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Sunday Services Sunday presentations are always followed by discussion. Please join us for coffee and treats.   Sunday, September 12, 2010 Mingling of the Waters Presented by Maisie Wolszon and Ceile Hartleib Moderated by Maisie and Ceile We start the new church season with the traditional Mingling of Waters. During your summer adventures, remember to gather some water to bring. As we mingle the waters from all of our travels, we'll share our summer tales and reunite with old friends.   Sunday, September 19, 2010 My Vision of Ministry as it Relates to Internship at Groveland UU Presented by Leslie Mills Moderated by Lois Hamilton This will be our first service this year conducted by Leslie Mills, our new ministerial intern. Leslie is a second year seminarian at United Theological Seminary. Leslie will begin her year at Groveland with a presentation about her vision of ministry as it relates to the internship she is beginning with us. (Leslie has been busy this summer. See what she has been up to at two of her blogs from her travels: http://utsglobaltrips.com and http://leapingloon.wordpress.com.)   Sunday, September 26, 2010 The Intersection of Adlerian Psychology,Community Feeling and Good Mental Health Presented by Dr. Roger Ballou Moderated by Maisie Wolszon In addition to working as a therapist in the metro area, Dr. Ballou serves as Director of Clinical Licensing Programs and Adlerian Studies at the Adler Graduate School in Richfield, Minnesota. He teaches courses in counseling, psychotherapy, and human development.   Sunday, October 03, 2010 Lake Fellowship Service - No Service at St. Paul Area Council of Churches Please Note: October 3 (Marathon Sunday) we will be traveling to the Lake Fellowship, 24575 Glen Road, Excelsior, MN for Sunday’s service. We will be participating in Association Sunday (an annual event for focusing on the Unitarian Universalist Association) with Lake Fellowship. The theme of this year’s Association Sunday is “Celebrating 50 Years and the Future of our Faith.” There will be a potluck following the program where we will have the chance to visit with and find out more about Lake Fellowship and its members. Bring a dish that will serve 8. Go to... Top of page - Next service - Another year   Sunday, October 10, 2010 Saving a Seat at the Welcome Table Presented by Leslie Mills Moderated by Ceile Hartleib What does it mean to be welcoming? How can we practice radical hospitality, both in our congregation and in our larger community? We will explore together some different ideas of how we can save a seat for those who don't�yet�feel ready to join us. Leslie is our intern minister for Groveland this year, as well as a second year seminarian at United Theological Seminary.   Sunday, October 17, 2010 Mary Magdalene and the Evil Romans. Presented by Steve Dahlke Moderated by Leslie Mills Spirituality of Mary Magdalene and other Christian followers in oppressive Roman regime. Steve's background: At age of 6 years, my Presbyterian Sunday School teachers convinced me that I was a Sinner. At age 13 I got tremendous headaches in confirmation class. I became a Buddhist at age 23. After decades of struggle I've opened up my eyes.   Sunday, October 24, 2010 The Liberal Spirit: Our Way Into the Future Presented by Rev. Charles Ellis Moderated by Lois Hamilton This Sunday's topic will be the future of liberal thought, where it might be or should be headed. Charles Ellis is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minster who studies philosophy and religions. He regularly brings his insights to Groveland.   Sunday, October 31, 2010 Drumming, 10:15 am Presented by Jaime Meyer Moderated by Martha Anderson Jaime Meyer, urban shaman and writer, will lead our group in drumming. Jaime�s eclectic background includes earning a Masters' degree in theology and the arts from United Seminary of the Twin Cities and studies with a variety of shamanic teachers. Since 2001 he has led popular group drumming events around the Twin Cities. Go to... Top of page - Next service - Another year   Sunday, November 07, 2010 "We Are Stardust: Darwin and a New Creation Story", 10:15 am Presented by Lyn Burton Moderated by Maisie Wolzson Is supporting evolution compatible with faith? Might an exciting new, science-based creation story help our children think about and relate to the idea of God with joy and wonder? Join Rev. Burton to explore Darwin’s great paradigm shift in both scientific and religious thought. Rev. Lyn Burton has been consulting minister to Bismarck-Mandan UU Fellowship & Church since 2008. She is a 2006 graduate of United Theological Seminary of New Brighton and was ordained to UU ministry at her home church, Unity Church-Unitarian in Saint Paul. In addition to her 1/2 time UU ministry, Rev. Burton is executive director of Affordable Housing Connections, a nonprofit organization based in Saint Paul.   