Worship Services Online

We celebrate Homecoming this Sunday. We come together after our summer travel and hopefully some lazy summer days. There are stories to tell and adventures of note. The worship service is followed by our Annual Welcome Home Picnic

The world has been on fire before- one of those times was in the wake of WWII. Four families in Port Washington came together to begin what became this congregation as a home for children, youth, and families seeking to build a just and joyful world. In this time, what are we seeking to build, and how might we go forward? What do we tell the children about our dreams?

This is Religious Education Program volunteer orientation weekend, join in appreciating our RE volunteers and the Religious Education Committee during the Worship Service.

People of faith understand a strong civil society leads to social progress. The labor movement has long been a component of civil society in our country. We’ll explore questions that relate to “meeting the moment” in solidarity with organized labor.

Nadia Marin-Molina is Co-Executive Director of National Day Laborers Organizing Network (NDLON), leading the Workers Centers and Workers Rights areas of work. Nadia brings years of experience in the struggle for immigrant workers rights. She created and led NDLON’s disaster response initiative, to successfully train thousands of day laborers and build the capacity of NDLON’s member organizations. She also spearheaded programs to protect the health of nail salon workers and to prosecute criminal construction contractors while at the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health. She received national coverage for her work as Executive Director at the Workplace Project, fighting hate groups and anti-immigrant legislation on Long Island, New York. Nadia received her JD from New York University School of Law and her BA from Brandeis University.

Jim mixes songs and stories in a message of peace and reconciliation for a wounded world and our struggling American society. Amid wars, cataclysmic weather events, and a divisive politics, any long-term vision of sustainability is obscured if not abandoned. We can generate that renewal of spirit for the work we have before us—nothing less than a job of healing, the earth and ourselves.

Prolific composer, and guitarist, Jim has played at more than 700 UU churches over four decades of travels and his songs are in the UU Hymnbooks (Gather the Spirit). Formerly a member of the Paul Winter Consort, Jim was the composer of their celebrated "Missa Gaia/Earth Mass" and sang their anthem song "Common Ground." One of the originators of the UU Green Sanctuary program, Jim also compiled the Earth and Spirit Songbook, an anthology of 110 songs of Earth by many contemporary composers. He has toured the world, recorded nine CDs of original music and published a growing line of choral works. Jim was awarded an NEA grant to develop and present his multimedia concert “The Year to Save the Earth" in Worcester MA with band and chorus. He’s taking it on the road across the US.

How can we move towards a greater acceptance of the spiritual value of risk?

Rev. Valerie Freseman serves as the minister for Unitarian Universalists of Southold. She has served congregations in Ohio, New York, and New Jersey. She was a chaplain resident at the St. Francis Medical Center in Hartford, CT and is also a spiritual director.

During GA, my faith and my commitment to Unitarian Universalism was born again anew. So dear UUCSR who shall they say you were? Come think about it with me and the gathered community.

At 6:30 PM, all are welcome to a simple supper prior to Soulful Sundown. A voluntary donation of $5 covers soup, salad, artisanal bread, cookies, and beverages. (Food service ends at 7:15 PM.)

Beginning at 7:30 PM and led by Rev. David Carl Olson, August Soulful Sundown features an evening of poetry, reflection, and live music from The Cosmic Orchestra, ONSITE AND ONLINE. Special Guest Artist Cliff Eberhardt joins for an ONSITE-ONLY coffee house/concert afterward. All are welcome, never a charge!

Where music resides at the heart of religious experience.

Like our agrarian ancestors, we celebrate the abundant harvest that is evident in our home and community gardens in the Veatch Ballroom.* We’ll share stories and songs, dance a circle dance (as we are able), and bless the bounty of our gardens. *Please note the room change.

After the service, we’ll go outside to the Veatch House patio for refreshing summertime (non-alcoholic) beverages and offer a time where people may exchange the produce of their gardens. “A good for a good,” a generous response for the bounty of life. Please share what is growing in your garden—vegetables and flowers, grains and fungi, all the representations of Mother Earth’s bounty!

The world has welcomed Leo XIV as the new pope, and I feel it is timely to examine the origins of celibacy, which has shaped the lives of millions of men serving in the Roman Catholic Church. The question of bodily autonomy applies here too, just as it does to the right of women seeking health care today. These are implications for our current lives.

Rev. Petra Thombs is the minister at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Central Nassau in Garden City. Graduate of Union Theological Seminary, she holds a Master’s of Divinity, along with a Master of Science from Bank Street College in Supervision and Administration. Her initial Master’s of Special Education is from Teachers College, Columbia University. Rev. Petra has served as Community Minister for the Ramapough Lenape Community Center. Her passion is history and culture of indigenous communities, advocating for rescinding of the Doctrine of Discovery.

