First Unitarian Church of Rochester

09/04/2026

What do we carry with us into a new year?

Join us Sunday, September 6 at 10:30 AM in the Sanctuary for our Backpack Blessing & Labor Day Worship Service.

As students, teachers, school staff, and families prepare for a new school year, we’ll offer a special blessing for the backpacks, bags, and other things that travel with us each day. Bring yours to worship as we send our community into the year ahead with love and encouragement.

We’ll also mark Labor Day by reflecting on the work we do, the people whose labor sustains our communities, and our shared hopes for dignity, justice, and care for all workers.

Whether you’re heading back to a classroom, a workplace, or somewhere entirely different, come as you are and bring what you carry.

Sunday, September 6 | 10:30 AM
Sanctuary | First Unitarian Church of Rochester

09/02/2026

As we begin exploring our Harvest season theme, What We Carry, we’re starting with the most literal question:

What do you carry every day?

Maybe it’s your keys, a water bottle, a favorite bag, a family photo tucked into your wallet, medication, a notebook, a lucky object, or something else entirely.

Take a look at what’s in your pockets, purse, backpack, or car. What comes with you almost everywhere you go?

Tell us in the comments: What is one thing you carry with you every day, and why?

Over the weeks ahead, we’ll explore not only the things we physically carry, but also the traditions, memories, responsibilities, hopes, and values we bring with us as we move forward together.

09/01/2026

HARVEST | What We Carry

As summer draws to a close, we gather in again.

A new church year begins, and with it comes an invitation to notice what we carry.

We each arrive carrying something. Stories and traditions. Memories and relationships. Lessons learned and questions still unfolding. We carry pieces of where we’ve been, individually and together, into whatever comes next.

But we don’t have to carry everything.

Throughout our Harvest season, we’ll reflect on what is worth bringing forward. What have we inherited that still nourishes us? What traditions and values do we want to hold close? What might be evolving? What can we finally set down?

And as we look toward the year ahead, what do we want to intentionally pack for the journey?

These questions belong to our lives, and to Unitarian Universalism itself. Our tradition has always been shaped by people willing to examine what they inherited, hold onto what gives life, and make room for something new.

This September and October, we invite you to gather in with us as we explore What We Carry

Come discover what’s worth keeping, what’s ready to change, and what we might carry forward together.

09/01/2026

I can't wait to see what answers we can come up with!

Finish the sentence: You know you’re at a UU church when ______.

Every UU congregation has those little moments that make you think, “Yep, I’m definitely at a UU church.” 😄

What’s yours? Drop them in the comments—we want to hear them! 🔥💛

08/30/2026

WEATHER UPDATE!!!

Today's Animal Blessing service will be held INDOORS at 10:30am in the sanctuary!

08/28/2026

Join us outside on the East Lawn for this special annual service of honoring, remembering, and blessing the beloved animals who companion us along our life’s journey.

You’re encouraged to bring a lawn chair or blanket, and of course your pet, stuffy, or photo of them, to receive blessing. If rain is forecast we will worship in the sanctuary.

**For everyone's safety and comfort, please keep animals on a leash or securely contained in a carrier.**

Come as you are. Bring who you love. We'll see you on the lawn!

Sunday, August 30 | 10:30 AM
East Lawn | First Unitarian Church of Rochester

08/13/2026

Writers and artists have long been teaching us that imagination is a key ingredient of hope. As we come together to meet this current moment, we must also do the work of imagining new worlds; worlds that show us that the way things are is not the way they have to be. Join us as we explore what it means to hope along with our favorite authors and artists.

08/06/2026

What if hope is not a feeling like "optimism," but rather is a spiritual perspective in the face of the human condition? How do Unitarian Universalism and our own personal beliefs ground us in a theology of hope, and what does that really mean?

07/30/2026

Join us this Sunday, August 2, at 10:30 AM for a worship service led by members of our Elders group. Together, we’ll reflect on hope: where we find it, how we sustain it, and how it carries us through uncertain times.