UUCM’s annual metal recycling starts this Sunday, May 5. There will be a trailer in the upper parking lot to deposit your scrap metal. You can bring in anything from old nails to grills and beyond. We’ll be collecting through May 22. For large item pick up, please contact Tyler Grosshuesch at 715-451-9260. All proceeds go to support Youth ASP Trip.
Each month, a member of the board shares a reflection on the Soul Matters monthly theme. The theme for May is imagination. Board President Shelley Buss offers this month’s post.
The Practice of Imagination
When we were kids, letting our imagination guide us was a given, but as the weight of the world grew in tandem with our bodies, we often found that time to just “zone out” and let our creativity do its thing grew shorter and shorter. Call me crazy, but I think part of the scaling back might also have something to do with our monkey minds making us believe that other people’s opinions mattered more than our own. But that’s the nice thing about creativity and imagination; you can flex that imagination right in front of everyone, and they have no idea what you’re doing, unless, of course, you’re making faces or noises.
Regardless, what many people need right now is hope; a light at the end of the tunnel. If you might be feeling that way, one option to try is calling up that old imagination and tell it to put its work boots on, because it’s about to serve as the solid foundation for hope.
And do what you ask? Well, first off, we can trade in the doomscrolling for some time spent picturing positive outcomes. They don’t have to be huge; little victories are still victories. Think about what you might be able to do or say to improve a situation instead of doing and saying nothing. The simple act of acknowledgement does wonders to connect one another, and even brainstorming together about something can lead to action because all of a sudden you’re building accountability into it if you agree to work together.
Something else- give your brain a homework assignment before bed and tell yourself that you’re going to dream about creative solutions and remember them. Pro tip, when you wake from dreaming, do not roll over or change your position. Physically moving will cause a disruption and can lead to being less likely to remember aspects of your dream.
Next, express gratitude daily for what you have, but jazz it up. Deliver the message like Casey Kasem is making it a long distance dedication on the old American Top 40, turn it into a haiku, or picture it as an interpretive dance performed by Mr. Bean in a tutu: serve it up in a way that makes you smile because you’re infusing into it something else that brings you joy (and no one can judge).
Working your imagination doesn’t need to be grandiose; look to micro-dose your creativity. Shake up what may be planned as the same old dinner by including a secret ingredient or trying a new recipe (it can help letting the family know that if it’s a bust, deliver of something edible is the backup plan, and at least you’ll have something to look back on and laugh). When driving to work or church or the gym, try to imagine the surrounding area as it looked 10, 25, 80 or 150 years ago.
Creating something new is Divine work, whether it’s tangible, a thought or a feeling. This world is in a state of constant creation and it’s our birthright to create right along with it. Don’t make yourself small or shine less brightly for fear of being judged. Go for it and work that noodle. You might inspire others to shake things up as well and next thing you know, you’ve created change others might be looking for.
— Shelley Buss, UUCM Board of Trustees President
In this week’s message, Rev. Lisa lifts up gratitude as an essential pillar of joy and honors all of the many volunteers at UUCM who make this community and ministry possible.
Please click image below to view message.
Please join us at our Greeter Gathering this weekend on Sunday, May 4 at 11:30 a.m. in the Oak Room. Whether you’re an extrovert or an introvert, or someone in between, all it takes is a warm smile and a helpful nature. No prior experience necessary, guidance will be provided. Greeting our visitors is a small time commitment, but very important high-impact volunteer work at UUCM. Please RSVP to Virginia Carter.
Rev. Lisa has the honor of being one of the speakers at the 2025 Minns Lectures. In the three-part series Deconstructing Mythologies of Unitarian Anti-Racism, Rev. Dr. Wayne Arnason, Rev. Lisa Friedman, and Rev. Dr. Mark Morrison-Reed narrate a new story of pre-merger Unitarianism beyond heroic stories of abolition and Civil Rights. Recent scholarship centering black lives and revealing the depths of white supremacy culture has challenged the usual pre-merger historical narrative, which centered heroic Unitarian abolitionists and 20th century political leaders. The three Minns Lectures for 2025 seek to demythologize this common narrative.
The first Minns Lecture “Rehearsal for Reconstruction” by Rev. Dr. Wayne Arnason will be held at Unity Church in St. Paul on April 30. Rev. Lisa’s lecture is the second in the series on May 8 at her home congregation in Rochester, N.Y. Her lecture is entitled “To Uplift the Race” and is focused on showing how Unitarians remained comfortably situated in their privileged caste, supporting industrial education to “uplift the race” while remaining silent as Reconstruction crumbled and the Lost Cause movement resurrected the dominance of white supremacist culture. Rev. Dr. Mark-Morrison Reed’s lecture is the final lecture in the series in Boston on May 14. All lectures can be attended in person or online (register at minnslectures.org). The recorded lectures will also be posted on the Minns website later this spring.
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