American Gods Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
One of Neil Gaiman’s most celebrated novels is his book American Gods, a road trip across the country that involves the protagonist coming to understand that America is full of gods. On his recent drive across the country to Arizona and back, Rev. Murray listened to this audiobook, and found that his road trip while listening to American Gods has brought some revelations.
Survivors of the Past, Warriors of the Future: My Discoveries on the Yakama Reservation Dr. Joel Geffen
Most Americans, it is fair to say, know about Native Americans through images provided through movies, books, calendars, and even some brightly feathered Halloween costumes. Often, "Indians" are portrayed in one of two primary ways -- either as the wise, deeply spiritual, morally good, and pleasant-looking "Noble Savage" or as the deceitful, bloodthirsty, immoral, and unpleasant-looking "Ignoble Savage." Both stereotypes tend to trap our nation's indigenous peoples into the category of "savage," somehow less than fully human, somehow unlike us, somehow uncomfortably "other." This presentation seeks to explain, through personal experience working on an Indian reservation, that the best way to perceive and interact with Native Americans is to treat them as they truly are -- fully human, just like us, with the same capacities for hurt, anger, fear, love, hope, and healing. For those wishing to help native peoples in their struggles, it is recommended that they follow rather than lead, that they ask native peoples what they need and want rather than assume, often wrongly, that they already know. Native American history is complex and multilayered. It can be understood, even by outsiders like us, however, -- through watching, listening, and learning, but most Importantly, by invitation from native peoples themselves.
Dr. Joel Geffen is an educator, a photographer, and a writer. He teaches comparative religious studies at Henry Ford College in Dearborn., and is also a contributing member of the United Photographic Artist's Gallery, located in Tampa, Florida. Currently, Joel is in the initial stages of writing a memoir. In his previous life, he worked in Washington State as a forest archaeologist and land-use historian on the Yakama Indian Reservation. For nearly eight years, he surveyed timber sale areas proposed for harvest by the tribe and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
During that time, he had many cultural experiences with native peoples. Those experiences served to erode stereotyped and romantic images Joel, like many Americans, internalized from books, movies, and television. Through repeated, close interactions over years, Joel came to recognize the biases he unconsciously carried and to arrive at deeper understanding and respect of Native American history, both in terms of the terrible emotional wounds entailed in that history and in the cultural continuities that offer Indian peoples a future grounded both in the traditions of their elders and in engagement with the dominant society currently surrounding them.
Necessity, Possibility, and Persuasion as expressed in Three Goddesses, Ananke, Tyche, and Peitho Rev. Paul Larson
Necessity, possibility, and persuasion are abstract concepts. How much easier would be to relate to the existential fact of limitation is we could address the abstract as persons, perhaps as did the ancient Greeks who engaged with Ananke, Tyche, and Peitho. Personification literally humanizes the problem of relating to abstraction.
Paul Larson received his doctorate in counseling psychology in 1977 from the University of Utah. For ten years he practiced at the Dayton VA Medical Center before coming to Chicago as Director of Psychology at Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital. While working at that job he obtained his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law. He then taught at the Illinois Institute of Technology in their Rehabilitation Psychology program before moving to the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in 1997. He retired in 2019 and is now Professor Emeritus. He is a licensed clinical psychologist in Illinois. In 2010 he was ordained a minister in Circle Sanctuary, one of the nation’s oldest Wiccan churches. He served 10 years ministry in a Wisconsin prison and 2.5 years at Naval Station Great Lakes before retiring. He has now resumed his prison ministry.
Sources of Faith: Spiritual Teachings of Earth-Centered Traditions Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
In a series of sermons this Fall, we will explore the six sources that the living tradition of Unitarian Universalist draws upon. The sixth in the series examines the spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.
All Saints Day Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
This past year and all throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have mourned as members of our community have died, some of whom we have not been able to gather to celebrate together. Our service today seeks to honor and lift up the memories of those members of our spiritual family whom we have lost.
The Church and the Graveyard: Reflections on Horror and Religion Dr. Brandon Grafius
Brandon Grafius, scholar of Bible and horror, walks through some of the surprising connections between our faith and our fears. These connections suggest that our spirituality and our love of the spooky are ways of asking the same questions about how we make life meaningful.
Associate Professor of Biblical Studies and Chief Academic Officer of Ecumenical Theological Seminary
Sources of Faith: Humanist Teachings Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
In a series of sermons this Fall, we will explore the six sources that the living tradition of Unitarian Universalist draws upon. The fifth in the series examines the humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.
Sources of Faith: Wisdom from the World's Religions Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
In a series of sermons this Fall, we will explore the six sources that the living tradition of Unitarian Universalist draws upon. The fourth in the series examines the wisdom from the world’s religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life.
Sources of Faith: Words and Deeds of Prophetic Women and Men Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
In a series of sermons this Fall, we will explore the six sources that the living tradition of Unitarian Universalist draws upon. The third in the series examines the words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love.
Sources of Faith: Jewish and Christian Teachings Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
In a series of sermons this Fall, we will explore the six sources that the living tradition of Unitarian Universalist draws upon. The second in the series examines Jewish and Christian teachings, which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves.
What Time Is It on the Clock of the World?: Facing Apocalypse with Eloquence Dr. James W. Perkinson
In the frenzy and urgency of a twitter-charged world of emergency, are we bound simply to run our lives and our anxieties at ever higher tempo until collapse? The sermon will offer a few musings from an artist/activist/educator, seeking to learn from wild natural creatures and creative marginalized people a basic capacity to “joust” catastrophe with equanimity and magnificence.
Dr. Jim Perkinson is a long-time activist and educator from inner city Detroit, where he has a history of involvement in various community development initiatives and low-income housing projects. He holds a PhD in theology from the University of Chicago, with a secondary focus on history of religions, is the author of White Theology: Outing Supremacy in Modernity and Shamanism, Racism, and Hip-Hop Culture: Essays on White Supremacy and Black Subversion, and has written extensively in both academic and popular journals on questions of race, class and colonialism in connection with religion and urban culture. He is in demand as a speaker on a wide variety of topics related to his interests and a recognized artist on the spoken-word poetry scene in the inner city.
Sources of Faith: Direct Experience Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
In a series of sermons this Fall, we will explores different sources of faith. Today, we will discuss how our direct experience of transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces that create and uphold life.
20 Years After 9/11 Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
Twenty years ago, the United States suffered a series of terrorist attacks on our home soil which changed the direction of private and public life, international affairs, and the role of religion in America. Today's sermon will include personal reflections by the Minister, who lived in New York City at the time of 9/11.
Another COVID Delay Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
We had originally planned to be back doing in person services on this date, but the Delta variant is keeping us home for a further period. Zoom only (c:
Peter will compare the 7 UU Principles to the Quaker "SPICES": Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship. He will focus on Integrity in the context of the 4th Principle of the free and responsible search for truth and a discussion around the 7th principle with the Sources of Direct Experience in Everything and Prophetic Voices. Peter is particularly interested in relating how the central tenet of Quakerism, that there is that of God in every individual, manifests itself in the search for truth and how that search also manifests itself in personal behavior and the social activism of which Quakers are known.
Peter was brought up in Ann Arbor by parents who had just arrived in America two and a half months prior to his birth. His first language was Russian and he was raised in the Russian/Greek Orthodox Church, where he was head altar boy. While a late teen in high school, Peter left the church due to theological and political differences. He became a Quaker, or the Religious Society of Friends, in 1973 and has remained active in that faith ever since.
Peter graduated from the U of M with a BA and then served in the army. When he got out of the service, he obtained an MA from the U of M in slavic linguistics. After working for the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor for two years he moved into the used record business, opening a shop in Detroit, which he moved to St Clair Shores in 1981 before selling it in 1989. That same year, he opened another store in Ann Arbor which he ran until his retirement in 2011. Peter has two children: a daughter, who has muscular dystrophy, and a son, who is Deaf.
Ever since retirement, Peter has been an active volunteer with various organizations in the city of Detroit. He has been active in the Detroit Friends Meeting (Quakers) for about 40 years. He and his wife have lived in Livonia since 1985
The pathways of the Underground Railroad include several routes which freedom seekers followed as they ventured from southern states to Canada where Liberty stood awaiting. Hardy Brown's, "Black Voice Footsteps to Freedom Underground Railroad Study Tour," introduces students to one of these paths. During this 10 day immersion program, students follow the path from the perspective of the freedom seeker. They experience some of the trials and tribulations the freedom seeker had to go through. The immersion is so deep that the empathy is sometimes too much to bear. In Sunday's service, we learn about the experience as told from one of the Hardy’s students and member of our church, Elizabeth Lehto.
Our guest speaker is Elizabeth Lehto. Elizabeth is a member of 1stUU, joining with her husband, Scott, in 2017. She is a third-grade teacher in the Wayne Westland Community School District with a career beginning in 1991. Like many teachers, she cares about her student’s success in school and life outside of school. Elizabeth has a special interest in her student’s emotional well-being and family life and spends many hours outside of work with several of these families. In 2019 her school selected Elizabeth and 9 additional teachers to attend a 10-day learning trip regarding the history and immersion in the route of one of the paths in the Underground Railroad. The class size was 52. Last year, we had guest speaker, Hardy Brown, discuss his impetus for initiating the program. This year, we hear Elizabeth talk about her experience.
On the 23rd Psalm Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
One of the most familiar and powerful readings that is offered at memorial services is the 23rd Psalm, which begins, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, he makes me lie down in green pastures, he restores my soul." Recently, at a memorial service for a feminist political icon in Western New York, I used the singer and composer Bobby McFerrin’s "feminist" reinterpretation of the 23rd Psalm, dedicated to his mother, which we will play as part of this service. In this sermon, we will explore the universal appeal of this particular piece of the Jewish scriptures which serves as comfort for people of all beliefs, including Unitarian Universalists.
American Morality Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
The very nature of "freedom" is at question in America today. Do we uphold ideas of freedom from persecution, or do we celebrate freedom to behave however we wish? In the midst of a global pandemic, does the government promote freedom by mandating masks, or is this instead a violation of our freedoms? This murkiness threatens the stability of our nation. This sermon will explore how we understand the difference between right and wrong and the collective character of our nation.
The Wealth Gap in America Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
There is nothing that calls attention to the wealth gap like billionaires taking space flights funded by taxpayer dollars while paying relatively little in taxes themselves. The chasm that exists between the 1% and the 99% has become increasingly polarized. The Poor People's Campaign provides a model for intersectionality across divisions of race, gender, class, and faith. What does their work offer to us as religious progressives who seek to work with others on matters of economic justice?
How to Do Something About It: the Search for Enlightenment and Action Jin Haeng Kai Wiswal (“Kai”)
Though we may not always feel or act like it, we are all inherently enlightened beings. This fact can either liberate us or hinder us further, depending on our point of view. How does our common search for spiritual peace both support and create friction with our desire for social justice and what does Zen say about saving an inevitably burning world?
Jin Haeng Kai Wiswall is a chaplain and ordained Dharma Teacher in the Korean Seon tradition. His chaplaincy centers on eco-chaplaincy, an exploration of our spiritual relationship with the non-human world, and movement chaplaincy, or the spiritual care of activists. He attended seminary at his home temple, Still Point Zen Buddhist Temple in Detroit, MI and further chaplaincy training at the Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, NM. He is the guiding teacher of the Forest Park Zen Sangha in Springfield, MA where he lives with his wife, two children, and a growing number of dogs.
The Power of Stories Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
There are many ways that we can speak with one another and inform one another, but one of the most powerful is through telling stories. The use of narrative to inspire and empower, to familiarize and empathize, is one of the richest ways that humans communicate. Today, we will explore the phenomenon of storytelling and why we continue to love to discover new narratives and hold on to cherished familiar stories.
A Grief Observed Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
One of my favorite books is A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis, about his experience of grief following the death of his wife, Joy, after a battle with cancer. This book has become all too personal for me in the past weeks, in the wake of the sudden death of my wife, Cynthia. Today, I will talk about grief and how people of faith often engage with this penetrating emotional experience.
On Patriotism Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
On this Independence Day, we will discuss patriotism, both in its positive and negative dimensions. Patriotism in the positive sense can lead to a profound sense of community, a spirit of self-sacrifice for the betterment and protection of one’s fellow citizens, a purpose that unites a people. In the negative sense, patriotism can lead to the exclusionary and prejudicial practices of nationalism, boundaries that refuse the humanity of “the other,” and an over-inflation of the moral qualities of a nation that may or may not be exhibiting moral behavior.
On Universalizing Injustice as Injustice Maher Alhaj
While it is true that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and that there is a sense of interconnectedness between all of our human struggles, there remain some things about injustice that we cannot universalize. In this sermon, I want to explore what we mean by injustice, as well as problematize some of the warrants that are often entangled with it. This is important to do because how we deal with injustice in one space, at a time, and in one context, may or may not be relevant to another space, at another time, and in another context. For me as a Palestinian Queer Muslim who did not grow up in the West, it became concerning to me how the West has been approaching injustice in non-Western spaces. I felt that while queer injustice anywhere is a threat to queer justice (and other forms of justice) everywhere, no somewhere (like the West for example) can meaningfully define and tackle an instance of injustice for everyone everywhere. For injustice can only be understood within its own parameters of history, habitat, and context. As such, justice can only be justly achieved, appropriated, or negotiated from and through such a contextual framework.
Maher Alhaj is the founder of Halal This Way, LLC, a social multimedia enterprise that is building a platform for the theological accommodation of queer communities in Sunni Islam. Maher earned his associate degree in liberal arts from Henry Ford Community College in 2005. He earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology with an area-certificate in neuroscience from Indiana University in 2007. Maher then went back to school a few years later and graduated with a Master of Divinity from the University of Chicago in 2020. At the University of Chicago, Maher wrote a thesis on the queer-predicament of Sunni Arab spaces at this globalized moment in time. His thesis is the foundation of his forthcoming book, Halal This Way: Towards a Viable Queering in Sunni Islam.
For more information on Alhaj’s book, visit this link.
Native American wisdom: The Medicine Wheel Nancy Shattuck, Steve Curtin
What wisdom is addressed in the Native American Medicine Wheel? It is a way of orienting ourselves within nature despite our life’s fluctuating paths. This non-linear cyclical view of existence links together the seasons, our physical, mental, spiritual and ethereal selves, our natural world in the cosmos, allowing us to view life in terms of a continual renewal.
Nancy Shattuck is an author and Secretary/Office Administrator of our church. She is the author of a travel memoir, a children’s book, and three historical novels in a series titled The Watertown Chronicles. She writes in Farmington Hills, Michigan where she lives with her adopted cat Houdini, and taught English Composition at WSU and several other local colleges. Shattuck became interested in Native American shamanism when her neighbors invited her to a sweat lodge and Yuwipi ceremony conducted by Luciano Perez, a Yuwipi man who trained with the shaman Leonard Crowdog of the Lakota Rosebud reservation in South Dakota. Working with Luciano’s followers and connecting with a second shaman in Idaho, Nancy followed the Native American teachers for ten years. She learned the medicine wheel—fundamental to all the Lakota spiritual rituals—was a means of orienting oneself to center and maintain balance.
Steven Curtin has been a member of 1st UU Detroit since 2016 and a member of the chorus
where when we had in-person services he also played bass, congas, guitar and other instruments.
Since the start of the Covid lockdown he's served as "Zoom Guru" for our teleservices
and continues to play instruments with Todd and Eric and mixes the videos for our Zoom Chorus pieces.
He maintains a 40 year Zen Buddhist practice, and since 2003 has observed all eight events of the
wheel of the years in the Celtic Pagan tradition.
On Juneteenth Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
Looking ahead to Saturday, June 19th, we discuss Juneteenth (Freedom Day), which commemorates that day when Major General Gordon Granger read the Emancipation Proclamation to slaves in Galveston, Texas, freeing them two and a half years after the proclamation was signed into law.
The Difference Heaven Makes Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
A significant number of people believe in an afterlife, and the Christian traditions have made "heaven" a popular concept in American public conversations. Today, we will explore the origin and evolution of "heaven," and discuss both the appeal and the lack of interest in participating in such an afterlife.
Our world is experiencing a mental health epidemic. In this message, we learn the current statistics and trends in stress, suicide, depression, anxiety, addiction, and other mental health issues. We explore treatment implications and changing needs. We discuss how to become mental health advocates and support clients by promoting education, stomping out stigma, and supporting legislation that affects behavioral healthcare providers and clients served.
Joyce Marter is a strong advocate for affordable and accessible mental health services as well as addiction awareness and treatment. She has devoted her life’s work to destigmatizing mental health issues and promoting awareness and access to care. She has done this through her many different roles, such as Founder of Urban Balance, Chief Brand Ambassador & Senior Advisor for Refresh Mental Health, leading various counseling associations for Illinois and the Midwest, lobbying congress, speaking nationally about mental health awareness and advocacy. Joyce is the author of the upcoming book, The Financial Mindset Fix: A Mental Fitness Program for an Abundant Life.
Inspiration and Commitment Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
On this Sunday, we both reflect on where we have been and we look forward to where we are going. This past year, our church has thrived during a time of pandemic. While worshipping online, we have welcomed back members who could not meet in person, have shared hospitality with people from other states and countries, and have invited speakers near and far. At the same time, we have had members who did not engage with a technologically dependent community and who are eager for us to meet in person again. We are all one community, all of us, and on this day of our annual meeting and the launch of our canvass, we will focus on what inspires us and commits us to be members of this community of faith, love, and justice.
On Dialogue Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
One of the most important ways in which we might interact with people whose beliefs and backgrounds are different than our own is through dialogue, rather than through debate. Today, we will explore the importance of dialogue and see how it has been a vital way forward for the encounter between people of different faith traditions.
Celebrating Mother Earth on Mother's Day Rev. Laura González
A distinctive characteristic of the Divine source is creation, during today's service we join together to celebrate Mother Earth on Mother's Day.
Rev. Laura González offers her intuitive gifts as a Spiritual & Community Healer, Priestess and Minister and is a Practitioner of Traditional Mexican Folk Magic, Native Philosophies and North American Paganism in the Goddess tradition. Her community activism is an extension of her spiritual practice, she is an advocate for the Latin American, Pagan & LGBTQIA communities and cares deeply about women's rights, suicide prevention and diversity inclusion. Laura co-edits the e-zine, El Caldero and publishes regularly there and in Circle Sanctuary Magazine. She is also the founder of Boletín Pagano, a meeting place for Spanish-speaking Pagans. In the past, Laura has been deeply honored to present workshops at events such as Greater Chicagoland Pagan Pride Day, Fort Wayne Pagan Pride Day, St. Louis Pagan Picnic, Circle Sanctuary and Pagan Spirit Gathering. She's a leader in her community as a resident Bruja (healer) and as volunteer ESL teacher at the Aquinas Literacy Center. Laura González is also a popular podcaster and producer of her shows, Lunatic Mondays (Lunes Lunáticos) and Paganos del Mundo on Circle Sanctuary Network Podcasts.
Addressing the Rural & Urban Divide with Compassionate Curiosity Jill Murphy and Susan Matthews
We will look at how Deep Canvassing can help in understanding the beliefs, feelings and needs that are driving the rural - urban gap. The process uses empathy and compassion to break down interpersonal barriers and open up candid conversations. Jill is a Small Town and Rural Organizer for Michigan United.
Susan is a UU Detroit member and volunteer with Michigan United.
A Renewed Earth Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
In the wake of Earth Day on Thursday, April 22nd, we are reminded of televised scenes from this past year. Around the world, as economies and industries and transportation shut down due to the global stresses of COVID-19, we nonetheless witnessed skies clear of smoke and smog. We saw a vision, all too brief, of an earth recovering from pollution. How might we liberate the earth and ourselves from this cycle?
Asian American in America Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
In Detroit, our considerable focus on the racial dynamics between "black" and "white" often deafens us to the experiences of other cultural and ethnic people living in our midst. This past year, since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there have been over 3,800 anti-Asian, racist hate incidents in the United States, mostly perpetrated against women. Today, we will share in a meditation about Asian American lived experiences in America, and in particular during the era of the coronavirus pandemic.
Recently, the Chair of the Michigan Republican Party casually suggested that the top three female democratic leaders in Michigan were witches who need to be "burned at the stake." This attack is a common one throughout history; women who have stepped into political leadership are lambasted and attacked with misogynistic language. Women have often fought back and reclaimed some of these terms, most notably the ultimate feminist symbol: the witch
Regina Weiss is a State Representative and a member of the UU Detroit church. She is currently serving her first term representing the 27th House District, which encompasses the cities of Berkley, Huntington Woods, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge, Ferndale and Hazel Park, as well as Royal Oak Township. Regina began her career as a teacher in the Detroit Public Schools Community District. She also served as an Oak Park City Council member until her election to the House in 2020.
Stephanie Gray Chang is a Democratic politician from Michigan representing the 1st district of the Michigan Senate, and a member of the UU Detroit church.
Politics and the Seven Principals – Observations from the Arena Terry Campbell, Regional Manager, Office of U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow
Terry will share reflections on work in politics and public life while living her values as expressed in the seven UU principles. She will share anecdotes about her time in the auto industry and with the Senate.
Terry has been part of the senator’s state team since 2014. A Detroit native, she has responsibility for facilitating the connection between the senator and constituents, local government and federal agencies. Terry previously served as Chief Operating Office for Eastern Market Corporation, the non-profit in charge of the region’s oldest continuously operating farmers market. She spent her early career in the auto industry with General Motors in Flint, Warren, Singapore, and Shanghai.
Terry is a graduate of MSU (B.S. Engineering) and Wayne State University (MBA).
On Audre Lorde Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
Audre Lorde, a self-described “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” dedicated both her life and her creative talent to confronting and addressing injustices of racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia. We will explore Lorde's remarkable legacy to poetry and the womanist movement.
Ecofeminism Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
Ecofeminism is a philosophical and political movement that combines ecological concerns with feminist ones, regarding both as resulting from male domination of society. Today, we will examine the history of this movement and the women who have contributed to its development.
Liz Theoharis and the Poor People’s Campaign Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
One of the most prominent activists on the issue of poverty in the United States is the Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, who co-chairs the Poor People’s Campaign with the Rev. William Barber II. Today, we will focus on Theoharis and her faith journey toward activism.
Walking in Blackness after Black History Month: My world is not a NOVELTY! Dr. Kalvin DaRonne Harvell
Dr. Harvell will discuss the deliberate attempt to devalue the important critiques Black History Month has to offer about the self-determination of Black folks. Through a conscious goal of reflection and recovery, Dr. Harvell will provide a critical assessment of what it means to view Black bodies outside of the safe, intellectual restraints imposed by contemporary demands for empathetic reactions to the persistent and deliberate attacks on Blackness. Indeed, Harvell will provide critical insights into what it means to walk in Blackness after the (oftentimes) intentionally sanitized celebrations are over.
Dr. Kalvin DaRonne Harvell is the oldest son of Lillian and Calvin Harvell. Dr. Kalvin DaRonne Harvell was born and raised in Flint, Michigan. Upon graduating from Flint Southwestern Academy, he continued his education, earning a B.S. in sociology from Grand Valley State University, an M.A. in sociology from Ohio University, an Ed.S. in educational leadership (Specialist) from Oakland University, and a Ph.D. in global leadership from the Indiana Institute of Technology.
Dr. Harvell is a professor of sociology at Henry Ford College in Dearborn, Michigan. He has taught an array of courses, including but not limited to, Ethnic and Racial Diversity in Society, Independent Studies, and Leadership in Diverse Communities and Organizations. Furthermore, Dr. Harvell taught in a learning community designed for under-represented males. In addition to his teaching duties, Dr. Harvell and his esteemed colleagues coordinate the Black Male and Quintessential, Unique, Essence of Ebony, Necessary, Sisters (QUEENS) Focus Group, an academic and social support network designed to address equity on the campus of Henry Ford College.
Dr. Harvell is member of the Diversity Scholars Network at the National Center for Institutional Diversity (University of Michigan). The past president of the Michigan Sociological Association, Harvell was awarded the Milton Olsen Award for distinguished service to sociology in Michigan. Harvell is also the founder and chair of the Black Male Retention and Success Conference (Henry Ford College). Additionally, he is the chief intellectual officer (CIO) at Harvell & Associates, an educational consulting firm involved in the production of asset-focused, culturally responsive educational programming. Of all his accomplishments and letters, the letters he is most proud and passionate about are-D A D D Y!
Remembering Malcolm X Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
On this day in 1965, the Muslim activist Malcolm X was assassinated while giving a speech in New York City's Audubon Ballroom. We will look back on the life and legacy of Malcolm X, and what his teachings have to offer us today.
The great preacher the Rev. Dr. Jonathan Walton, the Dean of the Wake Forest University Divinity School, is known for promoting the idea of "One Luv." In the words of the late, great Morehouse president Benjamin Elijah Mays, "The love of God and the love of humanity are one love." Today, we will explore this concept.
On Amanda Gorman Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
One of the most inspirational moments of the President Joe Biden's inauguration was when Amanda Gorman, the 22-year-old Youth Poet Laureate of the United States, stepped forward and offered her poem, "The Hill We Climb." This sermon will focus on Gorman and her supernova moment.
The challenges BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) individuals face as we strive to engage in earth restoration Dr. Ventra Asana
Dr. Ventra Asana is founder and CEO of Spiritual Kinetics, a company that provides training and development to identify best practices for faith communities, civic and community groups to take care of the earth, in the urban environment. These include workshops to develop ecological awareness, projects for developing community parks, and green and blue infrastructure.
Rebuilding: Marginalized People UU Detroit Vespers Team
For well over a decade, UU Detroit has provided a vespers poetry program. This rich tradition has continued via Zoom during the covid lockdown. Our church poetry mavens have been asked to share poems related to the theme of marginalization and healing with the congregation, and this worship service is the result.
King and Political Change Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was an enormously effective advocate for societal change among the political powers of his time, and as we move toward the inauguration of the next President of the United States, we reflect on how King utilized the power of spiritual communities and movements to sway political reality in his day to inform our activism today.
On Democracy Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
As we prepare for the inauguration of our 46th President in the United States, and in the aftermath of a turbulent electoral season, it is important to focus on the importance of democracy.
Hope for a New Year! Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
We move out of 2020, a year of overwhelming loss for many, and into 2021, where there is fresh hope. Today, we consider the ways in which hope is an excellent way to orient ourselves in the year ahead.
The Trilogy Sermon: Socialism Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
Dan Secrest and Michelle Danius Peters jointly "won" the "You pick it, I preach it" contest on Facebook! The two of them made suggestions for a trilogy of sermons on the topics, "Individualism, Tribalism, Socialism." This is the third of the trilogy, all to be done in the month of December.
A History of Santa Claus Reverend Stephen Butler Murray with Todd Ballou Just who exactly is Santa Claus? Is he Saint Nicholas of Myra? Is he a jolly old elf? For Christmas Eve, we'll share in a history of this mythic figure whose nose like a cherry and luminescent reindeer Rudolph dominates our culture this time of year.
Order of Service Zoom Recording
December 20, 2020
The Trilogy Sermon: Tribalism Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
Dan Secrest and Michelle Danius Peters jointly "won" the "You pick it, I preach it" contest on Facebook! The two of them made suggestions for a trilogy of sermons on the topics, "Individualism, Tribalism, Socialism." This is the second of the trilogy, all to be done in the month of December.
The Trilogy Sermon: Individualism Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
Dan Secrest and Michelle Danius Peters jointly "won" the "You pick it, I preach it" contest on Facebook! The two of them made suggestions for a trilogy of sermons on the topics, "Individualism, Tribalism, Socialism." This is the first of the trilogy, all to be done in the month of December.
Peace, Justice, and the Season: A Music Program Joe Kidd and Sheila Burke
In the 8 years that Joe Kidd & Sheila Burke have been together, they have created a sound that is powerful and unique in the world of acoustic music. Influenced by 60s folk music, traditional Appalachian songs, Celtic melodies, the intensity of bluegrass, country, & gospel/christian standards, Classical atmospheres, African & Middle Eastern rhythms, and Native American prayer chants, Joe & Sheila incorporate guitars, autoharp, African djembe drum, Native American sacred drum, and many other diverse instruments from around the world to provide their original and uplifting music.
They write socially conscious & spiritual songs of struggle, thanksgiving, redemption, and love. Their descriptions, interpretations & translations (sung in many different languages) are mystic and revelatory. Both are published poets/writers which gives their concerts the added power of the presence of the spoken word. joekiddandsheilaburke.com
The Arts as Protest Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
All throughout my life, I have been entranced by the use of the arts as form of protest. When I was the chaplain of Skidmore College at the beginning of my career, I was influenced by a new colleague, the renowned poet Carolyn Forché, who is now University Professor at Georgetown University. Forché’s “poetry of witness” has become an important example of the arts as politically engagement. In today's service, I will talk about the possibilities of the performing, literary, and fine arts as political protest, and ruminate about how our church has been engaged in such movements here in Detroit.
The Aftermath Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
No matter what happened the Election Tuesday preceding, we’ll need to talk about it come Sunday. We will either know something of the future direction of the American government or we will be enmeshed in uncertainty. How do we support one another as a spiritual community in a time such as this, what will we protest and celebrate, and how might we live best into our UU principles?
Tuesday, November 3, 2020, will be the culmination of an unprecedented voting season in American politics. A dangerously divided nation, in the midst of a global pandemic, will determine its political future. We will examine the Unitarian Universalist commitment to democracy and the importance of voting in America.
Wittenberg Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
Looking forward to next weekend, Reformation Day is celebrated by Protestant Christians on October 31st, although it often plays a mute second fiddle to the cultural phenomenon of Halloween. According to the influential Reformation theologian Philip Melanchthon, October 31st, 1517 was the day that the German monk Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses on the door of the All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, regarded as the start of the Reformation. Today, we will explore Luther’s action on that day and how his work fueled a major shift in the Christian traditions.
All of us walking the spiritual path are being called to "come out" to more-and-more of who God created us to be. In that regard, out-and-proud LGBTQ people demonstrate for all of us what "shining our Light" and leading an authentic life looks like. Throughout the centuries and across cultures, LGBTQ people have been spiritual teachers, inspiring and encouraging others to step out of the darkness and to walk in the Light. In his message, Pastor Sal will share some of their wisdom and encourage all of us (regardless of our gender identity or sexual orientation) to more fully walk in our Truth.
