Blog

We’re for the birds at Blue Hills UU – always eager to learn about them!   Rick Persile of northern Wisconsin will seek to guide us in the “how to’s” of attracting birds to our little corners of the world at our Sunday service, April 25^th. 

Born in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Mr. Persile took an interest in birds at a young age;  as that grew stronger, he learned how to create habitats that would attract them.  In tandem with his interest in photography, he’s become the “go to” guy for information and questions regarding anything relating to birds.  Rick’s current “yard list” documents over 140 different species he’s spotted, including both resident and migrant species. 

As an advocate and firm believer in keeping our waters as pristine as possible, Persile also serves as Chairperson for the “County Line Lake Association” in Sawyer County.  “Keeping a natural buffer along the shoreline protects not only the water, but provides nesting habitat for several different species of birds.”      

Be with us Sunday as BHUU continues to hold services on Zoom at 10 a.m.  The internet link will be sent to members, although all interested are invited to take part.  Visitors may contact Ken Hood > ken@bluehillsuu.org < for the link needed.    Those lacking cyberlink connection or equipment to enable participation, are invited to meet in the fellowship hall located at 230 W Messenger, masked and distanced, to watch the presentation on large screen ZOOM.

The members of Blue Hills Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship in Rice Lake will observe Earth Day on Sunday, April 18^th by honoring our “Sacred Ground”.   Through a variety of readings, poems and pertinent quotations stressing ways we may yet save our Mother Earth, the morning will focus on the treasured planet we are part of.  Accompanied by photographs members have shared and beloved music, all attending will be considered part of the program and invited to contribute.

Be with us this coming Sunday as BHUU continues to hold Sunday services on Zoom at 10 a.m.  The internet link will be sent to members, although all interested are invited to take part.  Visitors may contact Ken Hood > ken@bluehillsuu.org < for the link needed.    Those lacking cyberlink connection or equipment to enable participation, are invited to meet in the fellowship hall located at 230 W Messenger, masked and distanced, to watch the presentation on large screen ZOOM.

Dr. Kent Shifferd, Prof Emeritus, Northland College, Ashland, will host the Sunday Service, April 11^th , sharing with Blue Hills UU his study of, and thoughts on the 23^rd Psalm.  

Most Christians know this particular psalm by heart, and will appreciate hearing Shifferd’s broader illumination of its content.  Revealing different English translations and commentary from a rabbi, generates reflection on the greater meaning exposed by a focused reading of the psalm. Discussion will follow Kent’s enlightening service.

Dr. Kent Shifferd

Be with us this coming Sunday as we continue to hold services on Zoom at 10 a.m.  The internet link will be sent to members, although all interested are invited to take part.  Visitors may contact Ken Hood > ken@bluehillsuu.org < for the link needed.    Those lacking cyberlink connection or equipment to enable participation, are invited to meet in the fellowship hall located at 230 W Messenger, masked and distanced, to watch the presentation on large screen ZOOM.

Easter Sunday will be honored at Blue Hills Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship with a service presented by former Rice Lake resident, Arthur Thexton.  Asking “Are There Any U’s In Easter?”, Thexton will explore with the fellowship how UU’s observe and celebrate the very Christian holy day of Easter. 

Now retired as an attorney at Dept of Safety and Professional Services in Madison, Arthur has resumed his initial calling to the UU ministry.  After attending Meadville/Lombard Theological School, he received his M.A. in Religious Studies from the University of Chicago Divinity School in 1974, following graduation cum laude from Beloit College in 1972.  He went on to earn his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1977, serving as Family Support counselor at Barron County in the 1980’s.  BHUU is always glad to welcome Mr. Thexton back to Rice Lake.   

Be with us this coming Sunday, as we continue to hold Sunday services on Zoom at 10 a.m.  The internet link will be sent to members, although all interested are invited to take part.  Visitors may contact Ken Hood > ken@bluehillsuu.org < for the link needed.    Those lacking cyberlink connection or equipment to enable participation, are invited to meet in the fellowship hall located at 230 W Messenger, masked and distanced, to watch the presentation on large screen ZOOM.

PR 2021-03-28

Our fellowship is honored to have the Rev Phillips Sweet of the UU Door County, share with us “A Reflection on the Story of Palm Sunday” this coming week.  Rev Sweet piques our interest noting that “Palm Sunday begins the story of the heart of Christian mythology with the entrance of Jesus into the capital city of Jerusalem. What are these stories saying about the qualities of the heart and mind beyond historical verification?

Palm Sunday was a gamble. Having failed in the countryside, Jesus had hoped to arouse interest in a new form of life based on compassion.  At its deepest level, Palm Sunday is about “time.” When Jesus planned his triumphant procession, he announced that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand.

Could this be a silver lining to the pandemic?  To hold time in a different kind of crucible? Have you become more aware of the weather and the seasons, the rising and setting of the sun, the rhythms of the natural world, the vital importance of relations and the need to nurture them? Have you learned in this period of isolation to not be overextended, how not to be fragmented, how not to be distracted, to put away petty concerns, to remember a time in your life when there was always time?”

