Author: Blue Hills UU

The Blue Hills Unitarian-Universalist fellowship in Rice Lake will begin the new year by welcoming Josh Morey to speak at the January 5^th Service, 10:00 a.m. Josh is the liaison for homeless students in Rice Lake’s school district, tasked with working with needs and challenges they face.  

As he addresses the problems of poverty and homelessness for these children in our community, we may hope to learn ways to help them surmount some of those challenges.  According to a recent report in the Chronotype 4.6% of students in the Rice Lake school district are identified as homeless. 

A gathering for fellowship and light snacks follows after a short discussion period.  The BHUU is located at 230 W Messenger in Rice Lake, where all interested are welcome to attend.  

The Solstice has arrived!  And educator Ken Hood will lead the Blue Hills UU’s in a “Reflective Journaling” exercise Sunday December 29^th as we return to the sun and anticipate the approaching new year.  Attendees will be encouraged to explore the paradoxes of change:  how can we stay true to our authentic selves while also striving for improvement? Is there a conflict between fulfillment and ambition? 

Selected readings, prompts and images will guide the fellowship as we navigate these questions.    Participants are encouraged to bring their personal journals, however public sharing will be left to personal choice.  

The Blue Hills Unitarian-Universalist fellowship is located at 230 W. Messenger in Rice Lake;  service begins at 10:00 a.m., with time for fellowship and light snacks afterwards.   We welcome all who wish to take part.

The Blue Hills Unitarian-Universalists recognize and honor the traditions of the season, finding grace and integrity in all religious thought.   As we prepare to celebrate each in our own way, the service Sunday December 22nd. will be led by member Judith Barisonzi and Pat Shifferd, as we discuss the film “What Do You Believe Now?”. 

This provocative film, shown earlier this month, focuses on the deeply personal faith journeys and evolving ideas of a Catholic, Jew, Lakota, Muslim, Buddhist and Pagan over a seventeen year period.  The service promises to be thought provoking and open to sharing yours. 

After the service, the BHUU’s will celebrate the solstice, Christmas and seasonal holidays together, sharing Pot Luck in the fellowship hall.   We are located at 230 W. Messenger in Rice Lake and welcome all to attend.

A recent graduate of the United Theological Seminary, Chaplain Dennis Peters will conduct the service at the Blue Hills Unitarian-Universalist fellowship December 15^th.   Focus on service to others has brought an awareness to Peter’s life which he’ll share in his message “There But for the Grace of God, Go I.” 

The Service begins at 10:00 a.m., is followed by a short talk-back session, and then time for fellowship at 11:30.  To acknowledge the special times in December, we defer this, our normal “third Sunday potluck”, and will gather instead after services on the 22^nd, to celebrate the solstice and other holidays with food and friends.

Due to the severe snow storm of December 1st weekend, the program listed below for Sunday Dec 1, has been moved to December 8th. A follow-up discussion will be scheduled later in the month.

“What happens to your spiritual and religious beliefs over time? ” Seventeen years after the 2002 documentary “WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE?” in which six diverse American teenagers shared their spiritual struggles and aspirations, the Blue Hills Unitarian-Universalist fellowship will revisit them via DVD provided by the larger fellowship to reveal how their beliefs have changed.

In this new before-and-after film “WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE NOW?” a Catholic, Pagan, Jew, Muslim, Lakota and Buddhist offer their deeply personal faith journeys, life challenges, and evolving ideas about higher powers, life purpose, the nature of suffering, religious intolerance and death. They do so against the backdrop of a society in flux and amidst growing religious polarization and disengagement. Designed to be a stand alone film, WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE NOW? is said to be “an invaluable addition to discussion on religious diversity and millennial spirituality in America.”

This program begins at 10:00 a.m. on December 1st at the BHUU fellowship in Rice Lake, 230 W. Messenger St., and will be continued December 8th with a follow-up discussion led by members Judith Barisonzi and Pat Shifferd.   All are welcome to attend and remain for fellowship and light nourishment after the service. 

PLEASE NOTE: due to severe snow storm this weekend of December 1st., we have moved this program to December 8th. A follow up discussion will be planned later in the month, to be announced. There will be no service at the BHUU this Sunday, Dec. 1.

Retired UWBC English Professor Robert Hasman will conduct the Service hour at the Blue Hills Universalist-Unitarian fellowship Sunday, November 17th.  Bob’s topic “The Inconvenience Store on Difficult Street” promises to deliver a wealth of pithy views on modern life, as well as the wisdom of an Elder who has been observant of generational change.  The Service Hour begins at 10:00 a.m.

The Blue Hills UU’s are also hosting their annual SOUPER SUNDAY this same morning, beginning at 11:30 a.m.    Members offer an interesting variety of home made soups, chilis and stews, as well as a range of home made breads at this fund raising event which is open to the public.  For $5 dollars, participants are invited to partake of “all the soup they can eat”, as well as to purchase additional to take with them;  the funds raised at this event go towards enabling some of the local Blue Hills UU humanitarian efforts.

The Unitarian-Universalists are a welcoming congregation and the Blue Hills fellowship is located at 230 W. Messenger  in Rice Lake.

Our neighbor Dr. Steve Carlson of Shell Lake will visit Blue Hills UU on November 10th to share his experience with modern Quakers: what they believe, how they conduct their business, and how they act in society.

In an informal forum Steve will share his spiritual journey, which began as a Lutheran. Sequentially, he became an atheist, an agnostic, a person interested in Eastern religions, followed by a return to the Lutheran church, then to the Methodists before he finally became a full member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Eau Claire. The morning promises to stimulate thoughtful discussion and insight.

A short time for fellowship and light nourishment will follow the 10:00 a.m. service. All are welcome at Blue Hills UU.

One of the tenets of being a Universalist-Unitarian is the stand taken “in the service of justice”; our national UU Service Committee advances human rights through grassroots collaborations.  Sunday, November 3rd, member Linda Thompson will talk about the work of  our organization, and kick off for our own yearly “Guest at Your Table” project. 

The Service begins at 10:00 a.m., followed by a time for gathering and light snacks in the Fellowship Hall.   Blue Hills UU is a welcoming congregation located at 230 W Messenger in Rice Lake, and we invite all to attend.