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?