This Sunday we will pull out all the stops to present a very special musical service. Under the direction of Mike Pfitzer, our choir, along with youth singers from our Creative Arts Religious Education program, professional soloists, pianist Sanghee Kim, and an ensemble of professional musicians will present this large scale work based on the sources from which we as Unitarian Universalists draw our living tradition. Rev. Rosiello will lead worship and offer a reflection on the piece. You will not want to miss this very special service.

The Rev. Tom Rosiello preaching and leading worship

Note: At the 9 AM Service our children and youth will go directly to the community room for  a special Children's Chapel Service.  At the 11 AM service children will start in the sanctuary as usual.

This Sunday in our own Unitarian Universalist way, we will observe the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur focusing on its teachings about forgiveness.  Some people will never say they are sorry, while others give lip service to the words, but make no real change in their behavior.  We will explore the teachings on the necessity of forgiveness in our lives from the Jewish, as well as many other traditions. We will also look at what is really involved in seeking forgiveness and forgiving another person and the consequences and effects that  doing so has on our lives and the lives of others.  Our service will be enriched by music from the Jewish tradition. In addition, a prize winning young Mexican pianist will be playing our prelude and postlude. 

After the events of this summer where police officers were killed in Texas and violence erupted at some events that use the "Black Lives Matter" slogan, some in the greater community have been critical of our congregation's decision to hang a "Black Lives Matter" Banner on the front of our church. From their words to us, it is clear they really have little understanding of the deeply embedded racism in our country, and the number of young black men still dying needlessly on our streets and incarcerated in our jails.

We will explore this issue again, guided by the words of the great spiritual that our choir will be singing, "The Storm is Passing Over:"
"Take courage my soul and let us journey on,
for the night is dark and I am still far from home."

Indeed we are still far from the "home" of a truly non-racist society. We will explore why we now, more than ever, need to have that banner in front of our church. Yes, it takes a bit of courage, but as a faith tradition we have always stood for the rights of the oppressed, even when others criticized us. We particularly invite those from the greater community who have questions or concerns about the banner to join us in worship this morning so they might better understand why we as a faith tradition that proclaims the equal worth and dignity of every person are called to proclaim the message that "Black Lives Matter".

The poet Rainer Maria Rilke once wrote:
"What have we learned from living since we started except to find in others what we are?"
On this first Sunday of the new church year, Rev. Rosiello will focus on the importance of community in our lives and its place in liberal religion. Historically, Unitarians and other liberal faith traditions have emphasized self-reliance and the perfection of the individual. But there is also a theology of interdependence that runs through ours and many other traditions. It says it is community that makes us who we are and that our dependence upon community may far exceed what we realize. We can find this message in sources as varied as Paul's Letter to the Corinthians and the African concept of “Ubuntu” which Bishop Desmond Tutu explains as, “the essence of being human.” According to Tutu, “Ubuntu" speaks particularly about the fact that you can’t exist as a human being in isolation. Come and explore the theology of interconnectedness and the importance of community in knowing yourself.

Our minister Tom Rosiello will be preaching and leading worship. Our music will emphasize our global interconnectedness by including some African, Spanish, and other world music selections as well as some of our favorite hymns, and our choir will be back from their summer break to sing at the 11 AM service. Also, our Religious Education Programs for children and youth of all ages will also resume this Sunday. This would be a wonderful Sunday to bring a friend who might be interested in our church.