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Minister

Love Transforms

Rev. Karen Madrone, August 24, 2023 What does Love call us to do? This is the constant question we should be holding in front of us as Unitarian Universalists. I try to think of it in terms of these questions: In this situation, how can I be more loving? What would love look like in relationship to this person or situation? If I’m in disagreement with someone, is there something that I need to apologize for? Is there a way I could listen better for what this person needs from me? Sometimes love calls us to “just” listen (I put…

Minister

Living this UU life

Rev. Karen Madrone, August 18, 2023 This week I’ve been working on my noticing skills, in particular noticing the ways we minister and support each other. The word “minister” is a verb as in, “we minister to each other,” and it is a noun when it is used to describe the spiritual leader of a congregation. For example, I am an ordained UU minister but we all minister to each other. In community we have shared ministry. It’s hard to quantify because there is no specific litmus test, but if we pay attention we can learn to see it in…

Sunday Service

Flow Like Love

The word love is like a bucket of many other big words. What is it really? And what’s love got to do with anything? Is it really the superglue that makes everything work? I’ve worked with impassioned leaders and some of them were even dogmatic and perhaps you could say ideological. But the best changemakers and agents of good have always been those who have the ability to change their minds, to be loved and cared for by others, and to make space for trusting the good in others. The ability to give and receive are signifiers of love. Charity…

MinisterOther

Big, challenging questions!

Rev. Karen Madrone August 10, 2023 Last Sunday, August 6 we had a multigenerational service that introduced the proposed Article II changes. The focus was about the newly stated (they’ve always been with us!) values with love being at the center, or foundation, of each of them. Before we got to that part of the service, however, UUCF’s RE Coordinator, Corrie Cortez, and I read through a Wisdom Story that gave some background and used a few props like a plant, clock, and a ballot. The plant demonstrated that we are a living tradition that needs caring and tending. The…

Sunday Service

Love is the Center

At General Assembly (GA) the delegates approved the proposal to study changes to Article II, a section of the UUA bylaws. The proposed change has love at the center with our core values spiraling out. Love truly is the core of who we are. Let us come together and imagine what it would be like to have love be our guiding force.

Minister

What is a UU congregation? Who is it for?

Rev. Karen Madrone, July 28, 2023 These are questions that long time UUers struggle explaining to visitors to UU congregations. People come to our congregations for many reasons. Sometimes it’s because they want a space for their children to learn about religion in a non-dogmatic way. Sometimes it’s because they no longer want to be part of a former restrictive religion and want to find out what it might be like to be in a faith that encourages them to learn and grow. Sometimes they had no faith background at all but feel the need for community so they are…