11/24/2019 Our December Newsletter and Print Calendar are ready. Paper copies are available at the Fellowship, and electronic copies are available to view or download: NewsletterCalendar

11/24/2019 Our December Newsletter and Print Calendar are ready. Paper copies are available at the Fellowship, and electronic copies are available to view or download:NewsletterCalendar This morning, Alexis helped us conclude our month of reflection on Attention and celebrate our annual Bread Communion. We often find our attention drawn to fleeting things, whether it’s the…

11/17/2019 This morning, Rev. Nancy TannerThies continued our month of reflections on Attention, and she shared a story she was told about her childhood, that she would stand in the backyard of her family’s home in a wind-swept part of the country, shaking her small fists and crying “Stop it, Wind! Stop it!” In these…

11/10/2019 This morning, we continued our month of focus on “Attention.” We UUs count among the Sources of our Living Tradition “Wisdom from the world’s religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life.” As such, we are called to pay attention to the beliefs of others. To that end, this morning we enjoyed…

11/3/2019 This morning, Rev. Mike Adamek began our month of reflections on “Attention” with a message he described thus: “Ralph Waldo Emerson was a master at focusing our attention on what was worthy in a life well lived. We must celebrate the miracles in the mundane if we have ears to hear and eyes to…

11/3/2019 Apologies for lateness in giving this its own post… Our November Newsletter and Print Calendar are now ready. Paper copies are available at the Fellowship, and electronic copies are available to view or download:NewsletterCalendar

8/25/2019 Our September newsletter and print calendar are now ready to view or download:NewsletterCalendar

8/25/2019 This morning, we were joined by Doug Hill from First Unitarian Universalist Church of Springfield, Missouri.  Doug shared with us his philosophy of uncertainty.  Having emerged from decades in a fundamentalist cult to now identify as Agnostic, he pointed out that Agnosticism is not lazy shrugging or moral fence-sitting, but a principled commitment to truth…

8/18/2019 !This Sunday, Rev. Nancy TannerThies continued our month of reflections on “Invitation.”  What does it mean to make a deep invitation — to invite yourself, your whole self, and others into the moment?  Building on a reading about seeing a grizzly bear in the wild, Rev. Nancy pointed out that often we reduce our…

8/11/2019 This morning, Rev. Mike Adamek continued our month of exploring “Invitation.”  In his own words: I am speaking of invitation as an informal request not a command hidden as a request.  I am convinced that invitations happen all the time, yet they pass us by when we do not hear them as requests.  What…

8/4/2019 This Sunday, Alexis returned to begin our new month of reflections on “Invitation.”  Invitation, she said, is both a joy and a risk: every person, event, or idea that we invite in brings change to our lives.  Change means letting go of control, risking embarrassment and pain, but if we try to cling to…

6/30/2019 Our July newsletter and print calendar are ready!  Paper copies are available at the Fellowship in the wall box hear the coat rack.  Electronic copies are available to view or download:​NewsletterCalendar

6/30/2019 Our July newsletter and print calendar are ready!  Paper copies are available at the Fellowship in the wall box hear the coat rack.  Electronic copies are available to view or download:NewsletterCalendar This morning, our own Alexis wrapped up our month of reflection on Beauty and began introducing our theme for July: Resistance.  Citing Plato’s…

6/23/2019 This morning, despite the gray skies, we had a lovely service at Riverside Park Pavilion, where our own Alexis continued our month of reflections on Beauty.  Beauty, she said, has two meanings that are sometimes at odds with each other: that which gives pleasure to the senses, and that which pleasurably exalts the mind…

6/16/2019 It’s Rummage Sale time!  We are now accepting donations and setting up for our big sale, coming this Saturday, June 22nd, from 7 am to noon.  See below for more information. This Sunday, Rev. Nancy TannerThies continued our month exploring Beauty.  In grappling with what it means to be people of beauty, she was led…

6/9/2019 This week, we were joined by Rev. Michelle Scott-Huffman, formerly minister of Table of Grace here in Jefferson City, now a campus minister at Missouri State University in Springfield.  As Michelle pointed out, it’s often easier for us to talk about what’s ugly in life than to talk about its beauty.  Not only can…

6/2/2019 This morning, Rev. Mike Adamek returned to begin our month of reflections on Beauty.  Beauty, he said, goes deeper than what appeals to our senses and to our particular tastes; it is also tied to the conceptual world when ideas come together, and to ethical standards of truth and goodness.  Mere prettiness without understanding,…

