Archives: Services

Becoming Braver Angels: Depolarizing the United States

Tired of all the “us vs. them” dialog surrounding the recent elections? Come listen to a brief talk by Braver Angels Ambassador Mary K. Dennison. Braver Angels is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to address the political polarization that exists in our country

Things That Don’t Go Together: How Religion and Politics Don’t Mix

This Service will discuss how religion, especially fundamentalism, has come to dominate politics and why that is a recipe for disaster in a democratic society that upholds the principle of the separation of church and state.
Rev. Dr. Kenneth Langer is currently the Minister at the First Church in Barre Universalist Church in Barre, Vermont where he was ordained. Before becoming a Unitarian Universalist minister, he was a college music professor for over twenty years. He is a composer and the author of several books on spirituality and the arts.

Unsettled

In honor of Indigenous Peoples Day, Rev. Nicoline shares how the process of truth and reconciliation currently underway north of the US/Canada border has transformed how she thinks about concepts like identity, citizenship, and the country she calls home.

A lifelong Unitarian Universalist, Rev. Nicoline Guerrier has served the UU Fellowship of Plattsburgh, NY as minister since 2018. Previously a “bi-vocational minister” who combined ordained ministry with social work, she is also biracial, and almost bi-national, as she resides in Montreal and commutes to the US for work.

A Safe Barn and a Brave Barn

How do we create a fellowship that is both a space of belonging where people feel comfortable expressing themselves without judgment, while at the same time, encouraging challenging conversations and a diversity of thought? Kristen Hayden-West will host a discussion where we explore what it means for our fellowship to be both a safe and a brave environment.
Kristen Hayden-West is a member of the Mt. Mansfield Unitarian Fellowship where she serves on the Membership and Sunday Service committees. Beyond her work as a Curriculum Designer for the State of Vermont, and her side hustle flipping thrifted items on eBay, she enjoys being active outside and getting together with friends and her two adult children.

Gathering the Waters

The Sunday Service committee is ready for another Fellowship Year! This service will incorporate a tradition we started a year ago. At the last service in June, we handed out index cards to the Fellowship and asked them to write what they hoped to do or see during the summer. At this opening service, we will ask people to share what they wrote and if it came true, in addition to “sharing the waters” from a special place. The index cards were attached to everyone’s name tags and will be waiting when people enter the Barn. We also invite everyone to bring a small container of water from your home or a place you visited to combine into a community bowl as a symbol of our joining together again. All water is sacred. Folks attending via Zoom can share their water virtually and also share what they wrote on their cards at the last service.
Please note that there will NOT be RE for this service.

Passages: Welcoming New Members and Celebrating a Successful Year

Join the Sunday Service Committee for a service of reflection, gratitude, and celebration of our fellowship year. This will include reflections from members and friends on services, songs, discussions, or activities from the service year. There will also be a time during the service when friends of the fellowship can join our community as members by signing the Book of Members.

Memorial Service

The Cares and Concerns Committee of MMUUF will be hosting a memorial service honoring our beloved dead. Members and guests will have an opportunity to remember a beloved one no longer with us. This could be a person, or dog or cat, or any creature that caused your heart to swell with grief. Folks are asked to bring some items for our beloved dead altar, even if they aren’t speaking. But we would love to have people, members or guests, share a brief memory or a few words about whoever you are honoring. Children may also share before they leave for RE classes. It will be received with respect and love.

Celebrating Beltane

We will be celebrating Beltane, the Gaelic beginning of summer, a joyous ritual to honor the greening of our beautiful Earth. If the Weather Goddess cooperates, we will also dance to the maypole.

Evergreen is a member of the MMUUF fellowship, and loves to learn about the natural world and celebrate it!

Living Traditions – Artistic and Literary Expression and Indigenous American Worldviews

This talk will provide a very brief introduction to some of the artistic and literary traditions of Turtle Island (Indigenous America). Both visual and literary forms of expression have been, and continue to be, important vessels for Indigenous worldviews. Spending time with, and centering, these perspectives is valuable for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is that these are the traditions that have known and interpreted these lands and waters for thousands of years. We will learn a bit about the history of colonization, the attempted genocide of Indigenous peoples, and the clear attempt to destroy traditional lifeways and worldviews. That will be followed by a brief overview of cultural preservation, survivance, and the ongoing living artistic and literary traditions that carry these cultural perspectives into the modern world. A few contemporary artists and writers will be introduced, and resources will be provided for further research and learning.

 

Heath was born and raised in Vermont but traveled and lived in many places before returning home. Heath holds a BFA in Theatre and Religious Studies from New York University and an MA in Religious Studies and Art History from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA. They have academic experience in Religious Studies, Art History, Feminist Art History, Cultural Anthropology, Theatre, and Literature. Heath is committed to the study of meaning making systems and the artistic and material practices and cultures of all peoples. They believe that the study of these elements of culture can help us to understand and care for each other, leading to more profound understanding, empathy, and compassion between individuals, communities, and cultures. Heath is now grateful to live with their amazing family on a rich and vibrant part of the land that sweeps up the side of Mt Mansfield.

MMUUF Through the Years: Reflections on 30 Years of Faithful Risk-taking

What does it take to build and sustain a spiritual community? Join several long-time members of the Mount Mansfield Unitarian Universalist Fellowship as they share reflections on key moments in the history of our shared community. From the first to sign the book of members, the dedication towards religious education, and the leap to buying our sacred space to the many lessons of leading through a pandemic, we will explore all that we have done to engage in the covenant of faithful risk-taking.