Blog

Member Pat Shifferd will lead the Sunday service, December 24th, as we celebrate this time of cheer and giving by kicking off our annual “Guest at Your Table” collection for the UU Service Committee.  This annual intergenerational program raises support for, and awareness of,  key human rights issues, and is UUSC’s longest-established fundraising and educational program for congregations.

Pat will help us to learn more about the work of UUSC, now established in over twenty countries with more than 50 grassroots partners and thousands of individuals involved in, and benefitting from the work our members make possible. The program is an opportunity to celebrate grassroots partnership and support human rights.

To round out Christmas Eve morning, we will sing some or our favorite Christmas Caroles, led by our own Dave Hart, former member of the Seattle Men’s Choir.

All are invited to attend services in the sanctuary at 10 a.m. Sundays, 230 W. Messenger, Rice Lake, or on Zoom;  the zoom link is sent to members, but all interested may request it by contacting patriciashifferd@gmail.com. https://bluehillsuu.org

Blue Hills Unitarian Universalist fellowship will hold an open discussion of the current conflict raging between Israel and Gaza.   With so much daily information coming through the news media on the situation in the Middle East, many seek a better understanding of the history and roots of the brutal war now in motion.  

As in all our services, those attending will be given opportunity to express view points and share information in a respectful environment, with care and concern for those gripped in this heartbreaking clash.     

Third Sundays also bring us together for fellowship and pot luck downstairs;  bring a dish to share and enjoy time with our membership as anticipate the winter solstice and holidays before us. All are invited to attend services in the sanctuary at 10 a.m. Sundays, 230 W. Messenger, Rice Lake, or on Zoom;  the zoom link is sent to members, but all interested may request it by contacting patriciashifferd@gmail.com. https://bluehillsuu.org

Ch Dennis Peters travels to Rice Lake December 10^th to conduct the Sunday Service at Blue Hills Unitarian Universalist Fellowship;  in this season of loving kindness, he reminds us that being kind to all -includes ourselves, and to “Give Yourself a Break.”  

“The world is a dark place” says chaplain Peters – “yet you carry on.” As another once said:  “Carry on, brave soldier.” But when we reach a point where it all seems too much:  too many projects, too many fronts in the battles for a world with peace, liberty, and justice – what do we do then? Do you give up and merely slouch in front of the television? Or, do you give yourself a break!?

Chaplain Peters completed a Master of Arts in Religious Leadership, concentrating on Interfaith Chaplaincy, focused on spiritual care.   His M.A. program included spiritual support for individuals and an ongoing study of different faiths as part of the journey, followed by completing his first chaplaincy at a daytime center for those without homes, or with addictions or mental health issues.

All are invited to attend services in the sanctuary at 10 a.m. Sundays, 230 W. Messenger, Rice Lake, or on Zoom;  the zoom link is sent to members, but all interested may request it by contacting patriciashifferd@gmail.com. https://bluehillsuu.org

Rev Terry Cummings will conduct the service on “Advent, A season of Waiting” at Blue Hills Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship the first Sunday of December 3^rd.  Marked by candles for hope, peace, joy and love, the season of “Advent” is, more than anything, a season of anticipation and waiting for things to come. Drawing on the life and work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Rev. Cummings’ sermon will include reflections on “waiting” as a spiritual experience.

Rev. Cummings earned her Master of Divinity degree from Union

Theological Seminary in May 2016, and was ordained jointly by both the Central Unitarian Church of Paramus and the UU Congregation of Montclair, New Jersey.    Formerly a partner in a NY City law firm, she practiced law in New York State since 1982.

All are invited to attend services in the sanctuary at 10 a.m. Sundays, 230 W. Messenger, Rice Lake, or on Zoom;  the zoom link is sent to members, but all interested may request it by contacting patriciashifferd@gmail.com. https://bluehillsuu.org

The Service at Blue Hills Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Sunday, November 26 will  be a continuation of a study of “Wokeism and Identity Politics” from the perspective of author, linguist John McWhorter.  BHUU member Dave Hart forwards the question “Is Wokeism a new religion?” And if so, what are the inherent drawbacks to it?

This will be an opportunity to further examine and discuss the many facets of wokeism and how they relate to racism and cancel culture, with a discussion of McWhorter’s book “Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America.”

All are invited to attend services in the sanctuary at 10 a.m. Sundays, 230 W. Messenger, Rice Lake, or on Zoom.  For those attending service on Zoom, the Order of Service is attached, below.  Zoom link is sent to members, but all interested may request it by contacting patriciashifferd@gmail.com. https://bluehillsuu.org

Chaplain Dennis Peters examines the mandate of the Golden Rule with Blue Hills Unitarian Universalists at Sunday’s Service, November 19^th.  Noting  many of us “do good” when it makes the most sense, or “When it feels good, when we’re in a position of safety, in the company of a large segment of society or don’t fear receiving the anger of our family and friends.”  And yet, it is precisely when it is inconvenient or uncomfortable –or even dangerous, that the strongest need is there.