9/24/2018 This Sunday, we continued our month of exploring Vision with a sermon via video from our wider UU Community.  Rev. Wendy Williams, senior minister of Jefferson Unitarian Church in Golden, Colorado, explored the idea of “Long Hauls.”  It’s famously said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and that…

9/17/2018 This Sunday, Rev. Nancy TannerThies continued our monthly theme of Vision with reflections on our blind spots.  When we envision the world we believe in and want, how can we see our way into the little corner of it that’s ours to create — and out of the little corner of the current world…

9/10/2018 ​This Sunday, we celebrated our annual Water Communion with reflections from recently-joined member Rita Dockery.  Rita highlighted how water binds all of life together, whether in the view from the sky that reveals our blue, watery planet and renders borders invisible, or in the knowledge that water is elemental to all life, residing in…

9/3/2018 This week, Rev. Mike Adamek made his monthly visit to our Fellowship and introduced our theme for September: Vision.  He gave thoughts on vision as our focus in life; how do we keep our eyes on the proverbial ball when tasks and distractions are constantly grabbing for our attention?  Rev. Mike challenged us to…

2/26/2018 Our March Newsletter and Calendar are now ready to view or download: NewsletterCalendar

2/26/2018 This Sunday, our own Alexis Engelbrecht wrapped up our month of reflections on “Perseverance” with a message about the balance of perseverance and discernment.  Some of the paths we need to follow are indeed hard and uncomfortable and call for us to carry on in the face of adversity.  However, our desire for mission…

2/10/2018 For the sake of everyone’s safety in this wintry weather, we have canceled our services for this Sunday, February 11th.Please stay safe and warm!

2/19/2018 Sunday morning we gathered again after last week’s unfriendly weather, and we continued our monthly theme of Perseverance with a message from Rev. Nancy TannerThies.  Nancy reminded us how challenging Perseverance can be in our daily lives — those of us who do crafts may have embarrassing stashes of “UFOs” (UnFinished Objects), but most…

2/12/2018 This weekend offered us a reminder that our monthly theme, Perseverance, does not mean moving forward no matter what.  Sustainable perseverance requires us to use discernment and care to keep ourselves and others safe and well. With that in mind, Sunday’s services were canceled due to the wintry weather and dangerous road conditions.  We hope that…

2/5/2018 Sunday morning, Rev. Mike Adamek began exploring our Soul Matters theme for this month: Perseverance, and he asked an important question.  How do you tell the difference between the virtue of Perseverance and not-so-virtuous stubbornness or obsession?  Easy answers are difficult to find.  It is wise to ask ourselves why we persist, what makes…

1/29/2018 Our February Newsletter and Calendar are now available to view or download: NewsletterCalendar

1/29/2018 Sunday morning, we finished our month of reflections on Intention with our annual Fire Communion.  In her message, Alexis reminded us of the primal nature of fire — these days many of us no longer have to feed a fireplace or keep a wick neatly trimmed to give light without smoke, but looking back…

1/22/2018 Amid Sunday morning’s beautiful weather, Rev. Nancy TannerThies continued exploring our monthly Soul Matters theme of “Intention.”  With the new year still fresh, Rev. Nancy reflected on the “split second” of transition that happens again in our lives.  We notice the transition from old year to new, but transitions can happen at any moment;…

1/15/2018 Sunday morning, your writer was snowed in yet again, and our invited speaker, seminarian Andy Grizzle, was also unable to make it.  We were able to have a good service, though, as Katherine Connor and Jim Davis offered readings in honor of Martin Luther King Day. Both honoring King’s legacy and inviting new speakers are…

1/8/2018 Sunday began our new monthly Soul Matters theme: Intention. Rev. Mike Adamek began the month with reflections about Intention and decisiveness, but unfortunately your writer wasn’t there due to the weather.  I’m not sure it amounted to as much as was feared, but at such times we all weigh our chances. In this season…

1/1/2018 Our January newsletter and print calendar are now available to view or download: NewsletterCalendar

1/1/2018 Sunday morning, as we stood at the edge of a new year, Nancy Ellis-Ordway concluded our month of reflections on Hope by looking beyond and forward.  She defined hope as “belief that positive change is possible,” and we’re often told that hope is a virtue, even a moral duty — but some changes in…

11/27/2017 Our December Newsletter and print calendar are now available to view or download: NewsletterCalendar

