September 30 — Questions and Answers 10:30 in the UUCM Sanctuary
Ministerial Search Committee
Your Search Committee has been hard at work for months now, learning about the process for calling our next settled minister. We’ve been designing surveys, gathering materials for prospective candidates, and holding focus groups. The most important part of our work is engaging the entire congregation in a process that gets to the heart of what’s most important in the life of this congregation — what already exists and what’s yet to be realized. Join us as we share what we’ve learned and what we hope to learn from you.
October 7 – Beyond Categorical Thinking
Rev. Jane Dwinell and Rev. Carol Strecker
(Worship Service and Afternoon Workshop) Rev. Jane Dwinell, a trained facilitator with years of experience, will be joining us from the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Transitions Office to lead the service and workshop. Both are designed to promote inclusive thinking to help prevent unconscious or unfair discrimination in the search for a new minister. It is a helpful and healthy process.
After church: The Search Committee will provide lunch between the worship service and the workshop, which will begin at 1 pm. Childcare will be provided.
October 14 – Rest Assured
Rev. Olav Nieuwejaar, Minister Emeritus
This past June, at the Unitarian Universalist Ministers’ Association Annual Meeting in Kansas City, Rev. Nieuwejaar had the honor of preaching the “50-Year Sermon” — an opportunity to reflect on 50 years of Unitarian Universalist ministry as part of a worship service attended by 500 UU ministers. The theme was “hope”, which over the years became the central theme of Rev. Nieuwejaar’s ministry, the leitmotif behind every sermon he wrote and his attitude about life in general. His journey seems especially relevant as we continue to wrestle with change in a hurting and chaotic world.
October 21 – The Edict of Torda: Celebrating 450 Years of Religious Freedom
Rev. Carol Strecker
Unitarian Universalism is a relatively young religious tradition, but we have deep roots. On January 13, 1568, King John Sigismund of Transylvania convened a counsel of religious leaders. They affirmed the right of conscience and the value of diversity in religious thought in the Edict of Torda, a profound statement of religious toleration that is the bedrock of our liberal religious tradition. What was this amazing document? How did it come about? And how might it still be relevant for us today?
We hope that Reverend Tamás Tófalvi, minister of UUCM’s Partner Church in Szekelyszentmihaly, Transylvania, will be able to offer some of his insights on the meaning of the Edict of Torda for Unitarians in Transylvania today.
October 28 – All Souls’ Sunday
Rev. Carol Strecker
As the harvest is gathered in and the earth begins to prepare for a long winter’s nap, we’re reminded that death is part of the cycle of life. As we watch the leaves don their finery and let go of life, we’re reminded of the loved ones we’ve lost and the gifts they’ve passed on to us. We remember them, honor them, and celebrate them as we celebrate the cycles and seasons of life.
NOTE: You are invited to submit photos of loved ones who have died in the last year for a slideshow that will be part of the service. Photos from previous years will be shown before and after the service. If you haven’t submitted a photo of a loved one who died over a year ago, feel free to submit one as well. Send pictures (jpeg format) to Candy Shirey (candyjshirey@comcast.net) by October 20. Be sure to include: loved one’s name, year of birth, year of death, and their relationship to a UUCM congregant.