Dear First UU, As our church year comes to a close and your board and staff are reporting back to you the congregation at our annual meeting this Sunday, there is some big news I want to share with you. I am so grateful for you! I could not have asked for a better community … Continue reading Friday News – June 6, 2025

It’s that time of year when we wind down our regular programming and go to one service at 10am. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t still offering great worship and programs! Summertime gives us a chance to experiment with different styles of worship like we did last Sunday, and with different approaches to our ‘usual’ … Continue reading Friday News – May 30, 2025

Summer Schedule is here! Summer is a time that First UU staff uses to try new ideas and prepare for the coming church year, so you may notice some changes in our programming and communications. Beginning this week, you can come to the church at 9:00 for a continental breakfast, participate in “Summer Shorts” – … Continue reading Friday News – May 23, 2025

Last Friday we hosted a wonderful public listening project Sidewalk Talk. The founder led us in a two hour training about effective listening. As a minister and someone who specializes in healthy communication, you would think I would know all there is to know about listening! But I still learned some new techniques. We are … Continue reading Friday News – May 16, 2025

One of the things I admire so much about this congregation is the ongoing commitment to social change through the BREAD organization. Working with other congregations across the city to understand the changes that are most needed for our community, and then to meet as a powerful group with city leaders to demand change is … Continue reading Friday News – May 9, 2025

Spring has finally sprung, and summer is just around the corner! I am excited to see everyone again this Sunday. Our church’s Youth Group will be presenting the 11am service, and together we are celebrating our congregation’s graduating high school seniors! There will be no classes during the service – both so that younger siblings … Continue reading Friday News – May 2, 2025

From Monday Noon to Wednesday evening, I attended, via Zoom, a conference of retired UU ministers, well over 200 of us from all parts of the US and Canada. I served with several local ministers on the Worship Planning Team, including our own Rev. Kathleen Fowler. We worked up at our congregation in Lewis Center, using their … Continue reading Friday News – April 25, 2025

When I first began my work with you as Developmental Minister it was a rather rushed decision due to the transitional matching process. My contract stipulated that each year we would revisit the contract and renew for up to seven years. At that time I thought it unlikely I would stay that long. I have … Continue reading Friday News – April 18, 2025

Whenever I write those chirpy words I wonder how happy we really are! I’m sure there is a lot that we are grateful for and even happy about, but my sense is that many of us are “extra crispy” right now. The wearing down of our spirits by the daily assaults can leave us brittle … Continue reading Friday News – April 11, 2025

    I am so excited to announce that we have hired Robin Lawson as our new Congregational Life and Bookkeeping Assistant! Robin is a life-long Unitarian Universalist who has been incredibly active in our congregation and a vital part of so many areas of Congregational Life. Robin is excited to serve the congregation in … Continue reading Friday News – April 4, 2025