Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast First U Think
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gathering In with Meredith | 12 Sep 2024 | 00:18:29 | |
We gathered to celebrate the church year ahead in the waning days of summer (autumn begins on September 22). Each brought a small sample of water to represent the last 12 weeks. We then reflected together on our September theme: hospitality. | |||
| Universalism and Labor Day | 05 Sep 2024 | 00:22:10 | |
with Rev. Meredith Garmon | |||
| Hearing the Secret in Our Hearts with Rev. Eishin Tom Houghton | 04 Jul 2024 | 00:19:44 | |
The picture is called "Enso." This image has been associated with the Zen tradition and represents what can be described as "the mind before thought," "the awareness that exists behind thought," or, in my particular case, "the secret in our hearts." | |||
| From Ancient Greece to First Unitarian of Des Moines: Daring to Follow the Truth | 07 Jul 2022 | 00:18:45 | |
For decades, Humanism has been a prominent ethical tradition in our congregation, and for many UU congregations across the Midwest. But what is Humanism all about? This Sunday, join members of the First Unitarian Humanist Group to explore Humanism through history and a little entertainment. | |||
| Nothing New Under the Sun | 23 Jun 2022 | 00:13:13 | |
The Summer Solstice reminds us that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Our lives are full of their own particularities, but we play them out on a greater cosmic stage. The seasons change, the sun moves up and down across the horizon, and we can always situate ourselves in a greater order of things, no matter what joys, | |||
| Heart and Soul: Art and Music as Spiritual Practice | 16 Jun 2022 | 00:18:10 | |
Art and music help us to express some of our deepest longings and most true thoughts. Come and explore art and music as theology! | |||
| Pentecost and an Ethic of Risk | 09 Jun 2022 | 00:12:12 | |
As Unitarian Universalists we are not often crowned with holy fire and sent out into the world. Or maybe we are. Join Rev. Amy Shaw in a service which examines the fire that sends us into the world, and the ethic which fuels it. | |||
| Green Rolling Hills: A Flower Communion | 01 Jun 2022 | 00:09:56 | |
We are one church and together we grow, through joy and sadness. We bring ourselves freely to this community, and we take away those things which help us on our life journey. Flower Communion is a symbol of that relationship and covenant, and we invite all to join us in celebrating our free church. We encourage each person to bring a small live potted plant (herbs, vegetables, flowers, or anything else growing which represents what you bring to our community) to add to the communion- at the end of the service everyone can choose a plant to take home with them. If you can’t bring a plant, please come, and join in anyway- there will be enough for everyone to participate! | |||
| Skin Deep and Soul Empty: Finding Depth in a Shallow Culture | 24 May 2022 | 00:13:37 | |
American culture tells us that appearance is important. How do we move beyond the surface of life and focus on the things that matter most? Join Rev. Amy Shaw for this service about the life-long search for personal and religious depth and meaning in a culture where race, handicapped status, weight, and adherence to conventional beauty standards all impact us. | |||
| Building a Beautiful Community | 12 May 2022 | 00:12:49 | |
What does it mean to be truly beautiful, and how can we approach transient beauty as a spiritual practice? | |||
| Something Got Up | 21 Apr 2022 | 00:18:52 | |
Over 2,000 years ago the man Jesus of Nazareth died on a cross and was buried. Three days later, something got up. Come and enjoy this thought-provoking Easter service. Please feel free to wear your spring or Easter bonnet! | |||
| Be Naked | 14 Apr 2022 | 00:22:22 | |
Authentic relationship underlies and supports the work of social justice and community building. Come and join Reverend Amy Petrie Shaw in this exploration of compassion, vulnerability, authenticity, and unnecessary fig leaves. | |||
| Reperations | 07 Apr 2022 | 00:17:07 | |
A basic principle of of the United Nations asserts that victims of systemic and massive violations of human rights have a right to prompt, adequate and effective reparation. Reparations have the potential to build trust and restore dignity through a felt, public commitment to human rights. They also serve the objectives of providing a measure of justice directly to victims, offering them a future that may alleviate, to some extent, the suffering they have endured. Join Harvey Harrison to explore the moral and ethical dimensions of this right through a personal, humanist, lens. | |||
| Birding for Life: See and Save a Bird, a People, and the Planet | 27 Jun 2024 | 00:21:34 | |
with Rev. LoraKim Joyner | |||
| I am a Patriot | 29 Mar 2022 | 00:13:51 | |
What is the difference between patriotism and nationalism, and why does it matter? Why are we called to resist fascism? | |||
| Learning to Lament | 24 Mar 2022 | 00:18:16 | |
Many religions and cultures have a practice of lamenting, or crying out in pain or sorrow. Come and explore a Unitarian Universalist perspective on lammentation and the need to be heard. | |||