Sunday, November 14, 2010 On Solidarity and Weeping Presented by Leslie Mills Moderated by Lois Hamilton Leslie Mills is our ministerial intern for this church year. She is a second year seminarian at United Theological Seminary.   Sunday, November 21, 2010 Creative Faith: Responding Visually to the Unitarian Universalist Litergy, 10:15 Presented by Chillon Leach Moderated by Ceile Hartleib Canceled due to weather.   Sunday, November 28, 2010 No Service - Thanksgiving Go to... Top of page - Next service - Another year   Sunday, December 05, 2010 After the Fall, 10:15 am Presented by Darr Schreurs Moderated by Leslie Mills Unitarian Universalists do not believe the biblical story of the forbidden fruit and the fall of humankind or do they? Darr Schreurs, a born and bred Unitarian, and student at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities will answer the question: What does eating the forbidden fruit mean for Unitarians and Universalists? And he might tell the story of his fall on the driveway last winter.   Sunday, December 12, 2010 A Unitarian Universalist Advent Service (10:15 a.m.) Presented by Leslie Mills Moderated by Maisie Wolzson As we move into the darkest time of the year, we celebrate this period of journeying, promise, and hope that the light will return. Christians celebrate the four weeks of Advent leading up to Christmas to commemorate the people who traveled to meet the newborn Jesus. How might Unitarian Universalists recognize this holiday while maintaining our humanist roots? Leslie Mills is our ministerial intern for this church year. She is a second year seminarian at United Theological Seminary. Canceled due to weather.   Sunday, December 19, 2010 Creative Faith: Responding Visually to the Unitarian Universalist Litergy, 10:15 Presented by Chillon Leach Moderated by Ceile Hartleib (This service was originally scheduled for November 21, but was canceled due to weather.) Please join local St. Paul artist Chillon Leach on Sunday December 19 to experience the UU Liturgy in a visual way. Each part of the worship will be explored with a visual response, utilizing simple drawing materials. No artistic skills necessary! Chillon Leach is a St. Paul artist who exhibits her works in local secular and religious shows. She graduated in 1983 from the University of MN/Twin Cities with degrees in studio arts (painting/drawing concentration) and illustration. Currently Chillon is developing an artist-in-residence program for various Christian churches. She gives creativity forums, teaches art & spirituality with memory care elders, and creates a line of liturgical stoles. She works from her home studio and her studio at Immanuel Lutheran Church (ELCA St. Paul, MN).   Sunday, December 26, 2010 No Service Go to... Top of page - Next service - Another year   Sunday, January 02, 2011 No Service   Sunday, January 09, 2011 Book Discussion: Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn (at 10:15) Presented by Lesley Guyton & Lois Hamilton Half the Sky focuses on sex trafficking, maternal mortality, sexual violence, microfinance and girls education. Carolyn See, the book critic of The Washington Post, said in her review: "'Half the Sky' is a call to arms, a call for help, a call for contributions, but also a call for volunteers. It asks us to open our eyes to this enormous humanitarian issue. It does so with exquisitely crafted prose and sensationally interesting material....I really do think this is one of the most important books I have ever reviewed." (From Wikipedia)   Sunday, January 16, 2011 Counterpoint: The Roots of Music (10:15 a.m.) Presented by Ian Boswell Moderated by Maisie Wolszon Ever wonder what makes the music you love tick? Why those chords and harmonies are so tasty? What voice leading is, or why music students dread parallel fifths? If any of this sound intriguing to you, please attend my presentation on of one