Anastassia Zinke and Guests: Recent Episodes
All Souls Unitarian Church
Karen Armstrong, in her studies of the major world religions, identified compassion as the plumb line that helps keep a religion oriented towards its core purpose. There is much in the world today that makes our heart ache; come hear Rev. Anastassia share how compassion helps break our hearts open instead of becoming brokenhearted.
Unitarian Universalists have often prided themselves on their education and achievements. Our collective contributions have been significant and meaningful. Nonetheless, we continually discover that we have more to learn. This first Sunday in our Spiritually Disciplined series, we will consider the gifts that humility has to offer us as a spiritual practice and as a mode for engaging the world. Rev. Anastassia preaching.
The best way to teach our children is to be and to show: how we behave and how we engage with the world are much better predictors of how our children will do that all the books we’ve read about parenting could teach us. Rev. Anastassia preaching.
Cultivating change and closing the disengagement divide": Brene Brown holds that we disengage for two reasons: to protect ourselves and because we feel that the people who are supposed to be leading us are not living up to the social contract. Where do we see this problem in our families, communities, and businesses? Rev. Anastassia preaching.
Disruptive Engagement: Daring to rehumanize education and work": Brene Brown analyzes the way shame permeates our culture in schools and organizations. She says people in leadership roles bully, critize and set up rewards systems that belittle, shame and humiliates students, employees - and well simply put PEOPLE. Come hear our youth name the characteristic of this shame-based culture, where they have witnessed it, and their recommended practices.
Understanding And Combating Shame: In Brené Brown's book Daring Greatly, she states that shame draws its power from being unspeakable. Building awareness about shame and sharing our stories are thus two of the ways that we can work to diminish its power over us and our lives. Rev. Seth Carrier-Ladd, a Certified Daring Way Facilitator, joins us as we explore cultivating empathy and self-compassion as we work to build our shame resiliency.
Vulnerability Armor: Even though we have many misconceptions about vulnerability - that it is weakness or oversharing, for instance - many of us are experts in avoiding it. Author Brene Brown talks about how we try to avoid and protect ourselves from vulnerability. So come join, Rev. Anastassia as we explore together what vulnerability is and isn't, and to recognize when we are trying to avoid it.
During this intergenerational service we will honor the transitions and celebrations in the lives of our members through poetry and naming. Help us mark family additions, high school graduations, member departures, weddings, and deaths. Featuring readings, enactments, and music by the All Souls Choir and Alex Milligan.
| The Christmas season is one of hope and love but also one of giving and accumulating "things". In Dickens' Sketches by Boz readers are introduced to the middle classes of Victorian England through the items found in resale shops. Lets examine what the literary device of the object story can teach us about untold stories from overlooked legs of our journeys. Nasreen Khan guest preaching. | |
The All Souls Choir presents its annual holiday program. This year's service features music for brass and chorus, including American composer Daniel Pinkham's Christmas Cantata. Pinkham served the Unitarian Church for 42 years as the organist for King's Chapel in Boston, Massachusetts. All Souls welcomes a brass quintet from the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and organist Justin Stahl.
In biblical literature and within the Star Wars narrative we seek that those perceived as the underdog triumph over militarily stronger (and often imperialistic) adversaries. Let's review how David, Jesus, and Luke strategically approached their fights, and what we might want to think about as we consider American democracy. Rev. Anastassia preaching.
Few hero narratives (other than Harry Potter!) have been part of the common lexicon in the United States over the past 40 years as much as those in the Bible and those found within the Star Wars movies. Both texts help us ponder our humanity: where we find hope, what corrupts us, what saves us, is there justice, and what we make of redemption. In this season of anticipation (of The Rise of Skywalker on Dec. 20 and of Christmas), come let us reflect as we prepare for the world that is yet to be. Join us Dec 1, 8, and 15 for our The Force Is With Us series.
In this final Winnie-the-Pooh service, Rabbit desires to teach Tigger a lesson. Come join these lovable characters as they grapple with life being uncomfortable, confusing, even unfair - just as many of our own days are. What can Rabbit, Pooh, and Tigger teach us about navigating the more complex moments of life? Come enjoy this multigenerational community, and invite a dear one.
