Unitarian Universalists of Lakewood Ranch

03/29/2020

Beth Miller is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting:
Topic: UUCS TEA TIME. A time to connect and check in with one another.
Time: MondaYS at 2 PM Eastern Time
Join Zoom Meeting.

12/27/2019

This Sunday we are pleased to have Don Croce speak to us on the subject 'Climate Change and the Interdependent Web.’ Don will highlight the broad impact climate change is having on our local economic, health, and agricultural systems and what is being done to address it. Don sees a positive change in the attitudes of both local and state leadership towards climate change. Come find out what effect climate change will have on our community and how we can work together to convince our elected officials to embrace a comprehensive plan that moves our community to adopt affordable, clean, renewable energy.
Don is a pharmacist by profession and has spent more than 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry in sales and marketing. When their youngest son graduated from high school in Utah, Don and his wife Jill moved to Florida's west coast and now call Lakewood Ranch home. Don is a mentor in the Take Stock in Children of Manatee County program and an environmental activist with both the Manatee Clean Energy Alliance and the Manatee Sarasota Group of the Sierra Club.
Jane Keil Yoder will be our Worship Leader and Don Keiser will be our Guest Musician.

Don't Forget, Our Sunday Service will be cancelled next week (Jan. 5) at the Hyatt.
Join us at the Big Church for either service at 10:00am and 11:30am.

12/13/2019

https://www.facebook.com/1656685793/posts/10213594314006302?sfns=mo

Being a Unitarian Universalist actually asks a lot of us, and it isn't for everybody:

-We discuss important questions but refuse to give you a simple, rote answer.

-We ask you to believe that you are worthy of compassion and respect, as so is literally everyone else.

-We ask you to love humanity while fully acknowledging the bad things we need to be discouraged from doing to one another.

-We make no promise of eternal reward (or punishment), but tell you that your actions will live on, and they matter anyway.

-We ask that you keep trying to be your best self, without telling you what that is supposed to be, though we will be there to help you figure it out for yourself.

Just because we are willing to accept everyone does not mean that we should expect everyone to feel like they belong. Some people will not be comfortable in liberal religion. Some people need certainties we cannot give them in good faith.

We cannot convert people to Unitarian Universalism; they either understand it and want to be part of it, or not. They see us doing together what they are already doing alone, and some of them will want to be part of that community. Those people are out there, waiting to hear about us. Let's make sure they find us. Let's go invite them in.
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Image is a flaming chalice cut-out activity with the words "Unitarian Universalism: Free Faith* Assembly Required"

Help us reach people who might not know that UUism exists:
https://ko-fi.com/sjc

11/24/2019

American-ahhh, presented by Garden State Music Award winner and former Folk Music "Queen" of New Jersey, our own "Rev. Faerie" Elaine Silver will be sharing stories and folk songs that highlight aspects of Spirit in the music, tied in with some humor and thought-provoking Truth teachings. Some pieces involve audience participation and she will tag UU Principles to the songs. “Rev. Faerie” Elaine Silver is a seasoned performer, songwriter, touring musician and recording artist.
For many years Elaine has combined her beautiful voice and lively Spirit with Truth teachings to present concerts, workshops and music-inspired Sunday church lessons.Well-known in her original home state as "The Folk Music Queen of New Jersey," she has also shared the stage with many of the world’s brightest folk stars including Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Doc Watson, and The Kingston Trio, to name just a few. Elaine looks forward to returning to UU's of Lakewood Ranch and to presenting her program: American-ahhh, The Spirit in Folk Music.
Kathy Brackett will be our Worship Leader.

11/15/2019

This Sunday we welcome our Associate Minister Rev. Beth Miller to speak on the subject PRACTICING GRATITUDE. As we near Thanksgiving, it is fitting to contemplate gratitude. Taken seriously and practiced, gratitude is a spiritual virtue, an attitude of the heart, a discipline, and an ethic.
During Sunday's service will also plan to remember our dear friend Dick Konicek-Moran is words and music.
John Yoder will be our Worship Leader. Jan Dorsett and Claudia Holmes will be our Guest Musicians.

New Members Welcome: Individuals seeking to learn more about us or become new members are invited to meet with Mae Steg after the service next Sunday.

11/09/2019

This Sunday our Senior Minister Rev. Roger Fritts brings us the message 'Living with Disabilities'. Everyone is flawed, everyone has disabilities, everyone is designed imperfectly. It is not a question of being unblemished, but how we adapt to the adversities that are bound to arise out of the human condition.
Bev Godwin will be our Worship Leader and Dave Longo will be our Guest Musician.

We would love to have you join us! 💜

10/26/2019

This Sunday we welcome back Rev. Beth Miller to speak on the subject 'A Matter of Principles'. The preamble to the Unitarian Universalist Association Statement of Principles says: "We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote". The seven principles are then listed. Each principle is fodder for many sermons, but this one will explore what it means to "covenant" and to "affirm and promote" the principles of our faith tradition.
John Brackett will be our Worship Leader and Dave Longo will be our Guest Musician.


Share the Plate Sunday: This Sunday we will dedicate our cash (non-pledged) offering to The Women's Resource Center of Manatee. The WRC offers programs to engage, educate, enrich and empower. When women are at a turning point in their lives, and unsure or unable to determine a direction, trained listeners connect them with programs or service at the center, or refer them to a non-profit community partner.

New Member Sunday: If you've thought about joining as a member or would like to learn more about who we are and what we stand for, meet with Mae Steg and John Yoder after the service this Sunday.

10/19/2019

This Sunday we are very pleased to welcome our own Rev. Brock Leach to speak on the subject 'The Stirrings of Compassion'.

While our American society struggles to articulate the shared values that will guide us in confronting the gargantuan challenges we face, we are preoccupied with debating and demonizing one another in a fight for those particular values that underlie our own narratives. As usual throughout American history, Unitarian Universalists are at the bleeding edge of that struggle. What are we learning about how to move forward together?

Jane Yoder will be our Worship Leader and Jan Dorsett will be our Guest Musician.

We are also happy to have Ward Pilato join us to share a summary of the process involved in transitioning to a new senor minister following Roger's retirement in March. Ward is the immediate past Chair of the UUCS Board of Trustees and will serve as the Chair of the Transition Committee.

After our Sunday service this week, we invite you to grab a cup of coffee and join us for a short discussion. We've received notice from the Hyatt that we will periodically lose access to our meeting room on Sunday morning. Sports leagues booking a large number of rooms will occasionally take priority over our little church. As we are actively considering the best time and place for our congregation to meet in the future, we'd like to learn more about your thoughts and needs. Join us Sunday and we'll give you all the details, describe a survey process we'll ask you to participate in and hear your ideas and questions.

See you Sunday!