Services

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Memorial Day Sunday: The Changing Reputation of War

Speaker:

The Reverend Drew Kennedy

SUNDAY, May 27, 2012

SERVICES: Sundays at 8:30, 9:45, & 11:15 a.m.
While the music varies, all three services are essentially the same.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION:
♦ Child Care only (infant to 6 year-old) at 8:30 a.m.
♦ First-Seventh Grade Sunday School at 9:45 & 11:15 a.m.
♦ Teen Programming at 9:30 a.m.

As we have sometimes done in the past, today we will observe Memorial Day, honoring all those who have died for our country in war in a simple ceremony of remembrance and praise, so veterans are especially encouraged to attend. Then I want to shift to the fact that some provocative and intriguing research has come to light in recent years that credibly suggests that the institution of war may be in prominent decline. Now that, to me, is good news that needs to be applauded. And encouraged. So, please park your bikes, put down your gardening tools for an hour or two, and join us as we honor our veterans and reflect together on the changing reputation of war. —Drew

Learning and Living Religion -- Religious Education Sunday!

Speaker:

Beryl Aschenberg and Religious Education Children

SUNDAY, May 20, 2012

9:45 and 11:15 a.m. only

(there will be NO 8:30 a.m. service on May 20)

As our children grow in faith and understanding, we celebrate their transitions. As they move into young adulthood, we embrace them even as we encourage them to spread their wings. Today is a day to rejoice in our young people, to honor what they’ve learned and those who have mentored them, and to affirm their place among us. Among our time-honored rituals, this service includes “Senior Statements” from our High School Youth Group graduates, and ceremonial recognition of our K5 children moving into the realm of the “big kids.” Join us on May 20 for a joyful closure to our 2011-2012 Religious Education classes! — Beryl

12:30 p.m.

Annual Meeting of the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee

Members are eligible to vote if they signed the Membership Book 60 days prior to the meeting date and have made a financial pledge or contribution of record in the past year.

In addition to the election of members to the Board of Trustees and the Nominating Committee, we’ll hear about the strategic plan, the McLaughlin bequest, and the leadership enhancement project (LEAP). The 2011-12 Annual Report will also be distributed, and the business of the society will be conducted.

Please show your support of the church and its work by your attendance at this important once-a-year event. The Family and Friends Committee is planning to offer activities and healthy snacks for children (infants through 10 years old) during the Annual Meeting on May 20. Please sign up at the RE Table so that adequate care can be arranged for your child A reception will follow.

The Risk of Mothering

Speaker:

The Reverend Dena McPhetres

SUNDAY, May 13, 2012

SERVICES: Sundays at 8:30, 9:45, & 11:15 a.m.

While the music varies, all three services are essentially the same.

Family Sunday
Dedication of Parents and Children

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION:

♦ Child Care only (infant to 6 year-old) at 8:30 a.m.

♦ First-Seventh Grade Sunday School at 9:45 & 11:15 a.m.

♦ Teen Programming at 9:30 a.m.

Giving shelter to a child — physical, emotional, spiritual shelter — is a parent’s primary responsibility. Yet motherhood is a leading predictor of poverty in our country. Mothers must give their children shelter, in all senses of the word, yet mothers are often some of the most vulnerable people in society. This painful paradox is only one of the risks of mothering. — Dena

But They Were Blessed Anyway

Speaker:

The Reverend Drew Kennedy

SUNDAY, May 6, 2012

SERVICES: Sundays at 8:30, 9:45, & 11:15 a.m.

While the music varies, all three services are essentially the same.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION:

♦ Child Care only (infant to 6 year-old) at 8:30 a.m.

♦ First-Seventh Grade Sunday School at 9:45 & 11:15 a.m.

♦ Teen Programming at 9:30 a.m.

Our theme for the month of May is acceptance, which quickly brings to mind imperfection and the need for forgiveness and/or acceptance. From birth to death, top to bottom, east to west, tragic to the comic, imperfection is here, there, everywhere. Other possible titles for this sermon included, “Helene the Perfectionist Meets Her Match” and “The Inescapability of Imperfection.” But please know that in one of the disaster-of-all-disaster wedding stories I’ll be sharing . . . “They Were Blessed Anyway!” — Drew

Stranger in a Strange Land

Speaker:

The Reverend Tony Larsen, Pulpit Exchange Guest

SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2012

SERVICES: Sundays at 8:30, 9:45, & 11:15 a.m.

While the music varies, all three services are essentially the same.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION:

♦ Child Care only (infant to 6 year-old) at 8:30 a.m.

