In this service, we ask you to bring your favorite poems to share, so that we all can consider ways that poetry can inspire us to “live in harmony with the rhythms of nature” and to aid our “free and responsible search for truth and meaning.” Additionally, poetry can be fun, silly, and help us … Continue reading Poetry and Inspiration
Originated by Rev. Norbert Capek, in his native Czechoslovakia in 1923, the Flower Communion is perhaps the most widely-celebrated ritual in Unitarian Universalist congregations today. Created out of a need for a symbolic ritual that would bind people more closely together, this communion was inspired by the native beauty of the countryside. Bring a flower … Continue reading Flower Communion
Tree Day was always one of the biggest and most festive days of the year at Western College for Women. Inspired by this tradition, we’ll celebrate our own Tree Day with stories, photos, dance, and a special planting. Service Leaders: Judi Hetrick and Susan Thrasher. Intergenerational Service.
Hopedale will be joining with at least 579 other Unitarian Universalist communities to shift our regularly scheduled Sunday morning worship and participate in a teach-in on racism and white supremacy. Over the past few weeks, many have been responding to calls by UUs of color to look critically *within* our faith communities–including hiring practices, power brokers, and … Continue reading Interest on old Debts of Blasphemy: Teach-In on White Supremacy.
Lydia Yellow Hawk, an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in SD and President of the Native American Student Association at Miami University-Hamilton, will share with us the activities of the organization in support of the Water Protectors at Standing Rock in North Dakota. This is the third of three services planned by the … Continue reading #NoDAPL: Why We Take The Stand We Do
In celebration of Earth Day, Dr. Donna McCollum, Prairie/Forest/Wetland Conservationist and Retired Educator, will share with us perspectives gained from her work creating the Edge of the Farm Conservation Area, managing the Butler County Stream Team, and as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Three Valley Conservation Trust. This is the second … Continue reading Stewardship of Local Waterways
Cynthia Kelley, one of our Hopedale friends and a hospice social worker for twelve years, was able to translate the experience of losing her son to help others cope with the death of a loved one. Join us as she leads us in a meditation on her journey of survival, affirmation and caring. Service leader: … Continue reading Lessons Learned from Loss: An Easter Meditation
J. “Yaacov” Delaney will present information about the mission of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center in Cincinnati. The goal of the OJPC is to create fair, intelligent, redemptive criminal-justice systems through zealous client-centered advocacy, innovative policy reform, and cross-sector community education. OJPC leads in serving the needs of people directly affected by the criminal justice … Continue reading Ohio Justice and Policy Center
This I Believe is an organization that encourages people to write about and share the core beliefs that guide their daily lives. In our non-creedal faith community at Hopedale we have a wide range of beliefs. What do our children believe? Let’s turn a service over to the children and hear from them. This … Continue reading This I Believe: Children’s Edition
With our UU diversity of belief, language can become a bone of contention. Does it need to be that way? Rev. McCarty looks at the way a concept can develop form stark fact to symbolic poetry and seeks to look at language of faith as a unifying, rather than divisive force. Myth, allegory, and metaphor. … Continue reading Thoughts on Religious Language
