In this week's message, lay preacher Bev Fox shares the story of her brother who died after a years-long struggle with addiction. She tells us how the slow processing of his death led to her own struggles with mental health. A NOTE FROM OUR WORSHIP LEADER: “Before we move forward, I want to let you all know that in this morning’s message, our preacher Bev shares a personal story that might be difficult or triggering for some folks to hear, about suicide and self-harm. Please take care of yoursel...
Oct 20, 2020
In this week's message, lay preacher Bev Fox shares the story of her brother who died after a years-long struggle with addiction. She tells us how the slow processing of his death led to her own struggles with mental health. A NOTE FROM OUR WORSHIP LEADER: “Before we move forward, I want to let you all know that in this morning’s message, our preacher Bev shares a personal story that might be difficult or triggering for some folks to hear, about suicide and self-harm. Please take care of yoursel...
Oct 20, 2020•24 min
Rev. Lee begins this week's message by talking about a new framework for the stages of grief, including an added a sixth stage: “finding meaning.” Of course, that’s a very hard concept to accept, especially if we’re in the early stages of grief. She also talks us through the conundrum of how we can all support each other when we’re all going through the same thing. She shares the “Parable of the long spoons,” where the answer isn’t to feed yourself, but to feed each other.
Oct 13, 2020
Rev. Lee begins this week's message by talking about a new framework for the stages of grief, including an added a sixth stage: “finding meaning.” Of course, that’s a very hard concept to accept, especially if we’re in the early stages of grief. She also talks us through the conundrum of how we can all support each other when we’re all going through the same thing. She shares the “Parable of the long spoons,” where the answer isn’t to feed yourself, but to feed each other.
Oct 13, 2020•28 min
Rev. Lee begins this week's message by mentioning a meme about an imaginary coworker, "Cheryl," on whom to blame things. She explains that what we're actually doing in these moments is making space to protect our relationships. There's a lot of grief right now with the pandemic, and many of us are feeling that if this had never happened, our lives would be different. But when things don't turn out the way we want, maybe we can make a practice of saying "It's not you, and it's not me... it's grie...
Oct 06, 2020
Rev. Lee begins this week's message by mentioning a meme about an imaginary coworker, "Cheryl," on whom to blame things. She explains that what we're actually doing in these moments is making space to protect our relationships. There's a lot of grief right now with the pandemic, and many of us are feeling that if this had never happened, our lives would be different. But when things don't turn out the way we want, maybe we can make a practice of saying "It's not you, and it's not me... it's grie...
Oct 06, 2020•32 min
Quarantine has led us to new forms of entertainment, and this week, Rev. Ken begins by talking about a "table read" of the Princess Bride which the original stars reunited for recently. One of his main takeaways from that movie is that when life doesn't turn out the way we want, maybe we can then open ourselves to a different kind of story. Rev. Ken also talks about unique experiences of grief, and how the "stages" aren't always linear.
Sep 29, 2020
Quarantine has led us to new forms of entertainment, and this week, Rev. Ken begins by talking about a "table read" of the Princess Bride which the original stars reunited for recently. One of his main takeaways from that movie is that when life doesn't turn out the way we want, maybe we can then open ourselves to a different kind of story. Rev. Ken also talks about unique experiences of grief, and how the "stages" aren't always linear.
Sep 29, 2020•24 min
Rev. Ken begins this week's message by offering the Mourner's Kaddish for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. He talks about a videogame he's playing now where a being called "Stella" guides souls to the afterlife, and how surprisingly touching it is. He also talks about how we can help each other through our collective mourning process by honoring the connections between us.
Sep 22, 2020
Rev. Ken begins this week's message by offering the Mourner's Kaddish for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. He talks about a videogame he's playing now where a being called "Stella" guides souls to the afterlife, and how surprisingly touching it is. He also talks about how we can help each other through our collective mourning process by honoring the connections between us.
Sep 22, 2020•31 min
Rev. Lee opens this week's message with a story about a friend who lost her home in a fire. In those first panicked moments, her friend reached for the things she thought she'd need, only to find out later that what she really needed was never in that house. This week's Spiritflix series asks us what and who we reach for in a crisis, and shows us how sometimes the things we thought we'd need aren't what we wind up needing later.
Sep 08, 2020
Rev. Lee opens this week's message with a story about a friend who lost her home in a fire. In those first panicked moments, her friend reached for the things she thought she'd need, only to find out later that what she really needed was never in that house. This week's Spiritflix series asks us what and who we reach for in a crisis, and shows us how sometimes the things we thought we'd need aren't what we wind up needing later.
Sep 08, 2020•26 min
Lay Preacher Chris Chepel talks to us this week about the Star Trek series, Picard. After taking us through the history of the various Star Trek series, and how they always seem to hold up a mirror to the current time. The Picard series seems more informed by trauma than its predecessors, and that feels very important in our current situation.
Sep 01, 2020
Lay Preacher Chris Chepel talks to us this week about the Star Trek series, Picard. After taking us through the history of the various Star Trek series, and how they always seem to hold up a mirror to the current time. The Picard series seems more informed by trauma than its predecessors, and that feels very important in our current situation.