"The Community of 100 Acre Woods": The Winnie-the-Pooh stories and characters remind us that, though they represent deep and nuanced philosophical traditions, what is abidingly true is that they are a community. In this weeks sotry, we will learn alongside the characters how to respond when a birthday (Eeyore's of course!) is forgotten. All ages are welcome in this service. Please consider bringing a friend or family member to experience the Winnie-the-Pooh charm with you.
November 10 -"The Tao of Pooh":Benjamin Hoff, author of a smash bestseller by the same title, explains with ease and aplomb that rather than being a distant and mysterious concept, Taoism is as near and practical to us as our morning breakfast bowl. Join us as we romp through the enchanting world of Winnie-the-Pooh while soaking up invaluable lessons on simplicity and natural living. Rev. Anastassia preaching.
Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead): During this multigenerational service we will honor the lives of our loved ones who have died. You are invited to bring a photo or a small memento to place on our ofrenda during our time of celebration. With Rev. Anastassia and the All Souls Choir.
"Time to Disconnect and Reconnect": The expectation that we will regularly check-in via our cell phones and social media has become ubiquitous and its poor health effects have been documented. How can practices of Sabbath help us establish preservative boundaries in our lives? What will such practices make available to us? How can we become connected by disconnecting?
In 1907, Dr. Frank Scott Corey Wicks, All Souls' longest serving minister, delivered a sermon “Good Men In Hell”, that was reprinted the next day in the Indianapolis Star and published and reprinted by the American Unitarian Association over thirty times. It was among the most widely circulated Unitarian sermons, and posited the idea that the Unitarian mandate was to go to troubled places and be with troubled people. Where would we go and whom would we be with if we lived this mandate today? Rev. Anastassia preaching.
In 1819, William Ellery Channing claimed the slur "Unitarian", proclaiming distinct theological sources and establishing the grounding propositions of Unitarianism. 200 years later, how can we recenter Channing's message? What is our radical and real message to our times? Rev. Anastassia preaching.
This month we will explore the big theological ideas in Unitarian Universalism by returning to some of the most famous sermons, but the ideas that matter are the ones that are most central to our own ordinary and extraordinary lives. Come hear some of our All Souls members share the theological tenets that mean the most to them, and how they are in their lives.
Why does it only take a small minority to create major change? How have big change makers understood themselves, and developed an ethical and theological framework that allows them to remain in and channel a mighty stream for love, justice, compassion and change? Rev. Anastassia preaching.
On this Ingathering Sunday, we will come together as one community, formed from all the living generations, to bless each other through our water communion. As we begin our series “Let Justice Roll Down,” we will consider how the justice-making that we do collectively ought to begin with blessing, forgiveness, commitment, and love. Children and youth are invited to bring their backpacks to be blessed as they head into a new school year. All are invited to bring some water from a favorite local swimming hole, a kitchen faucet, or somewhere they've been this summer. Featuring Rev. Anastassia and the All Souls Choir.
The first Father's Day was a sombre event. It was held as a pastoral response to the Monogah Mining Disaster, which killed 361 men and 250 fathers in West Virginia. Today, we honor the sacrifice of fathers and all the fathering we have received and given.
Memorial Day has its origins in the United States when Americans began honoring those who died on both sides of the Civil War. America is again in a period of deep division. How can this holiday encourage us to see value in those who sacrifice themselves not only for what they believe in, but also for those who hold significantly different values? Sermon beginning at 31:40.
Guns Down America is traveling across the country to organize action-driven town halls that answer the question: what can I do to help reduce gun deaths in America? This event focused on generating citizen action on the local, state, and federal levels to reduce gun deaths. The event aimed to educate people about the horrors of our broken system, plug advocates into edgy campaigns designed to financially drain the gun industry and the NRA, and help generate unique action plans that will push the 2020 presidential candidates to finally tackle the issue of gun violence in a bold way.
On this Earth Day weekend and Easter Sunday, let us follow the example of the early Jesus followers, who told improbable and hopeful stories of Jesus' return. We need to become evangelists for the restoration of our planet and the rebirth of its biodiversity. As an act of ritual recommitment, we will also celebrate our Unitarian Flower Communion.
Once we have seen the world and savored its beauty, then we know we are called to save it, both for itself and for ourselves. Let us dedicate ourselves to saving this earth.
Ralph Waldo Emerson recognized that the world is meant to be savored and we are designed to savor it. Why is the act of savoring essential for our spiritual lives?
