This is our “Year of Living Covenantally”!
Soul Matters theme: Celebrating Blessings
Unless otherwise noted, services are led by the Rev. Andrew Clive Millard and take place at 11:00 a.m. on Sundays in the Sanctuary. You can also connect via Zoom at https://uuma.zoom.us/j/920676087 or telephone to 646-876-9923 (Meeting ID: 920 676 087).
June 5th: “Color and Fragrance”
The Flower Ceremony was first celebrated at Unitaria, the Unitarian Church of Prague, on June 4, 1923, so UUs everywhere will be celebrating a big anniversary next year! For this year, let’s enjoy the blessing of this beloved ritual, as created by Czech ministers Norbert and Maja Čapek, for the first time since before the coronavirus pandemic!
Please bring with you one flower for yourself and each person attending with you. The flowers are collected in vases at the start of the service and then distributed later.
June 12th: “And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love.”
On June 12, 1967, the US Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in favor of Mildred and Richard Loving that struck down Virginia’s anti-miscegenation law. Loving v. Virginia became an important precedent in overturning restrictions on same-sex marriage, include Obergefell v. Hodges. Unfortunately, June 12th is also the anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting, the deadliest single incident of violence against both LGBTQ people and Latinx people in US history.
June 19th: “Freedom! Freedom?”
We will consider the history and legacy of Juneteenth and the questions to which it calls us: What is freedom? Who is deserving of freedom? How do we protect freedom? How do we celebrate freedom? And how do we engage these questions as twenty-first century Unitarian Universalists?
The Rev. Kimberley Debus is a community minister based in Takoma Park MD who inspires an artful and art-filled faith. She consults with congregations and religious professionals throughout the association. Kimberley is joyfully affiliated with the Unitarian Church of Lincoln NE and has previously served at the Church of the Larger Fellowship as well as congregations on Long Island and Key West.
Rev. Kimberley Debus
June 26th: “Woven in a Single Garment of Destiny”
We’re all connected in an interdependent whole. Therefore, says UUA President Susan Frederick-Gray, covenant is our religious response. We make promises about how to be together and how to be in the world. In falling short of honoring those promises, we are invited to repair and strengthen the strands of community in acts of faithfulness.
The Rev. Dr. Susan Frederick-Gray began her six-year term as President of the Unitarian Universalist Association in June 2017. As UUA President, she is responsible for administering staff and programs that support more than a thousand member congregations.
The Rev. Erika Hewitt is the UUA’s Minister of Worship Arts and manages the excellent library of meaningful, inspiring resources for UU services and spiritual practice known as WorshipWeb.
This service is available to us thanks to our full “Fair Share” membership in the Unitarian Universalist Association.