Salvatore Sapienza is the author of the books: "Seventy Times Seven" (nominated for 2 Lambda Literary Awards), "Mychal's Prayer: Praying with Father Mychal Judge," "Gay is a Gift," and "Childish Thinking: How the Church Keeps Us Stuck in Sunday School." A former religious brother in the Catholic Church, Sapienza worked alongside Father Mychal Judge ("The Saint of 9/11") in the early 1990's in helping to establish St. Francis AIDS Ministry in New York City, one of the first Catholic AIDS organizations in the country. Sapienza's best-selling debut novel, "Seventy Times Seven," was adapted into the award-winning feature film, "Brotherly Love" (2018). A freelance writer, Sapienza has written feature stories for several newspapers and magazines across the country, and he has appeared locally on NPR and PBS. He and his husband live in Saugatuck/Douglas, Michigan, where Sapienza serves as the pastor of a United Church of Christ church. Visit: SalSapienza.com
Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsburg Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
On Friday, September 18th, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsburg died after a lengthy battle with cancer. One of the most significant jurists and advocates for women’s rights in American history, Ginsburg became a cultural icon, embraced affectionately as “The Notorious RBG.” Today, we will discuss Ginsburg and her formidable legacy.
On Marriage Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
Eighteen years ago today, Cynthia and I were married at the First Presbyterian Church of Lewiston, New York. Since that event will be prominent in my mind, I wanted to share some reflections and thoughts on marriage, and why it remains an important part of human culture.
Blessing of the Animals Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
Many churches hold annual animal blessing services, a time to give thanks and bless our companions in life. Animal blessings originate out of the Roman Catholic tradition, however, many Unitarian Universalist congregations have adopted this practice and made it a uniquely UU type of blessing. Our seventh principle which states that we are all part of an interconnected web of existence is the underlying motivation for many of these services.
Based upon his role as the Executive Director of the Black Voice Foundation, Hardy Brown comes to us sharing his experiences, using artifacts, lecture, and perhaps even reenactment, guiding learners to see the real stories of freedom seekers in the past and present.
Hardy Brown is the Executive Director of the Black Voice Foundation, based out of San Bernardino, CA...he is also the President of the San Bernardino County school board, a husband, and the father of two very accomplished daughters.
On Forgiveness Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
Forgiveness is difficult. Forgiveness is transformative. Forgiveness can be controversial. Can we always forgive, and should we always forgive? Today, we will discuss the complex dynamics of forgiveness, the courage and vulnerability that is involved, and the possibilities that can arise from the work and blessing of forgiveness.
Remembering the Pilgrims Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
September 6th is the 400th anniversary of when 102 English Purtians (now known as Pilgrims) set sail about the Mayflower from Plymouth, England for a new life in America. After a perilous journey, they landed in what is now Provincetown Harbor, Cape Cod, Massachusetts on November 11th. They had intended to land in Virginia, but were unable to reach it because of heavy seas. Today, we will mark this historical moment and discuss both who the Puritans were and what their legacy became in the United States.
19th Amendment Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
Rev. Murray will address the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution — granting women the right to vote — which was ratified by Congress 100 years ago this August.
Reaching Across the Racial Barrier Alexander Morgan and Dwight "Skip" Stackhouse
Alex, who was raised to be a white supremacist in Savannah, Georgia, and Dwight, an African American raised in a racially tolerant neighborhood of Detroit, became friends as they shared their joint stories at a local writing group. They developed these stories into a play, provocatively entitled "The N-Word Duet."* Their "duet" makes a harmony of their contrasting experiences of the brutality of American racism. Today, Dwight and Alex will discuss how they were drawn to work together and how the play emerged from their dialogue.
*On August 25, they will offer a reading of a one-act play, "A Hospital Lynching," which is a scene adapted from their longer play. This will be presented on Zoom and will be sponsored by the First UU Detroit, Social Justice Committee.
Alexander Payne Morgan was born in Savannah, Georgia. He worked for 30 years as an industrial mathematician at the General Motors Research Laboratories in Warren, MI. He has published two poetry chapbooks; one of them, "H.G. Wells Investigates the Tragedy of Colour in America," collects his poetry about race and the white supremacy he was raised to.
Raised in Detroit, Dwight "Skip" Stackhouse has published one novel and two books of poetry. He is recipient of the 2018 Kresge Arts in Detroit Fellowship Award. In 1979, while performing in James Baldwin's play The Amen Corner, he was introduced to the famous author who saw much promise in him. For several years he and Baldwin shared philosophies on human rights, family history, religious backgrounds and creative inspirations, they became friends. He is the subject of one of Mr. Baldwin's poems, "Song for Skip" published in his literary collection called "Jimmy's Blues". Skip's life work comes from a fundamental philosophy; "we can be better than we are."
Alex and Dwight met in a poetry workshop, and they discovered they were both writing about their personal experiences of American racism. They have given join talks on the topic and are now collecting their stories into a play, "The N-Word Duet".
Amazing Grace Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
Amazing Grace is an unusual hymn for Unitarian Universalists to sing, and yet it remains a standard both in American life and in the UU tradition. Today, we’ll explore the history of this hymn and why it continues to shape our spiritual lives.
Looking Up Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
The other night, we were captivated by watching a comet, the brightest discernible by human eyes in quite some time. It just so happened that the comet was accompanied by a meteor shower, meaning that we had shooting stars flying over us like fireworks. It was a reminder that sometimes, we need to stop what we are doing and simply look up to regain a sense of wonder and awe about the universe.
Improvisation Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
Sometimes, the best moments of theater or comedy happen when the actors depart from the script and simply improv, riffing off of one another to create a whole new storyline beyond and above what had existed before. I want to explore today how improvisation is an important skill in life, especially when we live in times quite unlike any that we have lived in before.
Sitting around the dinner table the other night, when all that we talked about was the resurgence of Coronavirus, a failed American presidency, and the unending nightmare of racism in America, I thought to myself ironically, “Well, that was cheery.” How do we find hope in a time such as this? What is the nature of hope, and how is it different from optimism? How might we engender hope in our lives today?
Black Lives Matter Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
The murder of George Floyd by a police offer in Minneapolis was the straw that broke the camel's back. June 2020 saw the United States enveloped with the Black Lives Matter protests, arguably the most important, sustained social protest in 50 years. Today, we will discuss the Black Lives Matter movement, and where we stand today.
Michigan UU Churches Joint Worship Service Rev. Murray, Martha Bogner, Michigan UUs
Over 600 Michigan UUs joined in worship service. The service was pre-recorded and broadcast on Zoom, Facebook Live, and YouTube.
The Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray and Martha Bogner, UU Detroit-sponsored aspirant for UU ministry, represented UU Detroit
On Liberty Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
As we celebrate Independence Day, it is important to think about what it is that Americans uplift as important about liberty. In the Coronavirus Era, have we been well served by the desire for a rugged independence, or have we suffered because of our concepts of liberty?
Knowing Who We Are Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
When major life events crash over us like a rogue wave, we sometimes lose sight of who we are as we try to adjust to the new circumstances that life has thrown our way. None of us could have foreseen that we are having the 2020 that we are having, when so much of our "normal" has been thrown out the window. So how do we navigate this time? Who are we, and how does our before affect our now, and how does our now affect our future?
The 1st Unitarian-Universalist Church of Detroit is excited to announce that Detroit R & B legend Thornetta Davis will be adding her voice to our online service on June 28 at 11:00am.
Solstice, Seasons & UU Sixth Source Reverend Selena Fox
On this Summer Solstice Sunday, explore some ancient and contemporary ways of celebrating the annual Circle of Seasons, consisting of the Solstice and Equinoxes marking the beginning of each of the four seasons, and the midpoints, known as the Celtic Fire Festivals. Reflect on celebrating the Seasons as a manifestation of UU's Sixth Source: "Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of Nature."
Rev. Selena Fox is Senior Minister of Circle Sanctuary, a church headquartered on a Nature preserve near Barneveld, Wisconsin serving Nature Spirituality practitioners worldwide since 1974. Selena's writings and photographs on Nature, Celebrating the Seasons, Ecopsychology, and Paganism have been widely published, in print and on-line. Selena hosts two weekly podcasts, Nature Mystic and Nature Spirituality. Over the years, Selena has been a speaker at UUA conferences, including General Assembly, and a guest minister at a variety of Unitarian Universalist churches across the USA. She is among the contributors to the anthology, Pagan and Earth-centered Voices in Unitarian Universalism. Selena has a MS in counseling from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and does spiritual psychotherapy and holistic counseling by zoom and phone. She is an activist for gender and racial equality, religious freedom, interfaith collaboration, and environmental preservation. She is director of Circle Cemetery, one of the first Green cemeteries in North America. Selena has been an environmental activist for over fifty years and was among the organizers of events for the first Earth Day in 1970. Her interfaith endeavors include work with Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice, Charter for Compassion, and Parliament of the World’s Religions.
Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister UU Principles in the COVID-19 Era: Respect for the Interdependent Web of All Existence of Which We Are a Part
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June 7, 2020
Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister UU Principles in the COVID-19 Era: The Goal of World Community with Peace, Liberty, and Justice for All
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May 31, 2020
Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister UU Principles in the COVID-19 Era: The Right of Conscience and the Use of the Democratic Process Within Our Congregations and in Society at Large
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May 24, 2020
Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister UU Principles in the COVID-19 Era: A Free and Responsible Search for Truth and Meaning
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May 17, 2020
Everything Stays Martha Bogner Our church is getting ready for the familiar yearly pledge drive. But these days we are living in a different environment, which can be weird – even scary. In the face of that unease, how can we still go "All In" as a religious community? How do we sustain our mission in a world where, as a song from the cartoon Adventure Time puts it, "everything stays, but it still changes?"
Martha Bogner is a member of UU Detroit. She has served in several roles at the church, and is currently our sponsored aspirant for UU ministry. Order of Service Service Audio
May 10, 2020
Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister UU Principles in the COVID-19 Era: Acceptance of One Another and Encouragement to Spiritual Growth in Our Congregations
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May 3, 2020
Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister UU Principles in the COVID-19 Era: Justice, Equity, and Compassion in Human Relations
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April 26, 2020
Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister UU Principles in the COVID-19 Era: The Inherent Worth and Dignity of Every Person
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April 19, 2020
Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister Order of Service Service Video (Facebook video, sermon starts around 28:00 mark)
April 12, 2020
Sustainability and the Individual Charles King Sustainability is the final evolutionary step in human development, and it is a step we must take during the next century, or lose the chance forever. Climate change is the most urgent of a list of several threats to Sustainability. This sermon will describe what Sustainability makes possible for humanity, and list some of the ways that we can work towards that goal as individuals.
Charles is the chair of the UU Detroit Social Justice Committee, and has a long history of environmental activism.
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April 5, 2020
All In Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister Reverend Murray discusses the serenity prayer and its relevance to today's situation.
Still Living Through It Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister Order of Service Worship Service Video (Facebook video, sermon starts around 29:30 mark)
March 22, 2020ONLINE SERVICE
Living Through It Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister Reverend Murray will provide the sermon online.
The Contagion of Human Dignity Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister Reverend Murray will provide the sermon online, and there will be discussion afterwards via the miracle of modern technology.
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March 8, 2020
Overcoming Evil with Good Daniel Buttry How do we confront and deal with some of the terrible things happening in our world today? It's so easy to get sucked into negative mindsets, emotions, and actions--evil, if you will. But then we become part of the problem, too. We will explore how to be transformers of evil through good, nonviolent, constructive, creative actions that can change dynamics, relationships, and even the course of history.
Dan and his wife Sharon are global consultants, Dan for Peace and Justice and Sharon for Community Transformation. They serve around the world to provide consultation and training in conflict transformation and the transformation of communities, working primarily through the church as God’s instrument of change. They utilize experiential education and participatory Bible study in their workshops. In the past nine years, Sharon and Dan have trained over 250 church and community leaders from 50 countries in 10-day Training of Conflict Transformation Trainers programs. Many of these leaders have made a profound impact in the peacemaking of their communities and countries.
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March 1, 2020
Battle for Access to the Ballot: Rule Changes Alone are Never Enough Sharon Dolente - ACLU / UU the Vote Our democracy works best when all people can make their voice heard. With the passage of Proposal 3 in 2018, registering to vote and voting has never been easier in Michigan. But rule changes alone are not enough if we want to eliminate disparities in participation that plague our democracy. People of color, young people, voters with disabilities, low income people, and English language learners will continue to face barriers to voting unless we do more in 2020.
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February 23, 2020
On Octavia Butler Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister Octavia Butler was one of our most important science fiction writers, an African American woman who won the Hugo and Nebula Awards, and a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship. Butler had a remarkable talent for examining how religion and spirituality can make and break community. Today, we will share a profile of Butler and her major works.
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February 16, 2020
How do Islamic beliefs reflect the UU goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all?
Imam Al-Qazwini Imam Sayed Hassan Al-Qazwini will speak about the ways in which Islam and Unitarian Universalism share the values of "world peace, liberty, and justice for all." He will address myths about Islam which often prevent an understanding by those of other faiths.
Imam Sayed Hassan Al-Qazwini immigrated to the United States in late 1992 after his family endured pressure from Sadam Hussein to support his corrupt regime. He has served as Director of the Azzahra Islamic Center in Los Angeles, CA, and as scholar and religious leader for the Islamic Center of America. He is founder of the YMA, or Youth of Muslim America. Al-Qazwini continues to be one of the most outspoken and influential Muslim Shi’a religious leaders in the United States. For more information on the Imam, please visit qazwini.org.
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February 9, 2020
Who is Today’s King? Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister A question that many people ask is: who is the Martin Luther King, Jr. of today? In many ways, it’s an unfair question: Who could be? Today, I will profile several African American faith leaders who are involved in progressive actions today who could inspire mass movements.
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February 2, 2020
Environmental Racism Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister On this Sunday, we explore the complexities of environmental racism, the environmental injustice that occurs in practice and in policy within a radicalized context, with special attention on how this occurs in Detroit.
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January 26, 2020
On Transcendentalism Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister Transcendentalism was one of the most important intellectual and cultural developments that influenced and was influenced by American Unitarianism. Today, we will explore the central tenets and main figures of transcendentalism as part of our effort to better know our past and our UU identity today.
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January 19, 2020
The Arc of the Moral Universe Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister On this Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, we will explore MLK's famous phrase, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." We also will discuss King's intentional decision to paraphrase the Unitarian abolitionist Theodore Parker.
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January 12, 2020
On Angels Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister All around the Christmas story, there are sightings of angels. The idea of the divine messenger is one that shows up throughout the religions of the world. We will explore this notion of an intermediary between the divine source and humankind, and the relationships that angels provide.
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January 5, 2020
This I Believe Sally Borden, Steve Curtin, Elayne Sikelianos, Kathe Stevens We begin the new year by reflecting on our beliefs and values. Four of our own members will share their beliefs and journey with Unitarian Universalism. How will we move our values into individual and collective action in the new year? We will commit to and share our intentions for the year, privately or publicly, in a closing ceremony.
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December 29, 2019
All Things New Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister As the new year approaches, we resolve to do new things, put away bad practices, embrace a better vision for ourselves and the world. What might we resolve to be, and how might that change how we relate to our friends, our neighbors, even our environment?
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December 24, 2019 7:00 PM
A Night of Hope Reverend Stephen Butler Murray with Todd Ballou A light in the darkness. New life. Hope in the midst of a time marked by political oppression. How does the story of the birth of Jesus continue to inspire a feeling of joy in our world today?
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December 22, 2019
Winter Solstice Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister Recognizing that we gather for worship immediately following the shortest day of the year, it is important to realize why Winter Solstice is a pivot point in the religious and cultural life of so many around the world.
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December 15, 2019
Speaking Truth to Power - Justice for Immigrants in the U.S. Sister Karen Donahue Sister Donahue will share her work on behalf of justice for immigrants including advocacy, public witness and visiting immigrants detained at the Monroe County Jail.
Karen Donahue has been a Sister of Mercy for fifty-eight years. She has worked for peace and justice at the local, national and international levels serving in Sisters of Mercy community justice positions and at 8th Day Center for Justice in Chicago.
She has traveled widely, visiting Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. She was part of two delegations to Honduras that were organized by the Sisters of Mercy Institute Justice Team. She has participated in three trips to Israel-Palestine with Meta (formerly Michigan) Peace Team and has taken part on civil disobedience actions at the Nevada Test Site, the School of the Americas, the Federal Courthouse in Detroit just before the start of the Iraq war in March 2003, and most recently at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. in support of DACA recipients in February 2018.
For the past eleven years, she has coordinated a weekly vigil in solidarity with immigrants at the Department of Homeland Security Office in downtown Detroit and twice a month visits immigrants detained at the Monroe County Jail in Monroe Michigan with Justice for Our Neighbors, the migrant ministry of the United Methodist Church. Currently she serves as a member of the Sisters of Mercy Justice Team. A native of the Chicago area, Karen has lived in downtown Detroit for seventeen years. She is an active member of St. Aloysius Parish in Detroit and received the 2013 Urban Parish Spirit Award.
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December 8, 2019
Annual Joint Service with Amnesty International: 71 Years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Ken and Geraldine Grunow Since its founding in 1961, Amnesty International has devolved from a UK-based organizationwith a limited mandate to an organization with world-wide leadership and a mandate that embraces all the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The challenges and benefits of this devolution are the topic of this talk, which celebrates the 71st anniversary of the signing of the Declaration.
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December 1, 2019
Season of Spending Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister In the wake of Thanksgiving, we wade into Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the mass of events and presents involved in holiday celebrations. Why do we do this, and how might we promote celebration without spending?
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November 24, 2019
Thanks for the Earth Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister As we enter into the Thanksgiving week, it is important to remember the source of all life, the very Earth itself. As we gather together and contemplate what it is that we are thankful for, let us be especially conscious of our mother, our home, our provider, and all the ways that we need to cherish what we have from our planet.
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November 17, 2019
Civility, Free Speech, and the Limits of Tolerance Dr. John Corvino There's much to be said in favor of niceness and of taking a "big tent" approach toward those with whom we differ. At the same time, the canard that "all are welcome" obscures the fact that shunning and shaming are sometimes merited: To take an extreme example, an unrepentant Hitler neither is nor should be welcome! Where should we draw the line, and why?
John Corvino, Ph.D. is Professor of Philosophy and Dean of the Irvin D. Reid Honors College at Wayne State University. For the past 25+ years, he has lectured at over 250 campuses around the globe on culture-war issues of sexuality, ethics, marriage, and religious liberty. Read more at www.johncorvino.com.
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November 10, 2019
One Nation, Indivisible Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister So much of our country's political rhetoric in recent years has focused on how we are divided. Yet, the very promise of the United States of America is that we are one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. How do we meet the challenges that our current society presents us, and how might we use our hope to make real change for the betterment of everyone, and not just those who agree with us, look like us, or pray like us?
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November 3, 2019
Freedom is an Act Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister The beginning of November is always an important time to ruminate on the importance of elections and democracy. This sermon will focus on the political philosophy of John Lewis, a civil rights icon and longtime Congressman from Georgia.
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October 27, 2019
Honoring our Ancestors in Word and Deed Reverend Stanley Nunn Those who have come before have laid the foundation upon which we build. They have given us the tools to write the future for ourselves and the world. How we honor them is by living with courage and honor.
Reverend Nunn has been a leader in the pagan community for many years. He has dedicated his life to further the education and spiritual growth of all who choose to walk the path of mysteries. Reverend Nunn began his journey as a student of Wicca and has found the principles of Wicca to be the central pillar of his philosophy. It is his goal to help as many as possible find their path to enlightenment and joy in life.
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October 20, 2019
Temporary Shelter Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister Today marks the end of Sukkot, the Jewish celebration of Tabernacles. Our service will focus on Sukkot, and why our Jewish friends and neighbors honor this day recognizing the biblical, historical, and agricultural tradition of "temporary shelter."
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October 13, 2019
Gender Identity Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister On the Sunday before International Pronouns Day, we will speak about the changing cultural conversations on gender identity and the pronouns that we use for individuals. As part of our discussion, we will reveal how we are updating our church’s name tags to address this issue.
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October 6, 2019
Climate Activism Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister In September, members of our church participated in and witnessed the largest international activist effort to address the perils of climate change. Today, we will profile the environmental activist Greta Thunberg, a teenager from Sweden, and the movement that she inspired in a mere year.
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September 29, 2019
The UU Story Part Three: An American Faith Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister To appreciate our inclusive and diverse religious tradition, I believe it is important to understand our history. Over three Sundays in September, we will explore the fascinating story of our Unitarian Universalist faith. Part three traces the development of the Unitarian and Universalist sides of our family tree in America, and how we eventually became the Unitarian Universalist faith we see today.
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September 22, 2019
The UU Story Part Two: UU History in Europe Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister To appreciate our inclusive and diverse religious tradition, I believe it is important to understand our history. Over three Sundays in September, we will explore the fascinating story of our Unitarian Universalist faith. In part two, we will examine the influence of religious movements in Europe during the turbulent centuries after the Reformation.
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September 15, 2019
Finding Hope in Troubling Times - A Hindu Perspective Shama Mehta The times in which we live right now are hard. It is hard to ignore the news. It is hard to ignore the natural devastations and harder still is devastations that are manmade. Where do you turn to find hope? Who do you turn to when you need to find hope? As a Hindu, my answer is looking inwards.
Shama Mehta, born in India, is a lifelong practicing Hindu. She is a Board Certified Chaplain through the Association of Professional Chaplains and work as a Hospital Chaplain. Shama holds a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Ministry (Interfaith Chaplaincy) and is a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator.
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September 8, 2019
The UU Story Part One: Early Church to the Reformation Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister To appreciate our inclusive and diverse religious tradition, I believe it is important to understand our history. Over three Sundays in September, we will explore the fascinating story of our Unitarian Universalist faith. Part one of this three part series looks at the theological origins of Unitarianism and Universalism leading up to the Reformation.
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September 1, 2019
Labor in Detroit: Legacy and Lessons Tony Paris
Detroit’s identity has been tied to the labor movement thanks in large part to our rich history of unionization in the auto industry. Who were those folks whose backs we stand on? What has changed over the years and why? What lessons from them can we take as we try to create a future that is more equitable for unskilled labor?
Tony Paris is the lead attorney at the Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice, a national, non-profit organization, dedicated to providing legal support and advocacy for low-income working people, immigrants, and their communities, where he specializes in worker and community rights regarding plant closings & mass layoffs, wage & hour actions, unemployment insurance benefits, and employee organizing/NLRB filings.
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August 25, 2019
Humanism and Religious Dialogue Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister When our Minister was on the Board of Chaplains at Harvard University, one of his most important colleagues was Greg Epstein, the Humanist Chaplain to Harvard University. Today, we will explore important concepts advanced by Epstein about the importance of humanists being involved in inter-religious dialogue.
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August 18, 2019
The Power of We Martha Bogner Who are we: as individuals, as a community, as part of a larger whole? How does that inform the way we're called to be with each other and in the wider world?
Martha Bogner is a member of UU Detroit, a seminarian at Meadville Lombard, and many other things as well. She offers some reflections on this theme of the 2019 UUA General Assembly through the lens of her recent experience in Spokane, WA.
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August 11, 2019
Shootings in America Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister This past weekend highlighted what has become too prevalent a reality of mass shootings in our country. Today, we will focus on how we might respond as a spiritual community to this toxic quality of contemporary American life.
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August 4, 2019
Swimming and Spirituality Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister Today, the Minister will offer his spiritual autobiography about the importance of swimming and water to his life. Many cultures see bodies of water and flowing water as holy places, even as gods, and he will ruminate on this as part of his sermonic meditation.
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July 28, 2019
Values in Space Joel Batterman Star Trek, Star Wars, Firefly and other science fiction hits are set in the far reaches of outer space. But they're so popular because they speak directly to our own world's most pressing ethical and spiritual questions, although the answers they give are markedly different. What are the insights and blind spots of each approach, and might they help this troubled planet find its way forward?
Joel Batterman, a member of UU Detroit, is a PhD student in urban and regional planning at the University of Michigan and co-chair of the Motor City Freedom Riders bus rider organization.
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July 21, 2019
On Faith and Science Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister I want to take on the often utilized false dichotomy of religion and science, which creates the impression that people of faith by practice reject science, and that scientists by virtue of their worldview must eschew faith. To quote Shakespeare's Hamlet, "There are more things in heaven and earth... Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
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July 14, 2019
Children in Cages Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister The humanitarian crisis at the American southern border is becoming an increasingly horrific situation. As families seek asylum in the United States, their children are separated from them, kept in deplorable conditions, sometimes shipped away to entire other parts of the country, with no system for how to reunite them. Today, we will focus on this issue and how we, as a faith community, might step into the fray in addressing this situation as part of our focus on immigration issues.
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July 7, 2019
Research and Spirituality Irene Brisson How can the spiritual search for truth and meaning be figured as a sort of research project? In short, what are questions to ask ourselves and others in this pursuit? Reflecting on the practices of scientific inquiry, I consider the role of repetition in spiritual traditions. Intersecting the writings of physicist Michael Faraday, poet T.S. Elliot, and the biblical Ecclesiastes, I offer a meditation on time, inquiry, and return in the pursuit of knowledge -- sacred and profane.
Irene Brisson is a member of UU Detroit since 2014 and a doctoral candidate in architecture at the University of Michigan. She researches social relationships in house design in Leogane, Haiti.
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June 30, 2019
The Spiritual Lives of LGBTQ People Daniel Horrigan Social worker and storyteller Daniel Horrigan will present on the various religious experiences of LGBTQ people. This speech will examine barriers to faith practices for Queer folks, and shine a light on successful models of welcoming churches. We will also use this opportunity to acknowledge ways in which we as UU's are successful in welcoming and including the LGBTQ community and discover ways in which we can do this better.
Daniel Horrigan is a proud member of 1st UU Detroit. A New York City transplant, Dan served on the RE team at All Souls NYC for seven years where he taught the 7th grade racial and social justice curriculum. Outside of church, Dan was the founder and artistic director of At Hand Theater Company. A company dedicated to developing socially conscious new works by emerging playwrights. At Hand presented over 15 productions of new works off and off - off broadway. As a solo artist and storyteller, Dan wrote and performed "the Big A", a serio-comic monologue about living with HIV. "The Big A" was produced twice in New York City including the New York International Fringe Festival. Daniel is a recent graduate of the Wayne State School of Social Work where he had the privilege of doing field work at both The Ruth Ellis Center and The Alzheimer's Association Greater Michigan Chapter. Dan is just getting started here in Detroit!
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June 23, 2019
Where from Here? Pastor Bill and Lydia Wylie-Kellermann Eleven years ago, before it was legal in Michigan, Lydia Wylie-Kellermann and her partner Erinn Fahey were married at St Peter’s Episcopal Detroit. In consequence, ecclesiastical charges were brought against her father, Bill Wylie-Kellermann, a United Methodist pastor. Now, the UMC is about to split over the full inclusion of LGBTQ members in the church. Lydia and Bill will share out of their experience in relation to the present moment.
Bill Wylie-Kellermann is an author, teacher, nonviolent community activist, and retired pastor living and working in Detroit. In Jesus, he bets his life on the gospel non-violence, good news to the poor, Word made flesh, and freedom from the power of death. Lydia Wylie-Kellermann is the editor of Geez magazine focused on contemplative cultural resistance. We explore the point at which word, action and image intersect, and then ignite. She lives in southwest Detroit with her partner and two sons.
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June 16, 2019
Where in the World is God? Rev. Diane Baker In our world today, around every corner and on every news outlet, we are bombarded with reports about the worst that is going on in our communities, nations and environment. It’s easy to get disheartened, despondent and even depressed. We could be convinced that we’re on the slippery slope down into the abyss. However we are reminded every day in many ways that God is in the mix, pulling us onto the path that brings health, healing and wholeness. We just need eyes to see.
Before opening her private counseling practice in 2000 Diane worked in corporate America for 16 years. She holds a Mechanical Design Engineering Technology degree from Michigan Technological University; a Bachelors in Psychology and a Masters in Counseling from Oakland University with a Post-Masters specialization in Marriage and Family Counseling; She also earned her Masters of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry (DMin) degrees from Ecumenical Theological Seminary. Her DMin explored how church leaders can become more mindful through family systems-based conflict training. Diane also has trained extensively through the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center on how to work effectively with conflict in churches. She is currently the pastor at Bethel United Church of Christ in Waterford and has a heart for building Interfaith relationships as well as for creating healthy churches. Diane enjoys travel, golf, scuba diving, and landscaping. She and her husband Dean live in Clarkston.
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June 9, 2019
The Rights of Women Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
In a time in which more women hold political office in the United States than ever before, we concurrently live in a time in which women's rights and liberty are more in jeopardy than they have been in the past fifty years. Today, we will examine what is happening in American politics that has brought us to this tremulous time, and how we might engage our political system to avert this crisis.
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June 2, 2019
On Democracy Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister Unitarian Universalists place a high value on democracy, both in political process and in its own considerations. On this day, when in our church we hold an election for our next class of church officers, it is important to consider why this process is important and how representative government is essential to our understanding of ourselves and our society.
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May 26, 2019
On Service and Memory Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister This weekend is Memorial Day Weekend, the traditional entry point to the summer vacation season in the United States, but far more importantly, our federal holiday for remembering and honoring persons who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Today, we will explore what service to this country means, both in the military and otherwise, and how we might honor all of those who have served our country.
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May 19, 2019
Hospitality and Welcome Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister Two days before this service, the world will commemorate The International Day Against Homophonia, Transphobia and Biphobia. This is a day to raise awareness of LGBT rights violations and stimulate interest in LGBT rights work worldwide. As we seek to become an ever more welcoming church, I want to discuss the very concept of hospitality and what we might do to become increasingly welcome to our LGBT neighbors and friends.
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May 12, 2019
Birthing Revolution, Birthing Hope Siwatu-Salama Ra Mother and organizer Siwatu-Salama Ra will share her experience being raised by an activist mother along with a village of Detroit organizers, and how she passes on the generational wealth of love, social justice, and community power to her children.
