Archives: Services

This I Believe

Jennifer Pader had been planning to lead this Sunday‘s service but illness has unfortunately conspired to make that impossible. MMUUF wishes Jennifer a speedy recovery and we look forward to seeing her later in the year!
A cast of This I Believe service leaders are coming to the rescue with a service perhaps a little more gently focused on Gratitude than it might have been in its regular March time slot. With spoken thoughts from Evergreen, Kelly and Gaye, you can anticipate a service that speaks to the eclectic and wondering happenstance of finding meaning and expressing gratitude in our daily experiences of life in this little corner of the ever-perplexing universe.

“There Will be no Peace or Justice Without a Planet”

Ruah Swennerfelt, a member of the Burlington Friends Meeting (Quakers), will speak from her spiritual experiences in the natural world, and her decades of work for peace, justice and Earthcare. She gives the case for the intersectionality of all the issues we face today. Her work and life are filled with joy and she sows the seeds of hope.

Living Into Covenant: Sharing Our Collective Work

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At this special service, we will share the draft of the MMUUF Covenant along with reflections about the process and the purpose. There will be opportunities for discussion (and offline opportunities for wordsmithing). Please join us for this important reflection and discussion.

Please remember that each Sunday we ask Fellowship Members to bring a donation for the local Jericho Foodshelf. Our Fellowship has been asked to provide canned fruit when possible. Our contributions are critical to their important work!

Please send any announcements or gratitudes for the Order of Service insert to ad…@mmuuf.org. Deadline is the Friday before the service. Thank you.

Christmas Eve Service – 4pm

MMUUF will celebrate with readings and music around a theme of accepting and welcoming others into our holy days and spiritual traditions. Families welcome.

Celebrating the winter holidays, Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregations express our commitment to our Sixth Principle: We covenant to affirm and promote the goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all.

Unitarian Universalists celebrate Christmas as a time during winter’s low dark sky, to look to the miracle of light as a sign of rebirth and a source of hope. We celebrate the promise of new life and recommit ourselves to the protection of everyone’s right to his or her own radiant humanity.

A Hamster Named Yard

Join us for a controversial discussion about disability, spiritual practices and the search for social justice among (and beyond) Unitarian Universalism. How do we respect the inherent worth and dignity of every person while referring to him/her as“differently-abled”, “special”, “handicapable”? Do we inadvertently perpetuate the stigma of “otherness”?

The Rev. Jennifer Pader, M.Div., STM, LMSW became a disability rights advocate while at seminary, and her work there was written about in The New York Times and reprinted in UU World magazine. She has taught Theology of Disability at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and was among the first ministers to preach and write about this topic. This is Jennifer’s second year as a guest minister at MMUUF.

**Reminder: The Holiday Potluck will be directly after this service, please bring a dish (starter or entree or dessert) to share!

Please remember that each Sunday we ask Fellowship Members to bring a donation for the local Jericho Food shelf. Our Fellowship has been asked to provide canned fruit when possible. Our contributions are critical to their important work!

The Vulnerability of Parenting

In our social media culture parents are particularly under a microscope. We will unpack some of those judgements, and think about the inherent worth and dignity of every parent, especially those who are struggling to “get it right.”

Sensational stories like a child falling into a pen at a zoo go viral, judgements fly from every corner of society, everyone seems to have an opinion about what a parent should have done. Families who are challenged with mental health issues, or addictions to substances may find that reaching out for assistance, advice, and support means being judged by the community. Our implicit bias against being vulnerable pushes many people to carry on without seeking support.

Each Service, please bring a donation for the local Jericho Foodshelf. Our Fellowship is asked to provide canned fruit when possible. Our contributions are critical to this important work!

Affirming the Inherent Worth and Dignity of Every Person, Even During an Election Campaign

 

The first UU Principle states: We affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person.
How can our UU faith help us move beyond contempt to recognizing, respecting, and sharing a community with people who hold different values? In this first service after Election Day, Gaye hopes you will help answer that question.

Please remember that each Sunday we ask Fellowship Members to bring a donation for the local Jericho Food Shelf. Our Fellowship has been asked to provide canned fruit when possible. Our contributions are critical to their important work!

“Does the First Principle apply in the face of evil?”

Does the First Principle apply to everyone or is it a wish or an aspiration? When evil acts occur, does the First Principle apply to the people who committed those acts?

Catherine Stevens lives in Jericho with her husband and two dogs, is the Advancement Director at Green Mountain Habitat for humanity and a member of the MMUUF Sunday Service committee.

Please remember that each Sunday we ask Fellowship Members to bring a donation for the local Jericho Foodshelf. Our Fellowship has been asked to provide canned fruit when possible. Our contributions are critical to their important work!

Please send any announcements or gratitudes for the Order of Service insert to admin@mmuuf.org. Deadline is the Friday before the service. Thank you.

In the Good Company of Vow Breakers

We often hear Unitarian Universalism described as a religion that is covenantal, not creedal. This Sunday’s service invites us to think about the times when the covenantal rubber hits the road. The way we define covenant, and let covenant define us as a gathered people, will prepare us for our workshop after the service as we engage in the process of drafting a congregational covenant for the Mount Mansfield U U Fellowship.

Karen Bellavance-Grace serves the New England Region of our Unitarian Universalist Association. Her work is focused on the support of small congregations and congregational collaborations. Prior to joining the region 5 years ago, she served as a religious educator in Keene, NH and in multiple lay leadership positions at the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence.

Directly Following the service we will have the covenant workshop and luncheon.  Lunch and Childcare will be provided!!

Please remember that each Sunday we ask Fellowship Members to bring a donation for the local Jericho Foodshelf. Our Fellowship has been asked to provide canned fruit when possible. Our contributions are critical to their important work!

“Whose Lives Matter?”

During this summer of racially-charged violence, we have seen people of color suffering at the hands of a system that denies their equal rights. In order to respect the dignity and worth of every individual, we must broaden the conversation around state violence and the racial divide. Can we talk?

Rev. Jennifer Pader, M. Div, STM, LMSW is the Affiliate Minister for Pastoral Care of The Fourth Universalist Society. She was the 2015-2016 Guest Minister of the Mount Mansfield Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Jericho, Vermont, and is a sought-after speaker in the NYC area. She teaches, she preaches, and she loves to show her AKC champion Scotties. Her theology is that life should be “More Joy and Less Oy”.

 


Please remember that each Sunday we ask Fellowship Members to bring a donation for the local Jericho Foodshelf. Our Fellowship has been asked to provide canned fruit when possible. Our contributions are critical to their important work!