UUMKE Sunday Service Podcast

As our lives, country, and world continue to go through unparalleled uncertainty, it is not heard to conclude we are all dealing with many levels of trauma, not to mention how our personal and communal lives are impacted by many forms of distress that never seem to end. Many of us, sadly, may be living in a state of “hypervigilance”. As our spiritual practice for the month of Marh here at First Un...

As complicated as Easter can be, it tells a story of transformation—many stories of transformation if you’re paying attention. In Unitarian Universalism’s understanding of faith and transformation, you get to choose who you are and claim the stories that make you. Join us for this celebratory multigenerational service where we stand together in the place of what was and claim new life, calling eac...

2026-05-03 ● The Rev. Jennifer Nordstrom ● Curioser and Curioser by First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee

Change is the only constant, as the parable goes. If change is inevitable, it is our faithful work to shape it for good. How do we use what we know to ride the waves of what we don’t? How can we balance our work for justice with our spiritual capacity to face uncertainty? Join us for this Octavia Butler-inspired service on embracing possibilities to shape change for good.

Change is the only constant, as the parable goes. If change is inevitable, it is our faithful work to shape it for good. How do we use what we know to ride the waves of what we don’t? How can we balance our work for justice with our spiritual capacity to face uncertainty? Join us for this Octavia Butler-inspired service on embracing possibilities to shape change for good.

The seeds we plant today become the trees of tomorrow. In our time on this earth together, we are creating the earth our grandchildren will play on. If it could talk to you today, what would the year 2050 tell you about how we survived, how we even thrived, on the journey from now till then? Join us for this Earth Day service where we celebrate the joy of the earth and dream of the seeds we will p...

Buddhist principles teach us to be here now, present to all that is without judgement or attachment. In this intense and full world, how can we be present to what is without spinning in circles? Join us for this worship service where we explore slowing down by paying attention to the beauty in front of us, directing our attention to where we want to spend our energy.

What was your journey into Unitarian Universalism? Was it a smooth journey? For example, some of the members of this church have been life-long Unitarian Universalists (UU) and have not had to endure leaving some other faith traditions that might have been difficult, even traumatic. Yet others have been UU for many years now and have navigated transitions from other faith communities into this one...

As finite creatures, we cannot hold everything. While we believe in the ultimate transformation and liberation of all people, we cannot pay attention to every single thing all at once. When the pressures of the world feel infinite, we can surrender to the truth of our finitude, take responsibility for our corner of the earth, and let the infinite hold the rest. Join us for this worship service whe...

Buddhist principles teach us to be here now, present to all that is without judgement or attachment. In this intense and full world, how can we be present to what is without spinning in circles? Join us for this worship service where we explore slowing down by paying attention to the beauty in front of us, directing our attention to where we want to spend our energy.

Creating authentic connections with people means being present to them AND ourselves at the same time. We have to be able to look inward and notice what is going on in our hearts at the same time we are showing up and witnessing the human being in front of us, which is a lot of attention! Join us for this worship service where we explore how to build authentic community by paying attention to self...

Resilience is a funny thing in some situations. It does not come out of a bag you can dip into when needed, it is an ongoing practice, a toolbox of sorts. We cannot use all of the same approaches to life’s challenges over and over. Using the same approaches over and over, may lose their effectiveness over time. What practices do you engage in to restore balance in life, resilience, especially when...

When people say, “you’re so resilient,” it means you’ve been going through it. We figure out how to survive hard times, whether we are ready or not. The key to making it through, is to keep going. Join us for this encouraging service where we celebrate our adaptability, name survival tools, and cheer one another on to get to the other side.

In community, we create a shared story which shapes us and the future like magic. Our connection to our people draws us out of ourselves and builds individual and collective resilience. The diversity of our stories and understandings strengthens us and gives us power. Join us for this Pledge Drive Kick Off service where we explore the power of mutual aid to build our communal and collective resili...

Being steadfast in one’s moral and spiritual convictions despite overwhelming outside pressures to do otherwise is one of the hallmarks of a faithful life, including for Unitarian Universalists. How do the learnings of our spiritual ancestors help inform our own resilience and commitment to Love in these troubling times?

Unitarian Universalism carries deep roots of resistance, grounded in the centering of our values. Our faith ancestors claimed their power by questioning, reasoning, and choosing how to shape a world that bends toward love and justice. Today, as we confront rising authoritarianism, we ask: What messages and movements from our UU past will inspire and guide our resistance now?

In an electrical system, the resistor puts the resistance where it needs to be—most systems would explode if the resistance was in the wrong place. As we practice resistance in community, learning rules and roles and values alignment, let’s make sure we put our resistance in the right place. Join us for this Dr. King Sunday worship service where we honor our resistance ancestors and explore our ow...

In any practice, there is a sweet spot, a balance of strength and release. In practices of resistance, we must discern between resistance and surrender. How do which to choose? What can we change, and what must we try to change even if we fail? When is it time to let go? Join us for this worship service where we explore the discernment dance between resistance and surrender.

We know the power of ritual helps us mark time, honor the past, and step with intention into the future. Together, let us boldly embrace our next adventure. Join us as we release what has been and welcome the new year with joy and purpose. This Sunday, our children and youth will be with us in the sanctuary, sharing in the celebration!

In difficult times, it can help to find hope in what is real and available. In the middle of the darkest night of the year, we can hope to see the moon. In the cold and quiet months, we can hope to plant the seeds of a new life that will bloom in warmer times. Darkness also has a generative beauty. Join us for this worship service where we explore finding real hope here and now, no matter how hard...

While we can look at circumstances and make our best guess about outcomes, we never truly know what will happen. This means we always have the opportunity to choose hope over fear. Join us for this service that explores the power we have to affect our own lives and our community with the power of choosing hope.

As we turn toward our complicated national holiday of gratitude, how can we courageously hold the hard truths with an open heart? Let us explore how to be genuinely grateful together, anchoring our hearts in what is authentic as we appreciate life’s blessings.

Some of us are born into a practice of sharing gratitude that can at time feel performative.  Of course, we should show gratitude when shown grace and or generosity, but what happens when life is filled with insurmountable struggle, pain and grief? Is showing/giving gratitude ever a privilege?

What if weeping not only endures for the night, but also stays through the joy of the morning? It can be hard to nurture gratitude in the midst of a season of grief. And yet, authentic gratitude is large enough to hold grief at the same time. Our hearts are big enough to hold the largeness of love and the sorrow of loss. Join us for this service that explores a real spiritual practice of gratitude...

At GA 2025, our delegates chose Abolition, Transformation, and Faith Formation as our denomination-wide study-action issue. In order to begin thinking about prison abolition, we need to be able to imagine the world in which it is possible. What needs to change in order to get everyone truly free? It starts with theology, believe it or not.