of the most fundamental principles of music - counterpoint! Counterpoint reaches from Bach to the Beatles, from Shostakovich to Steely Dan. It's as ancient as Notre Dame and yet is just as important now as it was 1000 years ago! Ian Boswell is a musician scholar living in Minneapolis. He is originally from State College, PA, and graduated from Macalester College with a B.A. in Music in 2009. Ian composes, improvises, plays piano, cello, is a singer, loves to cook and write creatively, and loves collaborating with people in other disciplines such as film, theater, and video games. He is hoping to attend graduate school starting Fall 2011 to obtain a Masters in Composition.   Sunday, January 23, 2011 How We Use Stories (10:15 am) Presented by Wendy Jerome Moderated by Maisie Wolszon We humans are story tellers, story listeners, story keepers - and not merely for amusement. They carry the values that guide our lives. We may not be readily aware of the stories that govern our individual lives. Perhaps we can retrieve some of these this Sunday. Go to... Top of page - Next service - Another year   Sunday, January 30, 2011 My Now Lame Brain and Other Excursions in a Life Well Lived (10:15 a.m.) Presented by Nancy Massman Moderated by Alan Lando Nancy Massman, author of the autobiography Magnificent Minutiae, will discuss aspects of living with a brain injury and reflect on "a Life Well Lived."   Sunday, February 06, 2011 The Metaphysics of Quality: A Way of Life 10:15 a.m. Presented by Luke Markve Moderated by Lois Hamilton Metaphysics of quality is a philosophy described by Robert Pirsig in his books Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Lila: An Inquiry Into Morals. Luke Markve is Vice-President of Buffalo Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, which meets the second and fourth Wednesdays at The Buffalo Community Center. Luke was a Presbyterian minister for 17 years, and has been following the metaphysics of quality for 16 years.   Sunday, February 13, 2011 Standing on the Side of Love, 10:15 am Presented by Leslie Mills Moderated by CeCeile Hartleib From championing gay rights to welcoming our immigrant neighbors, the Unitarian Universalist Association has declared February 14th to be "National Standing on the Side of Love Day," and they challenge us each year to re-imagine what love should look like. Our student minister answered the call of this organization last July when she drove down to Phoenix and participated in the protests against Arizona's Senate Bill 1070. She will speak of her pilgrimage down to Phoenix, the protests, and her night spent in jail after participating in civil disobedience. Leslie is a second year student at United Theological Seminary.   Sunday, February 20, 2011 Improvisation: Fountain of Creation & Understanding, 10:15 am Presented by Ian Boswell Ian will speak about how musical improvisation links us to the roots of creativity and organic flow, and how that fits into ideas of musical language and communication. He will present examples of improvisation from different traditions and time periods, and show how many ideas, beliefs, and feelings can be linked together into one cohesive expression through the power of improvisation. Go to... Top of page - Next service - Another year   Sunday, February 27, 2011 Looking At Evil Through the Lens of Jewish Oral Tradition, 10:15 am Presented by Lennie Major Moderated by Abby Struck Storyteller Lennie Major will take us into a way of viewing evil based on traditional Jewish demon stories (with a little bit of Hebrew scripture and Talmud thrown in) that is decidedly at odds with the mainstream Christian beliefs that have surrounded us since birth. Along with the sheer pleasure of hearing these stories, Lennie believes they can lead us to a radical reappraisal of the place that evil has in our lives. He will start with telling us a select few of these tales, briefly fill in the broader picture of how the Jewish demon stories illuminate an alternative understanding of the role of evil in our world and then we will finish with questions and discussion. Lennie has been telling traditional and original Jewish stories throughout the Twin Cities for over 20 years. He has performed at the Guthrie Theater, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Patrick's Cabaret, Northstar Storytellers Network Tellebration!s, Two Chairs Telling at the Jungle Theater, and numerous schools, synagogues, churches, cultural events, community organizations, private gatherings and other storytelling venues. His repertoire includes Jewish mystical, supernatural, folk, and humorous tales. He is a contributing author in Chosen Tales, an anthology of stories by contemporary Jewish storytellers edited by Peninnah Schram, and in 2009 created a one-person show of his creative work entitled "The Evil Angel and the Birthing of Demons."   