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DocumentsDate added
Rev. Joseph Ellwanger is a retired ELCA Pastor who served an urban parish in the African
American Community in Birmingham, Alabama, 1958-67, and a central city congregation in
Milwaukee, 1967-2002. His organizing experience includes participation in the civil right
movement in Birmingham and Selma, Alabama, in 1963 and 1965, and various roles social justice groups in Milwaukee,1988-2002. Since Joe’s retirement from parish ministry, he has been serving as an organizer with interfaith social justice groups. Locally, Joe works with Fox Valley’s ESTHER group and he is a campaign organizer working especially on the statewide issue of Treatment Instead of Prison (TIP).
Rev. Joseph Ellwanger
Join us for our annual Winter Solstice service as we celebrate the darkness of this time of year as well as the beginning return of the light.
Revs. Bertschausen & Mathews
When UU congregations gather, we often begin by lighting a chalice. What might this mean for us
together? What can it symbolize for you? The unpredictable dance of the spirit supported upon a
base of reason? The light of individual freedom held up for the world by a solid caring community?
Rev. Paul Beckel
Remembering those who gave their lives in service to our country is particularly important—and complicated—in the midst of an unpopular war. In this sermon I will honor Memorial Day by reflecting on the challenges of remembering.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
The Rev. Paul Beckel is the minister of the First Universalist Unitarian Church in Wausau. In these sermons, the Rev. Beckel will reflect on “winning” through the lenses of chess strategy, and Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War.” The sermon will be divided into two parts.
Rev. Paul Beckel
B Alford and Erik Leveille explore how Music, Poetry, particularly by Rumi, and Nature help them make sense of the world and be able to live more authentically and connected to a compassionate heart. B has been a singer songwriter since the age of thirteen. Erik plays violin with the Fox Valley Symphony and numerous other regional symphonies.
B Alford / Erik Leveille
This service is the culminating event of the year-long Coming of Age program. Come and hear our youth share about the program and share their credos. A credo is a belief statement—the Latin root means that which you give your heart to. This is always a very moving and inspiring service.
FVUUF Coming of Age Youth
This service is the culminating event of the year-long Coming of Age program. Come and hear our youth share about the program and share their credos. A credo is a belief statement—the Latin root means that which you give your heart to. This is always a very moving and inspiring service.
FVUUF Coming of Age Youth
If I were to ask any of you if you would like to be considered "ordinary" by your peers, I imagine that most of you would emphatically say, "Absolutely not!" Who would want to be
known for their ordinariness?
Rev. Dottie Mathews
Atonement is a powerful spiritual response to causing harm to others. With reference to the contemporary novel and movie version of Atonement, I will explore atonement as a spiritual path
that is potentially available to all of us.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
The prison at Guantanamo, the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and other such prisons, warrantless wiretapping, extraordinary rendition: these responses to 9/11 have in my view
profoundly threatened some of the basic principles that govern our justice system. Why were these policies adopted? What has been their impact on avoiding further terrorist attacks, the perception of our nation in the world, and the American view of justice? And what should be done now about these policies as a new administration comes into place?
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
Causing harm to others is unfortunately a basic part of being human. We have all caused harm. So what do we do when we inevitably cause harm to another person, or someone else causes us harm? A common response has been punishment. In addition to exploring the history of crime and punishment, I'll delve into the purpose of punishment and what "good" -- that is, ethical and effective -- punishment might look like.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
This sermon will explore the current state of the American criminal justice system. Topics I'll cover include the explosion in prison population, the criminalization of drugs, the increasing focus on
victims’ rights, and the death penalty. What could be done to improve our system of justice? What guidance do our Unitarian Universalist principles offer as we envision a more ethical and effective criminal justice system?
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
Depression impacts our lives, our families, and our society in countless ways. This will be a conversation from a pastoral perspective – not a clinical one. It will be a sharing of some of what I have learned as I have provided support for many people dealing with this issue, and the ways it has touched my own family.
Rev. Dottie Mathews
Robert Koehler, award-winning Chicago-based journalist, editor at Tribune Media Services, and nationally syndicated writer, returns to the Fellowship to call our attention to a movement in the new Congress: Dennis Kucinich's HR 808 would create a cabinet-level Department of Peace, funded at 2% of the Defense Department's budget, and would support peace as an alternative to violence at all levels: within homes, schools, prisons, across 'nations.' Can we at last give peace a chance?
Robert Koehler
By: Rebecca Beringer
Karon Sandberg shares her journey on a Global Justice Trip to Guatemala and how, even in the midst of crippling oppression, hope and peace are found in the divine spirit of the children.
Karon is in Seminary preparing for the Unitarian Universalist ministry and is being sponsored by the Fellowship.
Karon Sandberg
In this message, we'll discuss my views on why the recent Wisconsin legislation has been so highly celebrated by committed same-gender couples in this state and we’ll learn more about the rights now afforded them under the law. As an overriding theme, we will also consider the apparent truth that incremental steps are often required to bring about significant changes in society.