No amount of teaching can parallel the assurance we get from first-hand experience. To see really is to believe, but what are we seeing in the world today?
The final book in the Harry Potter series is defined by what Harry and his friends don't know. Nevertheless, they are required to act anyway. What they knew, forgot, and discover -- love-- ultimately saves them. Come and claim these lessons for activism and living life for yourself in the concluding Sunday of our Harry Potter series. Rev. Anastassia preaching.
The term “adulting” has become a tongue-in-cheek term used by young adults to celebrate the completion of daily “adult” tasks such as paying bills. But what are the deeper responsibility of adults in our society? In Book 5 of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the adults are waging a resistance against the Dark Lord Voldemort that they do not fully let Harry and his friends into. Though this frustrates the youth, the adults have a sense that the full fight is not yet for these teenagers. In an age where our most outspoken and arguably most effective activists against violence have been youth, how are we as adults measuring up? How might we fully embrace the responsibilities of being adults?
Sports have often been a metaphor for war and an outlet for human aggression and competition. In this fourth book in the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling intentionally blurs the line between "fictional" and real violence. In our own lives, we see that the rules of civility and order have begun to break down and that many Americans are forming opposing and radicalized camps. What are the signs of this happening? What does it call us to pay attention to?
Our fears paralyze us and prevent us from living fully. No matter what stage of life we are in, we are living with fears that hold us back. In the third Harry Potter book, Harry and his friends discover powerful tools to face their deepest fears - tools that will serve them throughout the series. Come and learn how memories of joy and love, and the timely use of humor and imagination, can help us face what frightens us the most.
In the second book of the Harry Potter series, Harry and his companions are faced with an ancient deadly secret, discover prejudice amongst their fellow witches and wizards, and are threatened by dark magic. It is only when they learn to share, be vulnerable, and lean on the help of their community that Harry and his friends are able to survive. Our high school youth reflect on this theme in this service with sermonettes.
In the first Harry Potter book, Harry encounters the Mirror of Erised, which shows the most desperate desire of a person's heart, a vision that has been known to drive men mad. Ancient myths and theologies too played with the metaphor of reflection, as a means to show what we often have trouble perceiving without assistance. In this case, the Mirror of Erised is a good reminder of the Buddhist practice of non-attachment.
Let’s explore what the next stage is beyond polarizing identity politics. This is a stage where one has claimed a particular identity, as well as identifying as anti-racist. What does this look like?
In an age of isolation and individualism, intentionally building communities of care is countercultural. All Souls is a congregation that declares that all of us are whole and worthy of care and love. How do we experience this as transformative, and how can we more fully grow into this identity? Rev. Kayla Parker preaching.
As we conclude our Gift of the Dark Woods series, we will consider the story of Peter’s failure as a primary spiritual gift. Peter’s story so parallels our own failures, fears, and missteps. Even towards the end, Peter fails to keep his promise to Jesus, denying any association with him three times when the going got rough. But again it is this utter failure that will guide and strengthen him for what came next. It was Peter who helped the church build and expand to include others considered “other” or “unworthy.” Where do we go from here? So too our failures beckon us into extraordinary life.
The path of life is rarely clear or straight-forward. We find ourselves lost in a Dark Wood, unclear which direction to go, perhaps having strayed from the path we thought we were on. It is at these times that the gift of getting lost is that we begin to pay more attention than we usually do. Perhaps we are looking for blatant signs when the subtle nudges from the Universe are already right there.
The idea of temptation may conjure remembrances of small or significant longings. But instead, this week we will explore the temptation we face to live by the “shoulds” dictated only by logic, outside expectations, or shiny “rewards” instead of follow-ing the path our intuition and imagination suggest is right for us—the path that helps us bring the best of our energy and joy to the world.
Ancient civilizations and religions all metaphorically describe the voice of the divine coming through thunder and lightning. We often describe experiences of insight as a “sudden flash,” “seeing the light,” or “rocked my world.” The storms of life can make way for moments of insight that can offer us direction. Rev. Anastassia preaching.
When we allow ourselves to accept the journey within the Dark Woods, the resiliency of the human spirit tends to shake things up a bit as we begin to awaken to nudgings toward a fuller life. But life is messy. Life is uncertain. Rather than a problem to be solved, what if we saw uncertainty as a gift helping us let go of all we cannot know so that we can live more wholeheartedly? Rev. Anastassia preaching; Greg Sanders on piano.
