Unitarian Church of Lincoln

"If you can't measure it, you can't manage it."  Numbers and data tell a different kind of story than narrative, but can be sources of unexpected wisdom.  

Narrative drives wisdom.  From parables, to The Jungle, to the stories that get passed down over the dinner table, wisdom begins with story.  What are the stories that we hold dear?  Reading by Worship Associate Jamie Radcliffe from Our Town by Thornton Wilder.  

Learn the origin story of the Secret Kindness Agents, what the impact has been in Nebraska and far beyond, and how you can become an agent yourself. Secret Kindness Agents are resilient!  Reading and sermon by Dr. Ferial Pearson.  

  Join in an all ages service embracing the air - air that we breathe, that whips around us in storms, that warms us on a sunny day.  We will play with bubbles, make a community craft project or two, share from our hearts, and sing songs that make our spirit soar.  What have the winds of change done in your life recently?  Readings and sermon by Chelsea Krafka, Religious Growth Director, co-led by Julie Enersen and Jack Forbes Wilson.  Impromptu solo by AuraLee Furgason.

The Quaker theologian Parker Palmer writes "Solitude and solidarity don't compete with one another, they complete one another."  How do we maintain habits of introspection while staying engaged in solidarity with a broader community?  

Liberal theology is by definition an optimistic theology.  In the early 20th century, that optimism was challenged by the calamities of the two world wars.  What lessons does this period hold for us? Reading by Worship Associate Mary K Stillwell, sermon by Rev. Sinclair.  

Since the earliest days of the Unitarian tradition, two values have been generally held in our congregations: the preacher has the 'freedom of the pulpit,' to preach what they wish, and the congregation likewise has 'freedom of the pew' to belong to the community without doctrinal test.  How are both of these freedoms present in 2020, and how do we think about holding them together?

"Our covenant, as a welcoming congregation, is to inspire a sense of awe, joy and reverence in people of all ages.  We celebrate through words, music and the arts... We cultivate growth and celebrate the changes growth brings."  Join us in our new Sunday schedule, celebrating the changes growth brings, and looking forward to the coming year.  Reading by Mary K Stillwell, sermon by Rev. Sinclair.  

Who would we become if we considered ourselves integral to what the poet Pattiann Rogers terms "Nature"?  What if we held ourselves accountable not only for our own missteps but those of the collective whole?  Reading by Worship Associate Sändra Washington and sermon by Worship Associate Christine Davis.  

As we grow older, our perspective on time grows longer.  Summers once endless pass in a blur.  Let's try to stretch further our vision of time until it encompasses both the deep past and the deep future.  

What causes us to feel awe?  Nature, a person, a concept?  Most people describe awe as a positive experience, but awesome and awful come from the same Old English word.  Two short sermons presented by Worship Associates Charlie Ahern and Burt Smith.  

December 22 is the first night of Hannukah, the festival of lights.  The Maccabees were in awe of the miracle at the center of this holiday--what is our conception of awe? Preceded by a reading from Rabbi Aaron Miller.  

Join us for a short worship service before our congregational meeting, where we will live into the democratic process that is central to our faith's history, theology, and practice.  The homily by Rev. Sinclair follows Worship Associate Amy Miller's reading of "The Rabbis" by Dan Hotchkiss.  

Guest preacher Rev. Michelle LaGrave of First Unitarian Church of Omaha. 

Introductory reading by Jamie Radcliffe, Worship Associate.  Sermon by Rev. Brandee Jasmine Mimitzraiem of Quinn Chapel AME.

Guest preacher Patty Forsberg, coordinator of Nebraska Contemplative Outreach, speaks about the connection between the spiritual and the physical.

It is easy to disengage from the world, to use the "Benedict Option."  Unitarian Universalism requires that we not look away - that we are honest about the world and our place in it, and engage in making a better world for all.

On the last Sunday in October, we gather to remember those who have gone before, and whose memories and lives belong to us still.

Continuing the theme of belonging, Worship Leader Christine Davis speaks on "What Might it Mean to Belong to Democracy"?

Our congregation is part of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.  What commitments do we make, implicitly and explicitly, with our wider association?  What do they commit to us?