Sep 01, 2020•18 min
Rev Ken. Continues our Spiritflix series with a message about the Netflix series "The Midnight Gospel." He reminds us that it's okay if we're not okay right now.
Sep 01, 2020
Rev Ken. Continues our Spiritflix series with a message about the Netflix series "The Midnight Gospel." He reminds us that it's okay if we're not okay right now.
Sep 01, 2020•26 min
This week, Rev. Lee opens with a story about a man being filmed by a helpful bystander during a traffic stop, and how looking out for one another like this is a new way to show love. Love requires unexpected things from us right now, just like in this week's Spiritflix movie, The Farewell. She also ponders the nature of truth in a stressful environment.
Aug 18, 2020
This week, Rev. Lee opens with a story about a man being filmed by a helpful bystander during a traffic stop, and how looking out for one another like this is a new way to show love. Love requires unexpected things from us right now, just like in this week's Spiritflix movie, The Farewell. She also ponders the nature of truth in a stressful environment.
Aug 18, 2020•27 min
Lay preacher Rodney Whittenberg shares a story of growing up Catholic, and his amazement at people who are able to be nonviolent in the face of adversity. His Spiritflix movie is The Camden 28 - a documentary about a group of devoted Catholics who planned to break into a federal building and destroy the draft cards of hundreds of young men.
Aug 12, 2020
Lay preacher Rodney Whittenberg shares a story of growing up Catholic, and his amazement at people who are able to be nonviolent in the face of adversity. His Spiritflix movie is The Camden 28 - a documentary about a group of devoted Catholics who planned to break into a federal building and destroy the draft cards of hundreds of young men.
Aug 12, 2020•29 min
This week, Rev. Ken continues our Spiritflix series with a message about the movie Blinded By the Light - a film where the main character is asking the question "How do I fit in?" Rev. Ken talks about how this film reminded him of the eulogy President Obama gave for John Lewis, calling us to a "Vibrant, big-hearted, tolerant America of perpetual self creation." He also reflects on the importance of the Bruce Springsteen lyric "No one wins unless everybody wins."
Aug 04, 2020
This week, Rev. Ken continues our Spiritflix series with a message about the movie Blinded By the Light - a film where the main character is asking the question "How do I fit in?" Rev. Ken talks about how this film reminded him of the eulogy President Obama gave for John Lewis, calling us to a "Vibrant, big-hearted, tolerant America of perpetual self creation." He also reflects on the importance of the Bruce Springsteen lyric "No one wins unless everybody wins."
Aug 04, 2020•23 min
This week, Rev. Lee preaches about the Ava Duvernay documentary, "13th." She begins by talking about her family's experiences, both spoken and unspoken, which led to her growing up in the suburbs. It's important to realize that the racist ideas that allowed slavery are still operating in our politics and criminal justice system today, but she reminds us that our actions have power, even if it doesn't seem to "work" in the moment.
Jul 28, 2020
This week, Rev. Lee preaches about the Ava Duvernay documentary, "13th." She begins by talking about her family's experiences, both spoken and unspoken, which led to her growing up in the suburbs. It's important to realize that the racist ideas that allowed slavery are still operating in our politics and criminal justice system today, but she reminds us that our actions have power, even if it doesn't seem to "work" in the moment.
Jul 28, 2020•30 min
This week, Rev. Ken discusses the Netflix series "Dead To Me." In discussing it's themes of grief, he reveals that he has an app on his phone that reminds him about death five times a day. He talks about the five stages of grief and how complicated they are - especially now when so many Covid deaths might be the result of a rush to get back to normal.
Jul 21, 2020
This week, Rev. Ken discusses the Netflix series "Dead To Me." In discussing it's themes of grief, he reveals that he has an app on his phone that reminds him about death five times a day. He talks about the five stages of grief and how complicated they are - especially now when so many Covid deaths might be the result of a rush to get back to normal.
Jul 21, 2020•24 min
Lay preacher Beverly Fox continues our SpiritFlix series with a message about the film Garden State. Her message explores the concept of home. What does that mean to you? Where can you find home? If you enjoyed this message and would like to support the mission of WellSprings, go to our website at http://www.wellspringsuu.org
Jul 14, 2020
Lay preacher Beverly Fox continues our SpiritFlix series with a message about the film Garden State. Her message explores the concept of home. What does that mean to you? Where can you find home? If you enjoyed this message and would like to support the mission of WellSprings, go to our website at http://www.wellspringsuu.org
Jul 14, 2020•19 min
For this week's SpiritFlix message, Rev. Lee preaches on the Netflix movie "The Willoughbys." This movie is about a group of children who are mistreated by their parents, until a person with a higher standard of care shows up in their lives. What if we all held ourselves to a higher standard of care right now? It just might save someone's life.
Jul 07, 2020
For this week's SpiritFlix message, Rev. Lee preaches on the Netflix movie "The Willoughbys." This movie is about a group of children who are mistreated by their parents, until a person with a higher standard of care shows up in their lives. What if we all held ourselves to a higher standard of care right now? It just might save someone's life.
Jul 07, 2020•32 min