During this intergenerational service, we will honor the lives of our loved ones who have died. You are invited to bring a photo or a small memento to place on our ofrenda during our time of celebration. Reverends Kayla and Sarah Gettie leading worship.
The Rev. Dr. Fred Muir speaks about how UU churches have gone astray by practicing a “trinity of errors,” and how we need new practices to have a vital ecclesiology that allows the church to be vibrant in our personal and collective lives. What core understandings can we take away from Muir’s message for our own practices of church? Rev. Anastassia preaching.
Church is where we learn what it is to be human. It is the place where we return to our most basic feelings and longings, our most true essence. It is the place where we are pulled into our most complex challenges of living together in community. In what ways can you more fully grow into your humanness?
Though our constitution prohibits our governments interfering with or promoting religious beliefs or practices, our religious expressions have always influenced our civic sphere. In this time when the bonds of our society are fraying, how might the practice of our congregational democracy be just the balm needed?
All Souls choir celebrates the 100th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein's birthday with a performance of The Lark. Bernstein wrote music to accompany a Lillian Hellman adaptation of the French play about the trial and execution of Joan of Arc. The play examines themes of courage, resistance, sense of self, and fire of commitment.
We hear music that lifts our spirits and enhances the messages we hear from the pulpit every week, but why do we rarely see dance in church, or associate it with being spiritual? Sandy Reiberg (pictured), former dancer with the Ballet Theater of the Virgin Islands and local dance teacher, describes the historical connections between dance and religion and how it can enhance what we do to enrich our own spirits.
Cultures around the world are marked and differentiated by different dances, which help us to remember our traditions, culture, and our duties to ourselves and others. We can sometimes see this more clearly when we explore beyond our original culture, as Wole Soyinka's "Death and the King's Huntmen" allows us to do.
The theme of our sabbatical period with Rev. Anastassia was "Dance,” and its purpose was to allow us mutually, as minister and congregation, to discover and practice a new “dance” together. In this three-week worship series we will explore how congregational life and shared ministry is a dance. What are its patterns and rhythms? How do we partner, leading and taking cues? What emotions do we experience? What accompaniment do we need? How can we learn to move nimbly or quickly when needed, and ultimately ensure that we are enjoying the dance in the process?
We delve into the reality that some of us have less abundance in our wells, and how we can ensure all have access to clean spiritual and literal wells. Come hear from our past Student Minister Cindy Schaefer about Coal-Ash contamination in our reservoirs - and what we can do about it.
Join us in saying "Thank you, Rev. Bill" on his last Sunday before Rev. Anastassia's return!
A multi-generational service including a Backpack Blessing and Water Communion. The sermon will be the first in a five-part series on the theme of Wells.
Let's celebrate our natural religious curiosity by answering questions given by the congregation!
Julica Hermann de la Fuente is in our pulpit for one last time this summer to complete the series on exploring the Cycle of Change. This time around, we won't just talk and think about change, we will also experience it together. Join us for a celebration of the power of community through music as we experience what it's like to hang together through change.
How do you find comfort amindst chaos? Where do you turn to feel safe and peaceful when the world is harsh and cruel? Let's explore the symbol of water as a rejuvenating source.
Come for this special chance to hear our beloved guest minister as she continues her series on navigating change. If you missed her last visit on June 10, you might want to go back and listen to the first part of this series. Julica Hermann de la Fuente is a Lay Community Minister and a candidate for UU ministry. Prior to answering her ministerial call, Julica had been a social justice educator and a life coach. In addition to an MA in Leadership Studies from Meadville Lombard Theological School, she also holds an MSW and an ABD in Sociology from the University of Michigan, and two coaching certifications. She is also privileged to serve on the Beloved Conversations Retreat Leader Team and as a Program Leader for the UU College of Social Justice. Born and bred in Mexico, Julica often finds herself living on the bridges between multiple identities: bicultural, bisexual, bilingual. She also identifies as a temporarily able-bodied, cisgender, upper middle-class, trauma survivor, immigrant, white Latina, and feels it is a privilege to leverage the complexity of these identities and the intersections thereof in the service of social justice education and anti-racism.