| Renewing Faith: IDK Gen Z's ideas on belief | 10 Mar 2022 | 00:12:14 | |
How do you Renew Faith when you never | |||
| Seeking Sanity and Grace | 03 Mar 2022 | 00:13:35 | |
1 in 10 Americans has a substance abuse problem. Explore faith as part of the journey out of addiction. | |||
| Life is not a Dress Rehearsal | 24 Feb 2022 | 00:13:09 | |
| |||
| A Between Us: Identity, Community, and Self | 16 Feb 2022 | 00:13:28 | |
Sunday, February 13th, we explored the roles words play in shaping our identities and communities. We use many words to express ourselves and how we move through the world. With varying specificity, they help us communicate our genders, sexualities, ethical frameworks, spiritualities, and more. Like many tools, they can make life easier to navigate. And sometimes they can get in our way when finding and building community with one another. | |||
| The Road to Change | 10 Feb 2022 | 00:15:33 | |
Sunday, February 13th, Elaine | |||
| From Legos to Logos | 31 Jan 2022 | 00:10:59 | |
Unitarian Universalism doesn’t come with a holy book or creed. Today we’re going to talk about building religion and having it your way. | |||
| Below the Line | 28 Jan 2022 | 00:16:43 | |
Living with struggle is difficult. Today we gather to support one another in community and to talk about living with poverty. | |||
| Every Valley Shall Be Exalted | 19 Jan 2022 | 00:12:47 | |
Come and share a hopeful exploration of Martin Luther King Day. The dream is alive, and we can bring it closer to completion. | |||
| Perfect, And... | 20 Jun 2024 | 00:24:11 | |
with Rev. Meredith Garmon | |||
| We Can Do It (Yes We Can!) | 13 Jan 2022 | 00:14:08 | |
Walking with others as allies is not easy- our paths are different, our experiences varied. How are we called to respond authentically to oppression and injustice in our world and what are the possibilities? | |||
| Christmas Eve: Oh Night Divine. Special Event Extended | 06 Jan 2022 | 00:49:27 | |
| CRT and Thee | 04 Jan 2022 | 00:14:51 | |
What is Critical Race Theory and how does it impact us? Come and learn about this hot button issue, and explore it's impact on your life and your spiritual practice? | |||
| Christmas: A Distinctively Unitarian Holiday. Special Event Extended | 23 Dec 2021 | 00:58:32 | |
Our Christmas service Sunday was a special music-centric service that celebrated the approaching holiday! Enjoy performances from the Choir and Bells, and take a moment to find peace in the middle of the hectic holiday season. | |||
| Crossroads of Perception with Ysandril Morrigan and members of the UCDSM Transgender Action Group | 01 Dec 2021 | 00:15:12 | |
Join members of the congregation's Transgender Action Group on an introspective journey into the hearts and minds, the pleasures and pitfalls, ecstasies and anxieties of what it is like to be transgender, in public and in private. | |||
| Take Up All That Remain | 03 Nov 2021 | 00:10:07 | |
Some Pagans and witches consider the end of October as the end and beginning of the liturgical year. Called Samhain, Hallowtide, or All Hallows, it’s a time to take one last look at the year: all that’s grown, all that’s come to fruit, and all that’s passed on. Everything in our world eventually comes to an end, and this can allow new things the room to come into being. Through this season, we can find the insight to see this interaction in our daily lives. | |||
| Listening the Circle Wide | 14 Oct 2021 | 00:14:53 | |
We must tell and LISTEN to stories of individual experiences in order to draw the circle of love wide. Join Rev. Kimberley Debus for this sermon about love and inclusion. | |||
| Exploring Belief in our own Identity as an Act of Self-Love with Dr. Rebecca Gibson | 05 Oct 2021 | 00:24:18 | |
Join us for this fascinating service. Rebecca Gibson is an independent scholar, whose published works include “Desire in the Age of Robots and AI: An Investigation in Science Fiction and Fact” (Palgrave Macmillan 2019), “The Corseted Skeleton: A Bioarchaeology of Binding” (Palgrave Macmillan 2020), and "Gender, Supernatural Beings, and the Liminality of Death: Monstrous Males/Fatal Females" (Lexington Books 2021). She holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from American University, and when not writing or teaching can be found reading mystery novels amidst a pile of stuffed animals. | |||
| If It's Mental Illness There's No Lasagna with Patty Notch | 30 Sep 2021 | 00:16:49 | |
Mental illness has been called the “non-casserole disease”. When your child is seriously physically ill, it is common for neighbors and friends to bring casseroles, and offer to help. But if we learn that someone’s son is diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, or that their daughter has attempted suicide, we stay away. As Unitarians, we understand the inherent worth and dignity of all people, and our interdependence on one another. Erik Erikson, the German-American psychologist, said “Life doesn’t make any sense without interdependence. We need each other, and the sooner we learn that, the better for us all.” This service is about how we can support families in the midst of a mental health crisis. | |||
| The Merits And Moral Imperative of Smiting | 01 Sep 2021 | 00:25:10 | |
