This Sunday: Responsible foraging builds environmental awareness and is the most ecologically sustainable method of procuring food. But more than anything, harvesting wild food satisfies a deep desire to connect with our roots and participate in Nature. We gather to nourish body and spirit. This is our fourth service in a series on ethical eating. The final service in the series will be in September and will examine raising animals for food. You can find online materials, including an Ethical Eating Study Guide, at http://www.uua.org/socialjustice/issuesprocess/currentissues/ethicaleating/. Lay Leader, Frida Shroyer, Speaker, Lisa Sporleder, Accompanist, Susan Johnson.

Gathering: Berry Picking as a Spiritual Discipline - Sporleder [ 21:31 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In a radical little movie last summer, the robot WALL-E helps humanity come to its senses after generations of luxurious meaninglessness. Our journey, too, can include learning to become “more than the sum of our wants.” Guest ministers, Revs. Barbara Wells ten Hove and Jaco B. ten Hove are both “homebred” UUs, were ordained in the mid-1980s, married in 1990 and served separate congregations in the Seattle area. During that time, they made a few trips up to Fairbanks to preach and teach. Then they began a co-ministry in Maryland in 1998, but last summer they returned to the Seattle area, now co-ministering at Cedars UU Church, on Bainbridge Island, Wash., so we lured them back to Fairbanks for a visit. Read More »

More than the Sum of Our Wants Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is the first in a series of summer services that will look at the ethics of eating. Our May 31 program explores the ethics of hunting and the question of how Alaskans, UUs or not, reconcile their hunting practices with their spiritual beliefs, including Unitarian Universalism’s seventh principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.  We have invited several speakers to present varying perspectives on the question. Later services in the series will examine growing our own food and raising animals for food. Ethical Eating was selected at UUA General Assembly 2008 in Fort Lauderdale, FL, to be the Congregational Study/Action Issue for 2008-2012. The UUA site has online materials including an Ethical Eating Study Guide. Lay leader, Cam Leonard. Accompanist, Laurel Holmes.

Hunting: Our relationship with animals Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This Sunday: A pilgrimage is a long journey or search of religious or spiritual significance. Two UUFF members share their stories about recent inward or external journeys of spiritual significance to them. Marilyn Richardson will tell us about spiritual retreats she has taken with Thich Nhat Hanh in Plum Village, France, Ram Dass in Portland, Oregon, and Wayne Dyer at Machu Pichu, Peru. Dave Welch will talk about his personal journey with Kundalini yoga and the teachings of Yogi Bhajan, including three separate, intense weeks of instruction in the Aquarian Teacher Training program that culminated in his being certified as a Kundalini Yoga Instructor on April 19th, 2009. This is a follow up to our November service, Pilgrimages Part I: Back to Our Roots, when Julia Stewart and Marilyn Russell talked about their journey to Unitarian villages in Transylvania, Romania. Speakers, Marilyn Richardson and Dave Welch. Lay leader, Lisa Sporleder. Accompanist, Marsha Sousa.

Marilyn Richardson on spiritual retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh in Plum Village Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

David Welch on Kundalini yoga teacher training Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Raven’s Tree of Life panel at the front of the Sanctuary was pieced and quilted by Stephanie Rudig in 2005 from a drawing by UUFF artist Shane Hurd. The design was by Committee. There is a meaningful story behind the quilt’s symbolism.
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