First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis

“The most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured.” – Kurt Vonnegut How can the practice of humanism act as an antidote to America’s crisis of loneliness and purposelessness? And how can the humanist movement catalyze Vonnegut’s dream of “stable communities” for the tens of […]

Widening the circle of inclusion is always limited by a group’s identity, so that the push to be inclusive gets tugged at by resistance to changing who we are. Who belongs at FUS, and what are the costs, and the benefits, of exclusion?

Albert Camus famously wrote that “In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.” For many, this year Imbolc — the midpoint of astrological winter — simultaneously brings a sense of growing light and of growing darkness. Today, our Seasonal Celebrations Team will present a candlelight program that will honor […]

Here We Are, a new administration is about to take office. What Now? We are facing 4 years of national political leadership hostility to the idea of addressing climate change while witnessing the effects of inaction. Where does this leave us? And what can we do about it now? Please join the FUS Climate Action […]

This is a great week to bring a friend with you to FUS! Here on the cusp of a presidential inauguration and Martin Luther King Jr Day, events that hold disparate visions, we are called to name the stories and the values that we insist upon claiming.

Three women in their 20s discuss their perspectives on hope and grief as we usher in the changes of 2025, moderated by Minnesota Women’s Press editor (and FUS member) Mikki Morrissette. Melissa Vasquez of LatinoLEAD organizes and celebrates the Minnesota Latine Community. Cheyenne Wilson is author of a comprehensive guide for fellow survivors of sexual […]

The human species operates by stories. They can guide or misdirect us, inspire or limit us, while providing both meaning and perspective. So as we enter 2025, let’s ask… Which stories ring true for us, and what are the stories we choose to live by?

Spiritual congregations have a lengthy tradition of offering critiques of what they believe to be societal ills, and UUs and Humanists are no different. Theodore Parker, John Dietrich, Carl Storm, and Kendyl Gibbons — the last three were settled ministers here at First Unitarian Society — all witnessed deeply challenging times, and offered words of […]

Stillness. Quiet. The presence of winter. Twinkle Lights. Glittery snow. Crisp starry nights. The gifts of the natural world surround us.

In his essay on Sisyphus, Albert Camus ends with these haunting words: “one must imagine Sisyphus happy.” Camus invites us to wrestle with the appropriate response to absurdity. Is it suicide? That is to say, is the killing of oneself in light of the human condition, the existential angst and ontological trauma we face, a proper […]

Call it mindfulness, call it intentionality, call it witness…there is a way of being in relationship whereby we fully show up for one another. How might we offer our simple presence as a gift to the world?

“All That Is” is a lot of stuff, and between this time of year and this time in our world, there is so much that demands our presence. What would it mean to call ourselves into the presence of all of this? Or, maybe the call is asking us to get in touch with what […]

Ours is an unapologetic world. Seldom does anyone take responsibility for damage done. While we might not like the words, let’s look at how remorse and repentance can play a role in our personal and societal transformation.

Whatever the results of the election, our purpose remains the same….to heal ourselves and our world. And we’re in it for the long haul. So let’s assess the situation and then lay out the task before us. We’ve got some stuff to do.

The election is just days away. We have worked hard to ensure that democracy will prevail. And yet, many are experiencing this as a very dark time in our nation. Let’s spend time reconnecting to all that we can trust to get us through.

Description: We’ve come to that time of the year when many cultures believe the veil between the living and the dead is thin. If we listen deeply to the past…particularly to those who have built, sustained, and transformed this congregation…what do we hear?

Marlene Johnson, Minnesota’s first woman lieutenant governor, serving from 1983-1991, will be with us to discuss these poignant themes through the lens of her new memoir: “Rise to the Challenge: A Memoir of Politics, Leadership & Love”.

Those of us who come from immigrant histories cannot claim being indigenous to this land. But we can become naturalized to it. Robin Wall Kimmerer says that “Being naturalized to place means to live as if this is the land that feeds you, as if these are the streams from which you drink, that build […]

If only every day had only one pain! Noise, fear, and pain-avoidance seem to conspire to plug up our ears and our eyes. And yet, we cannot, should not, turn away from all the hurt and suffering in the world. As we look ahead to the coming election, how can we better tune our ears […]

You’ve likely been exposed to all kinds of advice about how to be a gracious host and about how to create space that allows everyone to bring their full selves. And still, not many of us are good at the practice of intentional and generous hosting. Let’s explore the gap between our intentions and our […]

In the same way that many have come to rely on air conditioning to keep us comfortable, it’s easy to get used to having our human environment organized to please us and our ways of being. Just as there are benefits to sitting on the front porch to cool off on a summer night, there […]

It’s time to Gather! Like the merging of many streams, we come together to join forces and voices in love, learning, growing and singing, putting our beautiful heads and hearts to the task of building beloved community.

We are, each one, always suspended between two moments. Between sleeping and waking. Between summer and fall. Between connection and isolation. Still, we rarely pause in that liminal space to reflect. So on this first Sunday together…congregation and new Interim Minister…let’s explore the gifts of being suspended between two known realities, because this interim period […]

In Charles Darwin’s fifth edition of “On the Origin of Species”, he writes about the importance of “survival of the fitted.” This simple and yet, famous phrase explains that organisms that best adapt to their environment are more likely to survive and produce. However, what if we, FUS reimagined our organizational adaptability and observe our […]

The wheel of the year turns, and brings us again to the threshold of the harvest time. Lammas is one milepost in the cycle of the seasons, which embraces both constant change as well as predictable rhythms. Are we open to the beauty that the unfolding of evolution can bring?