What can we learn from Unitarian and Universalist history that can inform how we engage with major justice issues of today? How has our history shaped where we are called to move in this moment in history?
Julica Hermann de la Fuente is a Lay Community Minister and a candidate for UU ministry. Prior to answering her ministerial call, Julica had been a social justice educator and a life coach. In addition to an MA in Leadership Studies from Meadville Lombard Theological School, she also holds an MSW and an ABD in Sociology from the University of Michigan, and two coaching certifications. She is also privileged to serve on the Beloved Conversations Retreat Leader Team and as a Program Leader for the UU College of Social Justice. Born and bred in Mexico, Julica often finds herself living on the bridges between multiple identities: bicultural, bisexual, bilingual. She also identifies as a temporarily able-bodied, cisgender, upper middle-class, trauma survivor, immigrant, white Latina, and feels it is a privilege to leverage the complexity of these identities and the intersections thereof in the service of social justice education and anti-racism.
Who Am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? Why am I here? As we begin this sabbatical journey together, these are the questions with which to start. There are no right answers; there are only guiding questions. The answers are the lives we choose to live in community. I am excited to join this community’s journey for these months. Rev. Anastassia has shown her faith in us and in herself by going on this spiritual pilgrimage. May we journey together and increase our loving presence in the world, so that both she and we are renewed and empowered for the journey ahead.
Coming of Age is the UU-affirmation program to help our youth ponder the questions of the universe and share their perspective with the congregation.
The first step is usually the hardest one to take. The issues closest to us are usually the most challenging to address. How can we start close in and grow out in our own lives? In our lives together as a community? Why is this our best path to growth and wholeness?
This Sunday, we welcome our incoming Minister of Congregational Life, Rev. Kayla Parker. Kayla will be providing pastoral care, directing adult programming within the congregation, and growing our engagement outside the congregation.
We don’t always have to fight for all the good that comes our way; sometimes Beloved Community perches itself near us. Sometimes, gloriously, we have open minds and loving hearts and discover that we have found ourselves unexpectedly in Beloved Community. Rev. Anastassia preaching.
Sometimes Beloved Community is created by an opening of heart spirit within our souls. We may feel love and compassion suddenly open our heart, but we are each capable every day of doing this important soul work. Rev. Anastassia preaching.
“Beloved Relationship: Transcending the Walls”: The Beloved Community is so precious because human beings require both connection and a feeling of significance, yet the world – its inequities, injustices, and sometimes just simple hatred -- seem to keep Beloved Community beyond our reach. We sometimes do not have the strength to remake the world, but we can still build relationships of Beloved Community that transcend these barriers. Rev. Anastassia preaching.
Rev. Dr. David Eaton said that we should seek out and find the Beloved Community, and if we cannot find it, then we should create it. We have created a type of Beloved Community at All Souls: a place where we know and are known, forgive and are forgiven, where we are challenged to live our values, and where our memories are formed. If the walls of our church could speak, they would bear witness to acts of covenant, presence, and ritual. These three form the bonds that keep love in. Rev. Anastassia preaching, featuring Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout with the All Souls Choir.
On this Easter Sunday, we recognize the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. We know that human beings both require and desire connection with one another, yet our cultures, our fears, even our laws sometimes insist on dividing us. This Easter Sunday, we will remember human examples of people who transgress false boundaries to establish relationship. During the service, we will enact our Flower Communion ritual. We invite each person to bring a flower to contribute. Rev. Anastassia preaching, with Alex Mulligan, guest musicians, and the All Souls Choir performing music from Glory and Hamilton
Let's go to the heart of honesty by exploring where we are honest with ourselves and where we are truthful in relationships. We will explore ways to develop honesty authentically within ourselves. How do we honor our inner truth? And there are times when being honest with others can feel like a risk. How do we discern where to be honest and where to keep out thoughts to ourselves? Rev. Lane Campbell, Minister of Religious Education, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus, Ohio preaching, with the All Souls Choir.
| Dottie Huffman joined All Souls Unitarian Church in 1948. Over the past 70 years, she has generously given herself to our community – through her presence, her music, and her leadership. Together lets celebrate a life well-led, and hear some of the organ music she wrote and loved. |
Every life leaves an imprint. What do you want your legacy to be? How would you define a life well-led? Come hear Rev. Anastassia share how generosity should be at the core of any legacy we attempt to build.