Siwatu-Salama Ra
is a mother and organizer who was born and raised in Detroit. She grew up in the environmental justice movement, and is currently the co-director of East Michigan Environmental Action Council. In addition to her work locally and across the country, Siwatu represented
Detroit and the United States at global social justice and climate justice events in France, Turkey, and Senegal. She also led youth organizing and media justice work including the Young Educators Alliance and Detroit Future Youth.
On March 1st, 2018 Siwatu was incarcerated
for defending herself, her mother, and daughter. At the time she was six and a half months pregnant was forced to give birth to her beautiful son during her imprisonment. After nearly nine months at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility, Siwatu was released
in order to appeal her unjust conviction and reunited with her family. She continues to fight for her freedom as well as well as organize for environmental justice and a world without prisons. FreeSiwatu.org Order of Service
May 5, 2019
Cinco de Mayo Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister One of the most popular celebrations of the year, Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of Mexican-American culture. But do we even know what we are celebrating, or that this is a much more popular celebration in the United States than it is in Mexico? Today, we will explore the commemoration of the Mexican Army’s victory over the French Empire at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, and understand better what this celebration has become for us today.
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April 28, 2019
On Doubt Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister Last Sunday, many churches around us celebrated Easter. The Sunday after, Christians often tell the story of “Doubting Thomas,” the disciple who did not believe in Jesus’ resurrection. Rev. Murray will talk about the history of the tradition of Thomas in the early Christian church, and further explore the importance of doubt in any life of faith.
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April 21, 2019
Educating Tomorrow’s Leaders in Today’s American Society Dr. Russell Kavalhuna Henry Ford College President Russell Kavalhuna will discuss what leadership means for our young people today. Current leaders were influenced by a very different sphere of influences than that of young adults today.
Russell A. Kavalhuna, J.D., joined Henry Ford College as the institution's sixth president in July 2018. The role unites his passions for public service, education, and institutional leadership. As the son of an immigrant who attended a Michigan community college, he believes the community college model of education and service is the gateway to the American Dream.
His work experience is varied and rich. He has a federal prosecutor and a commercial airline captain. In 2018, Governor-elect Gretchen Whitmer’s transition team selected Mr. Kavalhuna for consultation on higher-education policy. He continues to offer the Governor’s office insight on the intersection of education, statewide-talent development, and workforce development.
He was appointed by the last two governors, Snyder and Granholm, to The Aeronautics Commission. Additionally, Presidents William J. Clinton and George W. Bush selected Mr. Kavalhuna to serve in the second class of their Presidential Leadership Scholars program in 2016.
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April 14, 2019
Ostara, Revisited Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister The Spring Equinox (remember that, back in March?) is significant because it is the time when night and day are of equal length, and a time to celebrate balance in all things. Our Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, and Germanic ancestors would celebrate the arrival of Spring’s arrival many different ways. Today, as much of Christendom gears up to celebrate Easter in a week, we reflect on Ostara, which would seem to be an origin for modern Christianity’s celebration of Easter.
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April 7, 2019
Getting to YE$ Dan Secrest We will kick off our annual pledge campaign with a rousing discussion of where we stand as a church, and how we can progress together.
Dan Secrest is a longtime member of UU Detroit, having served the congregation in many capacities, including worship, communications, finance, and religious education. Order of Service Message Text
March 31, 2019
On Dorothea Dix Sally Borden Dorothea Dix, a strong Unitarian woman, survived a traumatic childhood and suffered mental illness herself . But out of this trauma, she managed to get state governments in every state in the U. S. during the mid 1800's to open at least one mental hospital to provide treatment, relieve suffering and stop the jailing of the mentally ill. Have we now gone backward?
Sally Borden is a longtime member of UU Detroit, having served the congregation in many capacities, including worship, membership, caring, and religious education. She has recently published an ebook entitled Saving the World--Part II, a real life look at working in the trenches as a social worker for 54 years in Detroit. Order of Service
March 24, 2019
Higher, Further, Faster Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister In recent weeks, the highest grossing movie without question will have been Captain Marvel. It is the story of an ace fighter pilot who encounters an alien and thereby is introduced to a wider universe than she could have imagined before. Carol Danvers' story asks the question what it means to be human and what it means to be a woman in a context where humanity is no longer normal.
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March 17, 2019
A Conversation with Jane Addams Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister This dialogical sermon was first offered in 2002 at the Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church in Pasadena, California by the Rev. Dr. Lee Barker, now President of Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago. Inspired by the biography of Jane Addams by Jean Bethke Elshtain, Rev. Barker wanted a way to tell the important work Jane Addams did with Chicago's immigrant population and the nation's peace movement without sounding like a history lecture. This is a re-enactment of that dialogical sermon.
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March 10, 2019
Women and the American Presidency Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister This year, a record number of women are running for the presidency of the United States. Today's sermon will focus on this phenomenon in American politics, and what has brought us to this moment when women are determined to lead the country.
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March 3, 2019
Wonder Woman Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister One of the most beloved characters of the DC comics universe is Wonder Woman, an Amazon who comes to the "world of men" as both savior and hero. In 2017, the movie Wonder Woman threw wide open the door to women as the leading heroic figure in fantasy movies.
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February 24, 2019
Jim Crow Detroit Jamon Jordan Segregation, sharecropping, lynchings, and the intense racism of the Jim Crow South, led to the Great Migration. Detroit would be a major destination for African Americans leaving the south. Jamon Jordan will speak on this era in which African Americans created and became a part of the historic communities of Black Bottom and Paradise Valley, where they founded churches, schools, civic institutions, as well as 350 Black-owned businesses. And learn how it was destroyed by local, state and federal policies of urban renewal and interstate highways. His talk will take us right up to the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements of the 1950s and 60s.
Jamon Jordan was born and raised in Detroit & Highland Park. In high school and college, Jordan became active in protesting and organizing against white supremacy and on behalf of Black Studies and Black self-determination. While in college, he met and became a student of Kwame Ture, formerly known as Stokely Carmichael. This relationship widened his perspective on Pan-Africanism and Black Nationalism. Jordan began teaching in 1999, and started working at Nsoroma Institute in 2003. While at Nsoroma Institute, he has taught African Community Studies, and African & African American History. He is the co-founder and facilitator of the Black Scroll Network History & Tours and has led research tours throughout the city of Detroit and the United States. Order of Service
February 17, 2019
Immolation and Identity Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister One of the moral quandaries of the Vietnam War era concerned the Buddhist monks who immolated themselves in protest of the war. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh corresponded with each other on this issue, providing a rich Christian-Buddhist dialogue on the comparative religious ethics concerning this topic. Our congregation felt the effect of this issue most acutely when one of our members, Alice Herz, immolated herself in March 1965 in protest of the escalation of the Vietnam War. Alice’s daughter, Helga, was a longtime member of First UU Detroit as well, active in the peace movement. There is a plaque on the fireplace mantel in the house lobby dedicated to Helga. Our service today will explore the memory of this form of protest.
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February 10, 2019
The Promise and the Practice: Unitarian Universalism’s Black History Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister Today’s service will explore the history of African Americans in the Unitarian Universalist movement, from 1860 to the present.
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February 3, 2019
On Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister One of the most important historians and interpreters of African American lives is Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University and host of the beloved PBS series Finding Your Roots. Today, we will explore the biography and legacy of Gates’s public intellectual work.
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January 27, 2019
Pilgrimage To Honor the Earth: Reflection from the Road Rabbi Moshe Givental What if the roots of our abusive relationships with people and world conflict are the same as our dysfunctional and destructive relationship with the environment and climate? What if re-connecting with our neighbors and strangers, is part of the same healing that we need in order to reconnect with the Earth and other-than-human life? Reflecting on these questions and the current environmental/climate crises, Rabbi Moshe Givental will share some thoughts from his Pilgrimage to Honor the Earth, walking from Boston to Detroit in the Summer of 2018.
Rabbi Moshe Givental is a teacher, community chaplain, and activist, working on issues at the intersection of ecology, justice, indigenous wisdom. He is a former psychotherapist, and was ordained as a Rabbi at the non-denominational Rabbinical School of Hebrew College in Boston. More information at Moshe Givental website Order of Service
January 20, 2019
The Radical King Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister All too often, our vision of Martin Luther King, Jr. is of a religious statesman who guided a nation toward racial justice. But to see him in too antiseptic a way is to not recognize the full complexities of King, nor his genius.
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January 13, 2019
Hosea Ballou and Universalism Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister One of the most important architects of the Universalist movement in America was Hosea Ballou. Today, we will explore his history and legacy, and finally answer the question: Is Todd Ballou, our organist and director of music, related to Hosea?
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January 6, 2019
All Things Are New Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister As we celebrate a new year, how do we truly make all things new? We have inherited a lot from the previous year, so what can we do to transform and inspire this new 2019?
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December 30, 2018
We are Not Born Equal! Sally Borden In the U.S., we may say we are all born equal from a philosophical, standpoint, but we are in fact all born quite unequal. What produces this inequality and what can we do about it? And what resolutions can we make today to mitigate this fact of life? For the second half of the service, congregants will share resolutions.
Sally Borden is a longtime member of UU Detroit, having served the congregation in many capacities, including worship, membership, caring, and religious education. She has recently published an ebook entitled Saving the World--Part II, a real life look at working in the trenches as a social worker for 54 years in Detroit. Order of Service
December 24, 2018 7:00 PM
Christmas Eve Reverend Stephen Butler Murray with Todd Ballou We welcome everyone to our traditional candlelight Christmas Eve service, replete with familiar Christmas carols and good cheer.
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December 23, 2018
The Meaning of Advent Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister Advent is the season of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the nativity of Jesus in the Christian traditions. The name derives from the Latin adventus, meaning “Coming.” Marked over the course of the four Sundays before Christmas, Advent is traditionally celebrated with an advent wreath: a ring of evergreen with 3 purple candles and one pink one that represent Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace.
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December 16, 2018
On Ableism Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister This week, we will discuss the pervasiveness of ableism, a set of beliefs or practices that devalue and discriminate against people with physical, intellectual, or psychiatric characteristics which often are interpreted by majority culture as difference.
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December 9, 2018
Universal Declaration of Human Rights Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister We celebrate the 70th anniversary of this historic document, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly at its third session on December 10, 1948 as Resolution 217 at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, France. The Declaration consists of 30 articles affirming an individual’s rights which, although not legally binding in themselves, have been elaborated in subsequent international treaties, economic transfers, regional human rights instruments, national constitutions, and other laws. The Declaration was the first step in the process of formulating the International Bill of Human Rights, which was completed in 1966, and came into force in 1976.
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December 2, 2018
The Detroit River Walk: Welcoming to All with Benefits to All John Hartig Waterfront Porch is the story of how Detroit is building a new front door to the Detroit River called the Detroit RiverWalk as part of a strategy to reconnect people with nature, help revitalize the city and region, and help foster a more sustainable future. It is a story of one of the largest, by scale, waterfront redevelopment projects in the United States that will give hope and will help provide evidence that Detroit and its metropolitan region have a bright future. Detroit was the epicenter of the Fur Trade Era, an unparalleled leader of ship building for 100 years, the “Silicon Valley” of the industrial age, and the unquestioned leader of the Arsenal of Democracy. Today, Detroit is once again demonstrating its creativity, innovation, and work ethic in building the Detroit RiverWalk that is welcoming to all with benefits to all.
Dr. John Hartig is currently a Visiting Scholar at University of Windsor’s Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research and the Great Lakes Science-Policy Advisor for the International Association for Great Lakes Research. For the past 14 years he served as Refuge Manager for the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. John has received a number of awards for his work, including the 2017 Community Peacemaker Award from Wayne State University’s Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, the 2016 Edward G. Voss Conservation Science Award from Michigan Nature Association, the 2015 Conservationist of the Year Award from the John Muir Association, and the 2013 Conservation Advocate of the Year Award from the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. He has authored or co-authored over 100 publications on the environment, including four books: Bringing Conservation to Cities; Burning Rivers; Honoring Our Detroit River, Caring for Our Home; and Under RAPs: Toward Grassroots Ecological Democracy in the Great Lakes Basin. John’s book titled Bringing Conservation to Cities won a Gold Medal from the Nonfiction Authors Association in the "Sustainable Living" category and a bronze medal from the Living Now Book Awards in the "Green Living" category Order of Service Slide Presentation
November 25, 2018
On Emerson Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister Today, we take a deep dive into the leader of the American transcendentalist movement, Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882). The architect of American intellectual culture, Emerson is perhaps the most recognized and revered figure in the American Unitarian movement.
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November 18, 2018
The Value of Age Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister Among the many "isms" that influence how we interact with other people, a common one that we contend with is ageism. To value the opinions and perspectives of people based on their age is a pervasive form of discrimination in American society. We will examine how different societies invest in the elders of the community.
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November 11, 2018
A Brief History of Unitarian Universalism Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister This church year, I am offering a series of sermons that explores elements of the history of Unitarian Universalism. Too many members of our congregation say that they love being Unitarian Universalists, but that they don't know enough about what that means historically. How better to orient ourselves for the year than to hear the entirety of UU history in 25 minutes or less?
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November 4, 2018
Love Ye One Another...Except in the Voting Booth Dr. Terri Laws
We have moral obligations to one another as we consider how we vote. We are told that we should vote in our own self-interest. In light of every major religion's obligation to treat others as we would want to be treated, on this Sunday before election day, Dr. Laws will challenge our thinking on how we exercise such a principle as citizens in a democracy.
Terri Laws teaches, researches and presents on topics related to race, religion, and ethics with a focus on inequality in health care. This Cincinnati native completed the doctorate of philosophy in Religious Studies with a concentration in African American Religions at Rice University. She attended seminary at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia and earned a bachelor in business administration at the University of Cincinnati. She is an assistant professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn in African and African American Studies and Health and Human Services. Among Professor Laws' publications are "Tuskegee as Sacred Rhetoric: Focal Point for the Emergent Field of African American Religion and Health" in the Journal of Religion and Health and she is a co-author of "Breaking Bread, Breaking Beats: Churches and Hip-Hop, a Basic guide to Key Issues" (Fortress Press, 2014).
But most important to her is that she contribute to society by lending a moral voice to the issues of our times within her sphere of understanding and influence, and by living an integrated life in which her moral values show up in her deeds and actions.
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October 28, 2018
Our Universalist Roots and Branches Rev. Kalen Fristad
Rev. Fristad will be speaking on universalism as it relates to John Murray and Thomas Potter, the American colonies, and from then to the present. In this sermon, he will expand upon his "Universalism: Past, Present and Powerful" sermon given at First UU Detroit on 4/29/18.
Rev. Fristad is a United Methodist minister, a member of the Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship, and author of the book, DESTINED FOR SALVATION: God’s Promise to Save Everyone. After serving churches in Iowa for 27 years, In retirement, he travels the country speaking on Universalism.
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October 21, 2018
Thoreau Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister Today, we will do a deep dive into Henry David Thoreau, whose writings on natural history and philosophy deeply shaped the humanist and Unitarian Universalist movements. We will discuss his views on civil disobedience, the Walden years, and transcendentalism. O yes, and I'll reveal the secret story behind my one and only visit to Walden Pond!
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October 14, 2018
King's Chapel Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister King's Chapel, the 4th oldest church in Boston, is somehow both the original Anglican church in Boston AND the first Unitarian church in the United States. To this day, they use a unique prayer book that is based in the liturgy of the Church of England, but steeped in Unitarian theology. This historical sermon will look at an odd and wonderful church in the history of American Unitarianism, still a vibrant place to visit and worship at today!
Also on October 14 we welcome guest musician Xiao Dong Wei. She is playing the erhu, or Chinese violin. Wei Xiao Dong began studying erhu with her father at the age of 5. She was accepted to the Central Conservatory of Music in 1980, studying under Professors Zhang Shao,Feng Zihao and Mr. Zhang Yuming. She has won numerous awards and competitions and has performed throughout China (while working as a member of the China Motion Picture Orchestra), Japan and the USA. This is Xiao’s third visit to 1st UU Church, having performed in September 2014 and May 2017.
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October 7, 2018
Loving the Least of These Carolyn Walker A partnership of writing and mothering proved to be a godsend for Carolyn Walker, who began her career as a columnist shortly before her daughter Jennifer was born in 1977. Jennifer came into the world with a rare developmental disability that mystified even doctors, called Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome. From the moment of her daughter’s birth, Walker found herself floundering in a new world, a secret, silent world, trying to understand what had happened. She soon learned through the power of writing about Jennifer that she could give a voice to the disabled and those who care for them. This was not a gift to be wasted. Walker’s column eventually grew into the book Every Least Sparrow, a mother and daughter odyssey, a mother and daughter love story.
Carolyn Walker began her creative nonfiction writing career as a columnist for The Clarkston News, her small town newspaper, where she learned the importance of writing about "everyday people," who, she believes, contain the world's best secrets. Walker is an award-winning writer of memoir, essays, and poetry, and she has been published in numerous journals and magazines. She has a Master of Fine Arts in Writing degree from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a Kresge Fellow in the Literary Arts. Every Least Sparrow is her story of raising a daughter with a rare disability, called Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome.
Video Clip: Carolyn Walker, 2013 Kresge Artist Fellow in the Literary Arts Order of Service
September 30, 2018
Remember Who You Are Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister Whether we are watching The Lion King or a staging of Hamlet, the theme of remembering who we are in the midst of life’s changes is a profound part of moving forward in a morally fulfilling and affirmative way.
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September 23, 2018
The Free Pulpit Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister In Unitarian Universalism, we often speak about the importance of maintaining a “free pulpit.” What exactly is meant by a free pulpit, and how does that tradition extend to our pulpit today?
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September 16, 2018
Becoming a Compassionate Leader – A Multicultural Journey Jela Ellefson
Jela Ellefson will connect her message to the 2nd principle – "justice, equity and compassion in human relations." She will speak about how her personal journey starting with upbringing in Communist Eastern Europe took her via Los Angeles to Detroit and how along the way she found her own leadership strength build on compassion. She found success at the intersection of compassion and humility.
Jela Ellefson is Vice President of Social Capital at Cinnair, where she is responsible for the development and implementation of fundraising strategies to strengthen and advance communities. Until her recent appointment, she was the Community Development Director of Eastern Market Corporation, where she ensured stability and growth of the Eastern Market through management of funding, district-wide planning and development projects. Prior to moving to Detroit, she worked as project manager for Civic Enterprise Associates in Los Angeles on a variety of non-motorized transportation planning and economic development studies.
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September 9, 2018
Celebrating Aretha Franklin Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister We will spend a morning in music and word celebrating the life and legacy of the legendary singer Aretha Franklin, a proud daughter of Detroit.
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September 2, 2018
Water Ceremony Steve Curtin, Sally Borden
The Water Communion, also sometimes called Water Ceremony, was first used at a Unitarian Universalist (UU) worship service in the 1980s. Many UU congregations now hold a Water Communion once a year, often at the beginning of the new church year (September).
Members bring to the service a small amount of water from a place that is special to them. During the appointed time in the service, people one by one pour their water together into a large bowl. As the water is added, the person who brought it tells why this water is special to them. The combined water is symbolic of our shared faith coming from many different sources. It is often then blessed by the congregation, and sometimes is later boiled and used as the congregation's "holy water" in child dedication ceremonies and similar events.
Steve and Sally are active and creative members of our church and of the Worship Committee.
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August 26, 2018
On Contemplation Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
Contemplation is a form of profound thinking, examining something for an extended period of time. The hope is that by focusing on something with such concentration, we might break through and find new insights. How do we do this and what might we achieve?
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August 19, 2018
On Meditation Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
Meditation is a spiritual discipline that helps us reach our essential self, unburdened by the cacophony of what is happening around us. What forms of meditation exist, and how might we try them?
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August 12, 2018
We are Sacred Dana Sparks
Dana Sparks will speak about our own natural sacredness and and will perform a song or two on a drum that can help us relate and help activate those expressions into our own lives.
Dana is a sun dancer who has accumulated alternative experiences that have thrust him painfully onto a path of seeking the divine nature of spirit directly. He has spent many years as a practicing Christian while exploring his own Native American roots and nature of his own personal experiences simultaneously. He currently sun dances on a reservation in South Dakota.
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August 5, 2018
On Prayer Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
The idea of prayer is that it is a spiritual discipline that allows us to connect to something else in a way that allows for genuine communication. To whom do we pray, and what do we say?
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July 29, 2018
Exploring the Wisdom of Mary Oliver Tonya Wells
Mary Oliver is an American poet whose work reflects a deep communion with the natural world. Her poetry is beautifully simple, concise and accessible, and has been included in Unitarian Universalist worship for decades because the messages in her poems align so closely with UU principles. Tonya Wells, Worship Chair, Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church will delve into the wisdom of Ms. Oliver’s poetry and share ways the poetry inspires her to live her life more intentionally.
Tonya Wells has been a member at Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church (GPUC) since 2009. GPUC became Tonya’s first church home as an adult, having been a lapsed Congregationalist since attending college. Since 2009 Tonya has served on their worship committee and has been chair of it for the majority of her tenure. Tonya enjoys leading worship and has delivered sermons to her Congregation (and a couple of other UU congregations) on at least an annual basis. Tonya has also served on the GPUC Board. In her day job, Tonya serves as an advocate for vulnerable populations in a leadership role at Trinity Health - a national Catholic health system headquartered in Livonia, Michigan. Her responsibilities include federal advocacy, shareholder activism and community investing.
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July 22, 2018
On Fred Rogers Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister The originally planned topic was Summertime. However, Rev. Murray spoke instead on his longtime admiration of Fred Rogers and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
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July 15, 2018
Student Activism from Greensboro to Parkland Fran Shor
On Feb 1, 1960 four college students sat in at a segregated restaurant in Greensboro, NC. This action quickly spread to other places throughout the South and unleashed a decade of student activism. Almost six decades later, high school students in Parkland, Florida, reeling from the murder and maiming of their classmates, galvanized a national movement, led by young students to demand an end to gun violence. This talk will highlight some of the key moments of student activism in the 1960's and compare and contrast it with the student activists organizing around the "March for Our Lives."
Francis Shor is a Professor Emeritus of History at Wayne State University. He is the author of three books, the latest being Dying Empire: U. S. Imperialism and Global Resistance (Routledge 2010). Other publications, covering a broad range of topics in 20th century U. S. and global history, have appeared in scholarly journals and popular online journals. In addition to his academic work, he has been a long-time peace and justice activist, serving on the boards of Peace Action and Michigan Coalition for Human Rights. He is also the founder and director of the Public Education and Community Engagement (P.E.A.C.E.) Project.
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July 8, 2018
This is America Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
The recent, haunting music video by Childish Gambino/Donald Glover, "This is America," is a visual, multifaceted sculpture of reflections on American identity(ies) today. As we live in a time when the doctrines of American exceptionalism, especially moral exceptionalism, seem most thin, who are we and what do we do as Americans living in this incarnation of the United States today?
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July 1, 2018
What the World Needs Now Barbara L. Jones
Barbara L. Jones will share stories from her journey as an educator, parent and conflict resolution specialist.
Ms. Jones is the Community Dispute Resolution Specialist and Faculty Instructor for the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies Program at Wayne State University. She is also the Program Director for the Ralph Bunche Summer Institute, a program that delivers training to high school youth with the overarching theme and tools to teach students to individually and collectively foster peace within their own schools and communities.
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June 24, 2018
The Longest Day Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
Close on the heels of the Summer Solstice, I will explore how this observance has affected religion and culture. The Summer Solstice is a pre-Christian holiday and has been celebrated throughout Europe and many parts of the world, a moment of the annual cycle since Neolithic times.
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June 17, 2018
How the Underground Railroad Changed America Evelyn Millstein
In honor of Juneteenth, Evelyn Millstein will speak on The Underground Railroad as one of the most remarkable movements in American history. It was the first and only bi-racial movement led by African Americans. It was also the greatest mass civil disobedience movement America ever experienced. It began with the passage of the U.S. Constitution in 1778 and continued non-stop for over 80 years until 1861, when the Civil War began; the Underground Railroad in the South became a military branch of the Union army and thus helped end slavery. Millstein will offer her books for sale after the service.
Evelyn Millstein is a librarian with two masters degrees, one in Library Science and one in Health Care Delivery Systems. She has studied African American history for 70 years. The Underground Railroad: A Movement That Changed America is her first published book.
After retirement Millstein embarked on a second career as a part- time librarian in Michigan’s Eastpointe Memorial Library, and she sought to rectify the lack of attention to African American history aside from Black History Month by studying the impact of thousands of slaves who fled the South, The Underground Railroad: was written since 2012 as a labor of love by a woman who has dedicated her life to promoting the truth that African American history is an essential part of American history.
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June 10, 2018
Reconciling Poverty, Economic Development and Gentrification in Detroit Kevin Ketels
How can we balance the competing interests of a city in which many residents have little practical access to opportunity within the context of substantial, yet uneven economic investment? Detroit is a city whose history is rich with contrast in both invention and oppression. While the national narrative speaks kindly to our recent efforts, the benefits are as elusive as ever for those outside downtown and midtown. The obstacles are significant, but the goal is achievable with community planning and public/private investments that build bridges for the marginalized to free themselves from poverty.
Kevin Ketels is a part-time faculty member in marketing and global supply chain management. He is president and founder of Kyrris Marketing (2015), a strategic marketing and communications agency in Detroit, Michigan, that serves clients nationally in the healthcare, manufacturing, consumer retail, education and government sectors. He has more than twenty-three years of corporate marketing management experience as well as working in healthcare management.
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June 3, 2018
The Harmony of the Spheres: Music and Spirituality Dr. Michael Nealon
According to most scientists, our universe had its origin in a musical moment -- a big bang, In what ways have we used music to understand the world around us? the cosmos? our personal and social relationships with God and with one another? How might we think about our spiritual journeys as music moments or compositions?
Dr. Michael Nealon, is Vice President of Academic Affairs at Henry Ford College. He earned an undergraduate degree in Humanities and music History from St. Michael’s College, a graduate degree in musicology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a doctoral degree in Musicology from Northwestern University.
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May 27, 2018
Dare to Struggle, Dare to Win Yusef Bunchy Shakur
My journey of redemption, hope, triumph and transformation from Zone 8 gang life to Father, freedom fighter, community activist and grass-roots advocate.
Yusef Bunchy Shakur is well versed in the language and syntax of Detroit as an author, educator and interpreter of the language of the city’s majority Black population from its pain, anger and to its hope through his experience of transformation. He offers sage advice to help re-spirit and re-build a broken community plagued from social decay through his efforts as a local and national organizer. Yusef epitomizes redemption from the lessons he learned from his father whom he met in prison for the first time; as an organic intellectual and father committed to Restoring The Neighbor Back To The Hood. He currently serves as Co-Director of Programs with the Michigan Roundtable.
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May 20, 2018
On Pentecost The Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
Throughout the world today, churches of the Christian traditions celebrate a singular holiday called Pentecost. This is the one date in the liturgical calendar that ministers wear red, there is a special interest in fire, and suddenly a lot of talk about the Holy Spirit. Why might Unitarian Universalists be especially connected to this Christian holiday?
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May 13, 2018
Women Creating the Future of Peace Colleen Mills
Can you feel the excitement of peace surging in the world? Do you believe that peace is not only possible, but necessary for the future of our world and our planet? Let’s open our hearts and minds to bring forth that power of peace as we create a world that works for all of humanity. Women and children have been rising up, speaking out, and are determined to be heard. Let’s all come together in the name of peace!
Colleen Mills is the president of the Citizens for Peace and serves on the board of the Michigan Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence. After retiring from teaching in Detroit for 35 years, she co-founded the Citizens for Peace. The nonprofit organization has been working to create a culture of peace focused on educating and facilitating the practices and principles of nonviolence.
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May 6, 2018
Faith and Humanism The Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
Our church is a community of believers and seekers of all kinds, religious and nonreligious. This sermon will explore some of the dimensions of religious humanism and expressions of humanism that help to bring full bloom to the understanding of who we are as individuals and society when we live most fully into our humanity.
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April 29, 2018
Universalism: Past, Present and Powerful Reverend Kalen Fristad
The teaching of eternal damnation is not merely a harmless untruth that we might appropriately ignore and allow to stand, but it has serious consequences. It leads to the possibility, perhaps even the inevitability, of wars, bigotry, oppression and abuse. On the other hand, the teaching of universalism leads to equality, respect, love and dignity for all.
Reverend Fristad is a United Methodist minister, a member of the Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship, and author of the book, DESTINED FOR SALVATION: God’s Promise to Save Everyone. After serving churches in Iowa for 27 years, In retirement, he travels the country speaking on Universalism.
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April 22, 2018
On James Luther Adams The Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
James Luther Adams (1901-1994), longtime professor at Harvard Divinity School, Andover Newton Theological School, and Meadville Lombard Theological School, was perhaps the most important UU theologian of the 20th century. In this sermon, I will explore his biography and legacy to the Unitarian Universalist Association.
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April 15, 2018
Pay it Forward The Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
As we enter into the season of our church’s annual Canvass efforts, the minister will preach on the value of giving and stewardship.
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April 8, 2018
UU Values in Action Regina Weiss and Matt Friedrichs
Regina Weiss and Matt Friedrichs, two members of UU Detroit church who have pursued political campaigns recently, will be speaking about how their UU values have affected their lives and led them to seek public office. Regina was elected to the Oak Park School Board and Matt is running for state representative for a local district.
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April 1, 2018
Gratitude Reverend Stanley Nunn
Join Reverend Nunn for a discussion about Easter and Ostara, both celebrations of Renewal and Rebirth that inspire gratitude for the bounty of our existence.
Reverend Nunn has been a leader in the pagan community for many years. He is the founder and Wiccan priest at Pagan Pathways Temple. He has dedicated his life to further the education and spiritual growth of all who choose to walk the path of mysteries. By serving as leadership for events in the pagan community such as, Pagan Pride Day and ConVocation, he has worked to ensure that all who choose to seek a strong pagan community find one. Reverend Nunn began his journey as a student of Wicca and has found the principles of Wicca to be the central pillar of his philosophy. It is his goal to help as many as possible find their path to enlightenment and joy in life.
