11am for worship. We’ve designed an Easter church experience with elements to engage the imagination and spirit of every age, with music, rituals, art, and movement that will help us all consider what boulders stand in the way of the flow of love in our life, and how we might remove them, together. Guest musicians Dean Magraw, Ian Young, and JT Bates will join our own Aimee K. Bryant and Franco Holder as they lead us in soulful songs familiar to young and old.

ORDER OF SERVICE as a google doc or on our website

Offering: Give via our online giving portal, on the CashApp, or text firstuniv to 73256. You’ll receive a link to a secure form where you can enter your information. Select the “Offering Plate” fund from the dropdown menu.

No First Step Today – Next Offered Sunday, May 1
In the meantime, please connect with us via our Visitor Connect form. Facilitated by one of our members, First Step is a brief, casual orientation to Unitarian Universalism and First Universalist Church. During this 40-minute class, participants will learn about the foundations of our faith tradition and opportunities to get involved.

First Step generally meets in person every first and third Sunday of the month after each service- roughly 10:05 a.m. and 12:05 p.m. On the first Sunday of the month, there’s an option to join via zoom after the second service- roughly 12:05 p.m. If you join us in person, look for the facilitator holding a “First Step Meets Here” sign at the front of the sanctuary after the worship services. We look forward to welcoming you!

Continuing our Spring Seminarian Series is Barbara May. She writes: in the Christian tradition, this week marks Holy Week, or the week before the death of Jesus Christ. If we take a closer look, we’ll see that the stories contained in this week are stories of transformation. I invite you to journey with me, with all that you are and all that you believe, as we explore the idea of transformation through resurrection and what that may mean for all of us.

Come, tend to your spirit each Wednesday evening by joining us for this brief (~15–30 minute) midweek time for a message and connection online.

Connect to the livestream here – 7 p.m.

Webinar ID: 117-312-320.
Dial in: 1-312-626-6799 and enter the webinar ID.

Barbara May is in her last semester at United Theological Seminary in conjunction with St. Catherine’s where she will graduate with a Master of Arts in Leadership in Faith Formation and Certification in Spiritual Direction. Barbara comes to us today from her family home in Inver Grove Heights where she lives with her partner and three children. Barbara has practiced and served in the Unitarian Universalist community since 2013.

Folks in organizing circles say that Power requires Organized Money and Organized People. This congregation does an excellent job of organizing its money every Sunday, and sharing generously with important partners. What else is possible if we organize our people similarly? What would it take for us to take our organizing and mobilization to the next level? Join us for a dialogue with poets and movement mediators to explore what else might be possible as we get stronger and clearer together. (And don’t miss the next installment in the story series, As The Acorn Sprouts, where our acorns learn to organize!)

Order of Service: available as a google doc or on our website

Offering: Give via our online giving portal, on the CashApp, or text firstuniv to 73256. You’ll receive a link to a secure form where you can enter your information. Select the “Offering Plate” fund from the dropdown menu.