December 24, 2022 – Threads of Love
Christmas Eve Candlelight Services
Join our livestream HERE.
December 21, 2022 – Solstice Service
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Austin Ferguson, Joe Mish, Heather Vinge-Hanson, Marie Davidiak, Kate Thompson-Jewell, Beth Atkinson, and Amy Nelson, Nick Woolums and George Huston
Join our livestream HERE.
December 19, 2022 – Blue Holiday Service
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Trish Braga, Kristian Kennedy, Roxanne Schlasner, Ronice Donovan, and music from Laurie Helmers
Join our livestream HERE.
December 18, 2022 – Gifts of Dark, Gifts of Light
A service celebrating the many gifts of the winter holidays, including Hanukkah and Solstice.
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Ann Hutton, Jerry Katzmann, Amy Nelson, Melissa Eggler, and music from Austin Ferguson, Joe Mish, Chalice Choir, and Walden Hill Vocal Ensemble
Join our livestream HERE.
December 11, 2022 – Humbug
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Anne Black-Sinak, Amy Nelson, Melissa Eggler, and music from Brady Blaylock and Austin Ferguson
Guest Musician:
Brady is a multi instrumentalist currently working on a bachelor’s in clarinet performance at the University of Washington. He was raised in small town in Lindale, Texas, before he moved to Seattle to pursue further music opportunities. He has also subbed on 2nd clarinet/alto saxophone for the Mesquite Symphony Orchestra in the DFW area for the 2021-2022 concert season.
Join our livestream HERE.
December 4, 2022 – Isn’t That Curious
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Beth Atkinson, Amy Nelson, and music from Austin Ferguson and Joe Mish
Join our livestream HERE.
November 27, 2022 -Gratitude to Great-ti-tude and Back Again
Service Participants:
Greg Wimmer, Heather Vinge-Hanson, Darin Podulke-Smith, and music from Austin Ferguson
Join our livestream HERE.
November 20, 2022 – All of the Story
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Tom Weber, Amy Nelson, Melissia Eggler, and music from Austin Ferguson, Joe Mish, and The OK Factor
Guest Musicians:
The OK Factor
Olivia Diercks and Karla Colahan, cellist and violist describe their music as, organic and genuine, their original compositions feel both comfortingly familiar and uniquely fresh, and have been described as “genre-bending” (Julie Amacher, MPR) and “pure magic” (Wausau Pilot & Review).
Join our livestream HERE.
November 13, 2022 – Awe/Aww
Awe/Aww
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Heather Vinge-Hanson, Amy Nelson, Melissia Eggler, and music from Austin Ferguson, Joe Mish, and Prairie Band (Jane Foote, Alex Higano, Brianna Berg, Barbara Anderson, and Rose Mish)
Join our livestream HERE.
November 6, 2022 – Living: Day by Day (by day by day)
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Paul Trewartha-Weiner, Amy Nelson, Melissa Egger, and music from Austin Ferguson, and Joe Mish
Join our livestream HERE.
October 30, 2022 – Up, Down, Heaven Bound – All Souls Service
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Ann Hutton, Amy Nelson, Melissa Eggler, and music from the Walden Hill Vocal Ensemble, Children’s Choir, Joe Mish, and Austin Ferguson
Join our livestream HERE.
October 23, 2022 – Courageous Change
How do we know when to take action, how do we find the courage to act? Looking at Unitarian and Universalist historical figures John Murray and Henry David Thoreau, we explore the courage it takes to change.
Service Participants:
Rev. Sara Goodman, Beth Atkinson, Amy Nelson, Melissa Eggler, and music from Austin Ferguson
Rev. Sara Goodman is Assistant Minister of Community Spiritual Growth and White Bear UU Church. Sara, her husband Shawn, and their two kids Jamie and Emily are lifelong UUs.
Join our livestream HERE.
October 16, 2022 – Redistributing Roots
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Trish Braga, Amy Nelson, and music from Joe Mish, Jan Matson, and J. Warren Mitchell
Guest Musician
Warren Mitchell
Hailed by the Ruppiner Anzeiger as “ The New, Young Pavarotti,” American-born tenor J. Warren is an emerging star in the opera world with a distinct full-lyric voice that is known for singing the legato melodies of Verdi and the passionate, yet tender, interpretations of arias from Puccini.
Join our livestream HERE.
