Sundays: 12 noon (CT) in-person and online
Imagination—our ability to create images not available to the sensory system—is arguably our greatest faculty for evolving human consciousness. In order to transform ourselves and our world, we need to be able to leap out of the familiar and into the unknown. The first step in doing this is to imagine a future different from the past, a self-‐sense different from the one we have now.
Rev. Matt Alspaugh, PresenterPriscilla Taylor, Service Associate It’s been suggested that imagination is a uniquely human trait. It’s something that we can develop; we can use it to connect with one another, it connects us with things larger than ourselves, perhaps with the divine. It can also lead to trouble. Together we’ll imagine just what … Continue reading “Imagine That”
Ralph Waldo Emerson considered art as a way for the artist to express their inner self, their “spirit,” and to share a deeper understanding of the world with others. He believed that there should be no strict separation between different art forms like painting, music, and poetry, as they all stem from the same creative … Continue reading “Emerson Sunday: Celebrating Creativity & Imagination”
Rev. Matt Alspaugh, PresenterTed Fahy, Service Associate Surgeon Atul Gawande is the writer of the book “Being Mortal.” He learned, he says, too late in his career as a physician, that the central question for his patients was “What Does a Good Day Look Like?” Not questions about fighting, or fixing, or when to give … Continue reading “What Does a Good Day Look Like?”
Presenter: Cat Barnett Service Associate: Robert Barnett Your brain can’t tell the difference between reality and imagination. The chemicals released by your brain when you are happy or stressed are the same whether you are experiencing or just thinking about the experiences. This means you should consider your habitual ways of thinking and change them … Continue reading Mind/Body/Universe Connection
We live in an information age. If we don’t know something, we ask Google. The embedded algorithms give us more information…lots more information. But how do we avoid information bubbles reflecting more of what we already know? How do we get to know what we don’t know? Maybe, we humans can listen to our imagination … Continue reading Imagine: Stories from Ukraine, Macedonia and Lakeside
“Leap like a lunatic. Over the chasm below Erupting as you go. Your true self awaits you and you will know.” These words by Minneapolis poet and artist Jane Evershed will set the tone for our annual service focusing on stewardship and giving. It is said a congregation ́s morality is reflected in its annual … Continue reading The Great Leap of Faith
A mini, one act play written in the style of magical realism by Janice Kimball. Introduction by Ted Shaw, life coach and author of The Magic of Wonder. Starring Bob Koches and Janice Kimball. Kathy Koches will be the Service Leader.
Rev. Matt Alspaugh has been following the work of futurist Jane McGonigal, who uses massive multiplayer games as simulations to forecast the future. She believes that actively trying to imagine or daydream the future can make us more resilient, better prepared for whatever comes. Can weimagine optimistic rather than a dystopian futures? Will this help … Continue reading Remembering the Future
”Here there be dragons” means dangerous or unexplored territories, in imitation of a medieval practice of putting illustrations of dragons, sea-monsters and other mythological creatures on uncharted areas of a map. Rev. D’Vorah Kelley will share her story – through song, readings, and a fairy tale in three parts of being confronted with one particular … Continue reading Here There Be Dragons
Do we have visions for the coming phases of our lives? What do we yearn for, what do we work for? The world has changed a lot in the recent past, maybe it’s time to re-examine, even to change our visions. How do we do this? Carl Jung said, “Your vision will become clear only … Continue reading Opening Our Eyes, Finding Our Vision