♦ First-Seventh Grade Sunday School at 9:45 & 11:15 a.m.

♦ Teen Programming at 9:30 a.m.

Legend and myth speak of beings who live in our world but seem not to be part of it. In a way, doesn't this apply to all of us, since there is probably at least one way that each of us does not fit into what's considered conventional or “normal?” Is there a gift that comes with being an outsider?

Tony Larsen has been the minister at Olympia Brown UU Church in Racine for over 36 years and has been active in the community during that time.

Knowing the Sadness of the World

Speaker:

The Reverend Dena McPhetres

SUNDAY, APRIL 22, 2012

SERVICES: Sundays at 8:30, 9:45, & 11:15 a.m.

While the music varies, all three services are essentially the same.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION:

♦ Child Care only (infant to 6 year-old) at 8:30 a.m.

♦ First-Seventh Grade Sunday School at 9:45 & 11:15 a.m.

♦ Teen Programming at 9:30 a.m.

Earth Day Sunday

Each Earth Day, I brace myself for more bad news and find it difficult to bear the weight of knowing the sadness of the world. This sermon is intended to help us out of our isolation and despair and into the empowerment of our own actions. When Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh was asked what we need to do to save the world, he said “What we most need to do is to hear within us the sounds of the Earth crying.” And, I would add, knowing the sadness of the world, we then need to respond. — Dena

The Importance of the Holy Grail

Speaker:

The Reverend Drew Kennedy

SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012

SERVICES: Sundays at 8:30, 9:45, & 11:15 a.m.

While the music varies, all three services are essentially the same.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION:

♦ Child Care only (infant to 6 year-old) at 8:30 a.m.

♦ First-Seventh Grade Sunday School at 9:45 & 11:15 a.m.

♦ Teen Programming at 9:30 a.m.

Join us as we ponder one of the most enigmatic, storied, and mysterious legends of all times, the Holy Grail. The origins of the Grail legend are certainly pre-Christian, going back thousands of years. Surviving Grail texts are more recently derived from various medieval stories which were first told by traveling storytellers. Many of these stories were later set within the context of the larger body of lore surrounding the partly mythical, partly historical King Arthur’s court. The Grail itself is variously described as a platter, a jewel, a stone or a chalice. But as academician Joseph Campbell and Buddhist scholar Tara Brach suggest, the quest for the Holy Grail is not so much a quest for a sacred object as a pilgrimage towards one’s own wholeness, healing or enlightenment. Join me as we court the mysteries of the Holy Grail and what it might mean for us today. — Drew

Easter Sunday: “There Were Tears, There Was Joy”

Speaker:

The Reverend Drew Kennedy

SUNDAY, APRIL 8, 2012

This year, as it so happens, the second day of the Jewish Passover coincides with the Christian celebration of Easter. So, we will celebrate both in our uniquely Unitarian Universalist way, but we’ll focus primarily on the peculiarly enduring emotional drama of Jesus’ journey from Bethany to Golgotha. This is a pilgrimage of truly epic proportions, even for those who, like most of us, are not Christians. This will be a “Family” Sunday, so please bring along your children to the first portion of the service. — Drew

Download

uumke-sermon-120408.mp3

Journey to Jerusalem

Speaker:

The Reverend Dena McPhetres

SUNDAY, APRIL 1, 2012

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week for Christians. At sundown on Friday this week, Passover begins for Jews. Moses led the Hebrew people on a journey out of Egypt, a liberation story commemorated on Passover. Jesus took a journey to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover on a spring day in the year 30, a day commemorated on Palm Sunday. Pilate took a journey to Jerusalem that same day. What can we learn from these pilgrimages of very different intent and consequences? — Dena

Download

uumke-sermon-120401.mp3

in a world of may and might, yes! -- The Gospel According to e.e. cummings

Speaker:

The Reverend Drew Kennedy

SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2012

ANNUAL POETRY SERVICE! Please join us for our Annual Poetry Service. This is 50th anniversary year since the death of E. E. Cummings — or as he presented himself, “e. e. cummings” — in 1962. As great poetry tends to be, the “gospel" according to e. e. cummings is as contemporary and fresh as ever, emphasizing authenticity, integrity, creativity, and love. Additionally, Cummings' father was a Unitarian minister! — Drew

Download

uumke-sermon-120325.mp3

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Services

9:45 and 11:15 a.m. only

(there will be NO 8:30 a.m. service on May 20)

12:30 p.m.

Annual Meeting of the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee

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