What is the key to spiritual connection? Mystics across religious traditions have found the key to unlocking intoxicating experiences of complete oneness. How can we open ourselves to such connection – with the beauty of the world, with the deep core of your being, with God?
To whom in your life have you given the key to your home? What about the key to your heart? Come unlock the secret to making this connection last a lifetime.
In this youth-led service, come hear our youth share their thoughts and insights about what they desire – for themselves and our shared world.
The Unitarian Universalists and the United Church of Christ named their sexual education and justice curriculum Our Whole Lives, to actively reflect the reality that we are embodied, sexual beings at all stages of our life. Why is this a blessing? Kathleen will encourage us to embrace sexuality as an important part of the human experience, and suggest how healthy sexuality can be encouraged at all stages during ones lifetime.
Using personal narrative and attention to recent socio-political developments, special guest Dr. Anthony Pinn explores the manner in which the current historical moment speaks to the continued troubling nature of difference in the United States. Through the lens of humanism, and the insights of key commentators on American life, such as W. E. B. Du Bois as well as the sensibilities of the blues, this talk reflects on ways to think about the ethical challenges facing as well as what we might anticipate as the outcome of struggle for change.
Anthony B. Pinn received his BA from Columbia University, Master of Divinity and PhD in the study of religion from Harvard University. He is currently the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities and professor of religion at Rice University. Pinn is the founding director of the Center for Engaged Re-search and Collaborative Learning (CERCL) also at Rice University. Pinn’s research interests include religion and culture, humanism, and hip hop culture. He is the author/editor of over 35 books, including, "The Black Church in the Post-Civil Rights Era" (2002), "Terror and Triumph: The Nature of Black Religion" (2003), "Noise and Spirit: Rap Music’s Religious and Spiritual Sensibilities" (2004), and the novel, "The New Disciples" (2015). Pinn is also director of research for the Institute for Humanist Studies, a Washington DC-based think tank.
In order to clearly articulate our church’s mission, we need to try to discern answers to life’s ultimate questions like: What does it mean to be human? What ideals should I strive for? How can we create a more wholesome future for our children? Rev. Bruce Russell-Jayne will relate a framing of what UUs believe by the Rev. David Bumbaugh, UU Humanist hero.
Rev. Russell-Jayne served UU churches in Ohio, Utah, and Illinois, and as a Chaplain at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. He and his wife Cece live in Carmel near their daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren. He volunteers as Treasurer for Hoosier Interfaith Power & Light, which helps congregations combat Global Warming by conserving energy and generating solar power.
During this service, led by Rev. Sarah Gettie McNeill, we will honor the transitions and celebrations in the lives of our members through poetry and naming. Help us mark births, transitions into or out of membership at All Souls, and deaths.
Rev. McNeill currently serves as the Director of Children and Family Ministries at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Bloomington. She is a graduate of Meadville Lombard Theological School.
Special guest Jeff Rasley will describe the development of the Basa Village Foundation and what he has learned about creating a meaningful life from the Rai people of Basa village, Nepal.
Jeff Rasley is the author of ten books; the most recent is "Polarized! The Case for Civility in the Time of Trump." He is the author of over 80 published articles. Rasley practiced law for thirty years in Indianapolis and was admitted to the US Supreme Court Bar. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago, Indiana University School of Law, and Christian Theological Seminary. Rasley is founder of the Basa Village Foundation and is liaison for the Nepal-based Himalayan expedition company Adventure GeoTreks, Ltd. Rasley serves as an officer or director for six non-profit organizations.
This season is about bringing more hope and justice into a bleak, cold world that so needs light and love. The journey towards the beloved community is long and we must seek sustenance on our way. Join us to celebrate this journey by exploring this season's lessons in word and song. Rev. Elizabeth, our Justice and Outreach Minister, will lead our service.
During the winter holidays, I hear of many lights. Hanukkah flames, the Yule log, solstice rituals that balance light and dark, and lights on trees inside and out, houses, wreathes and Advent candles. Today, that other great light from the Christmas legends, the star which the planetarium might say was a conjunction of planets, but to the Romans and Greeks who originally heard the story, would have appeared to be a rather horrific event. Come hear the wonderful preacher Rev. Dr. Mark Belletini unpack what this message this morning.
