Chequamegon UUF Podcast

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On the evening of December 16 we will celebrate our annual holiday service. The Religious Education program has prepared a holiday play of the folk-story "The Wolf and the Good Woodsman." Campus Minister David Saetre will share reflections of the season. In addition, there will be congregational singing of traditional carols and special music by pianist Joni Chapman. The CUUF string ensemble will accompany our traditional walk through the spiral of greenery. The service will close with a candlelight carol followed by fellowship and refreshments. We hope you will join us for this special service. Listen on iTunes or download from http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16150915/uu/2012F/12-16-12m.mp3

The January talk by David Saetre will focus on the theme of “hope.” This is the third and last in his series on spiritual virtues. You may have heard the popular saying, “hope is not a plan,” and the dismissive tone of that phrase sums up a cynical side to modern society. Indeed, hope is often synonymous with magical thinking or unrealistic expectations that avoid personal responsibility and the hard work of building a better world. Yet, while hope is not a plan, no one can plan without it. Because the future always includes ambiguity and surprise – things rarely turn out exactly how we plan them – all plans require some level of risk. Hope is the way in which we launch our dreams and visions into actions. All good plans have their roots in hope. But, hope in what? That’s what we will explore at our gathering on the second Sunday in January. The topic seems right as we begin a new year, filled with our own resolutions, dreams and expectations for our families and community. And, the topic of hope carries particular importance in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shootings, and our national sense of vulnerability and sorrow.Join David and the faculty, staff and students of Northland as we begin a new year of worship, thoughtful reflection and building community together around the theme of “Hope!” Listen thru iTunes or download at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16150915/uu/2013W/1-13-13m.mp3

The next three talks will focus on the "theological virtues": faith, hope and charity. Western and Christian philosophy and theology posed the moral life as fulfilled in these three spiritual virtues. "The Meaning of Charity" is the theme for October. Charity, today, almost has a negative connotation. It is understood as a private virtue - privileged individuals giving monetary donations. But, a deeper look at the old idea of charity reveals a social meaning to the word. Charity is the necessary virtue for democracy, and should be understood as fundamentally social in character. It's about our commitment and generosity to one another - the way we care for one another in community. Charity is not about private giving of the privileged; it's the virtue that links our common lot together as one body. The presence or absence of "charity" defines the quality and character of any community more than it defines the character of an individual. 

The Virtue of Hospitality:  Becoming and Being a Welcoming Community By David Saetre

Speaker: David Saetre "The Meaning of Salvation" Easter Sunday Service, speaker David Saetre, Northland College Chaplain and Humanities professor. David will offer an inter-faith exploration on themes of new life and renewal. This will also be the last in his year-long series on "reconstructing theology": essential themes from the Judeo-Christian traditions. In David's own words, the series has been a theology for skeptics, exploring some of the difficult ideas from the Western religious traditions. The Easter service will focus on the idea of salvation. Noting that salvation derives from the Latin root, salus, meaning to be safe and sound, this meditation will explore what that might mean not only in the context of Easter, but in the everyday world of our lives. The world often seems unyielding and dangerous. Here, one finds a word of hope and encouragement. Finally, we look to the Universalist side of the UU heritage, which defined salvation in terms of a final acceptance and healing for all humankind. David W. Saetre College Chaplain and Assistant Professor of Religion, Northland College "The opposite of faith is certainty, not doubt." David 

Paul Schue will speak on the question morality, modernity, and the Holocaust. He will address what the Holocaust has to say about morality in modern industrial societies, and how we can change the way we think about morality to better respond to future crises in the modern world.Prof. Schue has a Ph.D. in modern European history from the University of California, Irvine, and has been teaching history, including courses on the Holocaust, at Northland College since 2001.

David Saetre--Is it possible to talk about our existential experience of brokenness and alienation, without falling into the abyss of judgmental moralism. Is that what sin really signifies? Is it possible to imagine life's surprising capacity for renewal and hope, redemption, without appealing to supernatural causes? The words sin and redemption lead us down into those depths of our human experience as few other words can.

David Seigler presents, "Standing on One Foot: 3,000 years in 20 minutes." What can be said in twenty minutes about the world's oldest monotheistic religion? Plenty, and in using twenty minutes to do so David Siegler will take at least nineteen minutes more than one of Judaism's greatest rabbi's thought necessary.

In our society, bigger is usually seen as better. We've got big business, big boxes and big portions. I'm reflecting on the role of the small congregation in the life of the church. What does it mean to be a small group working for social justice? How can we nurture this still, small voice?A.J. Galazen is a queer, nonsectarian, vegetarian, Aquarian, Buddhist, Taoist, Humanist, Unitarian Universalist theologian. He has spoken for over twenty years on issues of social equality and religious freedom, and is currently pursuing the Unitarian Universalist ministry at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities.

As part of the year-long series on "Reconstructing Religious Thought," it's time to take on the big topic, "What About God?" In the January talk I will explore recent developments in popular culture and the philosophy of religion around the question of God. The writings of Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion), and the recently deceased Christopher Hitchens created something of a movement, called the "new atheism." But, this was really part of a longer process of reexamining what the Western religious tradition means when it refers to "God." 

