Worship Services at Unity Church
Our building is currently closed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Multigenerational Sunday services are being live-streamed from the Sanctuary at 10:00 a.m. Please join us. Services are being recorded and may be viewed at your convenience following the live stream. CLICK HERE for past services.
After the service, whether this is your first time with us or you've been here all your life, you’re invited to participate in a virtual Zoom coffee hour, where we share a bit of our lives with each other and get to know one another more deeply. Stay for a few minutes or stay up to 45 minutes to connect in smaller break-out rooms. Unity Church staff and volunteers lead the sessions, and will suggest questions both light-hearted and deep for discussion. Please CLICK HERE to participate in the Zoom coffee hour. If you would like to participate in Finding Yourself at Unity, a weekly way for newcomers to connect and learn about Unity Church and Unitarian Universalism, please CLICK HERE for details. Each Sunday, through the work of the Generosity Ministry Team, seventy percent of the offering is placed in the hands of the chosen community non-profit recipient. The remaining thirty percent goes to support of the Community Outreach Ministry at Unity Church. Offering recipients for each Sunday are listed below the Sunday service description. CLICK HERE to make a donation. If you would like to nominate a non-profit to receive the Sunday offering, please fill out the online nomination form. January Sunday WorshipJanuary 3: Tolling of Bells
Livestream service: https://youtu.be/xZ2-c0j6Zjo “It matters how you carry it, books, bricks, grief...” wrote Mary Oliver. Given the magnitude of our grief in response to the pandemic, our annual Tolling of Bells service seems perfectly timed for the turning. If you would like to have a candle lit to honor someone you loved and lost in 2020, please send their name, your name and a sentence or two that points to their attributes, to Rob Eller-Isaacs at robei@unityunitarian.org. Offering recipient: East Side Elders January 10: Whose Story Is This? Livestream service: https://youtu.be/MO40tvDpfFI We all have a multitude of stories that we carry with us that inform us about our lives and our identity. They belong to us. Or do they? Worship associate Erika Sanders and Rev. Janne Eller-Isaacs will delve into the issues of story, identity, and who has the authority and power to tell stories about identity. Offering recipient: Listening House January 17: Soul Force Livestream service: https://youtu.be/8LmnGYUq0H4 Combining the Sanskrit word satya meaning soul or truth, and the Hindi word graha usually translated as force, Gandhi coined the term satyagraha to refer to non-violent resistance. Rev. Rob Eller-Isaacs and worship associate Ben Pettee will honor the legacy of Dr. King by renewing our understanding of the practice of satyagraha and of how its lessons are applicable today. Offering recipient: Open Cities Health Center January 24: Dare to Be Powerful Livestream service: https://youtu.be/-7rI_qLlMNA Audre Lorde wrote, “When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” When we use our strength in the service of our vision, it becomes less and less important whether we are afraid, and it also becomes less and less important how the external environment is changing. Our vision doesn’t change, though our choices about what we do with our life force might. As the year on the calendar changes, as the national leadership changes in the U.S., how does our use of our own power remain the same and how does it change? Rev. Meg Riley, pulpit guest; Lia Rivamonte, worship associate. Offering recipient: Help at Your Door January 31: By What Authority? Livestream service: https://youtu.be/eob1xncsuSw The question of authority surrounds us in the controversies and divisions of our time, from politics and media to criminal justice and the science of vaccinations and climate change. What are the sources of authority that we can rely upon in a post-fact era, when skepticism reigns of the old and entrenched order and brazen power assumes the guise of authority? Rev. KP Hong and worship associate Rebecca Flood explore the crisis and question of authority at a time when the organizing structures of society no longer hold and nothing definite seems forthcoming. Offering recipient: Spirit of St. Stephens Outreach in Minneapolis |
Family and Story Sundays
Family Sundays 2020-21: TBD
Family Sundays take place five times each church year. On Family Sundays, children experience the entire worship together with their families in the Sanctuary. A children’s message and activity books related to the stories and sermon help children to engage in the experience of worship. Regular religious education programming does not take place on Family Sundays; however, the nursery is open for children under three years of age. Story Sundays 2020-21: TBD Story Sundays happen frequently throughout the church year, with children in grades 1-8 beginning in worship with the congregation in the Sanctuary. After the opening hymn, prayers, and children’s message, Workshop Rotation children (grades 1-5) proceed with their Journey Guides to their classrooms for religious education programming while junior high youth (grades 6-8) remain in the sanctuary for the entire worship service. |
© Unity Church-Unitarian • 733 Portland Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55104 • 651-228-1456 • unity@unityunitarian.org • A Welcoming Congregation