Rev. Dr. Belletini is the Minister Emeritus of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus OH. He served our congregations in Hayward and San Francisco CA before that. He was in the first wave of open and out GLBTQ ministers in the UUA, ordained in 1979.
Our Unitarian ancestors understood better than we do now how much our early American Republic borrowed from English legal and cultural systems that were fundamentally about classism and resistant to democracy. Come hear Rev. Anastassia share some of Henry Thoreau’s political philosophy, and how this it is still relevant to today.
We so rarely talk about how our bodies die, and the spiritual and personal concerns that accompany this final chapter to life. What are the pressing human and spiritual questions that accompany this stage? How do we accompany someone into death? How can our endings be times of love not eradication?
During this multigenerational service we honor the lives of our loved ones who have died.
Women have influenced, women have marched, women advocated, women have voted. Yet, the laws that affect women are written, enacted, and interpreted by men. What does our democracy still require from women?
Rev. Anastassia Zinke, preaching.
Dr. Leah Gunning Francis, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty at Christian Theological Seminary, reflects on the role of women in the movement for racial justice. She draws upon her impactful work Ferguson and Faith, collection of stories of courage and hope from Ferguson that, if nurtured, could serve us well into the future.
Ancient, earth-based traditions speak of our earth as our mother, and all life on earth as our children. Let us learn into this tradition, as we bless animals of this earth.
Rev Zinke preaching.
October is known nationally as domestic violence awareness month. But what does that mean, and what can each of us as individuals and as a community do better to help end domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence? Anyone can help, and everyone is needed to change the culture of violence against women and girls we live in. Learn how and ask any questions you may have about this important and difficult issue. Our guest speaker is Joe Samalin, an advocate who has been working to end gender based violence for 15 years.
Though Wonder Woman is literally a super hero, there have been plenty of “ordinary” extraordinary women whose words and actions have helped us see with honesty both the flaws and virtues within humanity. Come hear stories and be inspired by the women who have persisted. Rev Zinke preaching. Also, our new Justice and Outreach Minister, Rev. Elizabeth Carrier-Ladd is introduced. Join us in welcoming her to our congregation!
Yum Kipper is probably the most important of Judaism’s high holy days, the culmination of the Days of Awe, that begins with Rosh Hashanah. "Yom Kippur" means "Day of Atonement." It is a day set aside to "afflict the soul," to atone for the sins of the past year when one has acted against one’s understanding of the holy and has transgressed against other people. Atonement can be broken down into: At-one-ment, implying that when we forgive and are forgiven, we are brought back into relationship with one another. Let us come together to reflect on how we can reach for reconnection and forgiveness.
All Souls Unitarian Church, Indianapolis, IN.
Many who have been hurt or harmed struggle with the question of whether to forgive, and why or why not to do so. The decision is personal, but it can also be ethical. Could forgiving be perceived as condoning? Is the act of forgiveness for the benefit of the other or oneself? Let us explore these questions together, and how forgiveness can also be ethically bounded and liberating.
Rev. Zinke Preaching.
All Souls Unitarian Church, Indianapolis, IN
On this Labor Day weekend, Fran Quigley will lead us in reflecting about how we can mitigate income and wealth disparity not just in our communities but also in our own workplaces. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. held that a more equal sharing of our wealth is a necessary foundation for a beloved community. That journey toward economic justice will necessarily include healthy doses of forgiveness, including the self-forgiveness that will allow those of us with comparatively comfortable economic situations to move away from avoidance or ineffectual “liberal guilt” to direct engagement in inequality allaround us. Fran Quigley is a clinical professor of law at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, teaching in the Health and Human Rights Clinic. Students in the Health and Human Rights Clinic advocate for the rights of the poor, with a special focus on individual and systemic barriers to accessing healthcare and the social determinants of health All Souls Unitarian Church, Indianapolis, IN
Through the lenses of 20th Century theologians, his two decades of work, and living in the long shadow of Von Hippel Lindau disease, David Forsell explores his hopes for the future, and how he is choosing to live.
All Souls Unitarian Church, Indianapolis, IN
Some of the clearest answers to humanity’s most fundamental questions can be found in art and are born out of an artist’s searching and/or revelations. Let us consider the big questions on the hearts of those in our community, and the way that art reveals answers to our souls.
All Souls Unitarian Church, Indianapolis, IN