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March 25, 2018
Our Heroines of Social Justice Danny Rebb
During our Centennial celebration, we tapped into much of UU Detroit's history. However, we have yet to take a look at the Unitarian and Universalist women who bolstered our church’s social justice programs as members of the First Congregational Unitarian Church of Detroit and The Church of Our Father, Universalist. Danny Rebb will share his research on the heroines who worked in prison reform, suffrage, child welfare, health care, education, peace, and temperance. These women not only served our church but held significant positions in the Detroit community, such as president of the Girls’ Protective League; Chairperson of the Reform Board, Detroit House of Corrections; Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee of the Detroit League of Women's Clubs; Director of the Protestant Children’s Home, and others.
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March 18, 2018
On St. Patrick The Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
On St. Patrick's Day, we are used to wearing green, imbibing green-colored drinks, and celebrating all things Irish. But who was St. Patrick? Why do we continue to celebrate this fifth century missionary and bishop?
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March 11, 2018
Remembering Viola Gregg Liuzzo The Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
During this Women's History Month, we remember one of our own, Viola Gregg Liuzzo (1925-1965), a member of this church who was the only white woman martyred during the Civil Rights Movement. This sermon will focus on her life and legacy.
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March 4, 2018
Holi The Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
Holi is an ancient Hindu religious festival, known as the festival of colors or the festival of love. Holi is said to signify the victory of good over evil, and the arrival of spring. Today, we will explore this ancient holiday celebrated around the world.
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February 25, 2018
The Womanist Movement The Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
On this weekend that marks a transition from Black History Month to Women’s History Month, I think it is important to mark the rise of the womanist movement, which differentiates the priorities of black women from those of the feminist movement, which tends to focus on the issues of white women.
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February 18, 2018
Mass Incarceration for Profit Abayomi Azikiwe
There has always been a monetary basis underlying the character of correctional institutions in the United States. From slavery, reconstruction, post-reconstruction to the privatization of prisons, the criminalization of African Americans and other oppressed peoples is clearly linked to the maintenance of the social status quo. Movements for social justice in 21st century America must embrace the struggle to reform law-enforcement, the courts and prisons by uprooting the racial and class character of the criminal justice hierarchy.
Abayomi Azikiwe is the editor of the Pan-African News Wire and a co-founder of several Detroit-area organizations; The Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice, the Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures, Evictions and Utility Shut-offs.
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February 11, 2018
The Legacy of Howard Thurman The Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray, Minister
During our recognition of Black History month, an important legacy to consider is that of Howard Thurman, former Dean of the Chapel at both Boston University and Howard University, and founding co-pastor of the Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco, the first intentionally inter-racial church in the United States.
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February 4, 2018
Roots and Wings Guest UU Minister
Unitarian Universalism is a covenantal faith, not a creedal one. We will explore the origins of our covenantal faith and how we might live into the promises we make to one another today.
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January 28, 2018
Planting and Life Reverend Stephen Butler Murray
In the Jewish calendar, January 31st will be the holiday Tu B'shebat, which celebrates tree plantings and making the land more vibrant and healthy. We recognize tree planting and land restoration projects which improve the viability of the land, and the resources that the land then provides back to the people.
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January 21, 2018
World Religion Day Reverend Stephen Butler Murray
World Religion Day promotes interfaith understanding and harmony by encouraging believers from different faiths to acknowledge, understand, and accept the differences and similarities between the world's many religions. World Religion Day was first proclaimed by the Baha'i faith in 1950.
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January 14, 2018
The Legacy of King Reverend Stephen Butler Murray
This year, as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., we will assess the legacy of King's ministry of reconciliation and racial justice today.
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January 7, 2018
Listening: A Revolutionary Act Satori Shakoor
Listening, at its highest level, is the possibility of love.
Satori Shakoor is Executive Director of The Society for the re-Institutionalization of Storytelling and a host of The Secret Society of Twisted Storytellers. She has received international acclaim as a singer with “Parliament/Funkadelic” and is one of “The Brides of Funkenstein.” Ms. Shakoor will share her storytelling and musical talents with the congregation.
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December 31, 2017
New Years Resolutions Reverend Stephen Butler Murray
On the cusp of the movement from one year to the next, we often are asked to come up with resolutions for how we will live differently. What do we promise ourselves? Why do we want to change?
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December 24, 2017 7:00 PM
Christmas Eve Reverend Stephen Butler Murray with Todd Ballou In the midst of winter, we celebrate Christmas Eve with carols and candlelight.
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December 17, 2017
On Chanukah Reverend Stephen Butler Murray
In the midst of Chanukah, we will reflect on this Jewish tradition and the history of why Jews celebrate these eight nights.
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December 10, 2017
Aspiring to Global Citizenship Geraldine and Ken Grunow
A discussion of human rights work in these difficult times.
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December 3, 2017
On Advent Reverend Stephen Butler Murray
Many of the churches around us have begun to celebrate Advent, the season that leads up to Christmas. What is Advent, and how have UU's recognized it over the years?
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November 26, 2017
My Heart Wears No Colors: a Sermon in Poetry Nancy Owen Nelson
In this sermon, Nelson will discuss her process of researching and writing poetry about her Confederate ancestors, and the challenging spiritual journey it entailed.
Nancy Owen Nelson has been a member of First UU Detroit since the Spring of 2012. She has been a college English professor and has published research and creative work. My Heart Wears No Colors is her first poetry (chap)book; it will be published in late 2018.
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November 19, 2017
How We Die Reverend Ken Phifer
The two most important themes human beings must deal with are Life and Death. Mostly we prefer, understandably, to deal with the former, and mostly avoid the latter until we are confronted with our own mortality or that of someone we care for. But in so many ways the discussion of death, and of how we die, is as important as any topic of life itself. In this new age of remarkable medical technologies and pharmaceutical wonders, it matters greatly that we think about death and dying, and how we want to confront these inevitable matters. My sermon will deal with some of these issues, based on more than 45 years of pastoral experience and 79 years of just living!
Ken Phifer was for 25 years the senior minister of the Ann Arbor UU Congregation. he is a graduate of Harvard College and the Divinity School of the University of Chicago. He served for 29 years on the Institutional Review Board of the University of Michigan Medical School, as a member of several different peace groups , and was a leader in Ann Arbor in establishing the full human rights of LGBT people. he is the author of three books and some 20 articles. IN retirement for 12 years, he is the proud grandfather of 17 boys and girls.
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November 12, 2017
Race in America Reverend Stephen Butler Murray
A month ago, Stephen Henderson came to our church and delivered an important message about race in America. Following the service, eight members of our church asked me to do a sermon in response to Henderson. This is my response.
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November 5, 2017
Me Too Reverend Stephen Butler Murray
When it was revealed that Harvey Weinstein, one of the most powerful producers in Hollywood, had long been using his power and influence to sexually harass and assault aspiring actresses, a powerful movement on Facebook began with women who themselves had experienced sexual harassment or assault simply stating, "Me Too." This was done both as an act of self-empowerment, but also to demonstrate to men just how many of the women that they know have lived through such abuse. The answer being that such experiences are almost universal. How do we move forward as a society in which so few men believe that they have acted inappropriately, while so many women have suffered the violation of such treatment?
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October 29, 2017
The Haunting Season Reverend Stephen Butler Murray
As we approach Halloween, I will explore the idea of ghosts and hauntings. Why do we find the idea of the supernatural to be so pervasive?
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October 22, 2017
Strings Attached: What Connects Us Diane Shipley DeCillis
Saudade is a Portuguese word that is almost undefinable in English. It refers to a deep emotional state of melancholic longing for a person or thing that is absent—the love that remains after someone is gone. It can also apply to something that has not even happened, or something that does not and cannot exist. Author, Manuel de Melo calls it: "a pleasure you suffer, an ailment you enjoy.”
This word contains an emotional thread of connection. A universally shared feeling, difficult to express: Immigrants who become homesick upon seeing something that reminds him or her of motherland, the place where they’ve felt most at home even as they are overjoyed to be part of this new free country. Many accept this, but not without saudade.
Inspired by the 7th principle of Unitarianism, I look forward to discussing separation, attachment, and connection, which are salient themes in my poetry and stories.
Diane DeCillis’ poetry collection, Strings Attached (Wayne State Univ. Press, 2014) has been honored as a Michigan Notable Book for 2015, won The 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Award for poetry, and was a finalist for the Forward Indie Fab Book Award for poetry. Her poems have been nominated for three Pushcart Prizes, and Best American Poetry. Poems and essays have appeared in CALYX, Evansville Review, Minnesota Review, Nimrod International Journal, Connecticut Review, Gastronomica, Rattle and others. She's currently working on a musical about a sugar addict.
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October 15, 2017
Irma and La Tuna, Charlottesville and North Korea: The Voice Under the Voice, Still Unheard Dr. Jim Perkinson
The signs of our time shout! An entire planet raises an increasingly insistent voice, challenging our entire species in its conceit as supreme. Water is Earth’s prophet. Harvey and Irma mere punctuation. Nigeria and Bangladesh a deep warning and test. La Tuna and Eagle Creek the voice running silent and hot. We have hardly even begun to listen. Will we ever? The time is late.
James W. Perkinson is a long-time activist/educator/poet from inner city Detroit, currently teaching as Professor of Social Ethics at the Ecumenical Theological Seminary and lecturing in Intercultural Communication Studies at the University of Oakland (Michigan). He holds a Ph.D. in theology from the University of Chicago, is the author of White Theology: Outing Supremacy in Modernity and Shamanism, Racism, and Hip-Hop Culture: Essays on White Supremacy and Black Subversion, Messianism Against Christology: Resistance Movements, Folk Arts, and Empire, and Political Spirituality in an Age of Eco-Apocalypse: Communication and Struggle Across Species, Cultures, and Religions.
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October 8, 2017
Detroit Today Stephen Henderson Stephen Henderson is editorial page editor for the Detroit Free Press, hosts a daily radio show, “Detroit Today,” on WDET 101.9 FM, Detroit’s public radio station as well as weekly tv shows American Black Journal and MiWeek, both on Detroit Public Television. Former editorial page editor of The Michigan Daily, Henderson has been a reporter or editor of a number of major newspaper organizations, including
the Knight Ridder Washington Bureau, where he covered the U.S. Supreme Court from 2003-2007. Stephen Henderson’s awards include the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, the 2016 Scripps Howard Award, the 2017 ASNE writing award for editorials. He was also the National Association of Black Journalists’ pick for Journalist of the Year in 2014.
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October 1, 2017
On Genealogy Reverend Stephen Butler Murray
In my family, my grandmother was very interested in our genealogy and studied it assiduously. More recently, my father took on the task and started employing more modern techniques. How much is who we are determined but from whence we came?
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September 24, 2017
What Do We Stand For? Reverend Stephen Butler Murray
Every now and then, it is important to talk about the current environment of the church and society. Who are we and who are our neighbors? What are the deep needs that we can answer and what are the ones that we are not equipped to respond to meaningfully? What ought we be and what ought we do?
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September 17, 2017
The Reformation Reverend Stephen Butler Murray
In this 500th year since the beginning of the Reformation, we will explore what happened in the world of belief at the time of the Reformation, and how that continues to affect us today.
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September 10, 2017
More Inter-Religious, Increasingly Secular Reverend Stephen Butler Murray
This summer, I was scheduled to lead a workshop at the UU General Assembly which would explore how we are, as a nation, both more inter-religious and increasingly secular concurrently. I will offer a sermon-sized examination of this topic.
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September 3, 2017
Working for a Greater Good Rev. Valerie Mapstone Ackerman
Typically in a city like Detroit, a celebration of Labor Day evokes hard hats and assembly lines, but when I was a member of the UAW, I worked in a public school for emotionally impaired children in Inkster. Traditional concepts of "labor" have changed as off-shoring and mechanization advance, but what about all of the other ways we work? Are these labors of love and necessity worthy of celebrating too? I think so.
The Rev. Valerie Mapstone Ackerman was ordained by First UU Detroit in 1998 after completing an internship here with The Rev. Larry Hutchison. Ministry was a second career for Valerie following a career in social work. She has degrees from the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Michigan, and Meadville Lombard Theological School. She has served UU congregations in MI, OH, IL, PA, OK, TX, KS, AR, VT, & NY. Valerie and her spouse Bill have a daughter in hospitality management in TN, a son in medical residency in Detroit, and two granddaughters ages 20 and 2. Now retired from ministry, Valerie lives in Peoria, IL with her spouse, two dogs and a sailboat that is itching for a dock somewhere near big water.
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August 27, 2017
A Song Sermon: Holding Each Other Up Julie Beutel Singer, song-leader, guitarist, teacher, activist & mother Julie Beutel is a native of the city of Detroit. She spent her post-childhood-pre-motherhood years studying, traveling, working and living in several countries in Europe and Central America. She lived and worked with Witness for Peace in Nicaragua during the war for almost 2 years. Her motherhood years she has spent mainly in southwest Detroit raising her kids, teaching music to children in Southwest Detroit, and singing. She has also washed uncountable mounds of dishes.
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August 20, 2017
Humanism and Religions Reverend Stephen Butler Murray
While many think of humanism as being a rejection of religion, more recently there have been strong appeals for humanism to be more closely aligned with and in dialogue with religious traditions.
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August 13, 2017
Charlottesville Reverend Stephen Butler Murray
A gathering of hundreds of white nationalists in Virginia took a deadly turn on Saturday when a car plowed into a group of counter-protesters and killed at least three people in a flare up of violence.
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August 6, 2017
Liberty vs. Freedom Reverend Stephen Butler Murray
One of the promises of the American tradition is liberty and justice for all. However, our current culture seems to have shifted our understanding of liberty to be more about freedom. This sermon will explore the keen differences between these two concepts and how they affect our lives in this country.
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July 30, 2017
Postdenominational Religion Reverend Stephen Butler Murray
The purpose and value of denominations has shifted and
changed over the past century. In some ways, the Unitarian
Universalist Association exists as a post-denominational entity,
despite its origins in the Unitarian and Universalist
movements. We will examine how denominations came to
be, what their current purpose is, and why people continue
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July 23, 2017
Emptying the Laughing Barrel Casey Rocheteau
Life can be brutal, cruel and confounding and sometimes the only way we can get through it is to hold tightly to our joy. Laughter is sometimes the only weapon we have in the face of oppression, grief and trauma. This talk will include stories and poems about ancestors, elders, moving from the east coast to Detroit and finding the joy in hard moments.
Casey Rocheteau was raised as a sea witch on Cape Cod. They are an author, visual/sound artist and historian living in Detroit, Michigan. Winner of inaugural Write A House permanent residency in 2014, Rocheteau won a house with poems and is committed to a community and teaching-based arts practice in Detroit.
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July 16, 2017
Poverty Sucks Sherry A. Wells Congregation Member Sherry A. Wells considers herself a welfare expert—she’d been a recipient, a caseworker and she’s a taxpayer!
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July 9, 2017
Reparations—A Love Story Anita Belle Anita Belle is a Detroiter. She practiced law--suing the CIA for the drugs in black communities--and substitute teaches. She focuses her volunteer efforts on fighting for people of African descent to receive reparations, not only for slavery, and founded the Reparations Labor Union in 2013. She is a mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, and auntie
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July 2, 2017
Ordinary Time Jessica Joslin
Ordinary Time is the name for the period on the Christian liturgical calendar between Pentecost and Advent, and it starts up again between Epiphany and Lent. It is longer than any other portion of the Christian calendar, but doesn't nearly get as much attention as the festivity of the Christmas and Easter seasons. Yet, after the exciting fires of Pentecost and the joy of Epiphany, what are we to do with all this ordinary time? What exactly makes time ordinary?
Jessica Joslin is a Ph.D. candidate in education at Michigan. Her research examines the role of religion in higher education. Jessica is approved for ordination in the United Church of Christ and has a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard University. Outside of her studies, Jessica works as a hospital chaplain at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor. She currently lives with her partner and two dogs in Ann Arbor.
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June 25, 2017
Hail to the Sun God! (He is a fun God.) Amber K and Azrael Arynn K
Amber K and Azrael Arynn K are Wiccan priestesses from New Mexico.
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June 18, 2017
On Father’s Day Reverend Stephen Butler Murray
Each year, our culture appoints a day in which we are to celebrate our parents. On this Father's Day, we consider the role that our fathers play and have played in our lives.
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June 11, 2017
Anticipating Summer Reverend Stephen Butler Murray
The turn of the seasons is upon us, as are all sorts of transitions in our personal and work lives. Today, I will examine how the summertime months mark our lives.
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June 4, 2017
The Journey to Wholeness from Victim to Bystander to Ally Stephen Spreitzer President & CEO
Michigan Roundtable for Diversity & Inclusion
One of the consequences of our hyper-segregated and hetero-patriarchal upbringing is that we are all at risk of becoming relationally delayed at best, with ignorance and apathy keeping us from helping to create the Beloved Community. Our journey to be whole and spiritually complete goes through the other, the very people we have likely been estranged from. While the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion has been involved in human relations work over the past seventy-six year, it is only within the past ten years that this journey has moved to equity and equality. I am honored that my personal destiny has drawn parallel to the journey of the organization I have been tasked to servant lead.
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May 28, 2017
The Serenity Prayer Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Following up on last month's sermon on Reinhold Niebuhr's 13 years as a pastor in Detroit, this month we will examine one of the ways that mainstream culture often examines him, as the author of "The Serenity Prayer," which has been taken on as an important element of Alcoholics Anonymous and other recovery group meetings.
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May 21, 2017
The Baltimore Sermon Reverend Stephen Butler Murray One of the most important moments in the development of Unitarian Universalist history was William Ellery Channing's "Baltimore Sermon" gave a powerful defense of Unitarian thought and practice, in opposition to the rising Christian orthodoxy of his day. We will explore this definitive moment in UUA history. Unlike Channing's "Baltimore sermon," this one will not be an hour and a half long.
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May 14, 2017
Mothering Peace Halima Cassells, Michelle Martinez & Lydia Wylie-Kellerman Three local mothers; a writer, an artist and a radical disciple. All activists, they will share their individual musings on what it means, what it looks like and what it takes to model peace in this world.
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May 7, 2017
On White Supremacy Reverend Stephen Butler Murray In response to recent events in the life of the national denomination of the Unitarian Universalist Association, our church will talk about the issues of white supremacy within the church and denomination settings. We will join a movement of over 500 American UUA churches that plan to address this topic in a two week period.
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April 30, 2017
The Web of Existence Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Concluding our monthly series on the seven Principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association, I will focus on the Seventh Principle, "Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part."
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April 23, 2017
On Reinhold Niebuhr Reverend Stephen Butler Murray One of the preeminent American ethicists of the 20th Century was Reinhold Niebuhr, who before joining the faculty of Union Theological Seminary in New York City was a pastor in Detroit for 13 years. This talk will discuss Niebuhr, focusing on his Detroit years and legacy. This month, PBS is showing a documentary called "An American Conscience: The Reinhold Niebuhr Story."
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April 16, 2017
In Search of Sanctuary Rev. Larry Hutchison, UU Detroit Minister Emeritus Sanctuary is a warm, beautiful, strong, safe and challenging word for me. In a world with so much hostility we offer a counter-culture of hospitality. And sanctuary is always a summons to practice hospitality. "I was a stranger and you welcomed me." (Matt. 25:40)
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April 9, 2017
Going Forward Reverend Stephen Butler Murray As we consider the next steps forward for our church, this sermon will focus on the importance of continuing to build community, expand our programs, and commit our faith and conscience toward justice work together. We will talk about our hopes and fears, and how we can contribute to the common cause of the First Unitarian Universalist Church in Detroit.
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April 2, 2017
Nobel Laureate Women Working for Peace Jody Williams, Nobel Laureate "Women Nobel Laureates Working for Peace," is the topic of the 2017 Max Mark-Cranbrook Peace Lecture and Sunday Sermon at UU Detroit. The women's initiative has been led by Jody Williams, partnering with other women Nobel laureates to build on their activism and achievements to further peace prospects in our troubled world. We will learn about the project's latest gains and accomplishments, as well as hear about Ms. Williams' continued work in the field of eradicating landmines world wide, including the global convention still to be signed by several major powers. This is a rare opportunity to welcome and engage with one of world's the most renowned figures in peace activism.
Jody Williams is a Peace Activist and driving force in the launching of an international campaign against landmines. The Ottawa Convention, which was signed by 120 states and entered into force in 1999, will always be associated with the names of Jody Williams and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). It banned the use, production, sale and stock-piling of anti-personnel mines and contained provisions concerning mine clearance and the obligation to provide humanitarian assistance. After the service, join us for an Awards Luncheon in our Social Hall sponsored by the Wayne State University Center for Peace and Conflict Studies. Ms. Williams and local activists Dr. John H. Hartig, Pastor Barry Randolph, Dr. Stan Levy, and Dr. Bernice “Bunny” Kaplan will be presented with the Max Mark-Cranbrook Global Peacemaker Award.
2017 Peace Maker Awards Order of Service
March 26, 2017
On Cornel West Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Cornel West, Harvard professor and one of the preeminent public intellectuals of our time, will be speaking in Grosse Pointe soon. As some of the members of our church prepare to attend this public lecture, I wanted to speak about the legacy of Cornel West, especially his flagship books Race Matters and Democracy Matters.
Order of Service
March 19, 2017
Chaos or Community? Reverend Stephen Butler Murray In today's political climate, many of us wonder whether we are headed toward chaos. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote an important book, Chaos or Community?, for a different time. However, the lessons of this book are ones that may still apply to American society today.
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March 12, 2017
The Power of Protest Reverend Stephen Butler Murray One of the most potent forms of resistance against governments is protest. As we live in an America where 60's radicals suddenly find themselves turning on TV screens to find millions of women marching in the streets, protesters on against an oil pipeline huddled in snowy terrain, and plans for new massive protests afoot, how do we interpret this social phenomenon?
Order of Service
March 5, 2017
Peace, Liberty, Justice Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Continuing our monthly series on the seven Principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association, I will focus on the Sixth Principle: “The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.”
Order of Service
February 26, 2017
Conscience and Democracy Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Continuing our monthly series on the seven Principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association, I will focus on the Fifth Principle: “The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.”
Order of Service
February 19, 2017
On James Baldwin Reverend Stephen Butler Murray During this Black History Month, a request that came from a member of our congregation is that I speak about novelist, playwright, and social critic James Baldwin and his legacy.
Order of Service
February 12, 2017
A New America? Reverend Stephen Butler Murray In the aftermath of the 2016 election, we have heard about a troubling rise in disturbing behaviors which many would describe as racist and anti-immigrant, including the national story that originated out of Royal Oak here in Michigan. Is this a new American reality, or is this indicative of who we were already?
Order of Service
February 5, 2017
Mapping the Water Crisis Monica Lewis Patrick Deeply disturbed by the water crisis here in Michigan, Lewis-Patrick set out to provide daily essentials to those in need. She has helped low-income families and the elderly, from Detroit to Flint, gain access to clean water—something many of us take for granted. Through her work with We the People, the organization she co-founded, Lewis-Patrick has set up emergency water stations, opened hotlines, delivered water, provided education, and conducted community research to raise awareness. Her grassroots approach coupled with a steadfast commitment to justice has inspired people of all backgrounds to come together and build communities they’re proud of. Ms. Lewis Patrick is a contributor to a community research collective publication, Mapping the Water Crisis. She will speak about her arc of experience as a community activist here in Metro Detroit. Monica was awarded the 2016 Kind People Award for her work.
Order of Service
January 29, 2017
Reimagining Detroit John Gallagher John Gallagher, a Detroit Free Press reporter and author of several books, including “Reimagining Detroit: Opportunities for Redefining an American City” and “Revolution Detroit: Strategies for Urban Reinvention,” will be sharing his thoughts.
Order of Service
January 22, 2017
A New America? Dr. Hannah Hofheinz
January 20 marks a major transition for the United States. As we have so many times before, we witness the handing over of national executive power from one president to another. For many on both sides of the political aisle, the transition marks a new set of possibilities. While Trump's campaign looked to the past—"Make America Great Again"—his inauguration portends a future that for many of us will be rife with economic, social, and bodily pains. We can refuse this vision. The marching of women across the country shows this. How can we think about our roles, as communities committed to love and to justice, equity, and compassion in all our relationships, in this time?
Dr. Hannah L. Hofheinz is Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology and Church History at the Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit. Order of Service
January 15, 2017
MLK and Civil Disobedience Reverend Stephen Butler Murray As we approach the inauguration of our 45th President, many communities are considering how they will engage and disengage with this new administration. It is helpful to look to the example of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for how moral force can encounter political power for positive effect.
Order of Service
January 8, 2017
The Fourth Principle: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Continuing our monthly series on the Seven Principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association, I will focus on the Fourth Principle, "A free and responsible search for truth and meaning."
Poetry As Visionary Resistance Tawana Petty What does it mean to resist and what role should vision play in our resistance? Toni Cade Bambara said, “The role of the artist is to make revolution irresistible.” I strive to embody that responsibility.
Tawana “Honeycomb” Petty is a mother, social justice organizer, youth advocate, poet and author. She was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and is intricately involved in water rights, digital justice and visionary organizing work. She is the past recipient of the Spirit of Detroit Award, the Woman of Substance Award, the Women Creating Caring Communities Award, the Detroit Awesome Award, the Black Law Student Association’s Justice Honoree Award, and was recognized as one of Who’s Who in Black Detroit in 2013 and 2015. Tawana is a board member of the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership, a Data Justice Community Researcher for the Detroit Community Technology Project, a Detroit Equity Action Lab (DEAL) Fellow, and a member of Detroiters Resisting Emergency Management, and The Detroit Digital Justice Coalition.
As an organizer, Tawana has organized a vast array of social justice initiatives bringing together thousands to advocate for social justice and create alternatives and solutions in Detroit and around the world. In 2014, she spoke with comrades on water rights issues at the United Nations in New York on International Peace Day and in 2015 was a featured speaker at the School of Americas Watch Vigil (SOA Watch Vigil) in Georgia. Tawana's work and writings have been featured on numerous television and radio programs and in print and online media publications. Also known as Honeycomb on stage, she is the author of Introducing Honeycomb and Coming Out My Box.
Learn more about Tawana "Honeycomb" Petty by visiting honeycombthepoet.com.
Order of Service Service Audio - Part 1 Service Audio - Part 2 sermon Service Audio - Part 3
December 24, 2016 7:00 PM
Christmas Eve - A Light in Darkness Reverend Stephen Butler Murray with Todd Ballou In the midst of the religious calendar and seasonal changes, we celebrate Christmas Eve, marking one of the most important holidays that spans both religious and secular symbolism.
Order of Service
December 18, 2016
Acceptance and Encouragement Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Continuing this sermon series over the course of several months, we are exploring and meditating upon the Seven Principles upon which the Unitarian Universalist Association bases its relationships. The Third Principle of the UUA is that of "Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations."
Order of Service
December 11, 2016
Human Rights Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Our annual joint service/celebration with Amnesty International is held on the day after the celebration of Human Rights Day. We will think about what constitutes human rights and how the persistent terror of racism in America violates these tenets today.
Order of Service
December 4, 2016
The Heidelberg Project Tyree Guyton Artist Tyree Guyton will speak about the Heidelberg Project, an outdoor community art environment and the brainchild of Mr. Guyton, a native Detroit artist. It began in 1986 and was originally designed as a creative response to ongoing blight and decay in the neighborhood in which he grew up. The elements of the canvas contain recycled materials and found objects, most of which were salvaged from the streets of Detroit. Each work of art is carefully devised to tell a story about current issues plaguing society. As a whole, the Heidelberg Project is symbolic of how many communities in Detroit have become discarded.
Order of Service
November 27, 2016
The Violence of White Silence Kim Redigan The violence of white silence is profound and deep - some have called it this country's national anthem. Those of us who are the beneficiaries of white supremacy - heirs to its brutal legacy - have work to do at both the personal and the structural level. Silence is deadly and unacceptable. Kim Redigan is a human rights activist, nonviolence trainer, and vice chair of the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights, where she represents MCHR as a member organization of the People's Water Board Coalition. Kim has served on several domestic and international peace teams with Michigan-Meta Peace Team and has organized walks to Lansing and Flint on behalf of peace and water rights. She is a high school teacher and a mother of four who blogs on spirituality and social justice. Order of Service
November 20, 2016
Food Justice: Challenges and Possibilities Malik Yakini Malik Yakini, the executive director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network (DBCFSN) will talk about the food justice movement in Detroit, why it is important, the potential that it has to contribute to the transformation of Detroit and the challenges it faces due to the limitations of the logic of capitalism and the system of white supremacy. He will also talk about DBCFSN's programs and projects including the Detroit Food Commons that it is developing in Detroit's North End. Malik Kenyatta Yakini is a founder and the Executive Director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network (DBCFSN). DBCFSN operates a seven-acre urban farm and is spearheading the opening of a co-op grocery store in Detroit’s North End. Yakini views the “good food revolution” as part of the larger movement for freedom, justice and equality. He has an intense interest in contributing to the development of an international food sovereignty movement that embraces Blacks communities in the Americas, the Caribbean and Africa. Order of Service
November 13, 2016
After the Election Reverend Stephen Butler Murray The first week after the elections, our country will have a better sense of the next steps in our nation’s 240 year history. We will know not only who our next President will be, but also the results for the House and Senate. Emerging from a rancorous campaign season that has turned political parties upside down, how do we reaffirm an America which seems more divided than ever? How can we speak a unifying message of hope into this situation?
Order of Service
November 6, 2016
Justice and Compassion Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Continuing this sermon series over the course of several months, we are exploring and meditating upon the Seven Principles upon which the Unitarian Universalist Association bases its relationships. The Second Principle of the UUA is that of "Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations." Order of Service
October 30, 2016
Festival of Lights Reverend Stephen Butler Murray The celebration of the Hindu holiday of Diwali, "The Festival of Lights," is the closest that most religions comes to a party. We will explore what Diwali means to Hindus and why it often is the most popular holiday to be celebrated on college campuses today.
Order of Service
October 23, 2016
Temporary Shelter
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Today is the final day of the Jewish holiday, Sukkot, during which one erects a temporary shelter. We will explore this idea of “temporary shelter” to understand how people of any faith or no faith might come to appreciate Sukkot. Sukkot-A-Palooza Order of Service
October 16, 2016
Forgiveness
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Recognizing that we are approaching the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, this sermon will focus on the concept of “Forgiveness,” the central focus of this Jewish Holiday. A Prayer for Yom Kippur Order of Service
October 9, 2016
Worth and Dignity
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray The beginning of a monthly sermon series on the Seven Principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association, this sermon will focus on the First Principle, namely "The Inherent Dignity and Worth of Every Person."