Be with us this coming Sunday, March 28^th. as we continue to hold Sunday services on Zoom at 10 a.m.  The internet link will be sent to members, although all interested are invited to take part.  Visitors may contact Ken Hood > ken@bluehillsuu.org < for the link needed.    Those lacking cyberlink connection or equipment to enable participation, are invited to meet in the fellowship hall located at 230 W Messenger, masked and distanced, to watch the presentation on large screen ZOOM.

Blue Hills Unitarian Universalist members look forward to Chaplain Dennis Peters return, to lead the service March 21^st.  “Tell Me a Story -” says Dennis, “since we became a species, we have been storytellers and listeners to story;  it seems to be the way we learn best.”  Stories sink directly into our hearts, for it’s not facts we’re learning, but lessons.  Life lessons.  All are invited to attend Sunday as we welcome Spring and explore a story hour with Chaplain Peters.

Blue Hills UU continues to hold Sunday services on Zoom at 10 a.m.  The internet link will be sent to members, although all interested are invited to take part.  Visitors may contact Ken Hood > ken@bluehillsuu.org < for the link needed.    Those lacking cyberlink connection or equipment to enable participation, are invited to meet in the fellowship hall located at 230 W Messenger, masked and distanced, to watch the presentation on large screen ZOOM.

The Blue Hills Unitarian-Universalist Sunday Service March 14th will be led by member Judith Barisonzi, professor emeritus of the University Wisconsin.  Our service hour consists of songs and various readings from UU Sources and Principles, with a time for discussion and contemplation.  Barisonzi will encourage those attending to consider ways in which it is possible to “Travel Back in Time”, assuring “Yes – we are able to do this!”   During Sunday’s service we will look at family records and stories, and the ways they keep families together.

Blue Hills UU continues to hold Sunday services on Zoom at 10 a.m.  The internet link will be sent to members, although all interested are invited to take part.  Visitors may contact Ken Hood > ken@bluehillsuu.org < for the link needed.    Those lacking cyberlink connection or equipment to enable participation, are invited to meet in the fellowship hall located at 230 W Messenger, masked and distanced, to watch the presentation on large screen ZOOM.

Blue Hills Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship of Rice Lake will host Rev Julianne Lepp, minister for the U U Congregation of Eau Claire, to conduct our first spring service, March 7^th .  Tackling the challenge of “Thriving in a Difficult Time”, Rev Lepp stresses that “Not only do we minister to each other, but we carry our passions, action and values into the wider world”.

Underscoring the value of outreach and justice work, vital to living out UU values, Rev Lepp’s service will guide those attending in the awareness that “We seek our place in the world and the answers to our heart’s deepest questions – as we seek, may our hearts be open to unexpected answers.”

Blue Hills UU continues to hold Sunday services on Zoom at 10 a.m.  The internet link will be sent to members, although all interested are invited to take part.  Visitors may contact Ken Hood > ken@bluehillsuu.org < for the link needed.    Those lacking cyberlink connection or equipment to enable participation, are invited to meet in the fellowship hall located at 230 W Messenger, masked and distanced, to watch the presentation on large screen ZOOM.

We are pleased to once again welcome Rev Phil Lund of the UUA St Paul, to lead our Sunday Services this week.   As we anxiously look forward to an end to the challenges and isolation of sheltered living patterns the covid virus has required, Rev Lund asks us to consider “What Commitment Means” as we move into a post-pandemic future.   

What will it take for us to not only return to our pre-crisis status, but to emerge from crisis to a better future?  We’ll explore the commitments we can make to ourselves and to each other as we work to co-create a new tomorrow. 

Blue Hills UU continues to hold Sunday services on Zoom at 10 a.m.  The internet link will be sent to members, although all interested are invited to take part.  Visitors may contact Ken Hood > ken@bluehillsuu.org < for the link needed.    Those lacking cyberlink connection or equipment to enable participation, are invited to meet in the fellowship hall located at 230 W Messenger, masked and distanced, to watch the presentation on large screen ZOOM.

In what can be seen as a continuation of last Sunday’s discussion on Unity, the Blue Hills Unitarian-Universalists will consider the concept of Kindness during their February 21^st Service.

After briefly reviewing recent research in sociology and psychology views of the place kindness plays in our nature and society, member Pat Shifferd will lead us as we discuss two questions taken from the “Touchstone Covenant Series” on this topic.  What prevents the wider practice of kindness?  In extending or receiving kindness, how can we work to make it an act of compassion, rather than an act of charity in which the giver is assumed to be in a superior position?  

Blue Hills UU continues to hold Sunday services on Zoom at 10 a.m.  The internet link will be sent to members, although all interested are invited to take part.  Visitors may contact Ken Hood > ken@bluehillsuu.org < for the link needed.    Those lacking cyberlink connection or equipment to enable participation, are invited to meet in the fellowship hall located at 230 W Messenger, masked and distanced, to watch the presentation on large screen ZOOM.