Rev. Joseph’s Ordination ceremony will take place at UUYO this Sunday, 10/29/2017 at 5pm in the evening.  We have it in the evening so area UU ministers can join us after their own services.  Please be sure to join us as it is a big event and an important part of the life of UUYO and Rev. Joseph’s ministry with UUYO.

The Rev. William Barber II, who ignited the Moral Mondays movement in North Carolina, divides America into 3 distinct chapters – Reconstruction after the Civil War, Reconstruction during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s, and our present day described as the Third Reconstruction.

When I thought about this perspective, I couldn’t help but think of all the old, broken down homes in Youngstown, in need of reconstruction. I imagined the houses who were once in pristine condition and quite impressive. I imagined the circumstances that led to their decline. I then wondered if reconstruction was indeed possible, before becoming intimate with the decline itself – leaky roofs and shaky foundations.

Come Sunday, as we engage the shaky foundations, part of Reconstruction.

The LGBTQ+ committee will coordinate a service in honor of coming out day. The service will include personal accounts of coming out, readings, and music. All are welcome.

This will be our first full service back in our beautiful sanctuary – celebrating Homecoming Sunday. It will be a multi-generational service that will include water communion. You’re invited to bring a vial of water from a place that has meaning for you – your home, a favorite restaurant, a place from your travels.

The word credo means – something we set our heart to. This service will engage the personal stories of our members as they continually set their hearts over the years to what matters most.

The sixth of a multi-part series on putting our Principles in Practice. We will focus on the prophetic call embedded in our Principles.

Our world seems to be coming apart, divided with walls, barriers, and isolationism. Yet not so many years ago, many of us dreamed of one world community with open borders, free trade, and even global peace under a true united nations, a world government. What happened? Are these dreams still possible? Do they make sense?

We consider these questions through the lens of our sixth principle, with its “goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.”

A congregation is always in a state of becoming. When someone new walks in the door, the community changes. When someone leaves, the community changes. But when a minister leaves, the community has an opportunity for reflection and perhaps a change in focus or direction.

Rev. Renee Ruchotzke is UUYO’s Primary Contact with the Central East Region and the UUA. She also serves as Dean of the UU Leadership Institute and blogs at Growing Vital Leaders. Find out more at http://www.uua.org/directory/people/renee-ruchotzke.

We oftentimes think of risk as something that can be good, that can be managed to maximize reward. Change involves risk, and life involves change. But sometimes we’re forced into risky situations with little potential benefit, only danger of loss. How do we balance risk and reward? How do we deal with risk where we have no control?

Sometimes, you must put yourself in danger in order to give yourself to something bigger. What are we willing to risk in order to live our values?