It has been said that all that is necessary for evil to flourish is for good people to do nothing. What does it look like, then, for good people to interrupt evil? Must we be rude? In a word: yes. Yes, we must. | |||
| Why We Welcome | 13 Jun 2024 | 00:24:40 | |
with Rev. Meredith Garmon | |||
| Change the Harvest | 14 Aug 2021 | 00:16:07 | |
For some witches and Pagans, Lammas is the first of three points in the year honoring the harvest. It asks us to focus on the “first harvests” of our lives and in the world around us. Literal harvests often go through changes to become the products we love, and we can also apply this observation to our metaphorical harvests. Join us in considering what we harvest in our lives, how we transform it, and how it transforms us in turn. | |||
| From Languishing to Flourishing | 14 Aug 2021 | 00:16:56 | |
As the landscape around us continues to shift seemingly from one day to the next, how do we transition from a state of languishing – not quite depressed, but not really thriving – to one in which we can flourish? Join us as we explore what positive psychology has to teach us about living into wellbeing, even in the midst of uncertainty. | |||
| Creating the Beloved Community | 14 Aug 2021 | 00:21:09 | |
Australian Indigenous activist, Lilla Watson, says, “If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” | |||
| Fill Up Your Cups | 14 Aug 2021 | 00:09:40 | |
As Unitarian Universalists, we're compelled to heal and help others by refilling their vessels. But sometimes, we're refilling from our own empty vessels. This service is about learning to fill and heal ourselves first, before we take care of others. | |||
| Interdependence Day | 14 Aug 2021 | 00:26:59 | |
Our Unitarian Universalist faith values independence -- freedom of belief, freedom of thought, and more -- but we also value interdependence -- connection to and support of one another, connection to and honoring of the earth and its creatures. So for this holiday weekend we'll look at how to hold these things in balance in our faith and in our lives. | |||
| Vesak | 21 May 2021 | 00:30:30 | |
The Awakening Hearts Sangha of the First Unitarian Church of Des Moines presents this lovely celebration of the Buddhist holiday of Vesak | |||
| On This Journey Together | 04 May 2021 | 00:14:29 | |
No matter who we are, making sense of our lives and seeking out direction is a profound commonality we share as human beings. It is a journey that many people make in each other’s company, often in religious or spiritual communities. But for a variety of reasons, many LGBTQ people struggle to feel welcome in joining and staying in these communities. Join us as we consider what it means to be LGBTQ and spiritual, religious, or seeking deeper meaning in our lives. | |||
| Pathways to Creating a New Earth Day Story with Pachamama Alliance Iowa | 03 May 2021 | 00:10:46 | |
Join Janice Hawkins, Linda Lemons, and Ron Heideman as they discuss Earth Day and Pachamama Alliance of Iowa | |||
| Unfinished Business featuring Harvey Harrison | 03 Mar 2021 | 00:24:00 | |
This thoughtful talk by Harvey Harrison explores the work of Isabel Wilkerson and her book Caste - The Origins of Our Discontent. Ms. Wilkerson uses the framework of this Caste system, deeply imbedded in our institutions and in all of us, to describe how systemic racism in our country is maintained. She uses the history and the current status of the Caste system in India, the Caste system in the United States, and the United States Caste System as it was utilized in Nazi Germany as a powerful mirror on how we continue to suppress people in our country based on the color of their skin and their perceived race. | |||
| The Hidden Pandemic, featuring Lyra Halsten | 17 Feb 2021 | 00:15:31 | |
After being in the grip of the Coronavirus Pandemic for over a year, the vaccines have most people looking forward with anticipation and joy to the day they’ll be reunited with family and friends. But there are many millions who suffer from another pandemic for which there is no vaccine. For them, it will be, in the words of Paul McCartney, “just another day.” Please join us on this day dedicated to love to learn about the hidden pandemic of loneliness and how you can be the cure. | |||
| Active Hope | 06 Jun 2024 | 00:21:56 | |
with Meredith Garmon | |||
| Life is a Journey to be Experienced, Not a Problem to be Solved | 04 Feb 2021 | 00:10:25 | |
As we travel life’s path, we find that its ways are never woven in a straight line – we are provided with numerous options and alternatives. Some of these paths will lead us to joy; some to sorrow. Still others will lead to insight and self-realization. But life’s journey should not be spent in always contemplating what lies at the end, or in building up hopes and dreams related to some future goal. What really matters is not the goal, or the destination, but the journey itself. It is the journey that must be fully enjoyed at every moment. This talk is provided by guest speaker Patty Notch | |||
| Resolutions, Intentions and Silver Linings of the Year of COVID with Kent Newman | 27 Jan 2021 | 00:19:00 | |
One Good Year - Resolutions or Intentions: What will we practice in the coming year? | |||
| Dharma Blossoms | 30 May 2024 | 00:21:09 | |
with Rev. Meredith Garmon | |||