October 9, 2022 – Beginning Again (and again)
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Gus Braga, Amy Nelson, Melissa Eggler, and music from Emily Whitcomb
Guest Musician
Emily Whitcomb is the daughter of a luthier and a seasoned music lesson check writer, Emily got her start performing her original songs at folk music festivals across the Midwest. Emily’s songs showcase a wide variety of subject matters and highlight human emotions in a poetic and profound manner. Her songs are primarily based on her own experiences, which she hopes will provide comfort and connection to the listener.
Join our livestream HERE.
October 2, 2022 – Where Courage Can Take Us
Good things can happen, for ourselves and for our world, when we do what needs to be done despite our fears.
Service Participants:
Rev. Jim Foti, Heather Vinge-Hanson, Amy Nelson, Melissa Eggler, and music from Austin Ferguson
Rev. Jim Foti is a free-range Unitarian Universalist minister in Minnesota and Wisconsin. He previously served eight years as an assistant minister at the First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis.
Join our livestream HERE.
September 25, 2022 – Pull, Rest
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Paul Trewartha-Weiner, Amy Nelson, and music from Austin Ferguson, Joe Mish, and the Walden Hill Vocal Ensemble
Special Guest Musicians: Carrie Newcomer, Gary Walters, Pianist, and Rose Mish, Violinst
Carrie Newcomer is a songwriter, recording artist, performer, educator and activist. She has been described as a “prairie mystic” by the Boston Globe and one who “asks all the right questions” by Rolling Stone Magazine. Carrie has 19 nationally released albums on Available Light & Concord/Rounder Records including Until Now, The Point of Arrival and The Beautiful Not Yet. Newcomer has released three books of poetry & essays, A Permeable Life: Poems and Essays, The Beautiful Not Yet: Poems and Essays & Lyrics, and Until Now: New Poems by Carrie Newcomer. Her song “I Should’ve Known Better” appeared on Nickel Creeks’ Grammy-winning gold album This Side, and she earned an Emmy for her PBS special An Evening with Carrie Newcomer.
Join our livestream HERE.
September 18, 2022 – How To Live With It
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Ann Hutton, Amy Nelson, Melissa Eggler, and music from Austin Ferguson and guest musician Lori Elward
Join our livestream HERE.
September 11, 2022 – A Wide Arrival – Water Communion Sunday
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Gus Braga, Beth Atkinson, Anne Black-Sinak, Paul Trewartha Weiner, Amy Nelson, and music from the Walden Hill Vocal Ensemble, Austin Ferguson, and Joe Mish
Join our livestream HERE.
September 4, 2022 – Covered in Dust
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Heather Vinge-Hanson, Melissa Eggler, and music from Austin Ferguson and Joe Mish
Join our livestream HERE.
August 28, 2022 – Blessed Are We/They/Us/Them
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Gus Braga, Amy Nelson, Melissa Eggler, and music from Austin Ferguson, Joe Mish, and the Walden Hill Vocal Ensemble
Join our livestream HERE.
August 21, 2022 – Home Among the Stars: A Chalice Camp Service (Rescheduled!)
Join us to celebrate this year’s chalice camp, held in July, exploring galaxies, stars, and the sources of our faith. The service (which was rescheduled from the Sunday we had a tree fall on the building) will feature words and music we learned together, including the chalice camp choir!
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Heather Hanson, Amy Nelson, Chalice Camp Counselors, and music from Sam Buchl, Joe Mish, and the Chalice Camp Choir
Guest Musician:
Sam Buchl is a pianist and researcher in Rochester, Minnesota. He studied piano with Goldie McCoy in his hometown, Kasson, and has accompanied high school choir concerts, church events, and weddings. Sam studied psychology & cognitive science at Swarthmore College and currently studies regenerative neurobiology at Mayo Clinic. He is excited to make music with and for Rochester’s Unitarian Universalist community.
Join our livestream HERE.
August 14, 2022 – Blessing the Journey
Service Participants:
Rev. Karen Hering, Paul Trewartha-Weiner, and music from Austin Ferguson and Joe Mish
Rev. Karen Hering, former associate minister of Unity Church-Unitarian in St. Paul, is the author of Trusting Change: Finding Our Way through Personal and Global Transformation, in bookstores this September and available for purchase at the church after the service on August 14. Karen leads retreats and programs and serves as a threshold guide to people and communities on the cusp of change. Her first book, Writing to Wake the Soul: Opening the Sacred Conversation Within, was named one of the best spiritual books of the year. www.karenhering.com.
