Author: Jude Genereaux

Blue Hills Unitarian Universalists return again to Oklahoma this last Sunday in June, to savor another outstanding recorded service from the “All Souls Unitarian” church in Tulsa.  

In this special service leaders from a wide variety of religious denominations in Tulsa were invited to join in a program of solidarity with their local immigrants.  While the morning is oriented to their community, this will surely inspire our own efforts in supporting the immigrant population here in the upper midwest, Barron, Rice Lake and Eau Claire.

Blue Hills UU invites everyone to our services beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday mornings in the fellowship hall, 230 W. Messenger St., Rice Lake, and also on Zoom. The zoom link is sent to members, however all interested may request it by contacting patriciashifferd@gmail.com.

Pat Shifferd, Ph.D Anthropolgy/Sociology, will lead fellow members of Blue Hills Unitarian Universalists Sunday June 22^nd, in celebration of the summer solstice.  “The Solstice provides an appropriate time to reflect on UUs Sixth source of inspiration:  Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.”  

Through music, poetry and examples of observances of the solstice, Dr. Shifferd invites all to share in the service to celebrate, and hopefully strengthen our connections to the sacred realm of our natural world.

Blue Hills UU invites everyone to services, beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday mornings in the fellowship hall, 230 W. Messenger St., Rice Lake, and also on Zoom.  The zoom link is sent to members, however all interested may request it by contacting patriciashifferd@gmail.com.

We Blue Hills UUs take one full Sunday Service each summer to share with each other our concerns, worries, rants and as well – that which we want to celebrate.  We call it our “Soap Box Sunday.”   If you’ve something on your mind you’ve wanted to vent, or to seek feedback – plan to venture into Rice Lake this coming Sunday, June 15^th to share with members and friends, as our southern sage, Rice Lake native Jim Bradley leads the lively discussion.

Each third Sunday of the month, BHUU gathers for Pot Luck ~ members and friends are encouraged to bring a dish to pass and stay awhile after the service to enjoy time for camaraderie & nourishment.

Blue Hills UU invites everyone to services, beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday mornings in the fellowship hall, 230 W. Messenger St., Rice Lake, and also on Zoom. The zoom link is sent to members, however all interested may request it by contacting patriciashifferd@gmail.com.

Sunday June 5^th. Dennis Peters, Blue Hills UU’s traveling chaplain, will bring member’s attention to consider the practice of meditation, its tenants and benefits.  Remembering family vacations, Dennis recalls “When I was a kid, I would fish for hours, watching the red & white bobber bounce in response to the attention of little blue gills. When trying to fall asleep that night, I could still see the bobber in my mind, against a deep blue background.  Sometimes I see that blue now, when I’m relaxed, eyes closed, breathing slowly.”  Inviting us “I’m not a meditation expert by any means, but shall we consider the practice?”

Blue Hills UU invites everyone to services, beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday mornings in the fellowship hall, 230 W. Messenger St., Rice Lake, and also on Zoom.  The zoom link is sent to members, however all interested may request it by contacting patriciashifferd@gmail.com.

In the Book of Proverbs it is written that “He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.  Theologian and Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote an essay in his “Letters and Papers from Prison” that began: “Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice.”

Apart from his theological writings, Bonhoeffer was known for his staunch resistance to the Nazi dictatorship and the genocide of Jews.  He was arrested in April 1943 by the Gestapo, and imprisoned for a year & a half before being transferred to Flossenburg concentration camp.  Charged with being one of those plotting to assassinate Hitler, he was hanged on April 9^th., 1945 during the collapse of the Nazi regime.

Rev. Terry Cummings will conduct the Sunday Service at Blue Hills Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Sunday June 1st, to reflect on the ways in which Bonhoeffer’s message from 1942 is still pertinent today.

Blue Hills UU invites everyone to services, beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday mornings in the fellowship hall, 230 W. Messenger St., Rice Lake, and also on Zoom.  The zoom link is sent to members, however all interested may request it by contacting patriciashifferd@gmail.com.

