Category Archives: Services

A List of Sunday Morning Programs

Sunday, May 22, 2016: “Latent Racism and the Black Lives Matter Movement”

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Host/Presenter: Chad Minteer

What can we do for racial justice? Why does supporting or even understanding a movement like Black Lives Matter matter to you?

Sometimes problems like the kind this movement shines a light on can seem far away and like they’re not really our problem. We can take for granted that being able to ignore ‘far away problems’ is a condition of class privilege – if it doesn’t affect us, then it doesn’t exist.

BLM

Much has been made in the media of some of the radical and disruptive action that some supporters of the movement have taken. By focusing on such violations of “respectability”, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. Those for whom the system more or less works can find it easy to ignore the problems of those for whom the system has failed. Peace, liberty, and justice for all – that’s what we want.

How do we lift up those values for the most disenfranchised among us? For ourselves?

Unitarian Universalism supports the Black Lives Matter movement. We work to end racial discrimination and injustice, starting within ourselves and moving out into the world around us. We support multiracial, multiethnic congregations and advocate for stopping racist policies like mass imprisonment and attacks on voting rights.

Join us as we explore these topics.

Unitarian Universalism honors the differing paths we each travel. Our congregations are places where we celebrate, support, and challenge one another as we continue on these journeys.

Unitarian Universalists covenant to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice, equality and compassion in human relations; and acceptance of one another.

Please join us Sunday at the Vendor Blender and Event Center, 588 Addison Avenue West in Twin Falls at 10:30 AM. The Vendor Blender is located near the old hospital near the intersection of Martin St. and Addison Avenue West. Newcomers of all religious paths or none at all are always welcome. We are handicapped accessible. Child care is available. Please park in the rear of the building and use the entrance on the west side of the building.

Sunday, May 15, 2016: “Jesus Was Not a Unitarian Universalist”

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Host/Presenter: Ray Cross

Our sermon this Sunday is based on the sermon given September 29. 2013 by Rev. Thom Belote of The Community Church of Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

We will explore who Jesus was and what he became after his death. We will look at the Jesus of history then we will talk some about the Jesus Christ of the Christian faith, the Prince of Peace.

The man, Jesus, was a revolutionary zealot in first century Galilee who became God to his many followers. How do we separate the man, Jesus from the deity he would become? Can we?

Unitarian Universalism honors the differing paths we each travel. Our congregations are places where we celebrate, support, and challenge one another as we continue on these journeys.

Unitarian Universalists covenant to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice, equality and compassion in human relations; and acceptance of one another.

Please join us Sunday at the Vendor Blender and Event Center, 588 Addison Avenue West in Twin Falls at 10:30 AM. The Vendor Blender is located near the old hospital near the intersection of Martin St. and Addison Avenue West. Newcomers of all religious paths or none at all are always welcome. We are handicapped accessible. Child care is available. Please park in the rear of the building and use the entrance on the west side of the building.

Sunday, May 8, 2016: “The Strength of the Pack is the Wolf”

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Presented by: Wanda & Bryan Jennings

Host: Karen Fothergill

This presentation is based on Rudyard Kipling’s poem in “The Jungle Book,” and, as with Kipling, the wolf and the pack are used metaphorically for our own human situation.RK_Jungle_bk_J

Please visit the Magic Valley Unitarian Fellowship to hear Wanda and Bryan Jennings from the Boise Unitarian Universalist Fellowship give us their insights into Kipling’s poem.

Unitarian Universalism honors the differing paths we each travel. Our congregations are places where we celebrate, support, and challenge one another as we continue on these journeys.

Unitarian Universalists covenant to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice, equality and compassion in human relations; and acceptance of one another.

Please join us Sunday at the Vendor Blender and Event Center, 588 Addison Avenue West in Twin Falls at 10:30 AM. The Vendor Blender is located near the old hospital near the intersection of Martin St. and Addison Avenue West. Newcomers of all religious paths or none at all are always welcome. We are handicapped accessible. Child care is available. Please park in the rear of the building and use the entrance on the west side of the building.

Sunday, May 1, 2016: “Spectrum or Pendulum?”

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Presented by: Rev. Elizabeth Greene;  Host: Don MorishitaEGreene

How much of religion is emotion and spirit, and how much of it is thoughtful and reasoned? We approach Mystery with deep feelings, but we also think about our faith and what it means, how we interpret holy readings and practices. This “reason-or-emotion” issue has been particularly important for Unitarian Universalists, but affects most faith traditions. Rev. Greene will reflect on whether this is an either/or, or a both/and issue.

Unitarian Universalism honors the differing paths we each travel. Our congregations are places where we celebrate, support, and challenge one another as we continue on these journeys. Newcomers of all religious paths or none at all are always welcome. We are handicapped accessible. Please park in the rear of the building. Child care is available.

Please visit the Magic Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Sunday at the Vendor Blender and Event Center, 588 Addison Avenue West in Twin Falls at 10:30 AM. The Vendor Blender is located near the old hospital near the intersection of Martin St. and Addison Avenue West.

Sunday, April 17, 2016: “A Spiritual Path to Worthiness”

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Host/Presenter: Julie Merrick

Our worth is inherent because we are life expressing itself as us. The value is in the story itself and not in any particular manner it might unfold. If we will reach for the understanding that we are not here to compete but rather express, then we will tap into a perception that allows us to know the beauty of our own being and the beauty of all who surround us. We can step onto a path where shame dissolves and appreciation surfaces; a path where there is nothing to prove and we are always enough.

Unitarian Universalism honors the differing paths we each travel. Our congregations are places where we celebrate, support, and challenge one another as we continue on these journeys.

Unitarian Universalists covenant to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice, equality and compassion in human relations; and acceptance of one another.