United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights Order of Service
October 2, 2016
Days of Awe: From Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur
Joy Gaines-Friedler Sunset on October 2, 2016 begins Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. It is also the beginning of The Days of Awe, tens days in which we go inside ourselves to reexamine, contemplate, to ask ourselves what matters to us, who matters, and what is it we have done this year that may have harmed ourselves or others. We are asked to ask forgiveness from others (not G-d) for any harm we may have caused. This is not easy. The Days of Awe are days of wonderment, meditation and introspection that culminate in Yom Kippur – a day of fasting and atonement. May each of us be rewritten into The Book of Life and may we each enjoy a sweet new year. Bio: Joy Gaines-Friedler teaches poetry and creative writing for non-profits in the Detroit area and throughout Michigan. Her work has taken her, among other places, to The Lapeer Correctional Facility where she works with “lifer” prison inmates, to teaching professional writers, DPS school kids, and mental health care. Rosh Hashanah Symbols Order of Service
September 25, 2016
Detroit Musings: Underneath My American Face
M. L. Liebler As part of our Detroit Musings series, poet M. L. Liebler will read from his work and discuss his evolution from working class to community poet and cultural activist. M.L. Liebler website Order of Service
September 18, 2016
The Holy Land
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray I will spend the week before this sermon in Washington, DC, participating in a World Council of Churches Consultation with American religious and political leaders on the Holy Land. I studied in Israel in the summer of 1997, receiving a first-hand education on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and now, nearly 20 years later, have the opportunity to revisit this issue in depth. In this sermon, I will share glimpses of the week-long conversation that we shared in our nation's capital. Jerusalem Panorama Order of Service
September 11, 2016
9/11 - 15 Years Later
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray On the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America, I will speak about what it was like to live in New York City at the time of 9/11/01, and talk about how this important moment continues to affect the lives of Muslims and other religious minorities in America. New York Skyline Order of Service
September 4, 2016
End of Summer
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Labor Day: Growing up in Delaware, a state that lives and breathes on the rhythms of the beach season, the Labor Day weekend was the official end of summer. Children return to school, young adults head off to college, and churches often set the Sunday after Labor Day as the "start" of the year, a strange phenomenon for an institution that meets year round. Today, we will spend time thinking about what the end of summer means for people of faith and social justice. End of Summer Order of Service
August 28, 2016
Detroit Musings, 'Scrap Metal Mantra': a Love Song to Detroit
Ken Meisel Ken Meisel is a poet and psychologist from Detroit, a Kresge Arts fellow and Pushcart nominee. He will read from his poetry, which has been called a "poetic homage" to the working class, "tinged with mortality and transience, giving it an anguished intensity." Kresge Arts in Detroit Order of Service
August 21, 2016
The Gospel of Bruce
Joel Batterman The rise of Donald Trump has focused attention on America's white working classes: their fears, pains and aspirations. For nearly half a century, however, few public figures have given those feelings more eloquent voice than Bruce Springsteen, the Jersey-born poet-rocker who gained international fame in the twilight of postwar U.S. prosperity. What lessons does Springsteen's deeply humane vision hold for us today, as we stare down the twin threats of homegrown fascism and an intolerable status quo? Jammin' Order of Service
August 14, 2016
Ecumenism, Yesterday and Today
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray It is interesting that today, as individuals tend more toward quiet ecumenism rather than strict denominationalism, that the ecumenical movement itself is going through a considerable downsizing. In this sermon, I will talk about the history of how denominations decided to work together ecumenically through organizations such as the National Council of Churches, and how that intentional inter-denominational organization and activism has unravelled. In addition, I will speak about atheist views about participation in ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue. Coexist Movement UU Chalice and Symbols of Other Religions Order of Service
August 7, 2016
Race, Class and Justice in America
Abayomi Azikiwe Racial and class divisions are growing inside the United States despite the rhetoric of eight years ago that the country was becoming a post-racial society. Both the Republicans and Democrats have fostered these divisions through partisan rhetoric as well as the legacy of mass incarceration and financial deregulation. I will outline my thoughts on these issues and make some suggestions for actions to be taken on a community level. Abayomi Azikiwe is the editor of the Pan-African News Wire and a co-founder of the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice (MECAWI) and the Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures, Evictions and Utility Shut-offs. Azikiwe is a graduate of Wayne State University in Detroit where he earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in Political Science/Public Administration and Educational and Administrative Studies. He has published numerous articles, pamphlets and books on African affairs. Azikiwe has traveled extensively in Africa conducting field research on political economy and history.
www.4thmedia.org/category/opinion/abayomi-azikiwe/ Order of Service
July 31, 2016
Again We Rise
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray In the aftermath of the Republican and Democratic national conventions, all of us have been pushed and pulled in different ways on the political spectrum. There is so much dangerous political rhetoric afloat, but also messages that seek to unite and identify diversity as a strength. This week, we will talk about where we stand as a nation and as people of conscience in the aftermath of these two national party conventions. Ben & Jerry Order of Service
July 24, 2016
Heartland - Where Faiths Connect
UU Detroit Members The theme of this year's UUA General Assembly, recently held in Columbus OH, was, "Heartland - Where Faiths Connect". Join us to hear some of UU Detroit's members speak about their impressions of G.A. from a spiritual perspective. Former UU Detroit Minister Bill Neely with Danny Rebb Order of Service
July 17, 2016
Mandela
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray On the weekend that the world commemorates the life of Nelson Mandela, we consider one of the moral giants of our time. Mandela Wisdom Order of Service
July 10, 2016
A Grown Woman’s Tales of Detroit
Marsha Music Marsha Music will share from her two acclaimed essays, The Kidnapped Children of Detroit - about the mid-last century flight from Detroit, and Just Say Hi (the Gentrification Blues) - about the flight back to the city. Marsha Music, writer and poet, is the daughter of legendary pre-Motown record producer Joe Von Battle, and has life-long roots in Highland Park and Detroit. She reflects upon Detroit and its musical legacy in several literary anthologies and on her blog, Marsha Music – A Grown Woman’s Tales of Detroit. She is a veteran activist and former labor leader, now dedicated to affirming accurate Detroit narratives. Ms. Music is a noted speaker, storyteller and a contributor to many oral history projects and films.
A self-described “Detroitist”, Marsha Music has been acclaimed for her one-woman show, “Live From Hastings Street” and her essays, including “The Kidnapped Children of Detroit” and her epic poem, “Just Say Hi (The Gentrification Blues).” She is a 2012 Kresge Literary Arts Fellow, a 2015 Knight Arts Challenge awardee, and 2016 Ideas City Detroit Fellow. In 2015, her poetry was commissioned for the celebrated Symphony in D, which she read in performances with the DSO. Ms. Music is a dynamic presence in the arts community and widely regarded as a Detroit ambassador. She lives in historic Lafayette Park, works in the courts, and is married to artist David Philpot. Order of Service
July 3, 2016
Send me your tired, your poor....Welcoming Refugees
Christine Suave and Monica Boomer Christine Suave, Southeast Michigan Community Coordinator, Welcoming Michigan and Monica Boomer, Director of Community Engagement, Zaman International will speak on World Refugee Day. Come to hear what we can all do to make this world a little better for refugees throughout the globe. Order of Service
June 26, 2016
Orlando
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Reflections on recent horrific shooting. Order of Service
June 19, 2016
Creating Ritual and Relevancy Out of the
Past
Diarra McKinney An educator and performance artist in love with the
cultural traditions of Africa and the African Diaspora,
Diarra McKinney is a storyteller, singer, and percussionist.
She specializes as a producer of edutainment programs,
field archivist, and outreach librarian. Ms. McKinney will
present an interactive encounter with history on our
Juneteenth Sunday celebration. Order of Service
June 12, 2016
Moral Imagination
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray A favorite way to teach ethics is through the subject of
"moral imagination," by which one studies literary
characters in order to come to understand the dynamics
of the choices made by the characters. Stepping out of
your own shoes and into the shoes of another can
promote understanding and empathy. Order of Service
June 5, 2016
Prejudice and Difference
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray One of the ways that we often fail as individuals and as a society is by adhering to prejudices, some of which we are
conscious of, and others that live insidiously deep. Today, we will talk about how we address those issues and how to confront the biases that we hold. Order of Service
May 29, 2016
Memorial Day Blues
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Memorial Day is often a hard time to reconcile for lovers of peace. We do
want to honor the sacrifices of those who went before us, and at the same
time, want to insist on alternatives to war in the present and future. How
do we strike a resonant note that allows both for respect and rebellion?
How can we be patriotic and critical all at the same time? Order of Service
May 22, 2016
Remembering Tillich
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Paul Tillich was one of the most important theologians of the 20th century,
and often seen as a patron saint by Unitarian-Universalists because of his
work on the relationship of theology and culture and an expansive
theology of world religions. A week after delivering the keynote address at
the 50th anniversary of Paul Tillich's internment at the Paul Tillich Park in
New Harmony, Indiana, I will talk with our congregation about why this
theologian is still relevant for us to read and discuss today. Order of Service
May 15, 2016
Unitarians in the D - Since 1833
Danny Rebb The boundaries between Unitarians and Universalists in Detroit were often quite fuzzy from the 1830's until the two congregations merged in 1934.
Our historical reenactment service in January showed how Universalists worshipped in this sanctuary during its very early days; this service
continues our Centennial history theme by giving equal time to our Detroit Unitarian ancestors. Order of Service
May 8, 2016
The Mother in Me
Anita "Ruby" Jones Exploring and sharing stories about my matrilineal line, I will reveal the characteristics and traits that have become inextricably woven into the Mother that I am. BEFORE CHURCH: You are invited to meet at church at 7:30AM and join our walk to Grand Circus Park. There, we will gather (around 8:00am) on the east side surrounding the bronze statue redubbed "Ikwe Michigamma" (Woman of the Great Waters). We will offer prayers, songs and intentions to bring justice, compassion, equity and peace into the affairs of our social, political, economic and spiritual institutions. We will return to First UU for a special Mother's Day service at 11:00 AM. Order of Service
May 1, 2016
May Day
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray One of the ways that many cultures in the Northern Hemisphere celebrate Spring is through the celebration of May Day. Since we conveniently have worship on this date, we will explore what all of the jubilation and fun is all about! Order of Service
April 24, 2016
Prejudice and Difference
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray One of the ways that we often fail as individuals and as a society is by adhering to prejudices, some of which we are conscious of, and others that live insidiously deep. Today, we will talk about how we address those issues and how to confront the biases that we hold. Order of Service
April 17, 2016
A Century at Cass and Forest
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray We are celebrating the centennial of worshipping in our sanctuary at the corner of Cass and Forest. This extended 90 minute service will include speeches by all four of the women who were ordained to the Unitarian-Universalist ministry by this church, and a sermon by Dr. Murray about our history at this location. Order of Service
April 10, 2016
Competition or Community? Humanizing Schooling in Detroit and Beyond
guest speaker Joel Berger, DPS teacher In 1988, longtime Detroit activist James Boggs stood up at the First Unitarian Universalist Church and argued for a paradigm shift in Detroit’s education system, pressing for a “fundamental change in our concept of schools,” away from preparation for an eventual spot in the global economy, and towards engaging students in the immediate work of community building. Nearly thirty years later, Boggs’ clarion call for a new way of thinking about our schools is more relevant than ever. Recent policy efforts to improve the Detroit Public Schools have focused on making the schools more “competitive.” Yet this “competition” language obscures the fact that to truly transform our schools in Detroit, we need to move away from our cultural obsession with competition and towards an embrace of public schools as incubators of and practicing grounds for democracy, community and social justice. Detroit teacher Joel Berger will share his personal journey and reflections on what it will take to make our schools more humane, healthy, joyful places, in Detroit and beyond. Joel Berger spent his formative years growing up in Detroit’s East English Village neighborhood. He is a second generation teacher in Detroit schools – his mother taught in Detroit Public Schools for twenty-seven years. He is in his sixth year teaching, now teaching high school English in the Detroit Public Schools. He has also been active in a number of education activism efforts in Detroit. Order of Service
April 3, 2016
On Stewardship
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray How do we participate in the mission of our church? What are the ways that we ensure the present and future of a church that rightfully celebrates its proud past? How do we use our gifts to expand our capacities beyond ourselves and for the betterment of others and the world? Order of Service
March 27, 2016
Cycles
Robert Johnson It's that time again. Seasons come again. But just because we are back at the beginning again, just as we rise again from the darkness of the season it doesn't mean we are where we were once before. Order of Service
March 20, 2016
Women and Ordination
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Unitarians and Universalists were among the first denominations to welcome women to join the ranks of ordained clergy, and indeed women always have been at the forefronts of these two, not twinned, religious movements. In conjunction with research done by Danny Rebb at our church’s archives at the University of Michigan, I will discuss some of the influential UUA women who have moved through our church in Detroit. Order of Service
March 13, 2016
Defining Spirituality
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray One of my charges for this year is to offer programs on “spirituality.” This is an almost infinitely broad term,
intentionally capacious in its scope. Today, I will speak to various approaches to spirituality and how we, as a congregation, might explore spirituality together through
engaging programs in the months ahead. Order of Service
March 6, 2016
Feminist Theology
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray As we enter into Women’s History Month, I want to offer a brief review of feminist theology and its responses to the first wave, second wave, and third wave of feminist thought. Order of Service
February 28, 2016
Water: A Tale of Two Cities
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray The Michigan cities of Detroit and Flint have made international headlines over water issues, and both situations beg questions regarding political economy and race in America.
NOTE: We are participating in the KEEP THE WATER FLOWING SUNDAYS with the Peoples Water Board. On February 28th we will collect financial and bottled water donations. If you have not already purchased water we encourage 1 gallon containers. The money and water collected will assist the Peoples Water Board in getting water to people in Detroit and Highland Park who have had their water shut off due to poverty. Order of Service
February 21, 2016
Sisters in the Wilderness
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Womanist theology is the constructive theology of black women who offered strong critiques both to the often male-centric black liberation theology and the often white-centric feminist theology. The title of this sermon comes from the powerful book Sisters in the Wilderness by Delores S. Williams. Order of Service
February 14, 2016
White Privilege/Black Pride and Never the Twain Shall Meet
Satori Shakoor Satori Shakoor is Executive Director of The Society for the re-Institutionalization of Storytelling and a host of The Secret Society of Twisted Storytellers. She has received international acclaim as a singer with “Parliament/Funkadelic” and is one of “The Brides of Funkenstein.” Ms. Shakoor will share her storytelling and musical talents with the congregation. Order of Service
February 7, 2016
Black Theology & Black Power
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray At the outset of Black History Month, I want to consider the first, ground-breaking work of James H. Cone, the father of Black liberation theology. One of the most important theological texts of the 20th century, Black Theology & Black Power opened the doors to contextual theologies in America. This is the first in a month-long series on the influence of black scholars on theology and religion in America. Order of Service
January 31, 2016
Remembering Vic Schumacher
Rev. Lynda Smith & Rev. Yvonne Schumacher Strejcek A long time member of First UU Detroit, Vic Schumacher was dedicated to peace and justice and was a WWII conscientious objector who spent three and a half years in prison for his beliefs. Vic became “Mr. Social Action” as the many-year chair of the Social Justice Committee. He was involved, and involved the church, in just about every issue of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. The sermon will be jointly presented by former First UU members Rev. Lynda Smith and Rev. Yvonne Schumacher Strejcek. Rev. Smith is now a UU minister serving a congregation in Ohio and Rev. Strejcek, who is Vic’s daughter, grew up in our church school. Come and hear the legacy of a First Church UUer. Order of Service
January 24, 2016
Did Jesus Mean It?
Danny Rebb Danny will be speaking on a book published in 1922 by Rev. Dr. Frank Durward Adams, a former minister to the Church of Our Father (the Universalist predecessor to our joined congregation). More details in the “Centennial” section of
the January newsletter. Order of Service
January 17, 2016
The Beloved Community
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Beloved Community is a global vision, in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth. In the Beloved Community, poverty, hunger and homelessness will not be tolerated because international standards of human decency will not allow it. Racism and all forms of discrimination, bigotry and prejudiced will be replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood. In the Beloved Community, international disputes will be resolved by peaceful conflict-resolution and reconciliation of adversaries, instead of military power. Love and trust will triumph over fear and hatred. Peace with justice will prevail over war and military conflict. Order of Service
January 10, 2016
On Religious Extremism
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray The news is full of stories concerning religious extremism in the world today, whether one is speaking about the international terrorism and military-styled conflict committed by Daesh/ISIL, or the domestic terrorism of a Christian-professing gunman opening fire at a Planned Parenthood or a major federal building or a school. It is important not merely to dismiss these actors as atypical offshoots of religion, stating categorically that such agents do not represent the religion from which they originate. After all, faith is known in the world by how it is practiced, and the external narrative concerning a religion can be shaped, changed, and transformed by the actions of a few, resulting in widespread fear of the many. Order of Service
January 3, 2016
A New Year and A Century
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray The First Unitarian Universalist Church of Detroit celebrates in 2016 a century of worshiping in this sanctuary through its roots in the Universalist tradition. As we celebrate a new year, we also will consider the legacy that comes of this community worshiping in this space. Order of Service
December 27, 2015
Embracing Kwanzaa
Basira Norris and Anita "Ruby" Jones The sixth day of Kwanzaa celebrates Kuumba (Creativity). Our service will embrace this sixth principle and offer a unique expression of this latter day African American festival which grew out of the Black Nationalist movement of the 60's and has grown into a tradition embraced worldwide. Our guest presenter will be Basira Norris. Order of Service
December 24, 2015 7:00 PM
On Giving and Taking in the Stranger
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray
The Christmas story is one that is a very human one: A struggling man and woman, strangers in a strange land, who find that there is no room at the inn, but who nonetheless are shown a modicum of hospitality for the birth of what portends to be a remarkable, world-changing child. Order of Service
December 20, 2015
The Dark Side and the Light: A Meditation on Morality in Star Wars
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Since the 1970's, the phenomenon of Star Wars has shaped our cultural reality on a societal and individual level. As someone who was part of the generation which grew up wielding light sabers, I am fascinated by how the duality of the Force, its Dark Side and the Light, has affected our moral imagination. Order of Service
December 13, 2015
Human Rights Day and Race in America
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray On the Sunday after the celebration of Human Rights Day, we think about what what constitutes human rights and how the persistent terror of racism in America violates these tenets today. Order of Service
December 6, 2015
Entering Hanukkah
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Our Jewish friends are about to enter one of the most popular, if least important, of the Jewish holidays: Hanukkah. What is this holiday, and how has it come to take on such prominence when it is, in fact, a minor holiday. What might message of Hanukkah mean for those who appreciate the wisdom of Judaism from outside of its traditions? Order of Service
November 29, 2015
Thankings and Beginnings
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Many of us are just on the other side of celebrating Thanksgiving, an utterly American holiday. What have we been thankful for in our lives, and how does being thankful open the doors for changes in how we live? This day marks the beginning of Advent, the Christian season before Christmas, and we will ask, as the “Christmas Season” of Santa and elves and brightly lit trees dominates our cultural consciousness, what Advent might mean for faith and for those who cannot help but observe. Order of Service
November 22, 2015
My Journey in See Minor
Lee Thume We’ll take a musical journey together. Lee Thume is one of five children, four of whom were born legally blind, during the Depression, of a legally blind-piano tuner. Lee will share with us how she worked at problem solving after getting her major in music. Order of Service
November 15, 2015
The world on autopilot: To whom do we trust the future?
Robert Johnson Who decides which way our future heads? Who do we trust to pick our path? Or are we merely letting fortune and short term considerations decide our path? And what are the ramifications of doing so? Order of Service
November 8, 2015
Remembering All Souls
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Earlier this week, on November 2nd, is the traditional observation of “All Souls’ Day,” and observance of those who have passed. While All Souls’ Day was first instituted at the monastery in Cluny in 993 CE and quickly spread throughout the Christian world, people held festivals for the dead long before Christianity. We will examine some of the ways people have honored the dead across time and cultures. Order of Service
November 1, 2015
OK, Wasn't Halloween Just Grand?
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Halloween is one of the most beloved holidays of the year, in part because we celebrate while intentionally taking on an identity that is not our own. Looking at different ways of celebrating Halloween, we also will look at what this holiday has meant in Detroit. Order of Service
October 25, 2015
UUSC: at 75
Mary Lou Malone Mary Lou Malone will talk about the work of the Unitarian Universalist
Service Committee in Detroit and around the world. Order of Service
October 18, 2015
Indigenous Peoples and American Immigration
Reverend Stephen Murray Following "Columbus Day," it is important to reflect on who the natives of "America" truly are, and in discussing American attitudes toward immigration today. In the context of the Syrian mass-exodus of refugees and the ongoing discussion of border issues with Mexico, how do we define the mass movements of peoples and how do we understand this to be a nation that celebrates or anathematizes immigration? Order of Service
October 11, 2015
Coming Out and Breathing In
Reverend Stephen Murray On a weekend where Columbus and anti-Columbus statements usually take the headlines, it is important instead to mark National Coming Out Day. While our faith community has done so much positive work to embrace and uplift the LGBTQ community in the Detroit area, it is impossible to recognize that this is not a minority community, and that recognizing one's identity often involves a conscious break or rupture with the majority culture. "Coming out" isn't just a metaphor, but is life and death, joy and pain. Order of Service
October 4, 2015
World Communion Sunday for a Church that Doesn’t “Do” Communion
Reverend Stephen Murray All around the world today, churches are celebrating World Communion Sunday, a religious observance that UU’s don’t really do. But just because we are not participating with bread and wine (or grape juice!) doesn’t mean that there isn’t something spiritually of interest going on out there in the world. What does communion mean to all of these churches in their cacophony of theologies, and what significance does this spiritual practice have for UU churches? Order of Service
September 27, 2015
Friendships with the Religious Other
Reverend Stephen Murray Encountering the “religious other” is a constant in a cosmopolitan society, especially when one takes on the identity of Unitarian-Universalism in the city, where one throws one’s arms wide open to all who would come, from wherever they would come. Perhaps the most important way that we can know another person is through friendship, and in this sermon, we will explore the joys, the burdens, the challenges, and the triumphs of inter-religious friendships. Order of Service
September 20, 2015
A Dream of Peace
Reverend Stephen Murray On the day before the United Nation’s International Day of Peace, it is important to ask why there is this annual demarcation. What might we consider to be the basis of conversations on peace, and what resources might we bring to bear in considering peace? Of particular interest is how forgiveness is involved in our dream of peace. Order of Service
September 13, 2015
Black Lives Matter
Aurora Harris Acclaimed Detroit poet, AURORA HARRIS attended the #BlackLivesMatter conference this year in Cleveland, Ohio. She will share an update and her personal reflections on the movement.
Ms. Harris is the winner of a 2015 National Lawyer's Guild- Michigan Chapter Unsung Heroes Award, the 2014 Howard Zinn Lifetime Achievement Award in Peace Studies and the 2012 PEN-Oakland Josephine Miles Award for her book of poetry Solitude of Five Black Moons. She holds an M.A. in Social Foundations of Education from Eastern Michigan University. Ms Harris is a Lecturer at The University of Michigan-Dearborn teaching English and African American Literature courses. Order of Service
September 6, 2015
A Theology of Work
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray On the Labor Day weekend, we often forget why indeed we celebrate the American labor movement and the social and economic achievements of workers. In Detroit, a city synonymous with American labor, it is important to recognize how industry has affected American sensibilities regarding community and identity, and how communities of faith have been shaped, changed, and transformed by these shifts in society. Order of Service
August 30, 2015
Flower Communion
Olga Klekner and Danny Rebb Hungarian poet Olga Klekner will read new poems she composed specially for this service. Just as individual flowers form a bouquet more beautiful than the sum of its parts, our congregation formed by the covenant we share is better able to liberate truth, radiate kindness, and love courageously more than all of its members individually. Please join us for our annual celebration of community. Please bring a flower or two to add to our congregational bouquet and put them in the vases at the front of the sanctuary prior to the start of the service. Please also feel free to wear your finest floral attire to add to the festiveness of the service. Order of Service
August 23, 2015
The New Religious America
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray The United States often is described as a “Christian” country, but in fact this is perhaps the most religiously diverse country on the planet, while also steeped increasingly in a secular culture. How do people of faith respond to these changes in society, and what should a church that stands for social justice and religious liberty do in such a city? Order of Service
August 16, 2015
Another Tale of Two Cities: Detroit and Cleveland
Robert Johnson It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ...” After a recent trip to Cleveland, Robert Johnson observes comparisons between Cleveland and Detroit and the duality in each city itself. Order of Service
August 9, 2015
Starting Our Conversation
Reverend Stephen Butler Murray Every church is a community of seekers and believers, but perhaps none embraces that shared identity more than Unitarian-Universalists. In my first Sunday in the pulpit, I want to talk some about who you are and who I am, about the journey that we have ahead, and the conversations that I hope we will share regarding spiritualities, social justice issues, and the role of religion in the life of the city of Detroit. Order of Service
August 2, 2015
My Mutual History with Detroit
Dawn McDuffie Dawn McDuffie’s poems celebrate Detroit as she has seen it through 47 years of intimate engagement. There are poems about neighbors, the homes that are restored to beauty, and the homes that sink into oblivion. Although her poems include some of the tragedies she has witnessed, she insists the city has a beauty all its own. Detroit is at the center of every one of McDuffie’s books, and it is the inspiration for her next book as well.
Dawn McDuffie grew up in Milford, Michigan, and moved to Detroit in 1968. She earned an MA in Humanities from Wayne State University in 1973, and an MFA in poetry from Vermont College in 2003. McDuffie's poems have appeared in Rattle, The MacGuffin, CT Review, Feminist Studies, and the Paterson Review, and in the anthology, Good Poems– American Places edited by Garrison Keillor. Since 2000 she has taught creative writing in Detroit. Her books, People in My Head, Carmina Detroit, Bulky Pick Up Day, and Flag Day, portray her love and experience with her city, Detroit. Ms. McDuffie will offer her books for sale during coffee hour, and will donate 40% of the money to our church. Order of Service
July 26, 2015
On Receiving the (Un)Holy Ghost: Learning to Listen to the Underside of the Strait
James Perkinson This century promises to be the century of water wars--so say the planners. In Detroit, it has already begun. As a strait, where passes one fifth of the planet's fresh surface water, we live on embattled turf. Living well in the future--indeed, living at all--will require new relations, not only among ourselves, but to our entire watershed and the history of struggle it carries on its back. Detroit spirituality today has its work cut out. It begins with listening to the ancestors of place--all of them, whether human or not. They await our heart and attention.
James Perkinson is a long-time activist and educator from inner city Detroit, where he has a history of involvement in various community development initiatives and low-income housing projects. He holds a PhD in theology from the University of Chicago, with a secondary focus on history of religions, is the author of White Theology: Outing Supremacy in Modernity and Shamanism, Racism, and Hip-Hop Culture: Essays on White Supremacy and Black Subversion, and has written extensively in both academic and popular journals on questions of race, class and colonialism in connection with religion and urban culture. He is in demand as a speaker on a wide variety of topics related to his interests and a recognized artist on the spoken-word poetry scene in the inner city. Order of Service
July 19, 2015
Detroit's Deep Dish Democracy: Solutions from the Ground Swell
Kim D. Hunter Kim Hunter will discuss grassroots movements for affordable water, for community benefits ordinance that could bring long overdue neighborhood development and a community radio station licensed to broadcast from the heart of the city that could serve as a hub for Detroit's progressive communication.
Kim D. Hunter is life-long Detroiter, raised in a working class, African American family and is currently employed in media relations for social justice groups. He has served as Poet-in-Residence in several Detroit public schools through the InsideOut Literary Arts Project. He co-directs the Woodward Line Poetry Series. His work has appeared in Rainbow Darkness, Abandon Automobile, Triage, Hipology, Metro Times, Dispatch Detroit and Graffiti Rag. His has published two collections of poetry: borne on slow knives (Past Tents, 2001) and edge of the time zone (white print inc, 2009). He was awarded a Kresge Literary Fellowship for 2012. Order of Service
July 12, 2015
The 7th Principle
Julie Brock Beyond what we believe, how are we connected? How do we depend on one another and on the earth? Are there images or language we can use that evokes meaning and purpose for all when talking about these things? Order of Service
July 5, 2015
Unitarian Universalist Theology
Julie Brock The very name of our religion is derived from two major tenets of our historical belief systems; God is one entity, rather than a trinity, and universal salvation exists. We still hold the name Unitarian Universalist, but these beliefs are no longer at the core of who we are theologically. Does UUism have a core belief system? How do we live collectively and believe differently? Do we hold common things sacred? Order of Service
June 28, 2015
A World with No More War
Professor Ronald Glossop About Dr. Glossop: Professor Emeritus at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Ph.D.from Washington University in St. Louis [1960]. He has authored three books: Confronting War [1st ed., 1983; 4th ed., 2001], Philosophy, An Introduction to its Problems and Vocabulary: [1974], and World Federation? A Critical Analysis of Federal World Government [1993]. President of the American Association of Teachers of Esperanto, national board member of Citizens for Global Solutions, and Chair of the Citizens for Global Solutions of Greater St. Louis. Honorary member of Rotary International and Esperanto-USA and a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Beta Phi.
Searching for Nannie B.
Nancy Owen Nelson Accomplished author and academic, and First Church member, Nancy Owen Nelson, will celebrate the launch of her memoir, "Searching for Nannie B.", an inspirational search for her roots in Alabama and her lost grandmother, Nannie B. Chandler, who died giving birth to Nancy’s mother, Nannie B. Nelson. "Searching" will be available for purchase during social hour following the service. All proceeds will go to the First Unitarian-Universalist Church of Detroit. Author's Website Order of Service
June 14, 2015
Juneteenth: Throwing Off the Chains!