Arthur Thexton will address members of Rice Lake’s Blue Hills Unitarian Universalists at Sunday Service, May 25^th, to consider the concept of “Association Sunday.”  This event was organized by our national organization, the UUA, roughly from 2007-11, as a fundraising effort for the denomination. The first Sunday in October was the requested day it was observed, and ministers were asked to make congregations aware of the services provided by our central headquarters in Boston – our connection to the larger community of UUs.

As our national General Assembly is approaching this summer in Baltimore, and due to recent changes in national bylaws and our expression of our Principles and Purposes, Mr. Thexton will address what it means to be a UU;  what is the “Association”, our denomination’s institutional leader, and why it may be important to remain connected even if we may not agree with recent decisions of the central organization.

Blue Hills UU invites everyone to services, beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday mornings in the fellowship hall, 230 W. Messenger St., Rice Lake, and also on Zoom.  The zoom link is sent to members, however all interested may request it by contacting patriciashifferd@gmail.com.

Sunday May 18^th will find Chaplain Dennis Peter at the Blue Hills Unitarian-Universalist pulpit, reminding members to treasure what counts.  Consider -what do we do when it rains?  Do we rush for cover, grumbling under our breath? Or do we stand still looking up to feel the rain on our faces?  Stick out our tongues to taste and feel grateful for the gift of life restored to our grounds, our fields and flowers, our very being? 

Every event in our lives has multiple sides to it.  By exploring the metaphor of “how we respond to the rain” in our lives, we may gain insight into what we truly value.

Each third Sunday of the month, BHUU also gathers for Pot Luck ~ members and friends are encouraged to bring a dish to pass and stay awhile after the service to enjoy time for camaraderie & nourishment .

Blue Hills UU invites everyone to services, beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday mornings in the fellowship hall, 230 W. Messenger St., Rice Lake, and also on Zoom. The zoom link is sent to members, however all interested may request it by contacting patriciashifferd@gmail.com.

Zarrin Reynolds, high school English teacher at Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe High School, will address fellow Blue Hills Unitarians in a dual mission this coming Sunday, May 11th. As she leads our fellowship in reflecting on the roots of “Mother Day” she plans to weave in tandem those of the approaching Memorial Day commemoration, in an attempt to discover the commonalities of these two special days in May.

What gives these days their meaning?  What are their origins?  Does their intent have similarities?  What questions do these days force us to ask?  Does death have meaning?  What does it mean to commemorate?  Through poetry and prose we will examine these questions as they have been  answered by a variety of prophetic men and women.  

Blue Hills UU invites everyone to services, beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday mornings in the fellowship hall, 230 W. Messenger St., Rice Lake, and also on Zoom.  The zoom link is sent to members, however all interested may request it by contacting patriciashifferd@gmail.com.

An IMPORTANT morning for our members to make the trek into town to meet in session for our ANNUAL MEETING.   We need a quorum of members to approve last year’s business, adopt a new budget and get ready for the start of the next fiscal year, July 2025-2026. 

We will hear reports from the various committees and in general gather as the active, vibrant and hard working congregation that Blue Hills Unitarians have been since 1981.   Wouldn’t it be great to see all of us were together on what’s predicted to be a bright, sunny first Sunday in May morning? COME!

Blue Hills UU invites everyone to services, beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday mornings in the fellowship hall, 230 W. Messenger St., Rice Lake, and also on Zoom.  The zoom link is sent to members, however all interested may request it by contacting patriciashifferd@gmail.com.

Members of the Blue Hills Unitarian Universalist “Social & Environmental Justice” committee have been focused on creating a meaningful Sunday Service to commemorate “Earth Day” this coming April 27^th.  The message for the morning will be given by Quinn Rowe, Federal Clean Energy Campaign Manager for Wisconsin Conservation Voters.

The committee notes that “We will celebrate our planet with music and readings, as our speaker shares with us ways and opportunities to care for the planet.”  BHUUF members and friends are encouraged to bring favorite pieces of art or poetry to be placed on our display board for all to appreciate. 

A special collection will also be taken this Sunday, which will be divided equally among the five environmental protection organizations supported by Blue Hills UU for year 2025.

Blue Hills UU invites everyone to services, beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday mornings in the fellowship hall, 230 W. Messenger St., Rice Lake, and also on Zoom.  The zoom link is sent to members, however all interested may request it by contacting patriciashifferd@gmail.com.