Celebrations of Life
2007 Archive

• January 7, 2007
  Journeying
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman.
  In this New Year where are we going? Have we been prompted by an epiphany--either ours, or someone else’s? Do we have a star to guide us? A roadmap? If so, can we see the star, or read the map? I promise I won’t tell the old joke about what the magi’s journey would have been like, had they been three wise women, rather than three wise (?) men.
  
  
• January 14, 2007
  “The Foundation is Love.”
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman.
  These are words spoken by Martin Luther King, as he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize. Tomorrow is set aside to honor this great man, who is an American saint. Rooted and sustained by his faith, he had the courage to confront injustice, the force of character to demand that people act from love rather than from hate, and the vision to inspire others to dream of and work towards a just and free society. The Celebration of Life today will be intergenerational.
  
  
• January 21, 2007
  A Work in Progress
  Katy Brown, Fred Lehman.
  From the moment of birth, we are complete, and yet we are always becoming something new. Likewise, our universe is ever-changing. Each of us has a role as cocreator of what is to be.
  
  
• January 28, 2007
  The Growing Light
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman. What do candles, groundhogs, and stories about the goddess/saint Brigit have in common? All have links to the pagan holiday of Imbolc, celebrated from late January to early February. It is my favorite pagan holiday, so today I want to honor the sixth source of our living tradition.
  
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• February 4, 2007
  On Joy
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman
  At this Celebration of Life, we will honor the elders in our church community. What does this have to do with joy? Come and see.
  
  
• February 11, 2007
  Evolution Sunday
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman
  Charles Darwin war born on February 12, 1809. His theory of evolution posed a challenge to religious orthodoxy then; it continues to do so now. Beginning last year, liberal religious congregations throughout the country began dedicating the second Sunday in February to the relationship of science to religion.
  
  
• February 18, 2007
  The Importance of Black History in the Post-Civil Rights Era
  Dr J. Blaine Hudson, Dean of Arts and Sciences at U of L will present the sermon as part of our annual recognition and celebration of Black History Month. Betty Munford will assist. Troy K. Jackson, worship associate.
  
  
• February 25
  We’ll Build a Church; We’ll Build a Land
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman.
  The foundation is love, but then what? Sisters and brothers, come together; build the community person by person, brick by brick.
  
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• March 4, 2007
  Choice, Chance, and Chaos Theory
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman.
  What does this sermon title mean? I’m not sure—but it feels right.
  
• March 11, 2007
  The Passing of the Torch
  Kathie Johnson, Worship Associate.
  Exploring the Women’s Alliance and the Unitarian Universalist Women’s Federation and Women’s History through the last 110 years and the hope for the future. Members of the First U Women’s Alliance are planning and presenting this service.
  
• March 18, 2007
  Living in Imbalance
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman, the Rev. Nana Kratochvil, and Dr. Lisa Willner.
  The vernal equinox –that fleeting time when the hours of daylight and the hours of darkness are identical—is almost upon us. And I wonder, is it really possible to live a balanced life? At this Celebration of Life, there will be a naming ceremony for one particular new life in our midst. Afterwards, the incoming Ministerial Settlement Representative will meet with the congregation, to explain the search process.
  
• March 25, 2007
  Justice, Passion, and Compassion
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman.
  When we witness suffering, what do we do? What can we do? Today we will join with hundreds of other Unitarian Universalist congregations in observing Justice Sunday--adding our hearts, our minds, our hands, and our voices to the Drumbeat for Darfur.
  
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• April 1, 2007
  Looking to Liberation
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman, Fran Weinstock, and company. The Ancient Jewish festival of Passover begins at sunset on April 2nd. It is a story of slavery and freedom, that has a power and meaning, still.
  
  
• April 8, 2007
  Death, Life, and Love
  This Easter Sunday, celebrate this holy day along with your sisters and brothers in First U’s partner church in Nagyenyed, Romania. This Celebration of Life will join together Kentucky and Transylvanian customs, including communion for those who wish to partake. Thanks to Will Plummer, Lisa Willner, and the Choir forAll Ages, there will be some very special music at this intergenerational worship service.
  
  
• April 15, 2007
  A Celebration of Books and Libraries
  Led by the Worship Committee
  
  
• April 22, 2007
  The Body of Earth
  Will Plummer, the Rev. Betsy Scheuerman, the choir, and musical guests What happens when we take seriously the notion of Earth as a Body? What are the wounds we inflict on it? What are the pleasures we take from it? How does it heal us, and how do we heal it? This Celebration of Life will explore these themes through poetry (April is National Poetry Month) and music (today is Music Sunday). All your bodies are welcome.
  
  
• April 29, 2007
  Art as Inspiration
  Join our Middle School Youth Group for our annual youth-led Celebration of Life. Drawing on the “You the Creator” curriculum series and other sources, worship leaders will explore the role that art plays in our lives.
  