Please join us Sunday at the Vendor Blender and Event Center, 588 Addison Avenue West in Twin Falls at 10:30 AM. The Vendor Blender is located near the old hospital near the intersection of Martin St. and Addison Avenue West. Newcomers of all religious paths or none at all are always welcome. We are handicapped accessible. Child care is available. Please park in the rear of the building and use the entrance on the west side of the building.

 

Sunday, April 10, 2016: “Why Atheists Go to Church”

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Host/Presenter: Chad Minteer

Our universe, from the smallest particles to the galaxies beyond our galaxy, fills us with profound wonder. Why life exists and for what purpose—humans have struggled to answer that question for millennia. In a day and age when so much is revealed to us by science, “God” may or may not be part of our world view.
People with atheist and agnostic beliefs find a supportive community in Unitarian Universalist congregations. UUs are pro-science, pro-reason, and pro-Evolution. UUs know there is no “one right answer” when it comes to belief, and we don’t let that stop us from taking action for a better world. We build a community that welcomes us in our wholeness, cherishes our doubts, and invites our ongoing search for truth.
Since the early 20th century, Humanism has been an influential part of our continually evolving religious tradition. Many Unitarian Universalists who are atheist or agnostic also identify as Humanist. Rev. Dr. William F. Schulz, human rights activist and President-CEO of the Unitarian Universalist (UU) Service Committee writes of our humanistic beliefs:

“We believe that human beings are responsible for the future; that history is in our hands, not those of an angry God or inexorable fate.”
“We believe that life’s blessings are available to everyone, not just those who can recite a certain catechism,”
“And we believe that those blessings are made manifest to us not just in the “miraculous” or extraordinary but in the simple pleasures of the everyday.”

Please join us Sunday at the Vendor Blender and Event Center, 588 Addison Avenue West in Twin Falls at 10:30 AM. The Vendor Blender is located near the old hospital near the intersection of Martin St. and Addison Avenue West. Newcomers of all religious paths or none at all are always welcome. We are handicapped accessible. Child care is available. Please park in the rear of the building and use the entrance on the west side of the building.

For further information please call 208-734-9161.

Sunday, April 3, 2016: “A Merry Heart Doeth Good Like a Medicine”

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Host: Ray Cross

Presenter: Rev. Elizabeth Greene

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The book of Proverbs in the Bible exhorts us to have a merry heart. There is also much written about the value of humor and laughing to our general health and welfare.

Rev. Greene will explore how laughing is also a spiritual response to much of what life brings, and how it can help us all be closer to our best selves, in good times and bad.

Please join us Sunday at the Vendor Blender and Event Center, 588 Addison Avenue West in Twin Falls at 10:30 AM. The Vendor Blender is located near the old hospital near the intersection of Martin St. and Addison Avenue West. Newcomers of all religious paths or none at all are always welcome. We are handicapped accessible. Child care is available. Please park in the rear of the building and use the entrance on the west side of the building.

Sunday, March 27, 2016: “The Spring Equinox: Understanding Balance”

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Host: Ken Whiting
Presenter: Wendy Koffer(Magic Valley Pagans)

What’s the first thing you picture when you think of balance? Is it a math equation? A juggler on a high wire? Maybe a set of scales? What about this – is being balanced the same as being equal?
The equinox is the day when the night and day are balanced. As such, Pagans take this day to look for ways to renew the promise to ourselves to seek personal and spiritual balance.

As we ask these questions, it’s normal to feel like we’ve failed to maintain that balance. But that perception is rooted in a misunderstanding of what balance truly is. Instead of considering balance to be a scale or a system to manage chaos, or even a measuring stick – what if we think of balance as a process? A way of managing the chaos, drama, stress, and guilt of everyday life?

Join us this Sunday for a Pagan-themed discussion of balance. We’ll cover healthy approaches to defining and implementing balance in your life. We’ll also explore basic definitions of balance, what it means to each of us personally, how to make room for it, and – most importantly – how to give ourselves permission to manifest balance in our lives.

As Unitarian Universalists, we have a proud tradition of responding to the imperatives of love and justice to work with those of us who are marginalized and oppressed in society and the world. Unitarian Universalists covenant to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice, equality and compassion in human relations; and acceptance of one another.

Please join us Sunday at the Vendor Blender and Event Center, 588 Addison Avenue West in Twin Falls at 10:30 AM. The Vendor Blender is located near the old hospital near the intersection of Martin St. and Addison Avenue West. Newcomers of all religious paths or none at all are always welcome. We are handicapped accessible. Child care is available. Please park in the rear of the building and use the entrance on the west side of the building.

Sunday, March 20, 2016: “Justice Sunday”

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Host/Presenter: Karen Fothergill
This Sunday, known as “Justice Sunday, we will explore economic justice and be a part of the movement to help people around the world realize their rights.
As the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares, “Everyone has the right to work, to a free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work and protection against unemployment.” For many people economic justice is a phrase without any personal connection but for many other people it is the difference between living and dying.

For additional information about “Justice Sunday” please visit: http://www.uua.org/worship/holidays/justice-sunday
As Unitarian Universalists, we have a proud tradition of responding to the imperatives of love and justice to work with those of us who are marginalized and oppressed in society and the world. Unitarian Universalists covenant to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice, equality and compassion in human relations; and acceptance of one another.
Please join us Sunday at the Vendor Blender and Event Center, 588 Addison Avenue West in Twin Falls at 10:30 AM. The Vendor Blender is located near the old hospital near the intersection of Martin St. and Addison Avenue West. Newcomers of all religious paths or none at all are always welcome. We are handicapped accessible. Child care is available. Please park in the rear of the building and use the entrance on the west side of the building.