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The Blue Hills Unitarian church in Rice Lake welcomes the Rev. Shawn Gautier of North Shore Unitarians in Vancouver to speak at the first service of 2026.  On January 4^th , Rev Gautier will consider how UU’s “Face a New Age”, dealing with how liberal religions may respond to the present moment of declining church attendance and social upheaval in all religious denominations.  

Rev Gauthier reminds us that “By considering our history, we shall face new challenges and opportunities” just as Unitarians have accomplished since being established at the time of the Reformation in the early 1500’s.

Everyone is welcome at UU services 10 a.m. Sunday mornings, 230 W. Messenger St. in Rice Lake and also on Zoom – link may be requested at

patriciashifferd@gmail.com.

With great pleasure, Blue Hills Unitarians welcome Marilynn Bradley back to her hometown to present the service at UU Fellowship Sunday, December 28^th.

After growing up in Rice Lake, Marilynn’s adult life led her to the west, where in the year 2000 she co-founded an educational center with Lakota elder, Gilbert Walking Bull and his wife near the town of Hot Springs, South Dakota.  Marilynn will share with those attending her experiences in that effort, expressing that “In the eight years of knowing them I learned Lakota traditions and spiritual principles that have transformed my life and continue to be alive in me.”

We expect the morning will be enlightening, and welcome all interested to attend;  everyone is welcome at Blue Hills UU services, 10 a.m. Sunday mornings at 230 W. Messenger St. in Rice Lake, and also on Zoom – the link may be requested from patriciashifferd@gmail.com.

December 21^st brings the return of Chaplain Dennis Peters to the Unitarian pulpit in Rice Lake. “I remember the frantic activity that surrounded Christmas growing up.  Even the kids had presents to purchase, St Nicholas Day December 6^th. to look forward to, plus helping to set so many decorations in place – and many practice hours at church for the Christmas Eve program.”   

What IS Christmas all about?  For agnostics and atheists, Jews, Muslims and others as well, there is both a commercial side and a warm spiritual side to the holiday.  Ch. Peters will help us delve into the “Holiday Spirit” to insure we enjoy it above and beyond the frenetic busyness that too often displaces the peace it is meant to bring.

Everyone is welcome at Blue Hills UU services 10 a.m. Sunday mornings, 230 W. Messenger St. in Rice Lake and also on Zoom – link may be requested from bradljt@auburn.edu.

Blue Hills Unitarians will tackle the topic of “Spirituality” at our Sunday Service, December 14^th.  Members, and former Rice Lake residents, Professors Jim Bradley and Robert Hasman will lead the congregation in sharing their personal observations. Bradley notes that “Spirituality is a difficult concept to define, since folks with different personal histories and views of existence do not experience the phenomenon in the same manner.”

What are the common threads that appear in all modes of spirituality?  Be with us as an English professor and a biologist each share their experiences in this realm, what it means to them, and perhaps a personal episode of their own.  As Unitarians are known for, a discussion following will welcome others’ personal views.

Everyone is welcome at UU services 10 a.m. Sunday mornings, 230 W. Messenger St. in Rice Lake and also on Zoom – link may be requested at mydogknows@gmail.com

Sunday December 7^th, Rev. Terry Cummings will explore with Blue Hills Unitarian Universalists what it means to be a welcoming community during  current challenging times.   Reminding us that “We are a nation of immigrants who have become less welcoming of newcomers from overseas than in decades past” we will seek understanding and solutions together.

All are invited to attend our Holiday Benefit Auction, to raise funds for St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry and the Free Clinic in Rice Lake, and the Winged Freedom Raptor Hospital in Spooner: December 6th from 3 to 6 p.m.  Everyone is welcome at UU services 10 a.m. Sunday mornings, 230 W. Messenger St. in Rice Lake and also on Zoom – link may be requested at patriciashifferd@gmail.com.

Rev Terry Cummings will be with us on Sunday, November 30^th to engage Blue Hills Unitarians in a special celebration of Thanksgiving honoring the natural world.  Explaining that “The Haudenosaunee people, also known as the Iroquois Confederacy, have given their Thanksgiving ceremony as their gift to the world.  As we learn more of their tradition, it will be interesting to compare the celebration of America’s first people, with our own recent Thanksgiving holiday.”