Join our livestream HERE.
August 7, 2022 – Intimations of Mortality
When we acknowledge the reality of death, without morbid attachment, the potential to savor every bit of life can emerge.
Service Participants:
Rev. Rita Capezzi, Ann Hutton, Amy Nelson, Melissa Eggler, and music from Austin Ferguson and Joe Mish
Rev. Rita Capezzi spent her childhood and youth as a native of Pittsburgh, PA. For 25 years, she lived and raised a family in Buffalo, NY. While working as an English professor at a Jesuit college, she enjoyed international travel to Europe, Southern India, and Tanzania with students and colleagues. Rev. Rita entered Meadville Lombard Theological School in 2015. Since granted fellowship by the UUA in 2018, Rev. Rita has served the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Mankato as its first full-time settled minister.
Join our livestream HERE.
July 31, 2022 – Celebrating the Blessing of Enoughness
Service Participants:
Rev. Diana McLean, Anne Black-Sinak, Amy Nelson, Melissa Eggler, and music from Austin Ferguson
Rev. Diana McLean is a nearly lifelong Unitarian Universalist. She grew up in a military family with roots in North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, and has lived in three countries and twelve states so far. Her passions include reading, writing, jigsaw puzzles, photography, and travel. Her favorite job title is Mom to her son Aidan, who is now 19. She and her wife Shay, also a UU minister, are the co-founders of an arts-based entrepreneurial ministry, Sacred Depths, which can be found at www.sacreddepths.com. They currently live in Minneapolis with two cats, a dog, and many books.
Join our livestream HERE.
July 24, 2022 – Home Among the Stars
(Service Cancelled – Storm Damage)
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Heather Hanson, Amy Nelson, Chalice Camp Counselors, and music from Austin Ferguson, Joe Mish, and the Chalice Camp Choir
Join our livestream HERE.
July 17, 2022 – Wonder in the Midst of Storm
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Ann Hutton, Amy Nelson, Melissa Eggler, and music from Austin Ferguson and Joe Mish
Join our livestream HERE.
July 10, 2022 – How We Welcome
Our structures of hospitality need a reboot. How do we think about new ways of making community and putting out the carpet of welcome?
Service Participants:
Rev. Jack Gaede, Beth Atkinson, and music from Austin Ferguson
Guest Minister:
For four years, Rev. Jack Gaede has served as Assistant Minister of Congregational Life at White Bear UU Church in Mahtomedi, MN. Passionate about building community, he lives in Minneapolis in a community house with two of his best friends and their two dogs. “For me, the religious community is the meaning-making community, and I’m so glad to be in relationship with people who want to make meaning together.”
Join our livestream HERE.
July 3, 2022 – Keeping the Faith
Service Participants:
Rev. Sara Smalley, Gus Braga, Derik Robertson, and music from Jeff Daehn
Guest Minister:
Rev. Sara Smalley is passionate about the promise of Unitarian Universalism as a faith that honors sorrow and amplifies joy; that creates authentic communities of transformation and belonging; and that inspires and challenges us each to do our part to heal this broken and beautiful world. She serves the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Northfield as its minister and lives in Minneapolis.
Guest Musician:
Originally from Chicago, Jeff Daehn studied music at Valparaiso University in Indiana and Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He came to Rochester in 1977 as organist and music minister at Zumbro Lutheran Church, studied carillon with Dean Robinson and other well-known carillonneurs, and served as carillonneur of Mayo Clinic from 2004 through 2016.
Join our livestream HERE.
June 26, 2022 – When in Our Music
Service Participants:
Jane Foote, Heather Vinge-Hanson, Joe Mish, Amy Nelson, and music from Jane Foote, Joe Mish, and Connie Schuelka
Join our livestream HERE.
June 19, 2022 – The Great Emergence
Service Participants:
Rev. Shay MacKay, Gus Braga, Melissa Eggler, Derik Robertson, and music from Connie Schuelka
Shay MacKay is a UU minister that identifies as a mystical pantheist with a strong dose of religious humanism and a healthy integration of her Catholic upbringing. She brings all of this, along with her background as a musician and composer, to her ministry through Sacred Depths – an entrepreneurial adventure she is starting with her wife, Rev. Diana McLean, based in Minneapolis. Shay also works part-time at Unity Unitarian in St. Paul as the Coordinator of Outreach Ministries and part-time at East Side Neighborhood Services in Minneapolis as the Coordinator of Caregiver Support. And she’s the delighted mama of a cavapoo named Gus who just turned 1!