Sunday, March 06, 2011 The Miracle of Awakening, 10:15 am Presented by Therese Jacobs Stewart Moderated by Martha Anderson Both the 12-Step recovery program and the eastern tradition of meditation describe a resulting spiritual awakening. Therese discusses how mindfulness meditation fosters such a wondrous realization. Therese Jacobs-Stewart is the founder of Mind Roads Meditation Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota and has been a practicing psychotherapist, meditation teacher, and international consultant for more than thirty years. Her latest book is Mindfulness and the 12-Steps: Living Recovery in the Present Moment (Hazelden Publishing, June 2010). You can reach her at www.mindroads.com.   Sunday, March 13, 2011 Be. Here. Now. Presented by Leslie Mills Moderated by Ceile Hartleib We will explore together the Eastern concept of mindfulness through meditation, discussion, and an activity. In a culture that lives with an expectation of immediate gratification, we will practice taking a step back and reflecting on the present moment, in order to move more intentionally into our future.   Sunday, March 20, 2011 Redefining the Sacred, 10:15 am Presented by Rev. Charles Ellis Moderated by Leslie Mills Notions of the sacred, in Western culture, most often take their inflections from texts: Hebrew Scriptures, New Testament, Koran, Book of Mormon among others. These inflections get elaborated in doctrine and dogma. Think Holy Mary Mother of God, the Temple Mount, temple sealed eternal marriages in Mormonism, the name of God in Judaism as just four examples among thousands. With an increasing environmental consciousness among many of earth's peoples, I believe it is time to recapture older understandings that derive their inflections of the sacred not from texts, but from nature herself, and to seek ones new to our time and our hearts. This is not an attempt to undercut the convinced members of other faith traditions; rather, it is an attempt to provide an additional faith tradition, one that builds on the past and can exist either independently or alongside those other, younger traditions. What I will do this morning is suggest an outline of a faith that is earth focused--Think Cosmic, Act Terran, a faith that will re-engage the mysterious and the awesome in nature as pointers to the sacred, or as direct manifestations of it. Rev. Charles Ellis, a former Presbyterian minister, became a member of Groveland UU years ago when our organization was in its infancy. Because of his participation with Groveland he decided to transfer his credentials to the UU ministry. He has continued to be involved with GUUF as a Sunday speaker, presenter of workshops, special courses, and as a retreat speaker. Go to... Top of page - Next service - Another year   Sunday, March 27, 2011 The Language of Theology, New Definitions New Insights (10:15 a.m.) Presented by Abby Struck Moderated by Alan Lando A Unitarian looks at the Church Words we remember from our childhoods . Abby Struck is a founding member of Groveland Fellowship. She is married and has two adult daughters and one granddaughter. She spends any available time in southeastern Ontario at “the lake”. Abby works at Wilder Research and admits to enjoying her job.   Sunday, April 03, 2011 Music Through the Ages: From Sacred to Secular, 10:15 am Presented by Circa 1550 Recorder Trio Moderated by Maisie Wolszon Take a musical tour through the ages with the Circa 1550 Recorder Trio. Beginning in Medieval times, we will journey through Renaissance, Baroque, and contemporary music. Find out how music has evolved over 800 years and changed in structure and style. The members of Circa 1550 Recorder Trio, Jean Allison Olson, Lynn Oyanagi, and Cathy Spengler, are in their 11th year of playing together. As their name suggests, the group's favorite time period is the Renaissance, although they enjoy playing music from all different eras.   