Services are Sunday at 10:30 a.m. in-person in Channing Hall and on Zoom and YouTube.

July/August 2026 Worship Calendar

July 5, A Dog’s Eye View of Universalism: David Bentley Hart, His Mutt, and the Future of Our Faith, Drake Baer

Please keep an eye on the weekly news for a description

July 12, The Spirit of 1848, Emma Moore

In this year of emotionally complex American milestones, let’s consider those anniversaries of work that remains unfinished. July 1848 saw in the Women’s Rights Convention held in Seneca Falls, New York, later widely hailed as a milestone of the American suffragist and feminist movements. Yet at the same time, across an ocean, the European “springtime of the Peoples” was facing a counterrevolution, one that brought many new immigrants to America in its fallout. And amidst it all, at Seneca Falls itself, the anti-slavery and anti-racist movement would not be suppressed. What lessons does the summer of 1848 hold for our UU community today, in our own time of tumultuous unfinished work?

July 19, On Monarch Wings, Rev. Jennifer Kelleher
Monarch butterflies have long held spiritual symbolism – that of change and new beginnings, resilience, guidance and freedom. In what ways might we invoke the spirit of the monarch? as a personal guide, in lifting up the needs in our community, in our ministries to help heal a hurting world? This service will include ritual and prayer for detainees in Delaney Hall and across the country.

July 26, Loving Each Other Back, Ted Fetter
Interconnectedness is part of the fabric of our UU principles and the new set of values.  It’s an essential part of who we say we are.  But what does it mean?  How can we live interconnected lives?  Let’s explore how to find a social understanding of ourselves in the world. Here is a starting point: There is no Us and Them; there is only Us.

Aug. 2 UU 101, Rev. Bill Neely

What does it mean to be a Unitarian Universalist? What do we believe, do, celebrate, and confess? How, and in what spirit, do we serve the Holy and one another? With lightness and curiosity, let’s break our sometimes hard-to-explain faith down to the basics, and begin with what we know.

Aug. 9, Apocalypse Never, Rev. Bill Neely

The more conservative the religion, the more eagerly it usually predicts and awaits the “end times.” Most of life is spent preparing for this day of doom and judgement for most and paradise for a few. Liberal theology is usually more optimistic, focusing on progress and positive actions, and yet apocalyptic thinking is present in our faith. Even if we don’t believe in them, the “end times” informs how we act in the world. Should it? 

Aug. 16, Modern Scripture, Rev. Bill Neely

Scripture is a common source of authority in religion, and interpreting scripture is the central religious journey for plenty adherent of various faiths. The scriptures used are usually quite particular per religion and are rooted in centuries, or millennia, of history. In our faith, however, the writings we use for discernment and discussion are broad, diverse, and evolving. How does this very modern approach to religious authority shape our faith?

Aug. 23, Banned and Widely Read, Rev. Bill Neely and Airlie Anderson

Banning books, aside from being a good way to publicize them, says more about the thinking behind banning books than the works themselves. So too does opposing book bans on principle. As a faith centered in free thought, free association, and free expression, we tend to be pretty critical of book bans, though we often speak of them in political terms. How is this a religious issue for us though? How are books bans spiritually profane?

Aug. 30, The Last Sweet Bite, Rev. Bill Neely

Grace said before a meal centers the time in gratitude. But the blessings of the meal last well beyond the gathering and eating. Reflecting on a Buddhist parable as well as the words of the poet Joy Harjo, this service will explore what lives on, in sustenance and spirit, after the last sweet bite.