UNL’s “Dr. Drought” Dr. Don Wilhite will be accompanied by Professor Clint Rowe As the nation approaches the first presidential election where climate change is a major issue, Wilhite and Rowe will inform Nebraskans about the reality they face.  Wilhite and Rowe will discuss why climate scientists and meteorologists expect that as the effects of climate change intensify, the impact on agriculture, trade, transportation and other areas of importance to our state will increase as well. For over fifteen years the Sorensen Lecture Series has been presented by the Unitarian Church of Lincoln to the public to highlight current issues. It is funded by an endowment from the Sorensen family in memory of former Nebraska attorney general C. A. Sorenson.

We often say that Unitarian Universalism is a 'covenantal, not a creedal faith'.  As we begin our stewardship campaign, we will consider what we promise to each other, and how. 

Remarks regarding Rev. Osterman's resignation from fellowship in the UUA.

Cultivating a spirit of generosity is good for the soul, whether we give more time, money, or love to the community we care about.  How can we give more and with more intentionality?  Sermon by Schuyler Geery-Zink.

The work of transforming the world is longer than any single lifetime.  How do we live both in hope and holy impatience?

At the start of a congregational year together, we gather to look forward in expectation.

We gather together in song, word, and ritual to mark the end of summer and the beginning of a new congregational year.  

As part of our series on the Six Sources, we explore "Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature." Sermon by Mary K Stillwell.  

As part of our series on the Six Sources, we explore "Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves."

Using a ritual first practiced by the Prague Unitarian Church and Norbert Chapek in the 1920's, we gather to recognize the beauty and uniqueness of each of us.

As we near the end of the congregational year, we mark the transitions of 2019.

As we mark the 200th anniversary of Rev. William Ellery Channing's Baltimore sermon, we gather to welcome new members and to conduct the business of our congregation.  

Have you ever been curious what a sermon looks like with Dinosaurs, the Book of Revelation, the Avengers, and Paul Simon in it? This is the Auction sermon.

The sixth source of Unitarian Universalism asks us to celebrate the sacred circle of life, and to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.  What do teachings from Earth-centered traditions and others hold for us in an age of rapidly changing climate?  

What is a Unitarian-Universalist theology of not-wholeness?  What does it mean when we are incomplete through our own actions, and how do we point ourselves back to wholeness?

Members of the Green Sanctuary Committee offer reflections on their reading of the UUA's 2018 Common Read, Justice on Earth: People of Faith Working at the Intersections of Race, Class and the Environment. Service leader Becky Seth, speakers Linda Brown, Marj Willeke, Rachael Herpel and Becky Seth. 

We know that we are all connected, and that all deserve dignity. And yet we also know that too often voices of privilege are centered in our lives and in our worship services.  This week we will center voices of Unitarian Universalist religious professionals of color, speaking about their experience in our shared faith. 

Prior to their merger, the Unitarians and Universalists nearly became the "Liberal Church of America." How has the choice of "Unitarian Universalist Association" shaped the last 60 years of our faith's journey?

Paul Simon sings "For reasons I cannot explain/There's some part of me wants to see/Graceland."  The impulse to pilgrimage, to journey to a place of significance, is part of many traditions, including ours.  What does it mean to be a pilgrim?  Where are you going?

There are times when our journey takes us to inhospitable places.  While we often want to get back to lands of plenty quickly, what does it mean to spend time in the wilderness?  As the season of Lent begins, what do we gain by letting go?

What could we create of ourselves if we explored beyond what we already know?  Sermon by Sandra Washington.

Unitarian Universalism has evolved over the decades, and each generation has put their unique mark on it.  Building on the work of General Assembly last summer, we'll speak of a Unitarian Universalism of possibility, a faith we are still building.  

Sorrow endures for the night, the psalmist writes, but joy comes with the morning.  As we look to the east at the dawn of a new year, what awaits us?

Joy comes with the morning, the psalmist writes, but only after sorrow endures for the night.  We all go through seasons when it feels like the morning will never come.  The humanism central to our faith holds important lessons for those times.  

On the Sunday when we meet as a congregation to set our budget and priorities as a congregation, we reflect on our legacy of congregational self-government.

What does the idea of America mean in 2018?  After the elections, what is Unitarian Universalism called to say?

Join us as we welcome new members into our church this Sunday.  "What they dreamed be ours to do" goes one of our hymns.  What do we make of the legacies of Unitarians and Universalists for whom we are more nightmare than dream?  What are the dreams we will leave for future generations?