On Sunday, December 18th at 6 pm in the Alvord Theater, Northland College, the CUUF will present our annual holiday service. Children, youth, and parents of the Religious Education program have prepared a holiday play of the Russian folk-story, "Baboushka." As the tale goes, Baboushka searches still for the Christ Child she learned of once long ago from the traveling sages. As she searches, she leaves gifts of toys and baubles in the homes of children the world over. Northland College Campus Minister David Saetre will reflect on the poignant tale of Baboushka - what might we learn from her journey?In addition to the play and David's reflection, there will be congregational singing of traditional carols and special music by pianist Joni Chapman and soloist Amanda Shuga. The CUUF string ensemble will accompany our traditional walk through the spiral of greens. The service will close with a candlelight carol followed by fellowship and refreshments. We hope you will join us for this special service. 

This talk is the third in the year-long series, “Reconstructing Religious Thought:  Classical Themes Reconsidered.”  This month we explore the idea of the divine or sacred taking on earthly form.  The idea of incarnation is central to the Christian celebration of Christmas.  A 19th century English hymn ends each verse with the line, “God in flesh made manifest.”  That’s the idea behind the incarnation:  that the sacred, the transcendent, have entered into the immanent world of flesh and blood.The idea of incarnation is not unique to Christianity.  The Hindu figure of Krishna is an incarnation of the deity Vishnu, for example.  What might we discover for our lives today in considering this classical idea from the world’s great religions?  How does the search for the transcendent find its way into our own lives today?  These are some of the questions and ideas we will explore together as we gather for the first Sunday in December.

In 2008 and 2009 Alan and Stacy Craig moved into and renovated a turn-of-the-century Finnish settlers' cabin. In this presentation we will explore the origins of Scandinavian dove-tailed log construction, take a look at some of the remaining dove-tailed structures in the area, and explain why, amongst the others, there is a single red chair at our dinner table.Perhaps more importantly we will discuss the way the process has affected our views on place, and our own relationship to it, and how, as we peeled back the layers of particle board, wall paper, and siding, we gained a new appreciation for craft, continuity, and the power of a dream.Alan and Stacy Craig are both alumni of Northland College. Stacy is currently the Coordinator of Applied Learning at Northland College, a volunteer with the Mason Area Ambulance, and on the board of the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters Institute. Alan is the Curator at the WI Canoe Heritage Museum in Spooner and serves as a board member for the Town of Kelly Planning Commission. With their birddog Hope, they reside in Mason. 

Mary Shideler, Author of The Kayak LadyLong on spirit, Mary Shideler did not let her short stature interfere with a quest to paddle all1,007 lakes in northern Minnesota’s Itasca County. Sometimes with the help of friends, but often on her own, she carried her kayak through brush, trudged across bogs in tall boots, and put up with hordes of mosquitoes and legions of wood ticks. Along the way, she also learned to trust her own capacity to overcome obstacles, including her fear of being alone. Her book, The Kayak Lady, is a collection of stories and photos—a mix of adventure and fun—that documents Mary’s experiences over 15 years.Mary will share with our fellowship the spiritual experience of this undertaking. A quote fromher book: “I am most open to reflection when I am alone on the water in my kayak. There Ibecome a willing captive. It is never too easy for me to be still, but the rhythmic activity ofpaddling naturally lulls me into a meditative state. The gentle routine movement encourages thoughts to visit through subtle channels….the listening is not just with my ears; my way-downinside secret places pay close attention, too.

David Saetre, Speaker: “Grace and Mercy”Dear UU Friends: I plan to dedicate my talks with you this year to the classical themes and ideas that have animated the western spiritual traditions for centuries. These great themes include core ideas like “grace”, “redemption”, “atonement”, “charity”, even the meaning of a word like “faith”. These words have also become loaded with historical baggage of church dogma. It’s occurred to me that we risk losing the power of these ideas as we move away from the traditions associated with the terms. How might these classical themes inform a lively spirituality today? Can we rediscover or recover the power and meaning these words once conveyed?In my talk on September 11, “The End(s) of Religion” I suggested that ideas like redemption and love were the proper and sometimes forgotten goals of religious imagination and spirituality.And, I suggested that religious communities like ours would do well to reconsider the worldhealing power contained in these classical ideas. So, my first talk in the series is simply titled, “Grace and Mercy.” What does the word “grace” mean; what is there in that core idea of the western tradition that might animate our sense of well-being in everyday experience? That seems like a good place to begin.Future talks will include some of the other ideas mentioned above. I hope our explorations of these ideas will be meaningful contributions to deepening our spiritual lives as individuals and as a progressive, living and liberal spiritual community.

Sorry, this post is from service on Febuary 14th. Computer problems have been limiting my internet ablities.

This is the Service for Jan 9, 2011.I am no longer able to attend these services as my family has moved me back home so I cant give detailed infomation about it…sorry.

Retrospective Religion and Terror Ten Years Later by David Saetre.

Today’s service is about Vocation by David Saetre. Service lead by Rick Dowd