People with no previous involvement came to the aid of Jews, hiding them from the Nazis in World War II and the decade before. Muslims in Morocco saved Jewish temples, and maintained them, when the Jewish population was no longer large enough to have the means to do so. Indigenous populations in the United States?  Ch Peters challenges us to continue the train of thought and consider how we might effectively put this to practice in today’s world as we “Celebrate the Other.”

“Third Sunday’s Pot Luck” will convene downstairs after the service;  bring a dish to share and enjoy with the fellowship. All are invited to attend services in the sanctuary at 10 a.m. Sundays, 230 W. Messenger, Rice Lake, or on Zoom;  the link is sent to members, but all interested may request it by contacting patriciashifferd@gmail.com. https://bluehillsuu.org    

What’s it like for a person who grew up in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, to have lived in Alabama for 47 years?   UU Member James T. Bradley, Ph.D had never been to Alabama before accepting a position at Auburn University in1976.  Jim confesses he brought prejudices formed during childhood to his new southern home, but that gradually, over decades, came to appreciate the unique beauty of Alabama, its natural history, and the courage of its people.

Bradley adds that “In the process of acquiring this appreciation, I gained   valuable insights on life – and about myself.”  What makes a place “home?” Where is “home” today and why?   Jim looks forward to sharing his reflections on personal growth induced by living in Alabama.

All are invited to attend services in the sanctuary at 10 a.m. Sundays, 230 W. Messenger, Rice Lake, or on Zoom;  the link is sent to members, but all interested may request it by contacting patriciashifferd@gmail.com. https://bluehillsuu.org    

Our “part-time itinerant, circuit-riding lay preacher” Arthur Thexton returns to the pulpit at Blue Hills UU this first Sunday of November, to continue sharing an in depth history of Unitarian Universalism.

In the first segment, Arthur discussed the founding and roots of Unitarianism, during the time Christianity separated from Judaism.  How and when did they join with Universalists?  And what exactly is Universalism?  Arthur will lead us in defining and understanding the commonalities that brought the two theologies together.

Thexton attended Meadville/Lombard Theological and received his M.A. in Religious Studies from the University of Chicago Divinity School after graduating cum laude from Beloit College.  He went on to earn a J.D. from the UW Law School at Madison, 1977.  Active in community affairs, he served as a part-time night chaplain at Meriter Hospital in Madison and the boards of the Wisconsin Coalition Against the Death Penalty, the Unemployment Compensation Appeals Clinic, Williamson Street Grocery Coop and is a member of the James Reeb Unitarian-Universalist Congregation in Madison, which he helped found.

The Blue Hills Unitarian Universalist Fellowship looks forward to hosting Rev. Terry Cummings on October 29^th., to share with us a morning of poetry and inspiration.   The work of foremost American Poet Mary Oliver will be featured , as Rev Cummings shares selections of her work, asking the question, is Oliver a “Poet or Prophet?”  

Those familiar with Oliver’s wealth of work might attest to both, as she documents the natural world and its wealth of inspiration if we but take time to notice, as well as changes in norms and understandings that have arrived with the new millennium.  

All are invited to attend services in the sanctuary at 10 a.m. Sundays, 230 W. Messenger, Rice Lake, or on Zoom;  the link is sent to members, but all interested may request it by contacting patriciashifferd@gmail.com. https://bluehillsuu.org

Long time friend and Unitarian, Arthur Thexton returns to Blue Hills Unitarian Universalist fellowship Sunday, October 22^nd to share in the study of the history our faith.  Classically, the “Unitarian controversy” developed around the Trinity, the doctrine that there is one deity with three presentations:  Father, Son, and Spirit.  This doctrine was actually part of a larger discussion which occurs within all religious traditions and becomes a study of human nature itself:  a struggle that has never been resolved with unanimity.

A one time resident of Rice Lake, Mr Thexton speaks regularly at UU congregations, referring to himself as “a part-time, itinerant, circuit-riding lay preacher in the UU tradition.”  After completing studies at the Meadville Lombard Theological School, Thexton attended the University of Chicago before obtaining his law degree from UW Madison.  He served as Assistant District Attorney in Barron County during the mid-1980’s, and now resides in Wauwatosa, WI with his family.

All are invited to attend services in the sanctuary at 10 a.m. Sundays, 230 W. Messenger, Rice Lake, or on Zoom;  the link is sent to members, but all interested may request it by contacting patriciashifferd@gmail.com. https://bluehillsuu.org