As many of us take actions to save American democracy, we are invited to consider the in-between space of the old story of our democracy and how, in this liminal space and time, we might employ our imaginations to create a new story of democracy and freedom.

Rev. Jacqueline Brett (she/they) serves as Lead Minister of the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Durham, North Carolina. She is responsible for guiding the congregation in creating beloved community and in the personal and collective search for truth and meaning among its members and friends. Also responsible for the organizational and programmatic health of the congregation, as Head of Staff, she leads a team of ministers, worship, and administrative professionals in partnering with the congregation to live into its Mission, Vision, Values, and strategic plans. Rev. Brett currently serves as Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC), which advances human rights globally.

For centuries, human communities have sought to define themselves by the power they projected to the world. In the wake of “No Kings Day,” let us move beyond the longing for Empire to a new way of being.

Rev. Dr. Clyde Grubbs, DMin, has served congregations in Indiana, Quebec, Massachusetts, Texas, Florida, and California for over thirty years and has served in major national Unitarian Universalist leadership roles, including on the UUA Board of Trustees. Presently, he serves as the Affiliate Community Minister for the First Parish UU in Canton, MA, a Neponset River Unitarian Universalist Community and as a Still Harbor trained spiritual director.

Rev. Dr. Michelle Walsh, PhD, LICSW is a Unitarian Universalist minister and shares a private justice consulting and spiritual coaching practice with her husband, Rev. Dr. Clyde Grubbs known as Tuckerman Creative Ministries for Justice & Healing. Currently Rev. Dr. Walsh also serves as the Lead Minister for the First Parish UU in Canton, MA, a Neponset River Unitarian Universalist Community.

As we close out the congregational year, may we reflect on the growth that has taken root in us through seasons of challenge, discernment, and joy. Let us say farewell and look forward to the year ahead.

The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year when the Sun rises highest in the sky. It is an event to celebrate. At the same time, we are aware that the seasons have all become warmer as temperatures have slowly risen over the years. There is much we can do to mitigate climate change and improve the environment. What are we doing here at Shelter Rock? What can you do at home? Come prepared to share your ideas.

After the service, the Earth-Based Traditions spirituality circle will lead a Salute to the Sun on the Patio. After the Salute, we will take a walk around the patio and its gardens led by UUCSR Land Management Ecologist Agnes P. Cwalina.

We think about freedom this month, and today in particular, we consider how leaders help us find freedom. We think especially about the ways our dads equipped us to live freely, and instilled in many of us the importance of leadership in private institutions like families and public institutions like congregations. We will also “commission” those delegates who will represent our congregation at the upcoming General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.

At 6:30 PM, all are welcome to a simple supper prior to Soulful Sundown. A voluntary donation of $5 covers soup, salad, artisanal bread, cookies, and beverages. (Food service ends at 7:15 PM.)

Beginning at 7:30 PM and led by Rev. David Carl Olson, June Soulful Sundown features an evening of poetry, reflection, and live music from The Cosmic Orchestra, ONSITE AND ONLINE. Special Guest Artists Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams join for an ONSITE-ONLY coffee house/concert afterward. All are welcome, never a charge!

Where music resides at the heart of religious experience.

We celebrate the Stonewall Uprising of 1969 that initiated a new chapter in the struggle for the recognition of the human rights of transgender and same gender loving people. What began as a riot against the practices of the police department has been transformed over decades to include both resistance and celebration. In a time when, for several years, legislatures around the country have been limiting the freedom of transgender and gender-expansive people, we share joy in being together, proudly telling the stories of our LGBTQ+ members and friends. Please wear rainbow colors!

In the Hebrew Bible, we are asked to imagine our lives in the light of the immensity of history. We have such a brief time on this earth. On Memorial Day, we remember the sacrifices made by prior generations and imagine with one another what others might say of us when thinking about how we lived our lives in time of challenge and change. Please wear a flower of remembrance and come up the long driveway to the Worship Room with an open heart.

Rev. Mary Katherine Morn is President and Lead Executive Officer at the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC). After decades of leadership in progressive faith communities and denominational service, Mary Katherine now leads the 85-year-old human rights organization. UUSC is inspired by progressive values and committed to shifting power and resources to advance global human rights where people have been criminalized for their identity and/or activism; displaced by violence, economic inequity, and climate crisis; and otherwise impacted by intersecting oppressions.

At 6:30 PM, all are welcome to a simple supper prior to Soulful Sundown. A voluntary donation of $5 covers soup, salad, artisanal bread, cookies, and beverages. (Food service ends at 7:15 PM.)

