UU Congregation at Shelter Rock Services

Blooming and Belonging Easter Family Service:  A time together full of music and the joy of being together to welcome Spring—the season of awakening and rebirth. Led by the UUCSR Ministry Team

Awakening and Unfinished  As we continue to open our hearts to the unfolding mysteries of spring, we gathered to witness the moments of wonder present in our daily lives—lives still awaking, unfinished. Our special guest was Cassandra Montenegro, a candidate for UU ministry who studies at Harvard Divinity School. She brought a vibrant inner life to the messages she shared with UUCSR last...

In his book, Awakenings, Dr. Oliver Sacks recounted the cases of his patients who had contracted sleeping sickness during the great epidemic just after World War I. They were frozen in time until 1969 when Sacks gave them the medication L-DOPA and the patients “awakened”. The book, and the movie based on the book, explore questions of health, disease, suffering, care and human connection. What mig...

“Adversity is not without comforts and hopes.” --Francis Bacon Members of the Senior Seminar youth group reflected on the adversities they have faced during COVID, the comforts and lessons they have found, and their hopes for the future. This Youth-led Worship Service was held on March 27, 2022.

During this month when our learning and worship theme is "Renewing Faith," UUCSR's ministers have asked members, "What, for you, was a key moment of renewal or insight about your faith?" Over a life’s journey, our understanding of faith develops and changes. In today's worship service, Shelter Rock members with diverse life experiences shared their understanding of th...

In Unitarian Universalism, the idea of "Renewing Faith" (this month's learning and worship theme) isn't so much about reviving faith of a particular style and description. Instead, it's more about understanding the roots that have supported faith thus far and spreading the wings that take us to a new place of understanding. In our faith tradition, each person is on their o...

"Where music resides at the heart of religious experience." A contemporary evening Worship experience led by Rev. Dr. Natalie Fenimore with music from The Cosmic Orchestra.

Listen to stories of women’s wisdom, growth, and renewal as they age. On March 6, 2022, we  shared some of the life lessons of older women and reflected on the many gifts which they offer.  

In the Service on February 27, 2022, we reflected on the days we have been given, our complicated lives, our moment in history and the seeds of joy that abide here. The Service was an invitation to accept the gift of the day we have been given, with all the beauty and challenge that we find here, and to meet our days with gratitude, resourcefulness, generosity and love. The Rev. Lauren Smith was a...

What does it take to love our way through fear? The poet Amanda Gorman, in her book, Call Us What We Carry, acknowledges both the burdens of this time in history and the miracle of human resilience. The struggle continues. How do we open our hearts and let love try its best? February 13, 2022

Led by Rev. Dr. Natalie Fenimore. As a Unitarian Universalist community, we are called to be a community of care. The ministry of being more equitable, inclusive and diverse is justice work – and it is also a spiritual practice. We can explore how our Unitarian Universalist Principles support us in widening our circle of concern. February 6, 2022

Lifting Up the Power of Leaders    Greisa Martinez Rosas and Make the Road New York Co-Executive Director José Lopez, will co-deliver a sermon entitled "If Only We Dare." They are both examples of the impact of multigenerational leadership development, as José also began his work in community organizing as a teenager and is now running one of the most powerful social justice organization...

As Unitarian Universalists, we see our justice work as living our values in to the world.  We covenant that "service is our prayer."  What might it look like to create a Spiritual Practice of justice work? Meet Janine Gelsinger, the Executive Director of UUJAZ (Unitarian Universalist Justice Arizona, the state action network) and a member of the Beloved Conversations Virtual Curriculum D...

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.(1929-1968) quoted the Unitarian minister, Theodore Parker (1810-1860) when we said “the Arc of the Universe is long but it bends toward justice.” Our UU communities have long embraced a commitment to taking this long journey towards building a more just, peaceful and loving world. Our young adults incorporate the quest for justice and inclusion into their spiri...

This month's learning and worship theme, Living With Intention, invited exploration of reproductive justice and a woman's choice. To consider this potentially contentious topic, we invited everyone in with open hearts and minds, and held in love anyone who has ever made a difficult choice. Led by Rev. Jaye Brooks with members of the UUCSR Women's Group and Social Justice Committee:...

The sermon on December 26, 2021 asks: What is wisdom? How does it differ from knowledge? Is the difference worth discerning? It will explore the landscape of the difference between knowledge and wisdom and how the difference plays out in our modern world. Led by Guest Minister Rev. Anthony Johnson.

Hear a retelling of the Christmas Story at this Family Holiday Service and a presentation of the Nativity Play.

In this season of many holidays in world religious traditions, a recurring theme is peace—both inner peace and peace in the world. The human longing for peace may seem small and muted in a world filled with war-clamor and hostility. Yet peace is real, if often distant; each of us has the capacity to experience peace and birth it into the world. December 12, 2021

Hanukkah, the Hebrew word for “dedication” is the Jewish Festival of Lights. In ancient times, the Maccabees sought to rededicate the Temple in Jerusalem. The miracle of Hanukkah is that only one vial of oil was found for the rededication, with just enough oil to illuminate the Temple for one day, and yet it lasted for 8 full days. The annual celebration of Hanukkah is a remembrance of this miracl...

As we prepared for the holiday season, many of us still find ourselves seeking a renewed place of solace amidst the living histories of our lives. Some of us may even be feeling a bit untethered, disconnected from one another, from our families, and even from parts of ourselves. Cassandra Montenegro, second year Master of Divinity student at Harvard Divinity School, led this Service on Sunday, Nov...

Thanksgiving features food, but it is not really just the food which nourishes us. On Thanksgiving, we gather for community, companionship, fellowship, friends, family, tradition, and love. And in this year of pandemic, we dearly wish that we could be physically together, but it would not be wise. Instead, we shared stories of meanings of bread.

Unitarian Universalism, with its nearly 2,000-year history, is rooted in a few key ideas. Our forebears were united in rejection of any one way of thinking; they were united in agreement on love. From the second-century philosopher Origen, who said that "God loves everyone, to 16th-century Ferenc David, who said "We don't have to think alike to love alike," to 21st-century Than...

In 1993, the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly passed a resolution on Justice for Indigenous Peoples, resolving to address the problems and issues faced by Native Peoples, to support local indigenous peoples' political actions and to learn about the richness of their culture and spirituality.  Long Island is the ancestral home of 13 Indigenous Peoples. The hamlet of Manhasset, where thi...

Halloween Sunday! How can we open up to different ways of imagining ourselves? Wear a costume that helps express the direction your personal and spiritual growth might take. Would you like to be stronger, kinder, braver, wiser? How might that look? We will explore ways to cultivate friendships and invite experiences that empower us to learn and grow.

Once again, we gathered with those outside our family or lockdown groups.! What happens when a group of people gather? Can we facilitate spaces where learning can happen and people can welcome change? Can we sit with expansive questions and complicated answers? In her book, “The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters”, Priya Parker describes gathering as an art; an art to be tended, prac...