Scroll to the bottom of our Worship page to listen to sermons, guest speakers and musical performances from past UUCM services. New uploads are added regularly – check back often!
Volunteer Opportunity: Groundskeeping at UUCM
Are you able to help keep the UUCM grounds looking great? We are asking for a little help with light work on your schedule. Please contact Mary Cotton for questions/needs at mary3453@hotmail.com or 764-442-5808.
Performing Arts Concert Series 2019-2020
The Performing Arts Series at UUCM offers concerts, musical events and church variety shows to the congregation and the entire local community.
Upcoming Events:
Friday, June 28 at 8:00 PM
Jon Dee Graham (featuring Bonnie Whitmore)
Jon Dee Graham is a guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas. He is the only musician ever to be inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame three times. He has recorded 11 albums and is working on the 12th. His songs have been recorded by many artists including Patty Smythe, Patty Griffin and James McMurtry.
Bonnie Whitmore is an American musician from Austin, TX, currently based in Nashville, TN. She brings to every show a veracity of honest emotion and vulnerability that almost hurts you in its beauty. Her voice is a powerful one and will command your attention. Also, she is the only known human jukebox to date!
Tickets ($20) will be on sale after Sunday services starting June 9, on Eventbrite and at the door. Questions? Contact Kelly Bertenshaw at kellybshaw@gmail.com.
Next Community Healing Touch Sessions: June 23
The next Community Healing Touch will be Sunday, June 23 starting at 11:45 AM in the Boxelder Room. This may be our last offering of Healing Touch for the summer. Please sign up by June 19 if you are interested. The sign-up sheet will be in the Community Room. If you have questions or concerns, please call Betty Hartnett, 952-220-6959. To learn more about Healing Touch, see below. Thank you! Continue reading →
In the Interim: 6/7/2019
Practicing Beauty:
Last Sunday, we celebrated Flower Communion, a UU ritual that symbolizes the beauty and uniqueness of each of us, while also celebrating the vibrant bouquet that we are together. So, it seemed logical to me, as we enter a month with the theme of beauty, to invite us into a practice of beauty. Below are instructions for a flower meditation – a simple way of sitting and focusing our attention on a flower. Beauty unfolds when we slow down and pay attention, and this flower meditation is a simple way to explore this terrain. Try it for a week (or all month!) and let me know how it goes for you.
How To Practice Flower Gazing Meditation:
- Be sure to choose a flower that resonates with you. Set it about a foot in front of you at a comfortable angle, preferably at eye level. For beginners, it’s better to focus on one single flower instead of a bouquet. Feel conscious of your body’s contact with the ground. Connect with the earth that grew the flower sitting before you.
- Gaze at it with soft, relaxed eyes. Blink normally, and relax your facial muscles. Plan to meditate for around 10-15 minutes.
- Look at it as if it’s the first time you’ve ever seen a flower. Discover what it actually looks like. Avoid labeling what you’re looking upon; instead of focusing on petals or pollen, notice the unique shapes, colors, textures, and scents present in front of you. Feel its vibrant life energy. When thoughts come up, notice them, and then gently redirect your attention to the flower in front of you, neither pushing them away nor indulging them.
- After 10-15 minutes have passed, thank the flower and offer it gratitude for its gifts. Close your eyes for a minute or so. Can you still see its image in your mind, or feel its presence in front of you?
- Continue with the rest of your day and notice that your mind is calmer, your body more relaxed, and your attention sharper. If you start practicing this regularly, you just might start noticing the specific details and beauty not just in flowers, but in every common object you come across.
(Thanks to gardencollage.com for the flower meditation instructions.)
— Arif
Each week, the interim ministry team will share a reflection on the Soul Matters monthly theme, the state of the church, or the state of the world. Meg, Terri and Arif will alternate writing this “In the Interim” post. We encourage your comments.
If Everyone Signed Up Just One Time We Could…
Offer Summer Fun Classes Every Sunday
…and we would all enjoy learning a little more about each other! Our visiting children, plus our own children who usually participate, would love occasional alternatives to the full worship service to explore your hobby or interest. There is also a simple curriculum you can use instead, right in the room. Please sign yourself up or partner with a friend to work with this small group of mixed ages at tinyurl.com/SumFun2019 or contact Malia Brandt with questions.
OWL Facilitator Training Soon in Robbinsdale
If you are interested in being trained to teach OWL classes at UUCM, sign up now for the August 23-25 training at Robbinsdale UCC. Choose one of two levels: Grades 7-9/10-12 or Grades K-1, 4-6. Register here. The cost is relatively low, but do speak with Malia Brandt if you are interested in having your registration fee reimbursed. The church has the necessary curricula. Act now and let us know when you are trained!
