THIS SUNDAY - January 31st

10:30 Service - Whose will is it? Rev. Lisa Friedman When disaster strikes, we sometimes hear the explanation that it was God’s will. Is it really? What does Unitarian Universalism offer as a theological response to tragedy?

Our services begin at 10:30 am Sunday mornings. Children join the first part of the service and then continue their Religious Education (RE) downstairs. Nursery service is available before and during the services. Coffee and fellowship follow the service in the lower level.

Sermon: How the Chalice Got Its Flame   by Rev. Lisa Friedman (Jan 24th, 2010)
Read other sermon's presented at the UU Fellowship.

Meditation: Jan 24th, 2010
Spirit of Life and Love,
help us to be one with the world.
Help us to be one with the victims
of earthquakes and other unspeakable tragedies,
that our tears and assistance can show them the truth
that they are not alone.

Help us to be one with those
who are on the ground giving aid,
that our strength can buoy them in their exhaustion
and our gratitude give balm to their despair.

Help us to be one with the children everywhere,
that our arms can comfort and hold them
and shelter them from the storm...

Read more meditations

Tuesday, Feb 2nd

5:45pm - Choir Practice

7:00 pm - Building Your Own Theology. (First Tuesday from Oct - May) When asked what you believe, are you tempted to answer more with what you don't believe than what you actually do? Do you have a sense of your core beliefs, but struggle to put them in exact words? This class is designed to help participants engage with theological issues from their own life experience and to write their own personal credos, or belief statements. We will be meeting downstairs in the Fellowship Hall.

Sunday, February 7th

10:30 Service - Whose will is it? Rev. Lisa Friedman When disaster strikes, we sometimes hear the explanation that it was God’s will. Is it really? What does Unitarian Universalism offer as a theological response to tragedy?

This morning we will collect a special offering for the UUSC aid to Haiti. Make checks payable to “Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Mankato” and your donation will be matched by UUFM.

Noon - 1:00 pm - Youth Group Poetry Curriculum

Sunday, February 14th

9:00 Social Action Committee meets downstairs.

10:30 Service - The Contemplation of Love - On this day devoted to contemplation of Love in all its forms, we will hear from three member-writers.  Join us as Tony Filipovitch, Jason Toupence, and Kathy Doty share brief essays they have written, inspired by a quotation from Kahlil Gibran.  Our worship leader will be Dan Dusek.

Click here

to register for
The Annual Conference 2010
April 23–25, 2010 Davenport, Iowa

Sunday, February 21st

9:15 am - Choir Practice

10:30 Service - The Power of Food: Are We What We Eat? Rev. Lisa Friedman One year my ministers study group decided to tackle the broad topic of food (I know - we must have been hungry at the time of the topic selection, right?) But let me assure you it was a very rich (and delicious) session! After studying the bestseller, Fast Food Nation, learning about the Slow Food Movement and other grassroots campaigns, it is clear to me that the task of coming up with a dinner meal is not just a time management issue. What we eat and how we eat it are acts of astounding spiritual and ethical power.

Choir will be singing.

Noon - 1:00 pm - Youth Group Poetry Curriculum

Wednesday, Feb 24th

7:15 pm - Living By Heart - An on-going exploration of your own personal meditative practice. Moderated by Rev. Lisa Friedman at the home of Marianne and Peter Johnson (507-386-0499). New members welcome.

Sunday, February 28th

10:30 Service - “Non-violence, Judgment and Forgiveness” Rev. Joel Erickson. Rev. Erickson will approach this topic from the perspective of Jesus teaching, his death and resurrection as it relates to judgment and forgiveness with the implications for how we can live nonviolently in a violent world. Judgment and condemnation builds walls separating us from each other. Forgiveness breaks these wall and allows us to get past our long held judgments Joel B. Erickson is a retired Lutheran pastor who served as Senior Pastor of Grace Lutheran in Mankato for 7 years before retiring September 1, 2009 after 35 years of ministry. Before coming to Mankato, he served congregations in Illinois, Utah and Arizona. He is a past Sunday speaker at our UUFM.

There will be an Echo Foodshelf collection taken this Sunday. Bring canned or packaged goods to help families in need. This collection is taken the last Sunday of every month.

Tuesday, March 2nd

7:00 pm - Building Your Own Theology. (First Tuesday from Oct - May) When asked what you believe, are you tempted to answer more with what you don't believe than what you actually do? Do you have a sense of your core beliefs, but struggle to put them in exact words? This class is designed to help participants engage with theological issues from their own life experience and to write their own personal credos, or belief statements. If you are interested, please sign up at the guest book table in our entryway or e-mail Rev. Lisa at lfriedman@gfn.org. Childcare is available upon request.

