Archives: Services

Welcome Home, Stranger

“We are a nation of immigrants.” We’ve heard it so often, and of course it’s true. Yet it’s not just Americans but all people everywhere who are travelers and seekers, as far back as we can trace. Whence comes this constant searching? Where do we come from and why? Is it for food, for freedom, to scratch an itch, or satisfy an ill-defined yearning? And when will we ever be at home? And perhaps the greatest question of all, being strangers ourselves, how will we treat our fellow travelers?

Living our Faith

Together with Reverend Nica, a group of 12 congregants from CVUUF attended Justice District Assembly in Arizona at the end of March. They were immersed in issues of immigration, race, environment and intersectional justice. The weekend culminated with Sunday worship at the Border Wall. Join us as they bring their experiences back to CVUUF, and learn how these members lived their faith.

Easter Sunday – Resurrecting our Spirits

The poet, May Sarton, wrote:
“Help us to be the always hopeful gardeners of the spirit,
Who know that without darkness nothing comes to birth,
As without light nothing flowers.”
Easter celebrates rebirth, hope and joy after times of great pain and hopelessness. Join us for a UU interpretation of the Easter story that looks at how to trust that our spirits can resurrect after difficult times.

Good Friday – Into the Darkness

Service at 8pm.
Good Friday gives us the opportunity to walk into darkness and pain, as we mourn the inevitable suffering in this life. This intimate service will take place at CVUUF at night to honor the dark, unknowing place represented by Jesus’ death on the cross, before emerging into rebirth and renewal on Easter Sunday. Join us for a UU exploration of this Christian tradition.

A UU’s Faith… Is that an Oxymoron?

Critics say that Unitarian Universalism isn’t a real faith. Since we don’t have shared beliefs, some question our claim of being a religion at all. Furthermore, some UUs don’t believe in any kind of higher power or deity. So what does the word ‘Faith’ mean to UUs, both in describing our religion and for us personally? Join us to unpack the complex word ‘Faith’ and understand more deeply the roots and trajectory of our UU faith tradition.

Looking Outward Together

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As we begin this month focused on “Growing Together in Faith”, we reflect on the words of French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: “Life has taught us that love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.” Carol Flanagan and Paul Chavez, married for nearly three decades, will speak of the evolving place of faith in their personal history and the place faith inhabits in their lives today. First drawn together by a passion for art, a common history of childhood Catholicism, and a deep interest in Buddhism, they share their journey to make meaningful lives through creative action and experiences.

Intergenerational Justice: Does Any Vision Matter More?

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It’s not just immoral; it is evil to irreparably harm the future for short-term personal or institutional gain. Yet we have a global economic system supported by governments everywhere ensuring that it’s not only legal to condemn posterity, it’s highly profitable. What most people don’t realize, however, is that this is precisely what history teaches us. When religion fails, economics becomes demonic. What else to call a system that rewards the few at the expense of the many, measure progress by how fast we can turn the biosphere into pollution, and forces virtually all of us to betray the future just by pursuing the so-called ‘good life’. Only ‘ecology as theology’ can save us now.

Many Paths, One Vision?

Mahatma Gandhi said: “Belief in one God is the cornerstone of all religions so it is toward this one God that all religious people are climbing.” The 2015 Parliament of World Religions brought together over 10,000 people from all over the world in Salt Lake City to share practices, social justice calls and a multi-cultural vision of faith. It was a giant experiment in seeing whether all these diverse religious paths really shared one vision. This service will explore this multiplicity of paths and whether there really is one vision.

Carpe Diem!

This life is a beautiful gift. None of us know how long we will get to enjoy it. It is the finite nature of life that makes it so precious. Yet many of us live as though we have forever. We can forget that each year of life is not a given. Carpe Diem encourages us to seize the day, to live with intention and make the most of every precious day we have here on this earth. Join us to live fully now.

2020 Vision – YRUU

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We begin our month focused on “Growing Together in Vision”, with our satire-loving teens leading a service with their vision for the future. Our young people just might have a way of keeping our sights on a bright future, despite trying times for many. Please join us as YRUU (Young Religious Unitarian Universalists) present their Survival Guide for 2020 vision.