Jahra Michelle and Joré McKinney Joré McKinney is a creative artist known for her exquisite beadwork. She also specializes in song and African folkloric dance. She expresses herself through her art, playing with colors and pattern. She is the proud mother of Mahe and Lulana.
Jahra Michelle McKinney is an educator and performance artist in love with the cultural traditions of Africa and the African Diaspora. She is a storyteller, singer, and a percussionist. She specializes as a producer of edutainment programs, field archivist, and outreach librarian. She is the mother of four daughters including Joré, and grandmother of three boys and a girl.
Join us for a special Juneteenth celebratory potluck following the service, including food and song. Bring your favorite Juneteenth dish to serve in the church house, a musical instrument for a jam session, and picnic blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy the outdoors. Order of Service
June 7, 2015
What are we called to?
Julie Brock We have reflected on and thought about how where we come from shapes our voice and perspective in the faith. How are we called to use our prophetic and authentic voice? How can we call ourselves and our faith to be accountable to its proclamation that voices on the margin matter? How can we strengthen our wider Universal Web by standing both in and outside a place of privilege? If we know what it means to be from here, what are we then called to do? (Part Two of a Two Part Series) Order of Service
May 31, 2015
What does it mean to be from here?
Julie Brock People from Detroit love their city. Our pride is well earned, as our folks haven't had it easy. But what does it mean to practice a religion that is culturally white and upper class, in a city that isn't? Join a home grown Detroit girl as she reflects on lessons she could have only learned in the pews of 4605 Cass, how they translate to wider UU culture, and how wider UU culture affects our congregation. (Part One of a Two Part Series.) Order of Service
May 24, 2015
Techno Religion
Joel Batterman As devotees of electronic music converge on Detroit, what can we learn from this phenomenon? What are the parallels between techno music and Unitarian-Universalist faith, and how can we transcend the contradictions between individual and collective action in a technocratic age? Order of Service
May 17, 2015
Diving Into the Future
Reverend Roger Mohr This is Rev. Mohr’s last Sunday in the pulpit with First Church. Let’s take a moment to celebrate the possibilities of new beginning, new cultivations, and new possibilities. Order of Service
May 10, 2015
Radical Mothering
5 Voices Join us on this Mother’s Day with 5 voices from the community:
Kim Redigan - Teacher and Non-Violence Trainer with the Michigan Peace Team
Susan Sunshine Earth Poet - MiCats (Michigan Coalition Against Tar Sands)
Jahra Michelle McKinney - Singer, Songwriter, Storyteller & founding member of Hakamma
Carolyn Doherty - Raging Grannies and Peace Activist
Sylvia Banks - Chapter Leader Metro Detroit Parents of Murdered Children, Inc.
The Meaning of Work
Reverend Roger Mohr May 1 is International Labor Day, a time for celebrating the importance of work, and working people, in our lives, and in our culture. Order of Service
April 26, 2015
The Exact Center of the Modern World: Philip Levine’s Detroit
Frank Rashid Please join us for another in our Detroit Musings series of guest speakers. Lifelong Detroiter Frank D. Rashid is professor of English at Marygrove College where he teaches American literature, composition, and Detroit studies courses; writes about Detroit literature, history, and culture; and edits the online Literary Map of Detroit. He is former chair of the English & Modern Languages Department, past president of the Faculty Assembly, and a founding member of Marygrove’s Institute for Detroit Studies. The father of three children, he lives with his wife Kim Stroud in Detroit’s University District. Order of Service
April 19, 2015
Earth Day
Reverend Roger Mohr As we celebrate Earth Day, we are drawn to ask the question of what our personal relationship with the Earth may be, and how we might make it better. Order of Service
April 12, 2015
Reflections on Dr. Viola Liuzzo by Her Children
Penny Herrington, Mary Liuzzo Lilleboe, Tony Liuzzo, and Sally Liuzzo Viola Liuzzo's children will speak on Viola’s legacy, carrying on her legacy, personal reflections, and relevance to today’s issues. Order of Service
April 5, 2015
April Is the Cruelest Month
Reverend Roger Mohr In T.S. Eliot’s poem, “The Wasteland” he begins with images of revitalization and hope after a season of struggle and suffering. On this Easter morning, may we be reminded of the tenacity of life. Order of Service
March 29, 2015
Reflections on the Struggle for Marriage Equality
Ken Mogill A personal examination of what marriage is and how the DeBoer case has affected people's views of marriage as a matter of law and social/religious conceptions. Order of Service
March 22, 2015
Look at the Heart
Mr. Peace Kevin Szawala, or ‘Mr. Peace’, age 29, is a motivational speaker, youth minister, poet, hip-
hop artist, peace activist, visionary and friend. In this talk, the audience is made aware to the severity of the epidemic of bullying from the perspective of a national youth speaker along with examining powerful facts, stories and testimonials revolving around the issue. Once we understand the potential impact of our actions, words and inaction towards others, we can come to realize how much of a necessity it is to never cause the pain in the first place. Ultimately we have a choice to destroy or uplift one's spirit and either one only takes a couple of seconds; this talk will reach inside your collective heart to show why we should want to choose the latter in order to leave a legacy that all will want to remember. Order of Service
March 15, 2015
Circling the Sun
Reverend Roger Mohr As we move toward the Spring Solstice the significance of our path around the sun becomes more apparent, as well as more significant. Isn’t it nice to know that we can achieve relative certainty about the realities of our universe. Order of Service
March 8, 2015
Blessed to be Human
Reverend Roger Mohr The foundational theology of Western culture presents a
pretty negative picture of human nature. But we are better than we might believe that we are. Order of Service
March 1, 2015
The Ragged March of Progress
Reverend Roger Mohr Sometimes it seems that things are getting worse. But it is easy to make the argument that things are getting better, even when it seems like we are falling. Order of Service
February 22, 2015
What's YOUR Black History story?
Satori Shakoor Satori Shakoor is Executive Director of The Society for the re-Institutionalization of Storytelling and a host of The Secret Society of Twisted Storytellers. She has received international acclaim as a singer with “Parliament/Funkadelic” and is one of “The Brides of Funkenstein.” Ms. Shakoor will share her storytelling and musical talents with the congregation. Order of Service
February 15, 2015
The Graceful Life
Reverend Roger Mohr Sometimes it seems like life moves from disaster to disaster. Yet we may be able to find grace among the ruins. Order of Service
February 8, 2015
Social Hedonism
Reverend Roger Mohr Hedonism is the idea that the purpose of life is to maximize our own pleasure. But human beings very often prefer shared pleasures, Ubuntu. What if we built a world in which joy was the goal? Order of Service
February 1, 2015
Human Becoming
Reverend Roger Mohr It is always possible to become more fully human. Indeed, human being may well evolve beyond humanity – or at least, beyond human being as we now know it. Order of Service
January 25, 2015
Anger
Matt Friedrichs Reflections on a night in Ferguson and St. Louis. Order of Service
January 18, 2015
Relational Ethics
Reverend Roger Mohr Ultimately, one might argue that ethics is about love. But it does require an understanding of power to love with awareness. Order of Service
January 11, 2015
An Evolutionary Culture
Reverend Roger Mohr It seems that contemporary culture tends to be too much about defending our learned practices and preferences. But perhaps an evolutionary culture is about creating adaptive practices and preferences. Order of Service
January 4, 2015
A Resolution of Joy
Reverend Roger Mohr As we begin the New Year, it is a time for resolutions. As we make commitments to recreate our realities, let’s make a resolution to live more joyfully this year. Order of Service
December 28, 2014
Practicing a Personal Internationalism: Finding a Place in a Globalized World
Paul Chislett Traveling from Windsor to Detroit most Sundays can be routine, and yet the border crossing formalities are a reminder that one has crossed a frontier. How can community be extended across borders? Expect more questions than answers to be generated by this talk... Order of Service
December 24, 2014 7:00
PM
Christmas Stories
Reverend Roger Mohr and Todd Ballou
Join the First Church family for our annual Christmas Eve service featuring carols,
special music, and a UU Christmas message.
Order of Service
December 21, 2014
The Significance of Friendship
Reverend Roger Mohr We are often reminded of the centrality of family in the definition of “The Good Life.” However, most philosophers and spiritual directors put a much higher priority on friends and chosen relationships. Order of Service
December 14, 2014
A Queer Tradition
Reverend Roger Mohr Unitarian Universalism is a unique faith. We affirm and promote the fullest possible opportunities for our members to explore and create their best selves…even when those choices seem a bit queer to others.
Also Todd’s other choir “Sing Out Detroit” will perform as our special guests with a preview of their upcoming concert, “Fa-La-La Frozen”. Our choir will join them for one number. And there will be news of an exciting new congregational welcoming endeavor. A service not to be missed! Order of Service
December 7, 2014
Crisis and Commercials
Reverend Roger Mohr It seems that we are confronted with increasing levels of urgency and hysteria every day. But why? Order of Service
November 30, 2014
Detroit Musings ~ Part 3 of 3
Shea Howell Shea Howell is a Detroit activist, author & columnist, writing a column for the Grace Lee Boggs newsletter; she works closely with Grace Lee Boggs and was active in First UU's "Detroit Summer" program.
Order of Service
November 23, 2014
Detroit Musings ~ Part 2 of 3
Perma Detroit Kate Devlin, aka Perma Detroit, heads Spirit Farm and Faith Farm & is an activist for community gardens and teaching locals to grow their own food.
Order of Service
November 16, 2014
Blessing the Beloved
Reverend Roger Mohr One of the gifts of spiritual practice is the ability to greet the world with an open and loving heart. However, it DOES require practice.
Order of Service
November 9, 2014
Detroit Musings ~ Part 1 of 3
Keith Owens Keith Owens is an author, journalist and musician who cares deeply about Detroit.
Order of Service
November 2, 2014
Pro-Choice Is Pro Life
Reverend Roger Mohr Women’s rights are under attack from the right, with not only abortion but contraception in jeopardy. Our tradition demands that we defend women’s right to decide.
Order of Service
October 26, 2014
Move the Money
Reverend Richard Peacock The war horse is a vain hope for victory; however, Pentagon spending is huge. Is that why Americans aren't getting what we need? Can Pentagon spending become smarter and smaller? What can peace activists do? Rich, a retired Methodist minister, is now with Peace Action of Michigan and Peace Voter.
Order of Service
October 19, 2014
Cain and Abel: Racial Violence at the Urban Boundaries
Reverend Roger Mohr As the incidents of inter-racial violence proliferate, it is important to step back and understand the class tensions that fuel them.
Order of Service
October 12, 2014
As the Wars Come Home
Reverend Roger Mohr After a decade of war overseas, it seems that we are doing less and less to manage the repercussions here.
Order of Service
October 5, 2014
Cultivating Peace
Reverend Roger Mohr In our world,
there seems to be a continuous roar of issues and information, usually
presented as a crisis. It is no wonder if we are anxious and unhappy.
We need to create a zone of quiet and rest for ourselves.
Order of Service
September 28, 2014
Girl Scout Sunday Trailblazers: Meet UU Women Who Changed the
World!
Kathleen Jacobs Johnson, Sharlene Gage, Nancy Owen Nelson, Stephanie Chang 1st UU welcomes
Girl Scouts from the neighborhood to learn about Unitarian-Universalism
and examine leadership in some of the most groundbreaking women
of the 19th and 20th centuries. UUs and Girl Scouts alike will notice
the similarities between the UU principles and Girl Scout Law.
Order of Service
September 21, 2014
The Gift of Listening
Reverend Roger Mohr As we build
relationships and connections, we build power. But relationships
depend on our ability to discern another person’s interests.
We have to learn to listen.
Order of Service
September 14, 2014
Progressive Missionaries
Reverend Roger Mohr First Church
is at the heart of an attempt to organize regional progressives
into an active and powerful voice in Michigan. Want in on that?
Order of Service
September 7, 2014
The Art of Breathing
Reverend Roger Mohr There are many
different kinds of spiritual practice, and many of them focus on
breathing. Why is respiration a spiritual question?
Order of Service
August 31, 2014
Water Rights and Responsibilities
Mary Lou Malone A Water Ceremony
will be included in the service.
Order of Service
August 24, 2014
The Social Lifeboat
Reverend Roger Mohr The “Lifeboat
Dilemma” is a classic philosophical problem about how we make choices.
Sound social policy requires clarity of thought in terms of our
decision making criteria.
Order of Service
August 17, 2014
Regional Religious Progressives
Reverend Roger Mohr At First Church’s
annual planning retreat we agreed that FUUD has a mission to provide
leadership and support for the Detroit metropolitan region, for
regional UUs, but also for regional progressives. We are the Chalice
Church. How do we make that claim into a practical reality?
Order of Service
August 10, 2014
In Praise of Memory
Mary Minock Mary Minock,
a poet and memoirist, and long-time Detroiter, reads from her published
memoir, The
Way-Back Room: A Memoir of a Detroit Childhood (Bottom Dog Press,
2011). She then offers examples from her process of writing it to
comment on the transcendent power of an active memory of the past.
Memory is actually a dialogue with the present, and so truth(s)
that are uncovered are ever-changing and ever rich in possibility.
Studied excursions into memory promise to keep us from the rocks
of nostalgia and guide us as we navigate the future.
Order of Service
August 3, 2014
Prayin' for the Big Easy God
Wardell Montgomery Speaker Wardell
Montgomery, Jr. is an urban folk poet and a member of Plymouth United
Church of Christ. He will give us a sermon in poetry exploring a
literal interpretation of the Bible versus a metaphorical one. Order
of Service
July 27, 2014
Walls, Fences, and Gates
Reverend Roger Mohr It has been
said that good fences make good neighbours. A major challenge for
every organism, and organization, is to set appropriate boundaries. Order
of Service
July 20, 2014
Blinded By the Blight
Reverend Roger Mohr Detroit has
achieved international fame for its abandoned buildings. But it
is important to see beyond the ruins. Order
of Service
July 13, 2014
Speaking Truth WITH Power
Reverend Roger Mohr In postmodern
culture, truth was understood ironically, with every truth understood
as a power claim. But the power of truth was often lost in irony. Order
of Service
July 6, 2014
The Arc of Justice and the Golden Age of Capitalism
Dan Secrest The moral arc
of the universe may bend toward justice. Yet many of us are frustrated
that corporate power reigns supreme in the 21st century, eclipsing
democratically elected governments in many respects. How might these
be reconciled in the near future? Order
of Service
June 29, 2014
Flower Communion: The Earth Laughs in Flowers
Danny Rebb Just as individual
flowers form a bouquet more beautiful than the sum of its parts,
our congregation formed by the covenant we share is better able
to liberate truth, radiate kindness, and love courageously more
than all of its members individually. Order
of Service
June 22, 2014
Juneteenth: Civil Rights Celebration
Kathleen Jacobs Johnson and the Worship Committee Reflecting
on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act into
law, and the impact it has had on us. Order
of Service
June 15, 2014
The Creative Cosmos
Reverend Roger Mohr The universe
is in the process of continuous becoming, an ongoing creation in
which we are active collaborators. Order
of Service
June 8, 2014
Affirming Same Sex Marriage for Over Forty Years
Reverend Roger Mohr Same sex marriage
is a current issue in politics, but UUs have had an increasingly
general consensus about the issue for decades. Order
of Service
June 1, 2014
Not Just for UUs: Leading the Beloved Community
Reverend Roger Mohr Religious leadership
entails a responsibility to seek the well-being of all people, and
the planet as a whole. Order
of Service
We Are Getting Better and Better
Reverend Roger Mohr The idea that
people can freely choose to improve themselves and their world is
the radical theological premise at the core of Unitarian Universalism. Order
of Service
May 11, 2014
The Flame of Hope, the Chalice of Community
Reverend Roger Mohr As First Church
develops a vision of regional leadership, it is up to us to create
a church that offers a model of spiritual well-being. Order
of Service
May 4, 2014
Calm Down. Aim. Hit the Ball
Reverend Roger Mohr In general,
progress in any endeavor is more a matter of conscious discipline
and consistent practice than of sudden inspiration or instinctive
reactions. Order
of Service
April 27, 2014
Another Great Awakening?
Dan Secrest In his March
2 sermon, Reverend Roger Mohr mentioned previous "Great Awakenings"
in U.S. religious history. I'll discuss these in greater detail
and consider the prospects for another great awakening. Order
of Service
April 20, 2014
Here Comes the Sun
Reverend Roger Mohr With Easter,
we embrace the arrival of Spring. Let's also give thanks for the
revitalization of our church, even as we look forward to future
challenges and opportunities. Order
of Service
April 13, 2014
Progressive Regional Leadership
Reverend Roger Mohr First Church
has begun to build its outreach efforts with a strategic vision
to reach beyond Detroit’s city limits. How can we, as Unitarian
Universalists, be more effective in shaping our region, as well
as our neighborhood? Order
of Service
April 6, 2014
The Center of the Universe
Reverend Roger Mohr A central challenge
in social justice is the experience of alienation and despair. How
do we experience spiritual renewal? Order
of Service
March 30, 2014
Trans-Humanism: Humanity and Technology Reverend Roger Mohr
Humanity is increasingly dependent
on technology. But perhaps that is the foundation of future evolution.
Order
of Service
March 23, 2014
The
Feminist In Me Nancy Owen Nelson and
Friends
In recognition of Women's History
Month, Nancy Owen Nelson and other members of First UU will discuss
the notion of feminism in their lives. Order
of Service
March 16, 2014
Ubuntu, Interdependence, and the Soul Reverend Roger Mohr Often, religious
thought focuses on selfless love. But perhaps our relationships
are better understood in terms of Dr. King’s Network of Mutuality. Order
of Service
March 9, 2014
The Significance of Herstory
Reverend Roger Mohr March is Women’s
History Month. A woman who treats her life story as being of general
human significance is much more likely to treat herself as worthy
of care and respect. Readings by Nancy Owen Nelson. Order
of Service
March 2, 2014
Race, Class, and a New Consensus
Reverend Roger Mohr The issues
that we struggle with in regional Detroit need initiatives that
can reach across lines of race, class, and community. Order
of Service
February 23, 2014
Moving the Goalposts
Reverend Roger Mohr As we move
into the spring, we begin to think about what we need to accomplish
next year. Order
of Service
February 16, 2014
Queer Love, Radical Altars
Katherine DM Clover With the upcoming
Michigan Same Sex Marriage court hearing, Katherine Clover, who
married her partner Chelsea in September, will share her thoughts
and concerns on gay marriage. A perfect way of re-imagining love
as we embrace Valentine's Day as a social justice holiday by Standing
on the Side of Love. Order
of Service
February 9, 2014
1st UU and Civil Rights
Coordinated by Mary Lou Malone Our members
reflect on their roles in the Civil Rights Movement and how it affected
their lives. Sally Borden, Ivan Louis Cotman, Sharon Mills, and
Kathleen Jacobs-Johnson. Order
of Service
February 2, 2014
Lessons From the Ancestors
Reverend Roger Mohr In the book,
Five Regrets of the Dying, we can learn from the decisions
other people have made in their lives, and wish they would have
done differently. Order
of Service
January 26, 2014
Polytheism: Creating Your Own Pantheon
Reverend Roger Mohr Each of us
has our own understanding of the Divine. And most of us have more
than one. Order
of Service
January 19, 2014
White Like Me In the D
Joel Batterman What responsibilities
might young, educated white people moving into Detroit bear towards
the fulfillment of civil rights and "beloved community"
today? Order
of Service
January 12, 2014
The Politics of Progress
Reverend Roger Mohr What might
a progressive political strategy look like from the perspective
of Detroit in 2014? Order
of Service
January 5, 2014
Dark and Deep, Cold and Clean
Reverend Roger Mohr The New Year
is a time of purification, as Nature disciplines and tests us. Order
of Service
December 29, 2013
CARL HENRY SINGS!
Carl Henry and the Worship Committee Carl Henry
is a folk singer-extraordinaire, performing political, union-solidarity,
blues, folk, hymns, and sing-a-long. He comes with several guitars,
harmonica AND snappy chatter w/ stories, many about local issues,
very community-minded, gracious & loving, with a voice like
a steel drum... Order
of Service
December 24, 2013 7:00
PM
Christmas Eve Service
Todd Ballou and Reverend Roger Mohr Todd will lead
us in our annual Chrstmas Eve service of carols and hymns, with
inspirational commentary from Rev. Mohr. Order
of Service
December 22, 2013
The Solar Wheel
Reverend Roger Mohr On the Winter
Solstice, we are reminded that the journey of the Earth around the
Sun is a major influence on our inner life. Order
of Service
December 15, 2013
The Transcendental Ape
Reverend Roger Mohr Human beings
are spiritual animals, looking beyond what is, to imagine what could
be. Order
of Service
December 8, 2013
The Circumspective Perspective
Reverend Roger Mohr Sometimes we
become so focused that we forget to look around. Order
of Service
December 1, 2013
Transcending the Family
Reverend Roger Mohr In contemporary
life, the family is generally understood as the core of relationship
and meaning, but family is not destiny. Order
of Service
November 24, 2013
The Theist in Me
Danny Rebb Unitarian Universalism
in general, and the beliefs of this speaker in particular, cannot
be captured by a single label. There is a theist in me. The idea
of god arose from vague sources in the misty human past. God, as
I understand the idea, so permeates every part of existence—in
fact, is existence—that whenever life’s meaning is discussed,
god, whether specified or not, is also discussed. Order
of Service
November 17, 2013
Faustus: Choice, Choices, and Choosing
Reverend Roger Mohr Our lives are
about the human privilege of choice. Order
of Service
November 10, 2013
The Cosmic Drum
Reverend Roger Mohr One piece of
living in harmony with the Cosmos is learning to feel its rhythm. Order
of Service
November 3, 2013
We Remember Them
Reverend Roger Mohr This is a season
when in many cultures we pause to remember our beloved dead. What
are the gifts they left behind for us? Order
of Service
October 27, 2013
Mary Magdalene, Yoga, and Gnosis
Nancy Owen Nelson I discuss how
I came to an understanding of gnosis, or inner knowledge. My journey
includes my upbringing, the practice of yoga, and finding personal
truth in the gnostic text, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene. Order
of Service
October 20, 2013
Global Grace
Reverend Roger Mohr As a world
power and global citizen, how can the United states best express
its role in the world? Order
of Service
October 13, 2013
InterBeing: An Urban Eco-Spirituality
Reverend Roger Mohr How can we
tie our concern with our relationship to the Earth to our relationships
to one another, our community, and the Cosmos? Order
of Service
October 6, 2013
Mad Hatter Day
Reverend Roger Mohr Perhaps you
didn’t know that the character from Alice In Wonderland had
an official holiday. But a little madness has its virtues. Feel
free to wear your favorite hat! Order
of Service
September 29, 2013
Equal Justice and Dignity- the State of LGBT Rights in Michigan
Jay Kaplan, ACLU With the federal
ruling that DOMA is unconstitutional, the Michigan Supreme Court
will begin hearing arguments October 1st to repeal Michigan's ban
on gay marriage and adoption by same sex couples. Jay Kaplan from
ACLU will discuss the implications and what we can expect from it.
Order
of Service
September 22, 2013
Fall: Our Shadows
Reverend Roger Mohr In his poem
“The Hollow Men,” T.S. Eliot writes, “Between
the idea, and the reality, between the motion and the act, falls
the Shadow.” With the growing shadows of autumn, we are invited
to explore the shadows within ourselves, as well. Order
of Service
September 15, 2013
Better People for a Better World
Reverend Roger Mohr A major theme
last year was “Ubuntu,” the idea that we create one
another in our relationships and our community. How does that inform
and influence this year’s theme of “Integrity”? Order
of Service
September 8, 2013
Waiting for God-ot
Reverend Roger Mohr Waiting for
God-ot. The play by Samuel Beckett is about time spent in waiting
for someone else to arrive. Why do we wait? Order
of Service
September 1, 2013
The Wisdom of Detroit
Reverend Roger Mohr Detroit has
among the deepest and richest histories of any US city. What have
we learned? Order
of Service
August 25, 2013
Maggie’s Farm
Reverend Roger Mohr The Bob
Dylan song (and excellent Rage Against the Machine
cover) offers some useful
insight into systems of exploitation and how to liberate ourselves.
Order
of Service
August 18, 2013
Still I Rise
Reverend Roger Mohr Maya Angelou’s
poem is an emphatic declaration of her transcendence. What can we
learn from her? Order
of Service
August 11, 2013
Watery Reflections
Corinne Streicher, Paul Chislett, Dan Secrest, Lee Thume "Water
is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which
is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and
yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another
paradox: what is soft is strong." Lao Tzu
Representatives of different generations will reflect on water power
in our lives. Order
of Service
August 4, 2013
UUs Around the World
Sherry Wells The International
Council of Unitarians and Universalists is a body devoted to
fostering connections between Unitarian and Unitarian Universalist
groups around the world. Sherry Wells will speak of her experience
and passion for Universalism on a global scale. Order
of Service
July 28, 2013
Beyond the Politics of Identity
Reverend Roger Mohr Political action
has been defined by demographic categories, but those classifications
are less useful than in the past. Order
of Service
July 21, 2013
NAFTA on Steroids
Lacey Kohlmoos The Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP) is a massive “free trade agreement”
that isn’t really about trade at all. If it passes, the TPP
would have an impact on the food you eat, the air you breathe, the
water you drink, and the cost of your medications. It would give
the green light to global corporations that send jobs overseas,
thus undermining the U.S. labor movement and creating a global race
to the bottom. The TPP would undermine democracy worldwide and forever
change the way we use the internet. But we can stop the TPP and
we will!
Join Lacey Kohlmoos, Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch Sr.
Field Organizer, for a talk about the TPP and what you can do to
make a difference. Order
of Service
July 14, 2013
Growing Together
Reverend Roger Mohr Following up
on our First Church leadership retreat, what are the priorities
for our church this year? Order
of Service
July 7, 2013
Negotiating With the Cosmos
Reverend Roger Mohr In a sense,
all of life is a process of coming to terms with it. Order
of Service
June 30, 2013
Welcoming Worship
The Worship Committee The First UU
Church of Detroit is a place where we strive to love courageously,
radiate kindness, and liberate the truth. For many of us, there
is a fine line between liberating the truth as we see it, and exhibiting
rudeness or disrespect for people with differing beliefs. The Worship
Committee will discuss the challenges and opportunities we face
in furthering our mission and vision in a creative and welcoming
manner. We are open to new members and look forward to working with
those interested to match volunteer interests with committee roles
and responsibilities. Order
of Service
June 23, 2013
Our Church History and the 50th Anniversary of the March Down
Woodward
The Worship Committee and EMEAC (tentative) On the 50th
anniversary of the great march led down Woodward by Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., we invite a representative of the Eastern
Michigan Environmental Action Council (EMEAC) to reflect upon the
role First UU has played in Detroit history, and how we are moving
forward. Order
of Service
June 16, 2013
Finding Your Voice
Reverend Roger Mohr One sign of
oppression is when we feel unable to share our thoughts and feelings. Order
of Service
June 9, 2013
Detroit Future City
Reverend Roger Mohr The DEGC and
the Kresge Foundation have just released their plan for economic
development in Detroit. What does the future hold? Order
of Service
June 2, 2013
Play-time, Play-space, Play-mates
Reverend Roger Mohr It is possible
that we are all on vacation together here on Earth, for the fun
of it. But are we enjoying our trip? Order
of Service
May 26, 2013
Flower Communion
Elayne Sikelianos and Danny Rebb The
Flower Communion usually takes place in the spring near the time
of Easter. In this ceremony, members of the congregation are asked
beforehand to bring a flower to the Sunday service. Upon entering
the sanctuary, each person places his or her flower on the altar
or in a shared vase. The flowers are blessed by the minister or
congregation during the ceremony, and the sermon usually reflects
upon the flowers' symbolism. At the end of the service, each person
brings home a flower other than the one that he or she brought.
Reginald Zottoli wrote "The significance
of the flower communion is that as no two flowers are alike, so
no two people are alike, yet each has a contribution to make. Together
the different flowers form a beautiful bouquet. Our common bouquet
would not be the same without the unique addition of each individual
flower, and thus it is with our church community: it would not be
the same without each and every one of us. Thus this service is
a statement of our community."
The Flower communion service was originally created
in 1923 by Unitarian minister Norbert Capek, who founded the Unitarian
Church in Czechoslovakia. The service was later brought to the United
States by his wife, Maya. Order
of Service
May 19, 2013
Relational Ethics
Reverend Roger Mohr For most religious
traditions, morality is based on obedience and duty. But we might
also ground ethics in mutuality and relationship. Annual Meeting will follow the service. Order
of Service
May 12, 2013
Our Feminist Faith
Reverend Roger Mohr On Mother’s
Day, we remember our legacy of activism for women’s rights
and voices. Readings selected and presented by Nancy Owen Nelson.
Order
of Service
May 5, 2013
Cinco de Mayo: Celebrating Cultural Evolution
Reverend Roger Mohr The US is changing,
and we have the opportunity to choose our strategies in relation
to the foreseeable future. Order
of Service
April 28, 2013
Arise Detroit!
Luther "Badman" Keith ARISE Detroit
is a broad-based coalition of community groups which deal with issues
troubling our community – illiteracy, high school dropout
rates, crime and youth violence, drug abuse, domestic abuse, neighborhood
blight and unemployment. Luther Keith, executive director of ARISE
Detroit!, is a former award-winning editor and columnist for The
Detroit News. He is also an accomplished Blues musician and is known
as "Badman" in the Blues world. Order
of Service
April 21, 2013
Earth Day, Detroit!
Reverend Roger Mohr What would
a green Detroit look like, and how can we help to make that happen?
Order
of Service
April 14, 2013
Voluntary Simplicity: Spring Cleaning
Reverend Roger Mohr Spring
is an excellent time to lighten the load and lose the baggage, in
both our inner and outer lives. Order
of Service
April 7, 2013
Global Humanism
Reverend Roger Mohr Humanism
is NOT a minority position. Not in the US. Not even in other lands
and nations. Humanism is the foundation of the modern world. Order
of Service
March 31, 2013
Easter, Ostara, and the Arrival of Spring
Reverend Roger Mohr Easter is
about excellence, the opportunity to embrace the possibility of
new growth.
Order
of Service
March 24, 2013
Democracy, God, and Pascal’s Wager
Dan Secrest Belief in God
works, although God is open to a wide variety of interpretations.
