June 12 Dear Friends, This week, I am reminded to celebrate all the remarkable change I have been privileged to undergo in the last year: In 2018, you called me to share ministry with you on April 22. I graduated from seminary on May 20. I was ordained on June 10. And of course, we … Continue reading June 12, 2019 Minister’s Message
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Mankato (UUFM) Director of Children’s Faith Development (CFD) Description This is a 12-month half-time salaried position reporting to the Minister. Our Children’s Faith Development mission is to teach our children the values, heritage, and sources of Unitarian Universalism, as well as to help them articulate their personal beliefs. By drawing … Continue reading UUFM Seeks New Children’s Faith Development Director
June 5 Dear Friends, There are many reasons I love the Soul Matters theme of Beauty. Celebrating our communal loveliness with flowers is certainly one reason. But there is more, much more, to it. Process theology, a way of thinking about the sacred that deeply influences my understanding, teaches us much that is unexpected about Beauty. … Continue reading June 5, 2019 Minister’s Message
May 29 Dear Friends, On June 1, we begin exploration of the Soul Matters theme of “Beauty.” And a fitting way to begin is with our Flower Communion worship on Sunday, June 2. The Flower Communion binds us to Unitarians all across our country and our world. We share a common practice, but in the … Continue reading May 29, 2019 Minister’s Message
In Memory, 2019 – Tony Filipovitch Prelude: Aretha Franklin, “Nessun Dorma” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF4tWLAW3lY) 0:37-4:25) At the 1998 Grammys, Luciano Pavarotti was scheduled to sing the aria “Nessun Dorma” from the opera Turandot. As the show was on the air, his doctors cancelled his performance. A quick note on the song. The performance you are about to … Continue reading In Memory, 2019
Dear Friends, It is once again a time for me to take a short “pause” (my intentional word for the year). I’ll be traveling to Buffalo and then to Pennsylvania for the Memorial Day weekend. It may rain the entire time I am away. Still, it will be very good to see family and distant friends, … Continue reading May 22, 2019 Minister’s Message
May 15 Dear Friends, One of the blessings of engaging life with curiosity is that when an opportunity to learn something new arises, you act on it. And so, I have accepted with excitement and gratitude an invitation to an open house this Saturday at the Islamic Center of Mankato. Muslim people are immersed in … Continue reading May 15, 2019 Minister’s Message
May 8 Dear Friends, Though it is Hallmark calling us in to action this week (gotta get just the right Mother’s Day card this year to honor Mom), it was one of our Unitarian ancestors who began the practice of calling mothers into action in the midst of the Civil War. Julia Ward Howe made … Continue reading May 8, 2019 Minister’s Message
The Miracle of the Loaves & Fishes Tony Filipovitch (4/28/19) Synopsis: A mindset of abundance flows from a sense of personal worth and security. It is the confidence that there is plenty out there and enough to spare for everybody. It reaches out to possibilities, options, creativity. The miracle of the loaves and fishes was … Continue reading The Miracle of the Loaves & Fishes
Dear Friends, Everywhere, the Fellowship is brighter—in the entryway, in the sanctuary, in the Faith Development spaces, in the fellowship hall, in the kitchen, even in the restrooms. Your leadership made a commitment and contracted for this energy efficient lighting. The next phase of this ambitious project involves installation of photovoltaic panels, which is happening … Continue reading May 1, 2019 Minister’s Message
