UUCCI

This is the once-a-year chance for our youth to take over the service and share with you the issues that are important to them. It allows them to explore some of the things they navigate in their everyday lives, and to look at them through the lens of our UU values. This year, they have chosen Climate Change as their focus. For adults, this is an opportunity to learn something new as you see the world through teenage eyes. For the younger kids, it’s a chance to see an engaging service with young people in leadership roles. We hope to see everyone there to support our youth!

When we are invited to put love at the center, we may be curious to ask some follow-up questions. What was previously at the center of Unitarian Universalism? Or how do we articulate or travel the radius and circumnavigate the circle to understand the wider ecosystem of our spiritual and ethical commitments? To place love at the center, we must discuss the margins, the edge, and the boundaries of our love. In so doing, we may come to develop a practice for living and loving as Unitarian Universalists today.

As a non-creedal tradition that values our diverse religious orientations, we are faced with the inevitable strain, conflict, and breakdown within our personal relationships, UUCCI community, and broader interfaith partnerships. How do we navigate love in the breakdown? What can love teach us in the face of challenge, uncertainty, and harm? We will explore these questions and more as we continue our 2025 Winter Sermon Series, "Love at the Center".

While Unitarian Universalists talk a whole lot about love, what do we really mean by it? As we are called to put Love at the Center, we will explore the breadth, depth, and meaning of love as a spiritual tool for living in our world today.

We begin the 2025 Winter Sermon Series titled "Love at the Center" with grounding from our Unitarian Universalist history. Speifically, we will pick up the five smooth stones and five jagged rocks as articulated and inspired by James Luther Adams to aid us in centering love as we live through this rough chapter in our nation's history.

In 2024 the U.S Surgeon General released an advisory on the mental health and well being of parents. As Unitarian Universalists we agree that raising children is sacred work and we all have a role as we honor and affirm in baby and children’s dedication ceremonies. Now, we are being called to continue to hone our skills as a community of care to extend that care for our children to supporting necessary changes to ensure that all parents and caregivers can thrive. How might we listen, learn, and lean into this call?

UUs have been in the struggle for gender equality for decades. With the rise and election of incarnate toxic masculinity, the continued legal attacks on women and trans people, and the regressive discourse on gender in public schools and youth sports, we are invited to consider a sometimes neglected part of the conversation and work. Rev. Nic will reflect on topics of masculinity, leadership, and how we as UUs might navigate these topics that affect each of us, our congregation, and the wider community.

UUs have been in the struggle for gender equality for decades. With the rise and election of incarnate toxic masculinity, the continued legal attacks on women and trans people, and the regressive discourse on gender in public schools and youth sports, we are invited to consider a sometimes neglected part of the conversation and work. Rev. Nic will reflect on topics of masculinity, leadership, and how we as UUs might navigate these topics that affect each of us, our congregation, and the wider community.

Unitarian Universalists are invited to connect with our sources to ground us and sustain us in ordinary, difficult, and joyous times. Grateful for the experiences that move us, aware of the religious ancestries we inherit, and enlivened by the diversity which enriches our faith, we are called to ever deepen and expand our wisdom. Dolly Parton grew up in the Great Smokies of Tennessee knowing that she could make music. The granddaughter of a preacher, she grew up singing church music and hearing stories from the Bible. We will reflect on how Dolly's music, life, and work and how it might inspire us to find our own prophetic voices to challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love.

At this time of year we find ourselves reflecting and dreaming. We want to welcome you into this space and time to celebrate the little glimmers and the moments where you felt supported. We also need to acknowledge the challenges we have faced and continue to carry into the next year. Understanding that none of us are meant to go through life alone and that we can be vulnerable, open, and held with love and care here at UUCCI. Join us for an opportunity to engage with all the feelings you might be experiencing and also allow us to help hold dream space for you to envision the possibilities for you as you move into 2025.