Likewise, democracy requires faith to perform its magic.
So argues Dan Secrest, a member of our congregation and degreed
economist. Mr.
Secrest also holds a Master's Degree, inScience! Order
of Service
March 17, 2013
Deep Listening: Zen Buddhism and a Free and Responsible Search
for Truth and Meaning
Koho Vince Cousino Anila Koho is the
Guiding Teacher of the Still
Point Zen Buddhist Temple in Detroit. He will speak about Buddhist
and Zen history including the whys and hows of the practice. He
will discuss parallels in other traditions, including Christianity
("Contemplative Prayer" by Thomas Merton, etc.).
After
practicing at the Zen Buddhist Temple in Ann Arbor with Ven. Haju
Sunim and P'arang Geri Larkin, Koho helped found Still Point as
its first Board President and one of its first seminary students.
A husband and father, Koho is also a writer with a BA in English
from Wayne State University. He was ordained by P'arang Geri Larkin
in 2003, and follows the trails of ancient monks and nuns around
South Korea as often as possible. Order
of Service
March 10, 2013
The Purpose of Leadership
Reverend Roger Mohr As I said
at the beginning of this church year, a major theme is Ubuntu, the
idea that we create one another through our actions and decisions.
How we work together matters as much as what we are doing. Order
of Service
March 3, 2013
Urban Eco-village
Reverend Roger Mohr The eco-village
movement is a way of forming eco-logically and socially sustainable
communities. Is it time for a Detroit experiment? (will include
visual aids) Order
of Service
February 24, 2013
Called To Be Human Beings
Reverend Roger Mohr Perhaps to
be human means to be called to create a life of meaning through
creating meaning. Order
of Service
February 17, 2013
Earth Faith
Reverend Roger Mohr What is the
role of our religion in a non-religious world? Order
of Service
February 10, 2013
What Would Jesus Do? Exploring Catholic Social Teaching
Dr. Jeannie Murphy O’Connor Jeannie Murphy
O’Connor teaches Comparative World Religions at Henry Ford
Community College and is also Director of Service Learning there.
She is a ‘cradle catholic’ and now identifies herself
as a ‘socially active catholic’ – not referring
to her social life but her investment in living Catholic Social
Teaching. She grew up in a small town between Lansing and Flint
called Owosso and considers Metro Detroit her home now, having lived
in the area for the past 18 years. She has worked in several Catholic
church settings as a youth and young adult minister and has set
her number one priority in each of those settings as engaging young
people in service. She received her Doctor of Ministry degree from
Ecumenical Theological Seminary and titled her doctoral dissertation:
“The Transformative Effects of Street Retreats.” She
looks forward to sharing her life of faith in action with you. Order
of Service
February 3, 2013
A Voice Crying in the Wilderness
Reverend Fran Dew Since
I consider prophecy, as well as revelation, to be open and ongoing,
I've chosen my own quartet of Twentieth Century prophets: moral
and ethical innovators who bring messages society does not want
to hear; those who diagnose our societal ills and are ignored or
defamed for serving as our collective conscience. This morning I'll
share why American author James Baldwin made my
list. Order
of Service
January 27, 2013
Tolerance vs. Acceptance
Kathleen Jacobs Johnson UUs are known
for their tolerance, but maybe that's not what we should be known
for. Tolerance implies that something has to be put up with, but
is not accepted and embraced. As UUs, we should move beyond tolerance
and stand on the side of love. Order
of Service
January 20, 2013
The New American Dream
Reverend Roger Mohr Martin Luther
King talked about his dream of America’s future. America was
founded as the CITY on a hill. How can we make our cities work better?
Order
of Service
January 13, 2013
The Heart of Love
Reverend Roger Mohr It is easy
to lose track of love. We must intentionally cultivate love in ourselves.
Order
of Service
January 6, 2013
Change: The Only Constant
Reverend Roger Mohr Change is both
a necessity and an opportunity. The challenge is to get good at
change. Order
of Service
December 30, 2012
The Spiritual and Social Transformation of The Great City of
Detroit in 2013
Rabbi Dorit Edut Rabbi Edut
will speak on why the transformation of Detroit is a spiritual issue,
what challenges we face, what accomplishments can we build on, and
where interfaith partnering can bring new energy and power to this
work. Order
of Service
December 24, 2012 7:00
PM
Christmas Eve Service
Todd Ballou and Reverend Roger Mohr Todd will lead
us in our annual Chrstmas Eve service of carols and hymns, with
inspirational commentary from Rev. Mohr.
December 23, 2012
X-mas and the Politics of Resentment
Reverend Roger Mohr Christmas is
a time when we are supposed to be positive. But sometimes we have
trouble looking on the bright side. Order
of Service
December 16, 2012
Black, White, Brown, and Green
Reverend Roger Mohr As we near
the Winter Solstice, we meditate on race, class, and privilege in
a progressive and sustainable culture. Order
of Service
December 9, 2012 4:00
PM
Aspirations: What do we want to achieve, and why?
Reverend Roger Mohr This is an
experimental service, intended to be more quiet and centering as
we return from our weekends and prepare for the week ahead. This
service will be held in the sanctuary, with soft lights, meditation,
acoustic music, and conversation about a chosen topic.
December 9, 2012
Our Cruelty to Strangers
Reverend Roger Mohr Our supposed
ethical superiority depends on how we treat others, especially those
who oppose us. We will observe Human Rights Day, December 10. The
service will include a brief presentation from a representative
from Amnesty International concerning American practice of torturing
political prisoners. Order
of Service
December 2, 2012
The Home of Progressive Thought
Reverend Roger Mohr First UU Church
is the historical home of progressive thought in Detroit, and we
are proud to claim that title today. Order
of Service
November 25, 2012
An Attitude of Gratitude
Robert Johnson Gratitude
is often the answer to people’s problems, for it helps them to reframe
their life in a positive context. Gratitude allows people to look
at what is right in their life, identify their strengths, and see
what is good about them and others. Order
of Service
November 18, 2012
Working Our Quirks
Reverend Roger Mohr It is true,
we are all unique. But how do we use those differences for our collective
benefit? Order
of Service
November 11, 2012
Better Bottom Line
Reverend Roger Mohr The progressive
idea of the Triple Bottom Line is about considering People, Planet,
and Profits in our business decisions. Order
of Service
November 4, 2012
Enlightened Government
Reverend Roger Mohr With the elections
upon us, it is time to reflect on the relationship between politics
and our UU tradition and values. We are an activist tradition, but
that does not mean a clear allegiance to one party or another. Historically,
we have been on both sides of most issues. But we do have a set
of values to use as the basis for assessing our government. Ubuntu
recognizes that we are shaped by our government and politics. What
would an enlightened government look like? Order
of Service
October 28, 2012
Poetry's Divine Defiance
Terry Blackhawk The presentation
will discuss poems that range from Philip Levine's Detroit
to Emily Dickinson's Universe, and points in between. Order
of Service
October 21, 2012
The New Detroit
Reverend Roger Mohr Detroit is
obviously changing, changing fast, and changing for the better.
It is an exciting time to be living in the D! However, progress
does have its price, and there are people suffering for these improvements.
"Ubuntu" means that this is our success. But Ubuntu also
means that this is our suffering. How can we build our sense of
community as Detroit experiences such a welcome and necessary renaissance?
Order
of Service
October 14, 2012
A Life Worth Loving
Reverend Roger Mohr The autumn
is a beautiful and exciting time of the year. As the temperatures
drop, we are more thoughtful as we spend more time in the comforts
of hearth and home. But there is so much beauty to experience outdoors
- we need to get out and breathe that crisp, cool air, the changing
light, and thrill with the autumn colors. Life is good. How can
we make it even better? Order
of Service
October 7, 2012
A Post-Religious Faith
Reverend Roger Mohr It is widely
noted that the fastest growing faith, globally and in the US, is
no religious identity at all. The percentage of people claiming
"no religion" as their religious identity is approaching
20% and growing quickly. However, that does not mean a lack of "spiritual"
feelings or needs. It means a rejection of traditional orthodoxies
and models. While that is bad news for most religions, it is consistent
with Unitarian Universalism. How can we minister to those in this
growing and hungry group? Order
of Service
September 30, 2012
Arab Women - Religion, Taboos, and Stereotypes
Dr. Mary Assel There is a
triangle of challenges that Arab women face in America and in the
Arab world: religion, stereotypes and taboos. The taboo of religion
is the most challenging and has sparked interest among universities
and professors throughout the country. Dr. Mary Assel, Arab-American
author and retired director of the English Language Institute at
Henry Ford Community College, will share the history behind the
Arab female oppression, the differences between culture and religion,
and the dilemmas and predicaments Arab women face as they struggle
to deal with stereotypes and the declaration of freedom in their
newly formed liberal societies. Order
of Service
September 23, 2012
The Goyim's Debt to Judaism
Rev. Tony Perrino During the
High Holy Days" being observed by our Jewish friends, I want to
recognize the profoundly important contributions to western civilization
that were made by the Hebrew tradition. The service will include
a "sounding of the Shofar". Order
of Service Sermon
Text
September 16, 2012
Continuous
Enlightenment
Reverend Roger Mohr There are
many terms to refer to achieving our potential as human beings.
Some speak of “salvation.” Others of “spiritual
growth.” Some of “satori” or “mukti.”
While these are all useful terms, in the humanist tradition, the
closest cognate is “Enlightenment.” But for us, enlightenment
is something we achieve by our own attention and efforts, over time.
How can we be more enlightened tomorrow? Order
of Service
September 9, 2012
Ubuntu:
African Humanism
Reverend Roger Mohr In my Doctor
of Ministry program, the majority of the students are from other
countries. One is from Argentina, another from Japan, from Congo,
from Poland, Korea…a few are even from the U.S.! During conversations
about our dissertation projects, a colleague from Sierra Leone talked
about Ubuntu: As Leymah Gbowee expressed it, “I am what I
am because of who we all are.” We are created by our relationships
with one another. We are leaders inasmuch as we help to build a
better self to offer for the betterment of our communities. How
can we make it better together? Order
of Service
September 2, 2012
Voting
Rights Martyr: Viola Liuzzo
Reverend Roger Mohr In the history
of First Unitarian Universalist Church of Detroit, there are many
of our spiritual forebears who have done great and wonderful things
for the cause of social justice. But few have given their lives.
One of our members, Viola Liuzzo, was shot and killed by the KKK
in 1965 for helping to register voters. But why does voting really
matter? And how much must we sacrifice for our faith? Order
of Service
August 26, 2012
Kum
Ba Yah
Todd Ballou and Gwen Foss The summer
camping trip is a tradition-- particularly in Michigan. If you haven't
gotten away this summer, come take a short excursion with us. We
celebrate nature, solitude, and singing around the camp fire. It's
warm in the summer-- feel free to wear your most comfortable summer
attire. Then, we celebrate our returning home with a variation of
our traditional water ceremony. Order
of Service
August 19, 2012
Dune:
Successful Social Struggle
Reverend Roger Mohr In response
to my, “I dare you to preach on…” sermon topic
request, one of our members challenged me to preach on the movie
Dune and the Orange Bible. To me the most important lesson of Dune
is about how one can successfully effect major social change. How
can we win the struggle for social justice? Order
of Service
August 12, 2012
A
Rock That is Higher Than I: Finding My Primitive Baptist Roots in
Alabama
Nancy Owen Nelson Nancy Owen
Nelson is on a journey to know her grandmother, who died in childbirth.
She will speak on her research trip to Alabama where she engaged
the Primitive Baptist experience. There will be photos to accompany
her message. Order
of Service
August 5, 2012
Democracy:
Lincoln, Obama, and Servetus
Dan Secrest Unitarians
often regard Michael Servetus as the first Unitarian martyr. Servetus
has also been credited with being one of the modern forerunners
of freedom of religion and freedom of conscience in the Western
world. The evolution of freedom of conscience can be traced from
Servetus and the Polish Socinians, to John Locke and to Thomas Jefferson
and the American Declaration of Independence. We'll examine our
5th principle: The right of conscience and the use of the democratic
process within our congregations and in society at large. Order
of Service
July 29, 2012
Achieving
Our Spiritual Best
Reverend Roger Mohr In doing the
reading for my doctoral coursework, my first course is about spiritual
development. In our culture, we often understand that to be a purely
internal process. But our spiritual life is bigger than just whether
or not we happen to meditate. Spirituality is a holistic concept,
and includes every part of our lives. What difference does your
spiritual life make? Order
of Service
July 22, 2012
Re-examining
the American Dream: We vs. Me
Kathleen Jacobs Johnson and Robert Johnson The
American Dream tells us that if you are ready and able to work hard,
then you will be rewarded with success. But as any who are willing
to look with open eyes will recognize this is not entirely true.
We examine why this is, why the dream persists, and what can be
done about it. Order
of Service
July 15, 2012
Our
Humanist Tradition
Reverend Roger Mohr
In Unitarian Universalism, a very
important source is Humanism – the belief that human agency
and activity is the primary source of positive change in the world.
There are many different ways of understanding and applying Humanism,
but it arguably where our disparate perspectives find their common
ground. Order
of Service
July 8, 2012
Healing
Love
Sister Janet Stankowski Sister Janet
will talk about healing ourselves, healing our community, and healing
the world. She is with the Adrian Dominican Sisters. Read all about
them at www.adriandominicans.org/.
Order
of Service
July 1, 2012
Dreaming
of the Future
Reverend Roger Mohr During
the summer, there is a mild lull in activity, while we regroup and
plan for the next church year. That may seem like a time to rest,
but it is also a time for us to spend some energy in imagining what
we want the church to have done and become by this time next year.
What do YOU dream for First UU next year? Let’s dream together.
Order
of Service
June 24, 2012
All
About Midsummer's Eve
Danny Rebb and Elayne Sikelianos Join
us on Sunday, June 24th for our Summer Solstice service, Flower
Communion, and meet the Sun King! Order
of Service
June 17, 2012
Juneteenth:
Racism and Detroit
Reverend Roger Mohr Detroit
is a city in which about 80% of the residents are of African American
ancestry. That makes Detroit a very interesting environment in which
to consider some of the implications of racism. Order
of Service
June 10, 2012
Walking
Through the Valley of the Shadow
Reverend Tony Perrino Reverend
Perrino, who served as Minister of our congregation from 1969 until
1972, was well known in the city as a champion of social justice
causes. He led a bus full of church members to Washington, D.C.
for a protest of the Viet Nam war, and hosted gathering of "the
Winter Soldier Investigation" which featured a talk by Jane
Fonda! But this sermon, forty years later, will be a reflection
on the last ten years of his ministry as a Hospice Chaplain.
Why
We Support Same Sex Marriage
Reverend Roger Mohr UUs
were among the first to support same sex unions, as well as to ordain
homosexual clergy. Why? Well, because it is consistent with our
Principles and Purposes, of course! Order
of Service
CELEBRATION
SERVICE
Reverend Roger Mohr Rev.
Roger Mohr will lead a service celebrating the transfer of the church
buildings to the Eastern Michigan Environmental Action Council.
This is an exciting experiment in co-operative use of the space.
Join us in celebrating the success of this process! Order
of Service
May 13, 2012
Reverend Kenneth W. Phifer Kenneth
W. Phifer was the senior minister of the First Unitarian Universalist
Congregation of Ann Arbor Michigan from 1980 - 2005. His thought-provoking
sermons, caring leadership, vibrant sense of humor and dedicated
community involvement provided their congregation with much inspiration
for 25 years. Ken continues active work with the Human Subject Review
Committee of the University of Michigan Medical School. Ken is a
founder of the Interfaith Roundtable, and has worked on issues relating
to peace, aid in dying and lesbian/ gay male/ bisexual/ transgender
concerns. A graduate of Harvard University and the University of
Chicago Divinity School, Ken is the author of two books: Hold On:
Getting Through Tough Times and Becoming at Home in the World. Order
of Service
May 6, 2012
Women’s
Disappearing Rights
Reverend Roger Mohr After
nearly two centuries of progress, the last few years have seen a
steady erosion of women’s rights. Why is this happening, and how
can we fight back? Order
of Service
April 29, 2012
Celebrating
May Day
Reverend Roger Mohr
May first is perhaps one of the
most overlooked of all our holidays. It is no wonder. It is a deeply
pagan holiday, with its maypoles and fertility rituals. And it is
also a huge labor holiday, celebrated throughout the world, but
largely ignored in the US. It is our loss; there is much to celebrate.
Order
of Service
April 22, 2012
Messages
from Earth
Elayne Sikelianos, with Lumumba
Celebrate Earth Day with nature
sounds from our guest percussionist, Lumumba, and earth sutras from
our own Elayne Sikelianos. Order
of Service
April 15, 2012
Soul
Food
Reverend Roger Mohr
Soul food consists of foods that
feed us emotionally and physically. Where can we look for nourishment
to fortify ourselves for the long journey of life? The service will
be followed by a potluck, Bring the things and/or foods that comfort
you. Order
of Service
April 8, 2012
Inspirational Detroit Mythology
Dan Secrest
Detroit was a 20th century boom
town that attracted people from a wide variety of cultures. Each
culture brought a collection of myths which mixed uneasily, yet
provided valuable inspiration and structure for life in the impersonal
industrial metropolis. As with other religions, Unitarian Universalism
provides heroes, sacred stories, and timeless principles to comfort
and guide us. Uniquely, our mythic landscape stretches in reaction
to the changing world about us, encompassing traditions from the
various cultures which have found their way to Detroit during the
past century. Order
of Service
April 1, 2012
Four Billion Years of Evolution: Now What?
Reverend Roger Mohr
It is estimated that life has been
evolving on Earth for about four billion years. That means that
every living creature is the result of four billion years of success.
How can we express and actualize that success in our behavior?
Order
of Service
March 25, 2012
There is No Fun in Fundamentalism
Marilyn Mitchell Order
of Service
March 18, 2012
Begin
Again
Reverend Roger Mohr
The Spring Equinox reminds us that
it is time to give our heart and soul to cultivating the
ground of our lives. Plow deep, turn the earth, plant with love.
Now is the time to get into the ground and to do what it takes to
make our dreams our reality. Order
of Service
Life
on the Serengeti
Reverend Roger Mohr
In nature programs, we often are
shown images of life in the natural, as opposed to the human world.
It isn't usually so gentle and loving as we might like. A meditation
on personal responsibility and the human potential to make it better.
Order
of Service
February 26, 2012
The Greater Sacrifice
Lencha Acker, reading a sermon by Rev. Fred Small of Littleton,
MA
We who are anguished by the earth's
injuries are no longer scorned eccentrics. We are the emerging majority.
Order
of Service
February 19, 2012
Learning
to Love
Reverend Roger Mohr
In response to Rev. Mohr's messages
on spiritual virtues and the philosophy of
non-violence expressed by Martin Luther King Jr., members are asking
for a course on the doctrine of love. This message will speak to
the doctrine of love and how it can provide the basis of spiritual
growth in our personal and religious lives. An adult RE course on
this subject may be offered this spring. Order
of Service
February 12, 2012
Laughter
Yoga!
Sue Ann Ansari
Laughter Yoga combines Unconditional
Laughter with Yogic Breathing (Pranayama). Anyone can Laugh for
No Reason. Order
of Service
February 5, 2012
Break
On Through
Reverend Roger Mohr
As we pass the halfway mark in the
winter, we know that spring is just down the path. This is the season
of waiting, of stirring. Indeed, Imbolc the pagan holiday celebrated
this week, means "in the belly," a time of gestation.
What new life grows within you this year? Order
of Service
January 29, 2012
The
State of the Church
Reverend Roger Mohr
With the annual meeting following
the service, there is good reason to be excited about First UU and
its future. We are poised for success!
January 22, 2012
The
Church That Laughs
Reverend Roger Mohr
Our Cantor, Gwen Foss, has collected
a book of UU jokes that will form the be the basis of the service.
UUs are fond of laughing at ourselves. why is that a spiritual virtue?
January 15, 2012
The
Spiritual Teachings of Martin Luther King Jr.
Reverend Roger Mohr
Dr. King made a significant difference
advancing race relations in the US. However, he founded his work
on a body of spiritual principles which continue to have merit.
January 8, 2012
Immigration
Reform in America 2012
Ryan Bates
Ryan Bates is currently the Director
of the Alliance for Immigrants Rights & Reform – Michigan. A native
of Metro-Detroit, Ryan is a graduate from the University of Michigan
Residential College and has worked in politics and community organizing
throughout the state. He has worked as a community organizer from
the east side of Detroit to the upper penninsula, as a canvass manager
working to stop urban sprawl and raise the minimum wage, and as
a campaign manager of five successful competitive bids for state
house. In 2009, he led the Reform Immigration FOR America Campaign
in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, and became the founding director
of the Alliance for Immigrants Rights in 2010.
January 1, 2012
Reclaiming
the Light
Reverend Roger Mohr
A message of hope on the increasing
light through the winter, our desire for social and self improvement,
and the mission of Unitarian Universalism.
December 24, 2011
6:30 PM
A
UU Christmas
Reverend Roger Mohr
Join the 1st Church family for our
annual Christmas Eve service featuring carols, special music, and
a UU Christmas message.
December 18, 2011
The
UU Spiritual Path
Reverend Roger Mohr UUs have the
option of choosing from a wide variety of spiritual traditions,
so there is really no singular UU path. But there are some signs
that one is growing in our faith that allow us to pursue our growth
more intentionally.
December 11, 2011
The
UU Principles: What the heck are they about?
Robert Johnson
Unitarian Universalism is a positive
religion, with seven principles. It seems miraculous that our discursive
denomination was able to agree on these bold statements.
December 4, 2011
Why
Are We Gathered Here?
Reverend Roger Mohr People
often ask why we go to church, or say that they feel much more spiritually
fulfilled doing other things. But the reason we gather in community
is to remember and express the values of our UU faith, to celebrate
our connections to one another, and to re-affirm our place and role
in the wider community.
November 27, 2011
Tears,
Cheers, and Jeers in Music
Todd Ballou and Gwen Foss
Music for a wide spectrum of human
tastes and emotions. Featuring organ, cello, and hymn parody.
November 20, 2011
Environmental
Justice
Reverend Roger Mohr
Mohr and Ahmina Maxey will share
the pulpit, talking about the values of the Environmental Justice
Movement, the Eastern Michigan Environmental Action Council, and
how it relates to Unitarian Universalist values.
November 13, 2011
Love
is the Doctrine of this Church, and Service is its Prayer
Mary Lou Malone
November 6, 2011
Money,
Meaning, and Message
Reverend Roger Mohr
We'll discuss Occupy Detroit,
with a dramatic reading from Death of a Salesman.
October 30, 2011
Viva
Los Muertos!
Lencha Acker
The Day of the Dead is a Mexican
holiday. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends
to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died.
The celebration takes place on November 1st and 2nd, in connection
with the Catholic holidays of All Saints' Day (November 1) and All
Souls' Day (November 2). Traditions connected with the holiday include
building private altars honoring the deceased using sugar skulls,
marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed
and visiting graves with these as gifts. Scholars trace the origins
of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back
hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to a goddess
called Mictecacihuatl.
October 23, 2011
Race,
Class, Gender, and...Plato?
Reverend Roger Mohr
Many of the structural biases we
struggle with in our society reach back well before the advent of
Christianity, into our foundational philosophies. Real change requires
deep awareness, contemplation, and transformation.
October 16, 2011
The
Drum Knows Your Heart
Reverend Roger Mohr
The emotional power of music, what
your music says about you, and the ways that we create community
through music. Featuring a musical emphasis combining organ, drums
and vocals!
October 9, 2011
The
Welfare of Women
Kathleen Jacobs Johnson
Kathleen
will speak about women in poverty and how US welfare reform affects
them.
UN support for the rights of women began with the Organization's
founding Charter. The UU-UNO recommends that congregations schedule
a UN Sunday service in recognition of the birth of the United Nations
on October 24th, 1945.
October 2, 2011
A
Renewed Community
Reverend Roger Mohr
Our concept of our community needs
to change to accommodate and embrace different times and circumstances.
We celebrate change as an opportunity to engage an exciting new
future.
September 25, 2011
How
the Mind Works
Dan Secrest
A holistic and completely natural
look at the mind and spirituality.
September 18, 2011
Mountain
High, Valley Low
Reverend Roger Mohr
A message about spiritual discipline,
from a zen perspective.
September 11, 2011
Peace
for Lands Afar and Mine
Elayne Sikeleanos, Lencha Acker, Robert Johnson
Remembering 9/11, from Vietnam
to Iraq, from Martin Luther King to the Arab Spring, we take stock
of our place in the world.
September 4, 2011
Whose
Idea Was This?
Reverend Roger Mohr
A message about the current state
of UU theology and organization, and the way that the past brings
us to the present.
August 28, 2011
Cassandra's
Gambit
Reverend Roger Mohr
A message about the challenge of
embracing the future.
August 21, 2011
Try
it- You’ll Like it!
Todd Ballou & Gwen Foss
A musical feast, with a menu to
match.
August 14, 2011
The
Journey
Julie Brock
August 7, 2011
Sustainable
Agriculture
Mary Lou Malone
July 31, 2011
Everyday
Miracles
Kathleen Jacobs Johnson
July 24, 2011
From
the Letter Box
Katherine Maurer
July 17, 2011
De
Re Humanism
Robert Johnson
July 10, 2011
It's
OK to Pray
Julie Brock
July 3, 2011
Choosing
to be UU
Lencha Acker
June 26, 2011
A
Parting Blessing
Reverend Bill Neely
Our planned year of Interim ministry
comes to a close, meaning that it is time to say good-bye. On this,
our final Sunday together, Rev. Neely will reflect on what he sees
as the power and promise of First Church and offer his own blessing
for our future.
June 19, 2011
Still
Waiting for Freedom
Reverend Bill Neely
Juneteenth acknowledges former
slaves in Texas being informed of their freedom more than two years
after it was granted. Freedom is always to be celebrated, but more
broadly, how is freedom still delayed for so many in this country?
How can our faith be a more effective agent of freedom?
June 12, 2011
The
Church of Love
Reverend Bill Neely
Love has been the commitment of
our faith and this congregation since both began, and yet as times
change both have periodically needed to reinvent themselves to remain
prophetic. As the congregation considers major changes, we'll consider
both the stability and creativity of the Love that guides us in
caring for each other and transforming the world.
June 5, 2011
The
Story of Ruth
Reverend Bill Neely and Katherine Maurer
Full of tenderness and struggle,
the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Scriptures beautifully speaks
to the complexities of family, commitment, and community. Join Rev.
Neely and Katherine Maurer for a re-telling of this traditional
story.
May 29, 2011
Memories
of Love
Reverend Bill Neely
On Memorial Day weekend, we'll
honor those who died in battle as well as all of those who are gone
but not forgotten in our lives. Join the First Church family for
a service of memory, love, and peace.
May 22, 2011
Ayn
Rand vs Altruism … the final showdown?
Robert Johnson
May 15, 2011
Down
and Dirty in the D
Lencha Acker, Mary Lou Malone, and the Worship Committee
Wear your overalls and roll up
your sleeves. It's time to join the sower and plant some seeds.
May 8, 2011
Heaven
Reverend Bill Neely
What did our ancient ancestors
think of heaven and how did their thinking shift over time? Flying
through thousands of years, we'll see heaven as the ancient ones
did and consider how those images inform us today.
May 1, 2011
Stewardship
Julie Brock
April 24, 2011
Easter
Sunday
Reverend Bill Neely
Unitarian Universalist Christians
try to “worship God, and follow Jesus.” This classic
sentiment of Unitarianism challenges us to model life after a prophet
of tremendous justice, compassion, and service. Without needing
to worship him, what would “following Jesus” look like
today? How would it inform our political structures, our corporate
entities, and our own unique lives?
April 17, 2011
A
House of Spirit and Service
Reverend Bill Neely
Come celebrate the 95th Anniversary
of the church’s life in its beautiful, current building. Special
music, several reflections, and some thoughts about the future will
center our gratitude for the church’s home for nearly a century.
Stay after the service for a special potluck celebration.
April 10, 2011
Frontiers
of Faith
Jeff Liebmann
We all travel unique religious
paths. Some common landmarks exist -- points at which we achieve
some measure of spiritual balance -- that many of us can identify
in our journeys. Today we discuss one framework you can use to share
the stories of your travels, and perhaps better understand your
own odyssey.
Jeff Liebmann is the Consulting Minister
at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Smithton, Pennsylvania.
He is a recent graduate of Meadville Lombard Theological School
and received his preliminary fellowship in ministry in September.
April 3, 2011
April
3, 1968
Reverend Bill Neely Martin
Luther King Jr.’s life was cut short by an assassin’s
bullet on April 4, 1968, one day after he delivered his famous “Mountaintop”
speech in support of striking Sanitation workers in Memphis. This
service will explore that speech using the thoughts of social commentators
Michael Eric Dyson, bell hooks, and audio clips of Dr. King himself.
March 27, 2011
Spiritual
Humanism
Reverend Bill Neely
Humanism is a central theology
within Unitarian Universalism and is reflected deeply in our principles,
polity, and religious witness. A new form of humanism, one that
is more open, spiritual, and embracing, is emerging from our congregations
and transforming the world. This sermon will explore why, and how,
humanism is changing with the times.
March 20, 2011
A
UU Gone Wrong
Reverend Bill Neely
In a sermon I delivered earlier
this year, I mentioned that there is a fundamentalist strain within
Unitarian Universalism that harms us and the world. Several of you
found this surprising. This is what I meant …
March 13, 2011
Sacred
Atheism
Reverend Bill Neely
The recent resurgence of fundamentalist
Christianity in mainstream politics opened up space for renewed
interest in atheism. Several vocal authors filled that space with
angry atheistic books that sold well, but haven’t led to positive
change. What does sacred atheism look like? How is it a valuable
piece of Unitarian Universalism?
March 6, 2011
Progress
and Process
Reverend Bill Neely
We’re over the half-way point
of our year of Interim Ministry together, and it’s been wonderful
and faith-filled time for me. It’s time for reflection on
our accomplishments, strengths, and the work we’re still called
to do, together.
February 27, 2011
Shabbat!
Reverend Shelley Page
What is
the meaning of Sabbath in our lives today? Discover more about this
ancient practice and how it has the power to transform your life.