Join our livestream HERE.
June 12, 2022 – This I Believe: Board Members
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Amy Nelson, Ann Hutton, Kim Reid, Greg Turosak, Brianna Berg, Molly Dingel, Walt Rothwell, Dave Siljenberg, and music from Austin Ferguson
Special Guest Musician:
Claire Janezic
Claire Janezic has been playing carillon for five years at the University of Rochester, New York. In 2021, they passed the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America’s (GCNA) Carillonneur Examination. Later that year, they were awarded a grant from the GCNA, alongside composer Jacob Leibowitz, to write and premiere Fractured Chronology, an original carillon composition.
Janezic has spent the past year teaching carillon, organizing a weekly carillon concert series at the University of Rochester, New York, and playing concerts in and out of Rochester, New York. They graduated from the University of Rochester, New York in May with a Music and History double major and a minor in Audio and Music Engineering.
Join our livestream HERE.
June 5, 2022 – If You Want a Garden
Join us for this annual threshold service to summer, by bringing a flower from a garden or roadside for our communal bouquet.
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Trish Braga, Melissa Eggler, Amy Nelson, and music from Walden Hill Vocal Ensemble, Austin Ferguson, and Joe Mish.
Join our livestream HERE.
May 29, 2022 – The Resounding Why
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Gus Braga, Melissa Eggler, Amy Nelson, and music from Austin Ferguson, and Joe Mish.
Join our livestream HERE.
May 22, 2022 – Coming of Age Service
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Coming of Age Youth, Amy Nelson, and music from Morgan Robertson, Austin Ferguson, and Joe Mish
2022 Coming of Age Youth:
Aidan Eggler
Milan Gupta
Katrina Milbrandt
Claire Nelson
Riley Thompson
Join our livestream HERE.
May 15, 2022 – Moving at the Speed of Trust
Service Participants:
Rev. Meg Riley, Ann Hutton, Melissa Eggler, Amy Nelson, and music from Nanilo, and Austin Ferguson.
Special Guest Preacher: Rev. Meg Riley
Rev. Meg Riley currently serves as Co-Moderator of our national Unitarian Universalist Association. She has served in ministry and national leadership in Unitarian Universalism for over 35 years, including as Senior Minister of Church of the Larger Fellowship, our largest congregation, “without walls” (online), and much work for justice and equity. Rev. Riley lives in Minneapolis,
Special Guest Musicians: Nanilo
Sarina Partridge
Sarah Larsson
Nanilo is a vocal and instrumental duo performing songs of Jewish and Eastern European roots.
Join our livestream HERE.
May 8, 2022 – Mending the Miraculous
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Beth Atkinson, Amy Nelson, and music from Austin Ferguson, and Joe Mish.
Join our livestream HERE.
May 1, 2022 – Defiant Beauty
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Trish Braga, Melissa Eggler, Amy Nelson, and music from Walden Hill Vocal Ensemble, Austin Ferguson, and Joe Mish.
Join our livestream HERE.
April 24, 2022 – The Earth Awakes Again
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, Ani Bulbulian, Melissa Eggler, John Helmers, Derik Robertson, and music from Austin Ferguson, and Joe Mish
Guest Musicians:
Songa ~ Featuring Rose Mish
Rooted in the Nashville songwriting tradition, Songa creates an Americana sound with influences of folk, blues, country, and jazz. The trio includes Mario Friedel, harmony vocals, guitar, banjo, harmonica; Sherry Friedel on vocals, guitar and uke, and Rose Mish on fiddle and harmony vocals.
Join our livestream HERE.
April 17, 2022 – A Root Awakening
Reflections on Easter in Unitarian Universalism
Preaching:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer
Service Participants:
Amy Nelson
Paul Trewartha-Weiner
Musicians:
Walden Hill Vocal Ensemble
Austin Ferguson
Joe Mish
Join our livestream HERE.
April 14, 2022 – The Welcome Table
A service of poetry, music, and reflections, echoing the Jewish Passover and Christian Holy Week, including a traditional Universalist communion.
Preaching:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer
Service Participants:
Trish Braga
Ann Hutton
Joe Lobl
Musicians:
Austin Ferguson
Joe Mish
Join our livestream HERE.