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• May 6, 2007
  The Merry Month of May
  May is bursting out all over! From Derby and the Maypole to Memorial Day, May is a month filled to overflowing! Presented by Ann Hardman, Debra Gilbert, Ron Zorn, Michael Wilding, and friends.
  
• May 13, 2007
  Is Mother’s Day a blessing, or a curse?
  What happens when women are honored primarily for their role as mothers? What assumptions are implicit? What truths have been obscured by sentimentality?
  TheRev. Betsy Scheuerman
  
• May 20, 2007
  Celebrating our UU Principles, a multigenerational Religious Education Celebration of Life.
  The service will include participation by all of our children and youth R.E. classes
  
• May 27, 2007
  What the Living Do
  May 27 What the Living Do.
  I have given this Celebration of Life a title which comes from a poem by Marie Howe. This Celebration of Life will have something to do with Memorial Day. Whether that will be war, remembrance, death by violence, idolatry, patriotism, heroism, or reconciliation, I am not yet sure.
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman
  
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• June 3, 2007
  Flower Communion; New Member Sunday
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman
  Flower communion is the only uniquely Unitarian Universalist holiday, created by Norbert Capek. We will be celebrating that holiday today, on the anniversary of Capek’s birth. We will also welcome new members. Please bring a flower. This Celebration of Life is intergenerational.
  
• June 10, 2007
  Into the Wilderness
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman
  What does the wilderness represent to us? What do we fear about it, what propels us toward it, what can we learn from it? Some members and friends will be at the annual campout, but for those who aren’t, we can contemplate the wilderness from the vantage point of First’s beautiful sanctuary.
  
• June 17, 2007
  Common and Uncommon Bedfellows - Friends, Allies and the Sexual Minority
  Jack Jackson and Debbie Silverman leading
  Our annual Pride Service. .
  
  
• June 24, 2007
  Blessing the Animals
  The service will be led by Tiffany and Doug Taylor
  Today we will honor the pets and animal friends who are a part of our blessed community. You are invited to bring pets on leashes or in appropriate carriers to the Celebration of Life. They must have adult supervision at all times for the safety and enjoyment of everyone. We encourage you to bring pictures or mementos of pets living or gone to decorate the platform.
  
  
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  July 1, 2007
  The Burden of Hospitality
  Speaker: John Thurman Wiggins
  All churches, whether conservative, moderate or liberal, would like to think of themselves as hospitable organizations. In reality, few actually are. How does First Unitarian rank on the hospitality scale?
  
  
• July 8, 2007
  The Art of Complaining
  Guest Speaker: Peter Buck
  From pet peeves to heart-breaks, people and circumstances have a way of disappointing us. How do we respond when we are the victims of other people’s poor decisions?
  
  
• July 15, 2007
  The Benefits of Involvement in Community Service
  Volunteer work is generally considered an act of generosity for which the recipients should be grateful. As members of the community, though, the workers also benefit from the improvements they make. Are there other advantages to doing good works?
  
  
• July 22, 2007
  A UU Version of Doing the Right Thing
  Guest Speaker: Homer Wilkins
  After listening to a high-profile politician’s speech to a graduating class, Homer Wilkins, the same man who brought us the popular “Behind the Ivory Door” service last summer, was inspired to write a sermon that was more in line with UU values.
  
  
• July 29, 2007
  Living Green and Keeping it Clean
  Last year, the Unitarian Universalist Association passed a resolution “to promote environmentally aware energy consumption patterns” by restricting if not ending “mountaintop removal” coal mining. How can we live environmentally-friendly lives? Come and listen; then stay afterward, eat lunch and spruce up our beautiful building under the direction of our House and Grounds Committee.
  
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• August 5, 2007
  Give 'em Hope, not Hell
  Joan Beal will lead the service.
  Some reflections and stories on our Universalist heritage. What does it offer now? Special music: banjo.
  
• August 12, 2007
  Louisville Urban League and Providing Services to People
  Our speaker will be Benjamin K. Richmond, president and chief executive officer of the Louisville Urban League and the 2006 recipient of Louisville’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Award. Mr. Richmond will speak to us about his experiences working with the Louisville Urban League and the value he finds in providing direct services to disadvantaged people, and in building bridges of understanding among diverse groups.
  
• August 19, 2007
  The Force That Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower
  While we are surrounded by the fullness of summer, Greg Gapsis will celebrate some joyous discoveries and bittersweet truths found while cycling along the road of life.
  
  
• August 26, 2007
  Lionizing Dandelions
  Rev. Betsy Scheuerman
  If you were a flower, what flower would you want to be? Myself, I think there is a lot to be said for the lowly dandelion.
  
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• September 2, 2007
  TBA
  
  
• September 9, 2007
  Shall We Gather at the River?
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman.
  Gather in community for this intergenerational Celebration of Life, prepared to bless and to be blessed. Bring a vial of water that represents your journey for the water communion.
  
