Services for October

Sunday 10:30 - 11:30 am
Childcare 10 - noon

Belonging. This image at the right is the word cloud created from the September 14 responses to the question: What is at the heart of the Fellowship? During these tumultuous times, it’s good to see Love at the center, with Belonging and Caring as strong additional values. In the Jewish tradition, this week includes the Days of Awe between Rosh Hashanah (on Monday) and Yom Kippur (next Wednesday). Pluralism is something we UUs value—so the holy days of the world’s religions are to be honored and respected even by members who don’t personally celebrate them. All of us can learn from the values of the Days of Awe, from the annual consideration of whom we may have harmed during the past year, how to atone for any wrongs we’ve committed, how to become better human beings going forward. In our UU Fellowship, we all belong—and each of us is in process: still growing, still learning, still stumbling and recovering. May we tend our souls so that the world is better for our presence here.

~ Rev. Jaye

The Whale

Rev. Jaye Brooks
October 5

What moves us to compassion? In this month when the learning and worship theme is Compassion, we may look around and see far too many things that make the heart ache. Where do we begin? To answer this question, the story of Jonah and the whale—impossible, absurd, and in many ways absolutely hilarious—is instructive. Rev. Jaye invites everyone on a voyage over land and sea, into and out of the belly of the whale, to discover how compassion might work in real life.

My Religion is Kindness

Rev. Jaye Brooks
October 12

The Dalai Lama famously said, My religion is simple. My religion is kindness. Let’s consider what the Dalai Lama meant. After all, he’s a Buddhist who leads a significant branch Buddhism—which has its tenets and precepts. And we UUs, in covenant with one another—if we tried to describe our religion in one word, what would that word be?

Second Sunday Collection
A potluck luncheon follows the service

Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life

Worship Team
October 19

We will share excerpts from UU General Assembly Ware Lecturer, Karen Armstrong’s practical guide to helping us make the world a more compassionate place. We’re addicted to our dislikes and prejudices and pet hates. We are dependent upon them for our sense of self—we don’t know what we’d do without them. But because this is an addiction, we can’t just give it up here and there. We often define ourselves as an individual and as a community against other people. They are what we are not. And this we can’t afford anymore because the stakes are now too high. Encouraging us to hear one another’s narratives, Armstrong teaches us that becoming a compassionate human being is a lifelong project and a journey filled with rewards.

Rituals of Remembrance

Worship Team
October 26

We will gather in sorrow and in gratitude: sorrow for all the losses we have experienced—people, pets, places, jobs, and so much more, gratitude for the love we have known for this time to be together. May this Sunday be time and a place for each one of us to experience the spirit of love and healing. In this service for all ages, children and youth both participate and assist. Childcare is available for the littlest (and they are also welcome to be with their parents in the service).