Sunday, March 7th

Noon - 1:00 pm - Youth Group Poetry Curriculum

Sunday, March 14th

9:15 am - Choir practice

10:30 Service - To be announced.

The choir will be singing.

Sunday, March 21st

Noon - 1:00 pm - Youth Group Poetry Curriculum

Wednesday, March 24th

7:15 pm - Living By Heart - An on-going exploration of your own personal meditative practice. Moderated by Rev. Lisa Friedman at the home of Marianne and Peter Johnson (507-386-0499).

Sunday, March 28th

10:30 Service - Justice Sunday - Speaker to be announced...

Sunday, April 4th - Easter Sunday

9:15 am Choir Practice

10:30 Service - To Be announced.

The choir will be singing.

Noon - 1:00 pm - Youth Group Poetry Curriculum

Tuesday, April 6th

7:00 pm - Building Your Own Theology. (First Tuesday from Oct - May) When asked what you believe, are you tempted to answer more with what you don't believe than what you actually do? Do you have a sense of your core beliefs, but struggle to put them in exact words? This class is designed to help participants engage with theological issues from their own life experience and to write their own personal credos, or belief statements.

Wednesday, April 28th

7:15 pm - Living By Heart - An on-going exploration of your own personal meditative practice. Moderated by Rev. Lisa Friedman at the home of Marianne and Peter Johnson (507-386-0499).

Sunday, April 18th

Noon - 1:00 pm - Youth Group Poetry Curriculum

April 23rd - April 25th

Click here

for more information on
The Annual Conference 2010
April 23–25, 2010 Davenport, Iowa

Sunday, May 2nd

Noon - 1:00 pm - Youth Group Poetry Curriculum

Tuesday, May 4th

7:00 pm - Building Your Own Theology. (First Tuesday from Oct - May) This will be the final session for this workshop.

Sunday, May 16th

Noon - 1:00 pm - Youth Group Poetry Curriculum

Sunday, May 23rd

9:30am - Choir Practice

10:30 Service - To be announced.

The choir will be singing

Wednesday, May 26th

7:15 pm - Living By Heart - An on-going exploration of your own personal meditative practice. Moderated by Rev. Lisa Friedman at the home of Marianne and Peter Johnson (507-386-0499).

Sunday, May 30th

Noon - 1:00 pm - Youth Group Poetry Curriculum

Sunday, June 6th - Flower Communion

9:30 am - Choir Practice

10:30 Service - To be announced.

The choir will be singing.

Wednesday, July

7:15 pm - Living By Heart - An on-going exploration of your own personal meditative practice. Moderated by Rev. Lisa Friedman at the home of Marianne and Peter Johnson (507-386-0499).

Changes, additions, photos?

Send Peter an email at: webmaster@UUMankato.org

Break Through Congregations 'R Us

We had been nominated by the Prairie Star District staff and selected by the UUA’s Growth Team as one of the four breakthrough congregations throughout the country to be honored at this year’s General Assembly in Minneapolis!

The UUA’s Growth Team describes a “breakthrough” congregation as one which has “shown significant and sustained numerical growth and successfully navigated the oftentimes difficult challenges of being a prophetic UU congregation.Rev. Limpert reported that some of the reasons we were selected include:

• We had a 61% increase in adult membership in the last three years
• We purchased a building in the midst of a ministerial transition – courageous!
• We hired a part-time paid RE director
• We began a public lecture series
• We increased professional ministerial leadership from quarter-time to half-time

New Worship Leaders Wanted

Each month there is at least one Sunday service when we have an outside speaker present the sermon, and we then need someone from the congregation to guide us through the rest of the service.

Since we call ourselves a "lay led congregation", this is an excellent way to demonstrate that, with many different UUFM members taking a turn at providing that leadership. It is a very enjoyable task, and we have developed information and guidelines to make it easy, while still allowing ample room for personal choice.

As with having different people make the coffee or warmly greet us at the entry foyer, it is enjoyable for us all to see a variety of us filling also this role. We get to know each other better, and have a continually expanding sense of the richness of "us". If this feels like one of the ways you might serve the UUFM, or if you'd just like to hear more about it, please come to a short meeting after Sunday service on January 10, downstairs. Or contact Sandra Walberg, 388-1904, whalsand@hickorytech.net  (Posted 12-23-09 to 2-23-09)