UU Congregation at Shelter Rock Services

The notion of taking responsibility for “the seven generations yet to come” comes from a Native American aphorism that became quite popular in both the New Age and ecology movements. But it is sometimes read in a very linear way that can make it feel burdensome. There is another way of thinking that asks us to create the conditions today for living a rich and full life. We hold space for imagining...

Courage is the ability to do something that frightens you. It is not actually having no fear at all. From where comes the courage of this community? From the Jewish tradition of Yom Kippur we are asked to have the courage to examine our actions, reflect and repent – atone and begin again. Sunday, October 2, 2022

In the Jewish tradition, Rosh Hashanah commemorates the creation of the world and marks the beginning of Days of Awe, a 10-day period of prayer and reflection which culminates in Yom Kippur. How would you celebrate the birthday of the world? How would you begin anew? Held at UUCSR on Sunday, September 25, 2022.

Homecoming Service on September 18, 2022 was a welcome back after summer adventures. There were reunions of friends, children in the pews and the choir in full!

Humans seem to have an innate need for belonging. On Sunday, September 11, 2022, we talked about what it means to be mortal under a sky full of stars, and to find companionship and belonging throughout the days of our lives.

Welcome to the September 2022 Soulful Sundown LIVE, a monthly collaboration between ministers and live musicians. In September, Rev. Jaye Brooks weaves spoken word with LIVE music from the Cosmic Orchestra. Coffee House follows with Guest Musical Artist Abbie Gardner. Onsite and online. Masks encouraged. Beneficiary: ABBA Back to School Supplies Drive for children in Hempstead, NY    Soulful Sundo...

Times of tumult, like these, of great uncertainty, can initiate an acceleration of a calling. This call may include an awakening of the elder and the sage within each of us. In many old wisdom traditions, elders were considered to have one foot firmly planted on the ground of presence and of survival, and the other in the realm of great imagination. This sermon explored the Call of the Elder in ea...

The image of a tree—roots, trunk, branches, and leafy canopy—resonates with humans in so many ways. It’s a family tree, with the history of our ancestors. It’s a tree of life, showing the interrelationships among all species. And it’s often a symbol of community. In Ross Gay’s poem, “To the Fig Tree on 9th and Christian,” a tree on a Philadelphia street corner becomes a real-life, non-metaphorical...

Depending on where we live, describing ourselves as Unitarian Universalists can complicate our relationships, our responses to social issues. How does geography play a role in our identity as UU's? How do we bring together Unitarian Universalists, across state lines, among cultures and backgrounds, to work together for the common good? August 21, 2022

One of life's challenges is to cope and even thrive despite the accidents and unplanned consequences that beset us. Wendell Berry's poem "The Sycamore" offers a glimpse of how we might gather all accidents into our purpose. In a time when we need hope, a sycamore signals that hope is possible. August 14, 2022

What does it mean to reengage religious and spiritual practices that we grew up with, that meant something to our ancestors, and, might mean something to us? In the words of biblical scholar Micah Kiel, “Rather than jettison, we must reexamine and rethink those traditions that have formed us” (Apocalyptic Ecology, xxi, relying on Lynn White). Sunday, August 7, 2022

Stephen Michael Smith, Music Director UNHEARD VOICES: 3 Women Composers for Orchestra Louise Farrenc, Overture No 1, op 23 Florence Price, Symphony No 1 in E minor Margaret Bonds: Two Spirituals for Voice and Orchestra Anthony McGlaun, soloist Anthony P. McGlaun is noted for his clarity of tone, musicality and expressive delivery of text. He has a BA from Morehouse College and MM from UNI, and has...

How often have we been denied the wisdom and creativity which come from marginalized voices/expressions? How might we make ourselves and our community more open? The Annual Summer Orchestra Concert followed the Worship Service. The Concert celebrated the “unheard voices” of three women composers for orchestra on Sunday, July 31, 2022.

"Summer has a flavor like no other. Always fresh and simmered in sunshine."—These words of Oprah Winfrey reminds me that the sixty summers I’ve lived or the fifty five of them I can recall each has a flavor and excitement; a narrative and memories filled with highs and lows, barbecue and sweet corn that fills my heart with joy and the blessings of life. Together, we unpacked, reflected u...

Tenor Anthony P. McGlaun and Music Director Stephen Michael Smith talk about music, race, and making music as a Black man in today's America.  Mr. McGlaun is the vocal soloist at the "Unheard Voices" Summer Concert of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock Orchestra on Sunday, July 31, 2022. $10 at the door. Reception follows. All welcome. 

On July 17, 2022 at 11 AM, we asked, "What does it take to maintain wilderness within an urban or suburban setting?" Members of Shelter Rock's Green Sanctuary team shared stories of our woods and coyotes, our community garden, and the native plants in these hundred acres protected from development. In addition to the re-wilding of our local ecosystem, as individuals our members and...

In the Sunday Service on July 10, 2022, we explored a Social Gospel for the 21 Century that asked what our response might be to the inequities exposed by the recent pandemic and the social unrest that has evolved during this time of uncertainty. “What We Deserve: Equity and Equality in the Age of Pandemic” was led by Rev. Aaron Payson, Guest Minister.

Soulful Sundown on Friday evening July 8, 2022 was led by Rev. Dr. Natalie Fenimore with music from the Cosmic Orchestra. “Summertime” was the subject of spoken word and live music from a full band.

Rev. Dr. Natalie Fenimore led the Service, titled "Spiritual Democracy" on July 3, 2022. The Fourth of July holiday celebrates the American Revolution and the beginning of US political democracy. UU Principles also celebrate the democratic process but as something more than a political system. How do we understand the spiritual democracy which surrounds our congregational life? 

We celebrated the 2022 UUA General Assembly theme, "Meet the Moment." Wherever we've come from, wherever we're going, this very moment is the only time we can act to change ourselves, our lives, and the life of the wider world. Thousands of Unitarian Universalists gathered to consider the moment we all are now meeting. At the UU Congregation at Shelter Rock, onsite and online,...

Be Your True Colors: JUNETEENTH and PRIDE SERVICE was presented on June 19, 2022. June is Pride Month, an annual celebration commemorating the 1969 Stonewall Riots that launched the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer rights movement in the United States. Juneteenth is the day we recognize the end of slavery in the United States in 1865. May we take this month of June as an opportunity...

Memorial Day, led by the Rev. Jennifer Brower This weekend, as many members of our congregation were on retreat together at Silver Bay, we gathered for a service of song and spoken word. As we honored Memorial Day and our nation’s fallen soldiers, we reflected upon the ways that each of us might serve life and humankind in creating peace. Choral music for this service was provided by the UUCSR Qua...

How does making music -- nurturing sound beauty -- help to connect us? Ground us? We'll (re)connect as a community with a new composition by UU Church of Augusta Music Director, David Neches.

MAMA'S DAY, led by Rev. Dr. Natalie Fenimore Mother's Day was begun as "Mother's Day for Peace" in 1870 by Unitarian Julia Ward. She made an "appeal to womanhood throughout the world to unite for peace" With "Mama's Day" we are called to honor all those who "mother" especially those who mentor in the midst of pain, war, and struggle. Howe...

Climate change is real, and a real threat. But in small ways all over the planet, people are acting to resist and push back—to renew and restore the Earth. These acts of planetary creativity and vision are cause for awakening to hope. Rev. Jaye Brooks with Green Sanctuary Members Elaine Peters, AnneMarie Ansel, Ellen Councill, Jim Peters, and WinterFlower Regla Robinson.