FUUSN 2024 Summer Services

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June 16 FUUSN in the News Parish Hall How does FUUSN appear to those who only know us through the newspapers? This Sunday, Gayle Smalley, chair of the FUUSN Preservation Committee, will take us on a tour of FUUSN as seen through newspaper articles about us. What do you hope this might reveal? Come for a conversation about our community and the larger world.
June 23 Psychedelics and Spirituality: The Religion with No Name Zoom Today we are experiencing something of a renaissance in the understanding and acceptance of psychedelic experience. The medical community is leading this renaissance as it researches the power of psychedelics to address medical conditions such as addiction and anxiety. Yet throughout history, psychedelics have been even more centrally valued for their ability to promote spiritual experiences of love and oneness – creating what some have called The Religion With No Name. In this service, Curt Lamb will lead a discussion of the implications for contemporary spiritual life of the psychedelic renaissance.
June 30 Strong in the Broken Places Zoom Singer songwriter Leonard Cohen wrote in his song, Anthem, “There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” In this service – Strong in the Broken Places – Claire Willis will invite us to see our wounds and limitations in a new light – as sources of strength and even beauty.
July 7 NO SERVICE
July 14 In Defense of Capitalism Zoom As members of a liberal faith, we are regularly alerted to the importance of disciplining capitalism through initiatives like anti-monopoly legislation, unionization; and social, equity and governance policies. In our zeal to discipline capitalism, however, have we missed a larger reality – that it is capitalism which is responsible for the economic well-being of our age on which we all depend. FUUSN member Urban Larson addresses these questions regularly in his university teaching. His thoughts for us this Sunday will be an invitation to consider our biases concerning essential economic realities.
July 21 On Composing Parish Hall Composition is a central part of any artistic endeavor, providing the means for projects to be conceived, structured, and launched. In this service we will look over the shoulder of several artists within the FUUSN community as they engage in artistic composition: Bob MacWilliams, music composer; Cathy Morocco, poet; and Elli Crocker, painter. Their tactics can enhance our insight into composing the initiatives of our own lives, whether artistic or personal.
July 28 Our Philosophical Religion Zoom Is Unitarian Universalism best described as a late offshoot of Protestant Christianity, or a very late offshoot of Greek philosophy? FUUSN member Arthur Anderson has made a decades-long study of this question resulting in a treatise titled The Transcendentalists and The Death and Rebirth of Western Philosophical Religion. This Sunday Arthur will describe his research and open up a new perspective on the history and essential nature of our faith.
August 4 Songs of Joy and Hope Parish Hall In an era of endless conflict and disputation, join us this Sunday for a reprieve. Joan Caplan and friends will lead us in a service of songs of hope and joy that renew the spirit.
August 11 Schubert’s Commonplace Epiphanies Parish Hall Through his music, Franz Schubert sought epiphanies within the commonplace – a quest with meaning for all of us. Lois Shapiro, FUUSN ‘s cherished concert pianist and music educator, will help us understand the musical and intentional intricacies of an iconic Schubert composition, and show us its force, from beginning to end.
August 18 Jug Band Universalism Parish Hall The second U in our name stands for Universalism, an old-time populist faith to which we are the sole heirs. Come to this service for some old time music from FUUSN’s infamous Jug Band, Outrageous Fortune. The day’s sermons will be drawn from the words of illustrious Universalists, and will, with a little luck, be delivered by an actual 19th century Universalist minister.
August 25 Listening Parish Hall Are you good at listening? While we all manage to hear enough to get by, would things be different if we were great listeners? Would we find more depth in music? Would we discover more dimensions of nature? Would we experience our friends and loved ones more profoundly? This Sunday we will examine our habits of listening through a series of exercises that encourage us to really hear the music of our lives, the voices of our loved ones, and the free symphony of the world that surrounds us.
Sept. 1 NO SERVICE