Rev. Dottie Mathews
This sermon title is from a verse of “Enter, Rejoice and Come In.” As the Fellowship continues to grow, the changes keep on coming. We can especially see that in our building
campaign, our re-envisioned Wellspring and social justice ministries, changes in our worship life, and my upcoming sabbatical. I’ll reflect on change, where the Fellowship is headed, and where I am after twenty years of ministry with you.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
Many in our congregation come from Christian backgrounds and sometimes struggle to reconcile their past heritage with their current faith journey. Jim will share his own experiences and those of several authors who found ways to express their Christian faith within a diverse world view.
Jim Coakley
"Ethical Eating: Food and Environmental Justice" was chosen at the 2008 General Assembly to be a 2008-2012 Congregational Study/Action Issue of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. Trish Kirk will introduce this CSAI and discuss the social and environmental consequences of our food
choices in her sermon 'Ethical Eating: Compassionate Choices.
Trish Kirk
Unitarian Universalist congregations in the states find the pews filled with mostly white, middle class, well educated folks. My trip to the Philippines to visit our partnership church in Banaybanay showed me that our liberal and accepting theology resonates with the poorest of the poor and those with little education. Share in learning more about our partnership church and how they can teach us how to welcome more diversity in our Fellowship here.
Karon Sandberg
This topic is much in the news and people seem to fall into one of three categories: avid fans, scornful refuseniks, or (quite frequently, it seems) befuddled and wondering if they are somehow missing the rapidly departing boat. Join Dottie - with help from our Senior High Youth Group - as we look into this phenomenon and its implications for society and our faith.
Rev. Dottie Mathews
I spent a lot of time in my youth trying hard to avoid failure. Even as a young adult, I often navigated my life to avoid things that might cause me to experience failure. Now in middle age I have begun to see failure much differently, as a teacher, as an opportunity and even a muse. Failing at something often creates a transition, a change of path or plans. How can we embrace failure as a wise teacher who may really be opening a new window?
Karon Sandberg
We come, as Unitarian Universalists, from a long, proud line of heretics and blasphemers, people whoʹve said no to orthodoxy, hypocrisy, oppression. But to what do we say yes? In what do we place our faith? What do we love, and live for, live by? The Rev. Safford has been Minister of White Bear Unitarian Universalist Church since 1999, following a ten-year ministry at Northampton, Massachusetts. She is widely regarded as one of the premier
preachers in Unitarian Universalism today; both Roger and Dottie would put her right up at the top of their lists.
Rev. Victoria Safford
Prophethood is not something that you choose. It is something that arouses with elemental power and compels you to walk a path, an adventurous path that is sometimes joyful, sometimes painful, and often both. But it is YOUR WAY, and you can't do otherwise. It gives you strength, for it is coming from the SOURCE OF LIFE. This sermon invites us to get closer to the memory of Balázs Ferenc (1901-1937), Unitarian minister of Mészkő, Transylvania. He was a man with vision, a world traveler, a writer, a poet, a community builder, a parent and husband, and a misunderstood prophet. His wife Christine went on to become a founder of our Fellowship, and their daughter Enika is a friend of our Fellowhsip. The Rev. Balint is the minster of the Unitarian Church of Mészkő, and is the Balázs Scholar at Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley.
Rev. Robert Balint
Writers and sages have long told us that "you can never go home again" but we know that there are
times when life pulls us into unexpected routes that sure can FEEL like a homecoming. Join with our
new Assistant Minister, Dottie Mathews, as she explores what it means to return to this faith community -
to be together again for the very first time.
Rev. Dottie Mathews
Abortion, gay marriage, gun control, the legalization of some drugs, affirmative action—these and other hot button issues continue to threaten to rip apart the fabric of our society. Is it
possible to find common ground on some of these issues? Is it desirable? What might some of this common ground look like?
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
The spiritual writer Evelyn Underhill notes that "we spend most of our lives conjugating three verbs: to want, to have, and to do." How can we free ourselves from being dominated by these three verbs? What does spiritual freedom look like?
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
Society tells us that the winter holiday time is meant to be joyful for everyone. Many of us, however, are aware that the holidays can be anything but a time of celebration. Join us as we explore the "space between" to find peace and, perhaps, joy as the world bustles around us.
Jenny Straight
Many folks have asked some variation of this question: "I am so glad I've found Unitarian Universalism - I love it! But can you help me find the right words to explain it to others?" In this service, we will talk about what we believe, and how to express it to family, friends and acquaintances.
Rev. Dottie Mathews
Religion is about values in action. So is work. Each of us has a calling, a voice inside that we balance with financial need and personal circumstance. How might liberal religion help us to resolve our calling to meaningful work? What spiritual wisdom or tools exist that can help us to navigate tough economic times? Transitions related to work will be the focus of "Endings and Beginnings" in November.
Jason Seymour, Interim Assistant Minister
This sermon will set the stage for the sermon series by focusing on the rich meaning of the concept of "call."
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
Many things can get in the way of our hearing our call, or cause us to hear the wrong call. This sermon will explore the variety of hindrances to hearing our call that we might encounter.
Rev. Roger Bertschausen