Beginning at 7:30 PM and led by Rev. David Carl Olson, May Soulful Sundown features an evening of poetry, reflection, and live music from The Cosmic Orchestra, ONSITE AND ONLINE. Special Guest Artist Nini Camps joins for an ONSITE-ONLY coffee house/concert afterward. All are welcome, never a charge!

Where music resides at the heart of religious experience.

Join us for a Service of harmony and heart. The UUCSR Choir, Soloists, and The Orchestra at Shelter Rock present Craig Hella Johnson’s CONSIDERING MATTHEW SHEPARD. Craig Hella Johnson’s powerful and moving work was written in response to the brutal killing of the 21-year-old University of Wyoming student and is a call to empathy, tolerance, and the best of humanity. As with all Worship Services, the greater community is cordially invited to attend. Invite your friends and family to hear this important and powerful musical presentation in a time of uncertainty and fear in the LGBTQ+ community.

Taoist philosopher Lao Tzu wrote “when I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” The Easter story of birth into new life is told in the spring when the earth is awakening all around us. We celebrate the seeds that have been waiting in the earth clod around us to be awakened by rain and sun to shed their old selves to become something new. What do we have to shed? What might we become?

After 25 years of being a Unitarian Universalist, and nearly 16 of those years being an Ordained Minister, Rev. Chris Long will share just how much joy, even now, he continues to work to embody through our Unitarian Universalist Values which may also be an elixir to and for you in such times as these. He looks forward to sharing in the co-creation of Worship with all who are present and online.

Bio: Rev. Chris Long is currently the Minister of Congregational Life for the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge (Baton Rouge, LA). He has served there since July of 2022. Since being Ordained by the First Unitarian Church of Oakland (Oakland, CA - June 7, 2009), he has also served and worked at James Reeb Unitarian Universalist Congregation (Madison, WI), University of Wisconsin (Madison, WI), West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church (Rocky River, OH) and The Community Church of New York (New York City), respectively. Throughout these Ministries, and in his many roles on denominational committees, organizations and a variety of leadership positions in the communities where he has lived across the country, he looks forward to joining us for worship and conversation for our April 13, 2025 Service. Please do come, invite a friend and take good care of yourselves as you journey!

Justice Sunday is celebrated throughout Unitarian Universalism to retell the story of the UU Service Committee (UUSC), founded to resist the forces of Nazism in Europe and to give aid to refugees. Rev. Ned Wight, former chair of the board of UUSC, will share of their continuing work. All of us will be encouraged to become members of the UUSC.

Every year, the Senior Seminar class at UUCSR holds a Worship that is planned by the high school youth. This year’s theme is The Tree of Life (Yggdrasil). We chose The Tree of Life (Yggdrasil) because it symbolizes interconnectedness, growth, and the cyclical nature of existence. We are reminded that we are all branches of the same whole, growing in our own ways throughout our journeys, but always sharing the same roots. This Worship contains self-written reflections alongside favorite songs and words that deeply resonate with our youth. It is very important for the Congregation to be able to hear the thoughts and beliefs of our youth, as they are the future of our faith, and they are able to grow into their own faith by passionately exhibiting what is important to them in such a sacred space. Please join us
to hear the voices of the future of Unitarian Universalism!

Aisha Hauser is the founder of “Connect, Learn, Grow,” an innovative consulting firm which works around diversity, leadership and conflict management. She is a member of the Lead Ministry Team of the UU Church of the Larger Fellowship, and is past president of the Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA).

A minister reflects on his journey toward more innovation in the cultural patterns in his life. Neil deGrasse Tyson argues “Once you have an innovation culture, even those who are not scientists of engineers—poets, actors, journalist—embrace the concept of an innovation culture. They vote in ways that promote it.” As the political culture of our times leads toward polarization, can a religious community move us toward a richer appreciation of innovation and interculturalism?

At 6:30 PM, all are welcome to a simple supper prior to Soulful Sundown. A voluntary donation of $5 covers soup, salad, artisanal bread, cookies, and beverages. (Food service ends at 7:15 PM.)

Beginning at 7:30 PM and led by student minister Madison Colquette, March Soulful Sundown features an evening of poetry, reflection, and live music from The Cosmic Orchestra, ONSITE AND ONLINE. Special Artists Krista Preddice and Cassandra House join for an ONSITE-ONLY coffee house/concert afterward. All are welcome, never a charge!

Where music resides at the heart of religious experience.

Women lead us in reflecting on what women’s liberation looks like at this moment from the points of view of a teenager, a mother with school-aged children, a smart alecky working woman and a wise elder. With soulful and stirring music, and a meditation by our student minister, we join our ancestors who sang “yes, it is bread we fight for, but we fight for roses too.”

We are honored to host the President of the Unitarian Universalist Association who will help us reflect on how our UU movement can help us respond to the needs of our world.