Sunday, April 10, 2011 Humanism: A Reasoned Approach Presented by Ceile Hartleib Groveland UU member, Ceile Hartleib will present Humanism: A Reasoned Approach, a sermon originally given by Edith Olmstead at Groveland UU Fellowship in the late 1990s. Many Unitarian Universalists call themselves Humanists. This sermon explains what Humanism is and how it is "a developing philosophy ever open to experimental testing, newly discovered facts and more rigorous reasoning." The presentation will be followed by a discussion.   Sunday, April 17, 2011 Everything equal; nothing holy. Presented by Barbara Murphy Moderated by Maisie Wolszon Flying Fish is Barbara Murphy's dharma name, which is given at ordination. The teacher gives it as a personal gift that points to potential and is rooted in Buddhist teachings. Flying Fish studied Zen at MZMC and was ordained by Diane Martin at Udumbara Zen Center in Evanston, IL in 2004. Currently at Clouds in Water she practices and teaches under the joint guidance of Diane and Byakuren Judith Ragir. She supports this community through teaching classes, one on one meetings with practitioners and as a priest liason to the Children's practice. She was trained at Abbott Northwestern Hospital as a medical chaplain and has worked as a hospice chaplain with Allina Healthcare system. Her background includes college degrees in both Architecture and Art History and she has worked both as a designer and art consultant in these fields. Her family with two adult children has and continues to be an important part of her life. Go to... Top of page - Next service - Another year   Sunday, April 24, 2011 Returning, Envisioning, and Co-Creating, 10:15 a.m. Presented by Leslie Mills Moderated by CeCeile Hartleib Let us gather on Easter morning to celebrate the annual rebirth of our world. Each year, our big, beautiful planet spins on its wild journey around the sun, and we're reaching that point in the orbit where we begin to have more warm than cold, more light than dark, and the ground turns green and begins to breathe again. What does this mean for us? This will be a morning to reflect on our return to life, envision where this next year might take us, and co-create our future together.   Sunday, May 01, 2011 What's so Universal about Unitarians? 10:15 a.m. Presented by Darr Schreurs Moderated by Lois Hamilton Presented by Darr Schreurs, a born and raised Unitarian and a student at United Theological Seminary. 50 years ago the Universalist Church of America and the American Unitarian Association merged together. Actually they never did merge. They consolidated. It took them a long time. Why? What stood in their way? Are some of these roadblocks still affecting our congregations today? Darr has invited Hosea Ballou, a famous Universalist, and William Channing, a well known Unitarian, to "attend" our service and explain their differences.   Sunday, May 08, 2011 Stone Soup, 10:15 a.m. Presented by Leslie Mills Moderated by Alan Lando This service will be a continuation of the visioning process of Groveland Fellowship. Leslie Mills is a student intern minister at Groveland and a student at United Theological Seminary.   Sunday, May 15, 2011 Poetry Cafe, 10:15 a.m. Presented by Kenneth Yoder Join us in a celebration of poetry and music. This is a time to sit back and listen to poems, and/or read one of your own, (written by you, or bring one from a poet you like). All this and refreshments, as well! Kenneth Yoder is a published poet, educator and performer. Go to... Top of page - Next service - Another year   Sunday, May 22, 2011 Flower Communion, 10:15 a.m. Presented by Ceile Hartleib and Maise Wolszon The Flower Communion service we celebrate every year was created by Norbert Capek, the founder of the modern Unitarian Church in the Czech Republic, in 1923. It is a symbolic ritual of giving and gratitude, and shows our interdependence. Groveland holds this simple service just before the summer recess each year. We ask each person to bring a flower to contribute to a communal vase. The vase is a symbol of the united church fellowship. At the end of the service, each person will take a flower as a symbol of the community of Groveland UU Fellowship. Go to... Top of page - Next service - Another year Following our Flower Communion Service, we will break for the summer. Services will resume on the first Sunday after Labor Day with our traditional Mingling of the Waters. Have a great summer!