Shelley is the Interim Minister at the Unitarian
Universalist Church of Flint, MI. She and Reverend Bill have become
fast friends this year.
February 20, 2011
Disintegration
Reverend Bill Neely
The African American community
is often portrayed as one body with common dreams, experiences,
and leaders, but is there really a singular "Black America"?
Eugene Robinson, in his book, Disintegration, defines four
specific African American communities that represent, in his words,
"the Splintering of Black America". If true, what are
the implications for racial equality movements in America?
February 13, 2011
Love
and Beloved
Reverend Bill Neely
Love is that which transforms even
the harshest of realities into something bearable, and sometimes
even enchanting. Using Toni Morrison's Beloved and some
writings of Christopher Hedges, this service will celebrate the
grace of love in a sinful world.
February 6, 2011
The
Human Darwin
Reverend Bill Neely
Darwin has gained near rock star
status in our faith as religious liberals have used his teachings
of evolution to counter a surge in creationist political activity.
No problem there, but have we moved past appreciation of scientific
contributions to the deification of his life? How can the very human
Darwin better inform our days?
January 30, 2011
Why
Bother?
Reverend Steven Protzman
The Hebrew
prophet Joel wrote: "The Spirit will be poured out on all people;
your sons and daughters shall prophesy; the old shall dream dreams,
and the young shall see visions." Unitarian Universalism challenges
us to be modern day prophets who will respond to the voice of the
Spirt that calls us to wake up and live out our faith in the world.
Steven is a UU minister who lives in Minneapolis
and is a 2009 graduate of the United Theological Seminary of the
Twin Cities. He was ordained last year and enjoys serving as a guest
minister.
January 23, 2011
Why
Anti-Racism has Failed
Reverend Bill Neely
In 1992, Unitarian Universalists
attending our annual General Assembly passed a racial and cultural
diversity resolution that eventually fueled the development of a
UUA anti-racism program. After becoming familiar with the program,
two prominent UU theologians predicted its failure. It now seems
that they were more right than wrong. Why?
January 16, 2011
A
Dream Deferred
Reverend Bill Neely
On Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend,
we’ll hold Dr. King’s famous dream of racial equality up next to
the timeless Langston Hughes poem, A Dream Deferred. How has Dr.
King’s dream, which is our dream, been deferred? How has it been
realized?
January 9, 2011
True
Colors
Julie Brock
January 2, 2011
Love
Beyond Belief
Reverend Bill Neely
The Unitarian Universalist theologian
Thandeka writes of a “love beyond belief” that pulses at the center
of our faith. What does this love look like, and how does it shape
us and the world?
December 26, 2010
Earth,
Flesh, and Theology
Reverend Bill Neely
December 24, 2010
6:30 PM
The
Weary World Rejoices
Reverend Bill Neely
Join the 1st Church family for our
annual Christmas Eve service featuring carols, special music, and
a UU Christmas message.
December 19, 2010
A
Dark and Brilliant Faith
Reverend Bill Neely
Winter Solstice reminds us that
life begins in the dark, ends with the dark, and yet the light of
life still shines.
December 12, 2010
That
Time I Saw God
Reverend Bill Neely
Some hints: it was at worship, not
here, and no one looked like George Burns.
December 5, 2010
Lights
of Hope
Reverend Bill Neely
A Hanukkah-themed reflection on
community, resilience, and the lights that will not die.
November 28, 2010
Worth
the Wait
Reverend Bill Neely
With today’ s beginning of
Advent and the upcoming celebration of Bodhi Day on Dec. 8,
both Christians and Buddhists turn toward the spirituality of waiting
at this time of the year. In such a fast-paced world where busyness
defines many lives, how might the practice of waiting deepen and
soothe us? What might be worth the wait?
November 21, 2010
Spider
Woman
Reverend Bill Neely
The Native American story of Spider
Woman weaves together themes of beauty, vocation, obsession, and
love. As part of Native American Heritage Month, this service will
reflect on this timeless and provocative tale.
November 14, 2010
Scarcity Thinking vs. Abundance
Thinking
Jim Moir
November 7, 2010
The
Transience and the Permanence of First Church
Reverend Bill Neely
Serving as your Interim Minister
means that our ministry together is rooted in transition.
First Church today is unlike First Church yesterday, and probably
First Church tomorrow, too. Amidst all this change, what abides
about First Church’ s ministry in Detroit?
October 31, 2010
We
Wear the Mask
Reverend Bill Neely
The title of a Paul Laurence Dunbar
poem, “We wear the mask” speaks of the oppressed wearing
masks of happiness and complacency to shield deep personal pain.
More broadly, we all wear masks, every day, and they’re all
shielding something. As the ghouls and goblins take over Halloween,
we’ll explore some of the masks we most often wear and consider
the common humanity underneath them.
October 24, 2010
The
Question Box
Reverend Bill Neely
This is your chance to have the
topic of your choosing receive the attention of the preacher from
the pulpit during the Sunday service. Write down a question on a
note card, submit it during the service, and in place of a sermon,
Rev. Bill will read and respond to as many questions as possible.
What are you wondering about - theology? Social Justice? My favorite
flavor of pie? Write it down and see what happens! Questions can
also be emailed to Rev. Bill ahead of the service.
October 17, 2010
How
to Save the World
Reverend Bill Neely
Our faith and our consciences call
us to work for justice and equality, but how we best do that often
isn’t clear. Sometimes those on the same side of a movement
spend more energy arguing strategy among each other than working
toward the common goal. How do we work together to create the world
of which we dream?
October 10, 2010
Money
Matters
Reverend Bill Neely
As the First Church Board of Trustees
begins a fall focus on congregational stewardship, we’ll explore
generosity and giving from a spiritual perspective. How do our gifts
reflect our deepest held values? How does our relationship with
money change and form us?
October 3, 2010
Membership
Matters
Reverend Bill Neely
Our faith stresses individual autonomy
and personal freedom so much that we sometimes lose sight of the
importance of formal church membership. What does membership in
a congregation mean? How does membership change and form us?
September 26, 2010
Searching
Mary Lou Malone and Friends
September 19, 2010
Leading
Spiritually
Reverend Bill Neely
Leading in churches, either professionally
or as a volunteer, requires not simply leadership skills, but skills
in spiritual leadership. How does one lead spiritually? How is spiritual
leadership different from other types?
September 12, 2010
A
Mosque in America
Reverend Bill Neely
The plan to build a mosque in New
York City near the site of one of the 9-11 attacks has garnered
considerable attention. What does this controversy say about the
religious climate of America, and how can our faith help shape the
discussion?
September 5, 2010
Many
Rivers, One Water
Reverend Bill Neely
While taking many different forms,
Water Communion is a common Unitarian Universalist ritual that honors
the diversity and unity of our religious communities. For this service,
all are encouraged to bring a small sample of water representative
of your home or travels to merge in our common bowl. As many, and
as one, we’ll join together in the spirit of our faith.
August 29, 2010
The
Good News
Reverend Bill Neely
As we begin our year of transition
ministry together, let's recall and envision the good news of our
faith. What does First Church bring to life in Detroit? How is our
faith a blessing in this world?
August 22, 2010
Come Sing a Song With Me Todd Ballou, Gwen Foss
August 15, 2010
Appreciating Ambiguity Cassandra Hartley
August 8, 2010
Expect Nothing, Live Frugally on Surprise Kathleen Jacobs Johnson
August 1, 2010
Unitarian Universalism, What's It All About? Robert Johnson, Katherine
Maurer, Dan Secrest
July 25, 2010
Celebrating the Small Stuff Julie Brock
July 18, 2010
Appreciate The Commons Reverend Lynda Smith
July 11, 2010
Celebrating Uppity Women Mary Lou Malone
July 4, 2010
Slender Threads: God's Will vs I Will Brad Rutledge
June 27, 2010
Social Forum, UU's, & Connectivity Robert Johnson, Linda
Darga, and Danny Rebb
June 20, 2010
Who's Your Daddy? Al Acker and Julie Brock
June 13, 2010
Another Threshold Reverend Drew Johnston
June 6, 2010
Integrity,
Hope, & Pride Reverend Drew Johnston
May 30, 2010
The Beauty of Letting Go Stephanie Chang, Dessa
Cosma, Robert Johnson
May 23, 2010
Reclaiming Religion Reverend Doug Gallager
and Celia Thurston
May 16, 2010
To Tell the Truth Reverend Drew Johnston
May 9, 2010
She Made Me Reverend Drew Johnston
May 2, 2010
Point of Origin Reverend Drew Johnston
April 25, 2010
Still In Orbit Reverend Drew Johnston
April 18, 2010
Conundrum, Koan, Puzzle Reverend Drew Johnston
April 11, 2010
The Question of Evil Reverend Lynda Smith
April 4, 2010
Easter Reverend Drew Johnston
March 28, 2010
Putting It In Order Reverend Drew Johnston
March 21, 2010
To Be, . . . or not Reverend Drew Johnston
March 14, 2010
An
Examined Faith Reverend Lynda Smith
March 7, 2010
Our
Ancient Emotional Souls Jim Moir
February 28, 2010
Greater
Hope Reverend Drew Johnston,
with Robert Johnson
February 21, 2010
Public
Transportation and Rosa Parks
Lee Gaddies and Dan Jones
February 14, 2010
Radical
Hospitality
Written by Reverend Marilyn Sewell, Delivered
by Mary Lou Malone
February 7, 2010
Labor
of Love
Reverend Drew Johnston
January 31, 2010
Telling
Church
Reverend Drew Johnston
January 24, 2010
Freefall
Reverend Drew Johnston
January 17, 2010
Ministers,
Ministry, and Movin' On
Reverend Nana Kratochvil
January 10, 2010
It's
Nothing Personal
Reverend Drew Johnston
(Congregational Meeting Following the Service)
January 3, 2010
Future
Memories
Julie Brock and Robert Johnson
December 27, 2009
Embracing
Change
Lencha Acker and Julie Brock
December 24, 2009
6:30 PM
Christmas
Eve
Reverends Drew Johnston and Lynda Smith
December 20, 2009
A
Winter Solstice
Rev. Lynda Smith
December 13, 2009
Surprise
Packages
Rev. Drew Johnston
December 6, 2009
Becoming
Who We Are
Rev. Lynda Smith and Dessa Cosma
November 29, 2009
Bringing
Hope Where Hope is Hard to Find
Worship Committee
November 22, 2009
Deep
Gratitude
Reverend Drew Johnston & Reverend Lynda
Smith
November 15, 2009
Fire
of Thought
Reverend Drew Johnston
November 8, 2009
Gratuitous Good
Reverend Drew Johnston
November 1, 2009
A Family of
Saints
Reverend Lynda Smith
October 25, 2009
Where Fear Lurks
Reverend Drew Johnston
October 18, 2009
Sit Down and
Stand Up
Reverend Drew Johnston
October 11, 2009
Coming Out,
Coming Home
Reverend Lynda Smith
October 4, 2009
Life Stages
Reverend Drew Johnston
September 27, 2009
Indirectly
Reverend Drew Johnston
with special music by Roy Zimmerman.
September 20, 2009
Highly Holy
Reverend Drew Johnston
September 13, 2009
Boundary Water
Reverends Drew Johnston and Lynda Smith
September 6, 2009
Water Ceremony
Reverend Drew Johnston
August 30, 2009
Playful and
Determined
Reverend Drew Johnston
August 23, 2009
The Cool Congregation
Alicia Biggers
August 16, 2009
Having Plenty
Reverend Drew Johnston
August 9, 2009
The Labyrinth
Reverend Lynda Smith & Friends
August 2, 2009
Darwin
Len Zettel
July 26, 2009
Do No Harm
Randy Block
July 19, 2009
Do No Harm
Mary Lou Malone
July 12, 2009
OMG! An Atheist
Evolves
Jim Moir
July 5, 2009
Fearless Change
Brad Rutledge
June 28, 2009
Fear and Choice
Reverend Lynda Smith
June 21, 2009
Seeds of Freedom
Reverends Drew Johnston & Lynda Smith
June 14, 2009
Oh, The Places
You'll Go
Reverend Drew Johnston
June 7, 2009
What Have You
Done Lately?
Reverend Drew Johnston
May 31, 2009
Evolving
Reverend Drew Johnston
May 24, 2009
Honoring Memories
Reverend Lynda Smith & Members of the
Congregation
May 17, 2009
Why You Matter
Reverend Drew Johnston
May 10, 2009
What Momma Said
Reverend Drew Johnston
May 3, 2009
A Question of
Normal
Reverend Lynda Smith
April 26, 2009
Collaborative
Justice
Reverend Drew Johnston
April 19, 2009
Gifts of Gender
- Male, Female, and the Rest of Us
Reverend Drew Johnston
April 12, 2009
Easter
Reverends Drew Johnston and Lynda Smith
April 5, 2009
Justice in
Action
Reverend Lynda Smith
March 29, 2009
Church: The
Musical
Todd Ballou
March 22, 2009
Metaphors Be
With You
Reverend Drew Johnston
March 15, 2009
March Freely
Reverend Lynda Smith
March 8, 2009
The Next Knot
Reverend Drew Johnston
March 1, 2009
Marching On
Reverend Drew Johnston
February 22, 2009
Loving the
Night
Reverend Lynda Smith
February 15, 2009
Loving Anyway
Reverend Drew Johnston
February 8, 2009
Love and the
Other
Reverend Drew Johnston
February 1, 2009
Love, Learn,
Repeat
Reverend Drew Johnston
January 25, 2009
On a Clear
Day
Reverend Lynda Smith
January 18, 2009
A New View
Reverend Drew Johnston
January 11, 2009
Bright Ideas
Reverend Drew Johnston
January 4, 2009
Matters of
Fact
Reverend Drew Johnston
December 28, 2008
Celebrating
Kwanzaa An Act of Self-Empowerment for African Americans
Dr. Amorie Robinson
December 24, 2008 6:30 PM
Christmas Eve
Reverends Drew Johnston and Lynda Smith
December 21, 2008
Waiting for
Love
Reverend Drew Johnston
December 14, 2008
Waiting for
Kindness
Reverend Lynda Smith
December 7, 2008
Waiting for
Truth
Reverend Drew Johnston
November 30, 2008
Comfort Food,
Comfort Faith
Jim Moir
November 23, 2008
To Receive
is to Give
Reverend Lynda Smith
November 16, 2008
Ready for Grace
Reverend Drew Johnston
November 9, 2008
New Prospects
Reverend Drew Johnston
November 2, 2008
Matters of
Consequence
Reverend Drew Johnston
October 26, 2008
An Agent for
Change
Guest Speaker: Dr James Robinson
with Reverend Drew Johnston
October 19, 2008
Our Liberal
Tradition
Reverend Lynda Smith
Our enduring legacy has both religious
and cultural lessons. From the great theologian, James Luther Adams,
till today, liberalism affirms basic values of democracy.
October 12, 2008
What Could
Be Better?
Reverend Drew Johnston
October 5, 2008
Ultimate Value
Reverend Drew Johnston
September 28, 2008
Gratitude:
for the beautiful and the difficult.
Reverend Lynda Smith
September 21, 2008
Transcending
Faith
Reverend Drew Johnston
September 14, 2008
New Rhythm
Reverend Drew Johnston
September 7, 2008
Next Steps
Reverend Drew Johnston
August 31, 2008
Mingling Waters
Reverend Drew Johnston
August 24, 2008
Age is Not
A Disease
Averil Spence-Clarke, Windsor UU Church
We react to aging, perceive it as
a loss of central core skills and thought patterning in our lives.
What if we change how we think about aging and life? What would
be the impacts?
August 17, 2008
Water Ceremony
Wherever You Go
August 10, 2008
Environmental
Justice in Southeast Michigan
Reverend Lynda Smith
Global warming, sustainability,
urban agriculture, buy local--the issues are compelling and contentious.
Environmental justice calls for public policy that promotes environmentally
safe livelihoods and neighborhoods for all people. It demands an
economic and cultural liberation that will change us all.
August 3, 2008
Justice in
the Middle East
Sarah Smith-Redmond
She reports on her trip last fall,
with 9 other U.U.s, to Israel/Palestine to observe first-hand.
July 30, 2008
Candlelight
Vigil in Solidarity with Knoxville UU Church
Rev. Drew Johnston
A candlelight vigil was held at
7pm on Wednesday, July 30, at First Unitarian Universalist Church
of Detroit in solidarity with a community near Knoxville, Tenn.
that was violently attacked in an apparent anti-gay shooting. The
gunman opened fire during a youth service at Tennessee Valley Unitarian
Universalist Church in part, police said, because he opposed the
church's gay-friendly stance. FBI officials are investigating the
incident as a possible hate crime.
July 27, 2008
Say Nice!
S'eri U'elz
"Love thy neighbor as thyself,”
a check-up and tips on how to do both better for a better community.
July 20, 2008
The Gospel
of Thomas
Jim Moir
The Gospel of Thomas was unearthed
in 1945 near Cairo. It is not a narrative like the established gospels;
rather, it is a collection of sayings and quotations attributed
to Jesus. There is controversy about the age and the reliability
of this gospel, issues which Jim Moir will address. This book reinforced
Jim's interest in the life and teachings of Jesus. He hopes to show
how Thomas can give us a new perspective on Christian scriptures.
July 13, 2008
Enoch: The Green
Prophet of the Abrahamic Religions and Vegetarianism
Felice Rizzo
July 6, 2008
Spiritual Politics
Reverend Olaf Lidums
June 29, 2008
Wired but Not
Connected
Brad Rutledge
"Geeks" welcome. Is communication
technology increasing or decreasing the distance between us?.
June 22, 2008
Juneteenth
Reverend Drew Johnston, with Dr. James Robinson
With the theme "Never Give Up"
on ourselves and in working to build a more just society, we consider
Julius Waites Waring (1880-1968) who was a distinguished American
lawyer and jurist who played an important role in the early legal
battles of the American Civil Rights Movement.
June 15, 2008
Father Knows
What?
Reverend Drew Johnston
June 8, 2008
Wile E. Coyote,
My Minor Deity
In describing Wile E.'s divine qualities, I will
show why coyotes in nature are such attractive models as spiritual
beings
Jim Moir
Jim has completed three years
at Meadville Lombard Theological School and is preparing for his
internship in UU ministry. He is a lifelong UU who attended 1st
Unitarian in Detroit as a child. Jim recently lost his wife Robin
to cancer. He is working as a Youth Librarian in Dearborn Heights
until he can resume his education.
June 1, 2008
Embracing Change
Reverend Lynda Smith
Change is a process that does not
depend on luck or willpower. Understanding the stages of change
can help you make positive changes in your life.
May 25, 2008
The Challenge
of Democracy
A Panel of Speakers
May 18, 2008
Life Tidings
Reverend Drew Johnston
May 11, 2008
Everyone's
Mother Love
Reverend Drew Johnston
May 4, 2008
The Struggle
for Peace and Social Justice in an Era of War and Inequality
Abayomi Azikiwe
April 27, 2008
A UU Community
Ministry
Reverend Lynda Smith
April 20, 2008
Pray Without
Apology
Reverend Drew Johnston
April 13, 2008
Being Useful
Reverend Drew Johnston
April 6, 2008
The Question
of Race
Reverend Harold Beu
March 30, 2008
For Dear Life
Reverend Drew Johnston
March 23, 2008
Everday Ascension
Reverend Drew Johnston
March 16, 2008
On Healing Our
isms
Reverend Olaf Lidums
March 9, 2008
Creativity:
Living the Dream of the Universe
Brad Rutledge
March 2, 2008
Getting Close
Reverend Drew Johnston
February 24, 2008
Compassion
Reverend Lynda Smith
February 17, 2008
Loving Wildly
Reverend Drew Johnston
February 10, 2008
Return to Love
Reverend Drew Johnston
February 3, 2008
Loving Courageously
Reverend Drew Johnston
January 27, 2008
Greater Hope
Reverend Drew Johnston
January 20, 2008
Dreaming a World
Reverend Drew Johnston
January 13, 2008
Ever/Never New
Reverend Drew Johnston
January 6, 2008
We're All in
the Same Boat
Bill Secrest -- Professor of World Religion,
Environmentalist
December 30, 2007
KWANZAA
-- Unity in Community
Dr. James Robinson
December 24, 2007--
6:00 PM
Christmas Eve
Reverend Drew Johnston
December 23, 2007
The Pause that
Refreshes
Reverend Drew Johnston
December 16, 2007
Faith, Hope,
& Love
Reverend Drew Johnston
December 9, 2007
Waiting and
Faith
Reverend Drew Johnston
December 2, 2007
Waiting and
Hope
Reverend Drew Johnston
November 25, 2007
To Be in Balance
Reverend Lynda Smith
November 18, 2007
To Be Grateful
Reverend Drew Johnston
November 11, 2007
To Be of Use
Reverend Drew Johnston
November 4, 2007
To Be Proud
Reverend Drew Johnston
October 28, 2007
Enough
Reverend Drew Johnston
October 21, 2007
Dismantling
Fear
Reverend Drew Johnston
October 14, 2007
Somewhere Out
Here
Reverend Drew Johnston
October 7, 2007
From Repression
to Freedom: One Woman’s Journey
Cynthia Khan
September 30, 2007
Dawn
of the Space Age
Reverend Drew Johnston with Len Zettel
September 23, 2007
Radiating
Kindness
Reverend Drew Johnston
September 16, 2007
Being
and Relatedness
Reverend Drew Johnston
We will explore Transcendentalism,
the over-soul, and similar Emersonian ideas - and apply them to the
ways we are in relationship, using a metaphor of islands.
September 9, 2007
We Have a Plan Reverend
Drew Johnston
Reverend Lynda Smith
Reverend Athena Kolbe Return
to 11:00 AM start time
September 2, 2007
Water Ceremony
-- Reverend
Drew Johnston Worshipful Music
-- Michael
Krieger
Last Summer Service
On Prophetic Consciousness
Reverend Olaf Lidums
What is this distinctive mode of thinking?
What are the key grounding and foundational components?
What are the implications for how one relates to the current cultural
scene?
What are some challenging existential,
emotional and spiritual dynamics?
What are the hoped for outcomes and effects for our human community?
July 29, 2007
A Declaration of Religious Freedom
Reverend Larry Hutchison, Minister Emeritus
Freeing us from Metaphysical Dogmatism
Freeing us to love life and care for others
Freeing Religion for dialogue
July 22, 2007
Spirituality and
Consciousness
Reverend Olaf Lidums
Consciousness
isa wonderfully complex, mystical, and distinctive capacity, which is
far-reaching for human beings. There are levels of consciousness, and
different types, such as sense-based processing, memories and images,
abstract reasoning, intuitions ("6th sense"), and the capacity
for a "7th sense" - spirituality.
July 15, 2007
The
Power of Imagination
Reverend Olaf Lidums
"Philosophy
stirs the intellect; religion stirs imagination."
[James Cone]
Imagination is fundamental to our human capacity to be creative, to
project possibilities, to dream dreams, and to dare to venture forth,
as Star Trek says, "where no human has gone before." In
terms of personality development, the fostering of the child's imaginative
capacity is fundamental to solid socialization, because imagination
is the precursor of empathy and compassion.
July 8, 2007
Unitarian Universalist Buddhism: Relevant
in This Moment
Rev. Lynda Channa Smith,
UU minister and Buddhist teacher ordained in the Zen tradition
Pacifism as a process and as a deep
value will be explored. Comparing the Buddhist precepts with our UU
principles, the sermon will propose similarities and differences between
UU religious beliefs and Buddhist teachings.
July 1, 2007
Unitarian Universalist Buddhism: A Historic
Meeting
Rev. Lynda Channa Smith,
UU minister and Buddhist teacher ordained in the Zen tradition
The shared history of our UU religious
tradition and the teachings of Buddhism will be highlighted. What
makes us different and keeps us separate and what connects us? What
is the larger context of the meeting of Eastern and Western spiritual
traditions?
June 24, 2007
Lebanon-A Multi-Cultural Country Rima Abou
Mrad, Rotary International Student from Lebanon
First Summer Service -- 10:00
AM.
June 17, 2007
Juneteenth Emancipation Celebration Dr. James
Robinson
Potluck Picnic on the Church
Grounds Following the Service
June 10, 2007
Leap Forward into Mystery Reverend Drew
Johnston, Reverend Lynda Smith
June 3, 2007
Staring Back ~Reverend
Laurie Thomas
May 27, 2007
New and Old Remembering
~Reverend
Drew Johnston
May 20, 2007
What DO UU's Believe?
~Randy
Magner Intergenerational
May 13, 2007
Universal Mothers ~Reverend
Drew Johnston
May 6, 2007
From Many Sources ~Reverend
Drew Johnston
On Universalism
April 29, 2007
Out of the Waste Land ~Reverend
Drew Johnston
April 22, 2007
Embracing Life - Fully, Deeply, Richly
~Reverend Olaf Lidums Life within the framework
of Earth-Human Community.
April 15, 2007
A Radical Yes! ~Reverend
Drew Johnson
We have the chance to say yes or no to various parts
of life and our answers can come from outside influences or a deeper,
personal place. How can we risk a radical "Yes"?
Potluck Sunday
April 8, 2007
Rising Hope ~Reverend Drew
Johnston
While we explore the meanings of Easter,
we will be joined by the Singers of United Lands.
Four professional singers from four different continents join us for
the purpose of developing international and cultural relationships.
Easter breakfast at 9:00
April 1, 2007
Queer Thinking ~Reverend
Drew Johnston
One of the opportunities (and obligations)
offered by a non-dogmatic religion is the expectation that we are
interested in thinking "outside the box." Cultural norms
limit our thinking and we might benefit from understanding where these
norms originate. Both queer theory and gender theory can aid our understanding.
March 25, 2007
The Once and Future Church
~Reverend Drew Johnston Program of Russian
Music ~Todd
Ballou
Meeting After Church to Discuss Appreciative Inquiry Results
March 18, 2007
UUs as Truth Speakers to the Religious
Right
Michael Whitty, Professor of International Management at the University
of
Detroit Mercy College of Business Administration
Potluck Sunday
March 11, 2007
You Catch What You Catch There are expectations
in life and there are inevitabilities. Sometimes we confuse the two.
Reverend Drew Johnston
March 4, 2007
Responsibilities of Privilege
Reverend Drew Johnston
February 25, 2007
Love and the Soul So much gets in the way
of reaching the thing called soul! How do we allow ourselves to perceive
the essence of our selves and each other? Is our soul really ours,
or part of something larger?
Reverend Drew Johnston
February 18, 2007
Sticking with Love It's not just about candy.
Reverend Drew Johnston
February 11, 2007
Love in Bloom-- What are the roots of love and
how do they thrive? As Valentine’s Day approaches we will look
deeper than gifts and candy for the origin of love.
Reverend Drew Johnston
February 4, 2007
Another World is Possible--
A Report from the 2007 World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya
Frank Joyce
January 28, 2007
How We Speak. Reverend Drew Johnston
January 21, 2007
Dream Big.
Can we find a collective, collaborative dream for this congregation?
Reverend Drew Johnston
January 14, 2007
Thoughts on Morality and Justice
inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Reverend Drew Johnston
January 7, 2007
Five Christianities
Reverend John Weston
Unitarian Universalist Association Discussion of Ministerial Search Process
Following Service
December 31, 2006
Transitions
Reverend Olaf Lidums
December 24, 2006
-- 6:00 PM
Reflections on the Season
Reverend Lynda Smith
December 17, 2006
We're All in This Together Reverend Drew Johnston Our Full Time Minister effective January
2007
December 10, 2006
American Culture and Post-Apocalyptic Thinking Dr. Charles Mabee Ecumenical Theological Seminary
December 3, 2006
Community of Life Dr.
Linda Schweitzer
Associate Professor of Environmental Sciences
Oakland University
November 26, 2006
Healing Systemic Dynamics -- Features of Positive Change
Dr. Olaf Lidums
Adjunct Professor, Ecumenical Theological Seminary
November 19, 2006
Healing Relational Dynamics -- Reconciliation
Dr. Olaf Lidums
Adjunct Professor, Ecumenical Theological Seminary
November 12, 2006
Healing Internal Dynamics -- Emotional Healing
Dr. Olaf Lidums
Adjunct Professor, Ecumenical Theological Seminary
November 5, 2006
Frank Joyce
Michigan Coalition for Human Rights
Affirmative Action Revisited
Plus
Lencha Acker El Dia de Los Muertos
October 29, 2006
Rev. Harold Beu
Emerson UU Congregation of Troy On Patriotism
October 22, 2006
Rev. Dr. Olaf Lidums
Adjunct Professor, Ecumenical Theological Seminary
On Our Earth-Human Community
October 15, 2006
Rev. Dan Krichbaum
CEO National Conference for Community and Justice
Forgiveness... the Greatest
Gift
Potluck Sunday
October 8, 2006
Rev. Emmy Lou Belcher of the
DuPage UU Church In Naperville, IL
Alex Darr, Outreach Minister
for the Faithful Fools Street Ministry in San Francisco
The End of the Homeless Problem
October 8, 2006 (4:00
PM)
Ordination of Rev. Lynda Smith
October 1, 2006
Religion in the United States, the Case
for Bypass Surgery
Reverend Larry Hutchison, Minister Emeritus
September 24, 2006
A Sermon on Things on Things I Don't Really
Know About
Michael Ohlrogge, UU Minister in Training (extraordinaire)
September 17, 2006
“The Wisdom of Dr. Seuss”
Randy Magner, Emerson Church
September 10, 2006
“Homecoming Water Ceremony”
Lynda Smith
September 3, 2006
“Labor Day Song Fest”
David Robinson & Jonathan Schultz
August 27, 2006
“Holy Conversations”
Lencha Acker
August 20, 2006
Congregational Meeting
August 13, 2006
“Walking the Talk”
Rev. Lynda Smith
August 6, 2006
Rev. Hanna Wells – Guest Speaker
July 30, 2006
“Interfaith Conversations”
Rev. Daniel Krichbaum
National Conference Community & Justice
July 23, 2006
Michael Ohlrogge
July 16, 2006
“Intelligent Design”
Dr. Linda Darga
July 9, 2006
Future Facilities Task Force
Congregational Meeting following the service