• September 16, 2007
  Becoming Whole
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman.
  Our religious tradition has many sources; one of the most important is Judaism. During the High Holy Days, we will lift up the important themes of repentance, remembrance, and at-one-ment. The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman.
  
• September 23, 2007
  Walking Together
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman.
  What gets you out of bed on a Sunday morning? What pulls you away from the New York Times, or your garden, or a pleasant walk in a park, to make the short or long trip to 4th and York? Why do you, why do I, why do we gather together in community? Why, or why didn’t, you sign the membership book? What promises do we make? What promises do we break? During this Celebration of Life, the members of First will dedicate a new Care Quilt.
  
  
• September 30
  All I Know of Spirit...
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman.
  Today marks the 800th birthday of the great Sufi mystic, poet, and teacher known to us as Rumi. A Muslim universalist, his sayings affronted the orthodox, while his imagery scandalized them. This Celebration of Life will draw upon his writings; it features some music composed by Will Plummer (First’s marvelous Music Director) especially for this occasion. Come, come, whoever you are...
  
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• October 7, 2007
  Lighthouses of First U’s Traditions
  Rev. Robert Reed leads this service which will recall both shining moments and tough debates in First Unitarian’s history, using stories from members to cast a light on what we are about, have stood for, argued about and given our reputation and treasure to over the years.
  
• October 14, 2007
  We’re On Our Way -- Association Sunday
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman
  The Unitarian Universalist Association is not an association not of individuals, but of congregations. Each covenants with each other to affirm and promote the seven principles. Now hundreds of UU congregations are acting to implement this covenant: gathering resources for the promotion of oUUr principles, the dissemination of oUUr good news, and the shining of oUUr light. A special collection will be taken this Sunday for the “Now Is the Time” campaign.
  
• October 14, 2007
  The F**** Word
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman
  No, not that “f” word: but another one that may be even scarier to UU ears--one with five letters, not four. The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman
  
• October 28, 2007
  A Day Of Life
  Youth, adults and our choir will put on this original musical about the Day of the Dead by Pat Allison and Tim Murner. It will be a joyous time for reflection on those who have died but who still touch us in many ways. Time will be taken in this intergenerational service for UNICEF trick-or-treating as well, so bring plenty of pocket change!

  
  
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• November 4, 2007
  Precious Wisdom
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman
  While all wisdom is precious, this Celebration of Life will explore the wisdom of a fictional character--Precious Ramotswe, founder and proprietor of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, in Botswana.
  
  
• November 11, 2007
  Beyond Categorical Thinking
  When encountering someone “other,” what assumptions do we make? What stereotypes lurk? What barriers do we put up? What defenses? How do we become more fully welcoming? This Celebration of Life is sponsored by the Search Committee. Speakers and workshop leaders will be Eddy Carroll (from Denver, Colorado), and Michael Takada (from Evanston, IL). They come highly recommended by Keith Kron.
  
  
• November 18, 2007
  Practicing Praise: An Intergenerational Celebration of Life
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman.
  One of my favorite poems (“Praise Song,” by Barbara Crocker) begins: “Praise the light of late November...” What happens when we learn to praise, not only the glowing and growing light of spring, but the weak and dwindling light of late November? When we learn to say “Thanks” not only for what is abundant, but also for what is meager?
  
  
• November 25, 2007
  So You’re Dead -- Now What?
  For many of us, especially in this culture, the concept of an afterlife has been drilled into us for as long as we can remember. This exercise in thought control may have even had its beginnings before we were able to walk or talk in complete sentences. But what if there is no afterlife? What if the here and now is all that there is? John Wiggins will explore this question from the perspective of his own confrontation with this issue.
  
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• December 2, 2007
  Kwanzaa
  John Chenault from the UofL Libraries will speak. River City Drum Corps will play.
  
  
• December 9, 2007
  A Long Way from Home
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman
  What do we do, when we feel like a motherless child? When we feel we have no friend? When we feel we are almost gone? When we feel a long way from home? The subject of this Celebration of Life is living with depression.
  
  
• December 16, 2007
  Winter Rituals
  Our Annual R.E. Holiday Celebration of Life will feature presentations by each of our children and youth R.E. classes, and special music by the Choir for All Ages and several young musicians.
  
  
• December 23, 2007
  Gifts of the Dark
  The Rev. Betsy Scheuerman
  Do we fear darkness? Despise it? Avoid it? Ignore it? Conquer it? Is light better than dark? In this, the darkest time of the year, we’ll look at the gifts of the season.
  
  
• December 30, 2007
  Make a Joyful Noise
  Come sing your favorite hymns to the accompaniment of our own Bernie Schweickart, who is prepared to take requests.
  
  
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  Return to upcoming Celebrations of Life
  Coffee and refreshments served following the service in the Social Hall.
  For directions, see our map to the church.
  First Unitarian Church * Unitarian Universalist * UU * Louisville Kentucky * KY 5496

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