Everyone is welcome at Blue Hills UU services 10 a.m. Sunday mornings, 230 W. Messenger St. in Rice Lake and also on Zoom – link may be requested from mvanetten32@gmail.com.

All are invited to attend our Holiday Benefit Auction, to raise funds for St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry and the Free Clinic in Rice Lake, and the Winged Freedom Raptor Hospital in Spooner: December 6th from 3 to 6 p.m. 

Our member, former preacher David Hart, will share with us a look into the life of  Ben Lindner on Sunday, November 23 at Blue Hills Unitarian Universalist fellowship.   A 1983 graduate of the University of Washington, Lindner was a progressive idealist who traveled to Nicaragua during the Sandinista Revolution of the mid-1980s, using his engineering degree to help bring electricity and water to a small village in Nicaragua – a decision that eventually led to his tragic death at the hands of the US-backed Contras.

A former Baptist minister, Dave Hart will tackle the difficult topic of “The Price of Commitment” and how it may help us in determining the commitments we make in our lives today.

All are invited to attend our Holiday Benefit Auction, to raise funds for St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry and the Free Clinic in Rice Lake, and the Winged Freedom Raptor Hospital in Spooner: December 6th from 3 to 6 p.m.  Everyone is welcome at UU services 10 a.m. Sunday mornings, 230 W. Messenger St. in Rice Lake and also on Zoom – link may be requested from mydogknows@gmail.com

Well known Prof Emeritus of our local UW Barron County campus, Robert Hasman will offer his reflections on Robert Frost’s poetry at Blue Hills Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Sunday, November 16^th.  

Prof Hasman’s choice of the well known “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” will be central to the morning’s choice of Frost’s work, as he reminds us of the ways poetry may provide both guidance and refuge during challenging times.  Bob suggests that all review this beloved poem before the service, and perhaps have in mind other Frost favorites of their own.

All are invited to attend our Holiday Benefit Auction, to raise funds for St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry and the Free Clinic in Rice Lake, and the Winged Freedom Raptor Hospital in Spooner: December 6th from 3 to 6 p.m.  Everyone is welcome at UU services 10 a.m. Sunday mornings, 230 W. Messenger St. in Rice Lake and also on Zoom – link may be requested at patriciashifferd@gmail.com.

Be with us as Arthur Thexton zooms in to complete his series of reflections on how UU’s create a coherent belief system which honors both the diversity of our moral code and traditional religious beliefs.  

Sharing that he approached the topic with trepidation – “Not being a Christian myself, or even a theist, I have to question what authority I might have in suggesting to others how to regard their deepest religious convictions.  But this has been a refreshingly valuable exploration which  I look forward to sharing with the Blue Hills Unitarian Universalists.”

All are invited to attend our Holiday Benefit Auction, to raise funds for St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry and the Free Clinic in Rice Lake, and the Winged Freedom Raptor Hospital in Spooner: December 6th from 3 to 6 p.m.  Everyone is welcome at UU services 10 a.m. Sunday mornings, 230 W. Messenger St. in Rice Lake and also on Zoom – link may be requested at patriciashifferd@gmail.com.

As member of Blue Hills Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Rice Lake, Zarrin Reynolds of northern Wisconsin will share her perspective on “Hope” at the November 2^nd. Sunday Service.  As an English teacher at the Lac Courte Oreilles High School, LCO Reservation near Hayward, Ms Reynolds has a unique opportunity to become aware of cross cultural awarenesses.  

Reynolds will attempt to bring insight to the challenges currently troubling many, noting that “In a time of physical, political, and historical darkness, how can we hold onto hope, and how may we even try?”  What does hope even look like in a season of despair?  What do our UU values and community offer in the way of an answer to those questions?”  

All are invited to attend our Holiday Benefit Auction, to raise funds for St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry and the Free Clinic in Rice Lake, and the Winged Freedom Raptor Hospital in Spooner: December 6th from 3 to 6 p.m.  Also all are welcome to UU services 10 a.m. Sunday mornings, located at 230 W. Messenger St. in Rice Lake.  Also on Zoom – link may be requested at