What’s UUp 4/26/26?

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Budget Meeting for 2026 Annual Meeting Prep
Sunday, April 26 at 10am in Person in the Social Hall

Please join us to get a sneak peek at the proposed budget for 2026 -2027.  Ask questions, join the conversation, and get ready for the annual meeting!

Green Sanctuary at First U Sunday, April 26 – 10am in the Library

The Seventh Principle team will lead an entertaining and informative session on how getting everyone on board with helping First U attain “Green Sanctuary” status with the UUA is meant to be inclusive, rewarding, and a way to bring a spiritual connection to our environmentally-friendly practices.

The Nursery is open for babies and pre-k from 9:30am-12:15pm on Sundays.

Please complete one registration form for each child you would like to participate in Religious Exploration in the coming year. This includes the nursery.

Join Us Sunday, April 26 at 11:00am

Stepping Off the Ladder
Speaker: Jeff LaBonde

Many of us are holding a complex mix of thoughts and feelings about the future. What does it mean to nurture hope when the world feels so fractured? Is it possible to find a hope that is grounded and real? Jeff’s message will explore these questions, seeking a path forward that is built not on easy answers, but on our shared love, with eyes wide open.
 About the Speaker

Jeff is a ministerial intern at the UU Church of Lexington whose path has been shaped by a search for grounded, realistic hope. His own journey with epilepsy and multiple brain surgeries has taught him that hope is not blind optimism, but a practice of seeing clearly and persevering. His theological education includes coursework at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Harvard Divinity School, and Starr King School for the Ministry. A classically trained vocalist and music minister, he is deeply committed to religious pluralism and has spent the last decade exploring Taoist and Hindu thought and practices.
For the zoom link, Click here. The Meeting ID is 4508929882 if you can’t attend in person.  You will not need a password. Contact the volunteer desk if you have trouble getting online.

The Order of Service (Bulletin)
Gathering Music        Ethan McCollum

Welcome         Tim Raymond

Prelude         Ethan
                 
Lighting the Chalice & the Black Lives Matter Candle   
Peggy Muller and Pat Allison
                                                            
Opening Words          Jeff LaBonde

Hymn #121        We’ll Build a Land       Ethan
Words: Barbara Zanotti; music: Carolyn McDade

Moment for All Ages               Pat Allison
Something Warm for Grandma by Leah Pugh
illustrated by Pat Allison

A Song for Our Children          Ethan
Go in love, our hearts go with you.
Go in joy, our hopes go too.
Learn in love and grow in wisdom.
Shine your light in all you do.

Our Mission and Covenant (unison)                                                        
We are a church of reason and spirit,
that witnesses for progressive faith,
nurtures our community and transforms our world.

Love is the spirit of this church, and service is its law.
This is our great covenant: to dwell together in peace,
to seek the truth in love, and to help one another.

Joys and Sorrows                                                                                             

Musical Response #1002             Ethan
Comfort Me  
Words and Music: Mimi Bornstein-Doble

Meditation and Common Prayer        Jeff

Musical Response            Ethan

Invitation to Generosity           Tim

Offertory        Ethan

Sermon      Stepping Off the Ladder       Jeff

Hymn #318                  Ethan
We Would Be One
Words: Samual Anthony Wright
music: Jean Sibelius

Extinguishing the Chalice         Valerie
We extinguish these flames, but not the light of truth,
the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment.
These we carry in our hearts until we are together again.

Closing Words              Jeff

Postlude         Ethan

Invitations