Saturday, June 29, 2013

Summer Sundays at Gimli Unitarian Church


Gimli Unitarian Church will open for the summer season on Sunday, July 7, 2013, continuing on the first and third Sundays of the month until the final service of the season on Sunday, September 1. Services are at 11:00 a.m. in the congregation’s landmark building at 76 Second Avenue.  Dress is casual -- after all, it's cottage season! 

July 7Wise as Serpents, Harmless as Doves — Instead of the Flaming Chalice, the symbol of Hungarian Unitarians is the serpent and the dove, an allusion to the biblical verse, “I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” Are we? Rev. Stefan M. Jonasson

July 21Patience and Other Virtues — This service explores particular qualities foundational to promoting greatness, both collective and individual.  How might they be especially relevant for our faith? Rev. Millie Rochester

August 4Leaving Home — In May, we said goodbye to the home that Kathleen’s parents built and where she lived her entire childhood. All of our lives we take our leave of places that have meaning for us. The leaving-home experience of the Icelandic immigrants that we honor during Icelandic Festival is a big part of this weekend. How we make meaning of these leave-takings will be the focus of this sermon. Rev. Wayne Arnason and Rev. Kathleen Rolenz

August 18Menacing Moralizers — “When the body politic is immune to moralizers,” writes A.C. Grayling, “they merely appear comical.” But there’s nothing comical about the prudish moralizers who try to creep into others’ bedrooms and living rooms through public policy. In some places, they’ve become a menace to individual freedom! Rev. Stefan M. Jonasson

September 1Out Where We Belong — My family doctor recently introduced me to the notion of “nature-deficit disorder,” the hypothesis that many modern maladies can be traced to a lack of quality time outdoors. I thought we were having a philosophical discussion but it’s entirely possible I was being diagnosed. Rev. Stefan M. Jonasson