Archives: Services

Accepting & Embracing Humanism

The third principle calls us to accept one another and encourage spiritual growth. This is the first UU principle that brings a “spirit” into discussion and we will dive into what that can look like if we don’t have faith in an other being. We will discuss other motivations to do good other than fear and the promise of an afterlife, and other questions that arise when one charts their own course.

Maura Collins has been a member of MMUUF for the past six years. She works on affordable housing issues in the state and speaks publicly on that topic regularly, but is otherwise wholly unqualified to give a sermon at a church. That said, she is working towards accepting her Humanist beliefs and trying to understand how she can covenant to encourage spiritual growth when she struggles with the “spirit.”

Attitude of Gratitude

Probably everyone has had immeasurable numbers of deeply satisfying gratitude experiences – though likely, with little knowledge of how much good they were doing for their own well-being, much less the broader community, too. Yet, according to guest preacher Ginny Sassaman, an “Attitude of Gratitude” is so beneficial, it’s almost a requirement for anyone who wants to be happy and/or wants to make the world a happier place. Sassaman, an experienced lay preacher throughout central Vermont, and a national expert on happiness, will share the science and beauty of gratitude on October 28th.

Piggybacking on the Lives of Others

Let’s ask ourselves whether we can “get up” on the backs of others’ lives without a sense of our own unique calling. Do others’ lives help to clarify or appreciate our own calling? Whose life are you presently drawing energy and inspiration from? Does it relate in any way to your own vocation?

Roddy O’Neil Cleary is a retired Emerita UU minister who is a religious hybrid, a catholic unitarian. She was a member of a religious community of sisters for almost 15 years, a campus minister at UVM for 15 years, and served at 1st UU in Burlington for 11 years. She is working at present in Hospice and prison ministry.

Living with Dementia

Rev. Jane Dwinell and Sky Yardley have been Living with Dementia since the summer of 2016 when Sky was diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer’s disease at age 66. Jane is a retired UU minister who specialized in assisting small congregations, and is the author of Big Ideas for Small Congregations. Sky is a retired family mediator, and assisted the Mt. Mansfield Fellowship in the early 2000s when we were considering purchasing a building. They live in Burlington with their son, Sayer, and his partner, Emma, where they garden, enjoy the lake, and play a round of disc golf whenever possible.

Gather the Waters – return from summer break

This Service will be our annual Gather the Waters. Bring water and a memory from a special summer place to share with the Fellowship. The water poured into a common vessel represents our shared faith coming from many different sources.

Final Service and Flower Ceremony

Join us for our annual Flower Ceremony and the Final Service of the current fellowship year until we meet again in September. This will be a time to share and reflect upon the year we’ve spent together.

“Mama, why are the flags down again?” Reflections on Activism and Motherhood

Please join us on Mother’s Day as Kelly McCutcheon Adams shares reflections and questions that have come up for her over the past 18 months as her peak in activism has coincided with her children’s increasing awareness of the news of the world. She has been grappling with how to engage them without crossing a line. Kelly is a member of MMUUF and serves as the Vice President and chair of the Welcoming & Membership Committee. She is a clinical social worker and telecommutes to Boston as a Senior Director for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.

Loving Someone with a Disability

The first principle of Unitarian Universalism affirms the inherent worth and dignity of every person. Loving a person with a disability and experiencing the daily joys and challenges that comes along with that is an opportunity to put that principle into action. She urges us to rejoice in the spectrum of differences surrounding us. Not just the diversity of race, color or creed, but of thought, mental health and ability as well. As a Unitarian Universalist, long time MMUUF member and parent of 4 very unique children, Amy enjoys celebrating the diversity of the entire human spirit.

Who Am I, Where Am I, What Do I Want To Do?

This service is about our individual responsibility to form intention and carry out action to move UU Principles forward in the world. Each of us needs to understand who we are, where we are, and what we want to do to. In Steve’s case, the Mission Statement of the Montpelier Unitarian Church elegantly defines those principles and forms the basis, along with his intellectual commitment to scientific materialism, for his intentions and actions.

Steve is retired and lives in Montpelier with his wife, has two grown children, and has been a member of the Montpelier Unitarian Church for more than 30 years.