12/24/2017 This morning, on Christmas Eve, we had a special Winter Holiday service, gathering perspectives from various members and friends through reflection, song, and a sharing of hope ceremony. We UUs tend to be “Happy Holidays” people, and for good reasons.  One of our core values is to welcome those with different perspectives and beliefs,…

12/18/2017 Sunday morning, Rev. Nancy TannerThies continued exploring our monthly theme of “Hope” with a title that she couldn’t seem to get out of your head: “Mustering the Minions.”  The word “minion” conjures up images of servility (and yes, maybe those little yellow guys from the movies), and while may we often feel that we…

12/11/2017 Sunday morning, our own Alexis Engelbrecht continued exploring our monthly theme of Hope.  It’s easy to think of Hope as just a happy feeling about a bright future that will “somehow, eventually” happen, but this kind of hope is hard to sustain and hard to be satisfied by.  For Alexis, a more inspiring kind…

12/4/2017 Sunday morning, Rev. Mike Adamek began exploring our monthly Soul Matters theme for December: Hope.  The winter holiday season is a time to celebrate hope, Rev. Mike reflected, whether that hope is the Christian coming of the savior, the Passover deliverance, or the Earth-centered watch for the return of the sun.  Like the same…

11/27/2017 Sunday morning, Alexis Engelbrecht concluded our monthly theme of Abundance with reflections and our annual Bread Communion.  The Bread Communion, Alexis said, is a symbol of the nourishing support and diversity of our community, but she also led us inward, toward the abundance of possibilities within ourselves and how we can nourish those possibilities. …

11/20/2017 Sunday morning, as we entered this Thanksgiving week, Rev. Nancy TannerThies continued our monthly theme of Abundance with reflections on the harvest — but, she reflected, the harvest is not a single event; its different phases bring us different lessons about abundance. The work of tending and weeding burgeoning plants reminds us of the…

11/13/2017 Sunday morning, we continued exploring our monthly theme of Abundance with one way Unitarian Universalists work to spread abundance in the world.  The UU Service Committee is an independent nonprofit organization that works with the UU Association to promote human rights and equity throughout the world.  Supporting refugees, deportees, and communities affected by climate…

11/6/2017 Sunday morning, Rev. Mike Adamek began exploring our Soul Matters theme for November: Abundance.  Abundance means something more and better than just having lots of stuff — as many of us know, having too much can be more curse than blessing.  So where is the “sweet spot” of Abundance as a virtue?  Rev. Mike’s…

6/28/2015 Dear UUFJC Members and Friends,Recently, the news has been an emotional roller-coaster for many of us, from the shock of the murders in Charleston to the elation of marriage equality.  In her message this morning, Rev. Nancy asked, how can we take it all in?  How can we responsibly “hold tension” between our core…

6/21/2015 Today, our own Jan Harcourt addressed the Fellowship on the topic of trauma and the body.  We often think of psychic scars as affecting the mind, but as Jan showed us through a series of brief exercises, the mind and body are not separate.  The body responds to shocks with a natural cycle of…

6/15/2015 Sunday morning, Father George Kramer returned to share his thoughts on “the new Pope” another year into Pope Francis’ tenure.  In his last visit, Father Kramer said that change in the Catholic Church would take a generation, and today he reminded us to judge leaders by their actions and not just their words, but…

6/8/2015 Sunday morning, Rev. Mike’s message was entitled “How Are You Using Your Future Today?”  As UUs we can have many different visions and ideas about the future, including that age-old religious question of what happens after we die.  Such questions may seem far on the horizon, but Rev. Mike argued that our ideas about…

5/25/2015 Sunday morning, Rev. Nancy got a bit “meta” with a message about how we approach our time together on Sundays.  She described worship as “a crossroads between the apprehension of the holy and daily life.”  In our sort of Fellowship, we don’t necessarily agree on what (or whether) “the holy” might be, but we…

5/17/2015 This morning, we held our Annual Business Meeting and elected a new Board for the 2015-2016 term, with some people continuing in their offices and others stepping up to do challenging jobs: President: Katherine Connor (returning)Vice President: Alexis Engelbrecht-VillafañeTreasurer: Bob Antweiler (returning)Secretary: Laura Gilkey (returning)Director of Religious Education: Kim Connor This year’s meeting saw…

5/10/2015 This morning, Sultan Ahmad visited our Fellowship to talk about the looming ecological crisis from an Islamic point of view.  While Ahmad’s interpretation of Islam — like common interpretations of Christianity — sees humankind set apart as the greatest of God’s creation and given Nature for the purposes of human wellbeing, he sees this…