April 10, 2022 – One Day at a Time
Preaching:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer
Service Participants:
Beth AtkinsonMelissa Eggler
Amy Nelson
Guest Musician:
Peter Mayer
Musicians:
Austin Ferguson
Joe Mish
Join our livestream HERE.
April 3, 2022 – A Force, A Trick, A Song
Preaching:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer
Service Participants:
Melissa Eggler
Amy Nelson
Heather Vinge-Hanson
Musicians:
Austin Ferguson
Joe Mish
Join our livestream HERE.
March 27, 2022 – Under the Skies of War
Preaching:
Rev. Victoria Safford
Service Participants:
Anne Black-Sinak
Melissa Eggler
Amy Nelson
Musician:
Austin Ferguson
Guest Musician:
Rod Milbrandt
Join our livestream HERE.
March 20, 2022 – Beyond All Naming
Preaching:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer
Service Participants:
Trish Braga
Melissa Eggler
Amy Nelson
Musicians:
Austin Ferguson
Joe Mish
Join our livestream HERE.
March 13, 2022 – Wandering Toward Dawn
Preaching:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer
Service Participants:
Melissa Eggler
Chantelle Feddersen
Greg Wimmer
Guest Musicians:
D’Sievers:
John Sievers (trombone)
Blake Bonde (bass)
Jon Davis (piano)
Musician:
Austin Ferguson
Join our livestream HERE.
March 6, 2022 – Casting Lots (of Questions)
Preaching:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer
Service Participants:
Melissa Eggler
Amy Nelson
Paul Trewartha-Weiner
Musicians:
Walden Hill Vocal Ensemble
Austin Ferguson
Joe Mish
Join our livestream HERE.
February 27, 2022 – RE-(sound, join, joic)-ING
Preaching:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer
Service Participants:
Trish Braga
Melissa Eggler
Amy Nelson
Derik Robertson
Musicians:
Austin Ferguson
Joe Mish
Join our livestream HERE.
February 20, 2022 – A Wild and Precious Life
A festive service including music from local band Root River Jam, reflections from church members Heather Vinge Hanson and Stephanie Evans Hanson on spiritual journey, and a welcoming of new members.
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer
Heather Vinge Hanson
Stephanie Evans Hanson
Melissa Eggler
Amy Nelson
Musician:
Austin Ferguson
Guest Musicians:
Root River Jam
Charlotte Matis, violin/vocals
Miles Johnston, drums/vocals
Blake Bonde, upright bass
Dave Wilson, guitar/vocals
Join our livestream HERE.
February 13, 2022 – What If I Only Had 30 Days to Love?
Side with love Sunday Service
An annual tradition featuring stirring music, deep-hearted reflection, and moving testimonies from a range of UU leaders.
Join our livestream HERE.
February 6, 2022 – Here We Go Again
Service Participants:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer
Gus BragaMelissa Eggler
Austin Ferguson
Joe Mish
Amy Nelson
Join our livestream HERE.
January 30, 2022 – About the Round
Preaching:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer
Service Participants:
Melissa Eggler
Ann HuttonAmy Nelson
Musicians:
Austin Ferguson
Joe Mish
Join our livestream HERE.
January 23, 2022 – Limited Liberty
Preaching:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer
Service Participants:
Melissa EgglerAmy Nelson
Greg Wimmer
Musicians:
Austin Ferguson
Join our livestream HERE.
January 16, 2022 – Agitating Light
Preaching:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer
Service Participants:
Gus Braga
Melissa EgglerAmy Nelson
Musicians:
Joe Mish
Connie Schuelka
Join our livestream HERE.
January 9, 2022 – This Will Do
Preaching:
Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer
Service Participants:
Melissa EgglerAmy Nelson
Paul Trewartha-Weiner
Musicians:
Austin Ferguson
Joe Mish
Join our livestream HERE.
January 2, 2022 – The Great Turning
We are facing a climate emergency. How do we be fully present to our world and this reality? Let us come together and actively affirm that we belong to each other, that we belong to earth
Preaching:
Rev. Terri Burnor
Rev. Terri Burnor is a Unitarian Universalist minister and organizer. She serves as Director of Communication at Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light (MNIPL), which works with people of faith, spirituality, and conscience in the intersecting movements of climate justice and racial justice. She is also part of the steering team of MARCH (Multifaith Anti-Racism, Change & Healing). Terri lives in St. Paul with her spouse and dog.
Service Participants:
Ann Hutton
Melissa Eggler
Musicians:
Sarah Stender
Join our livestream HERE.