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Upcoming Online Services
May 31: Passing Through, Sarah Martin, Director of Religious Education This Religious Education Sunday, we celebrate our volunteers, our children and youth, the changes to which they've adapted this year, and the thresholds they are crossing during uncertain times. Click here for login information to use Zoom. Previous Sunday's Service
May 24: Remembering Together, Rev. Joan Montagnes Although we are physically separated, we will remember our beloved dead together. We are social and spiritually connected even beyond life. R.E. Spring Play is finally here!
Click here for the video! Every year our Spring Equinox service at the UU Church of Buffalo includes a no rehearsal participatory play. Unfortunately this year, March 22 was our first Zoom service and we didn't get to have our play. It's a month and a half late, but due to the enthusiasm and hard work of 20 of our children and a handful of stalwart adults, we have something of a play put together! Thank you to all the parents and caregivers who worked so hard to get these clips together. Thank you to all our actors who did a FABULOUS job. Special thank you to Jonathan Vogtle for the original music! 
We are a compassionate, thoughtful,
and diverse religious community who nurture and challenge each other to deeper understanding, meaning and purpose in our lives. We use our hearts and our heads (and a good deal of humor) to make a difference not only in our lives, but the lives of those beyond our doors. Learn more about our beliefs, our services, and our history in the About Us tab. Visitors are always welcomed to our worship services! |
Does it mean to be a People of Thresholds?
Every hero begins their journey in an ordinary time and place. And then something changes. Something happens. The ordinary is no longer possible. The hero is called to adventure – a daring, bold, new way of being full of danger and risks. Our natural response to such a call is to say “What? Who me? You have got to be kidding. I think I’ll just stay here in my nice warm bed.” But then some mentor type (think Gandalf, Fairy Godmother, Obi Wan Kenobi, your high school guidance counselor) says, “Oh come on, you can do it. Buck up and seek your fortune!” Then we, heroic fools that we are, say, “Aw, what the heck?” and cross over the threshold; moving from the safety of the known world into a perilous realm where rules and limits are unknown. Eventually, after a long, scary and unpleasantly exciting time in the unknown world (think Land of Oz, Dusk till Dawn, It’s a Wonderful Life, college) the hero returns home, transformed for the better, having found a fortune, or with new wisdom to live happily ever after (or at least until the sequel or prequel comes out). I cannot imagine that any of us are feeling particularly normal these days. We have left the land of the known and comfortable. We have crossed the threshold and entered the adventure we call pandemic land. We are separated from family, sequestered in our homes, eating what we can find, wondering about financial security, and living in fear. And it feels like we have been in this land of the uncertainty for a long time. It is scary and unpleasantly exciting. It is important to remember, though, that the threshold from the familiar into this land of uncertainty is only the first threshold on the hero’s journey. Heroes like us cross a second threshold when we leave the terrifying land of dragons, demons, and viruses to return home again. In other words, we have not completed our journey. We are still in the middle of the story. Our quest is to find our transformation, fortune and wisdom before we return to whatever home might be when get there. The hero does not want to go on the journey. Who wants to risk life and limb? Wouldn’t it be nicer to have some friends over for a little dinner party, hug your grandchildren and go to the movies like normal people? Of course it would. But that is not our journey… because today, we are heroes. Yours in faith and affection, Joan |
Our Vision
We will gather in loving community, creating a shared vision of compassion and dignity for all,
to radically transform the world in which we live.
We will gather in loving community, creating a shared vision of compassion and dignity for all,
to radically transform the world in which we live.
May Share the Plate: This month we are sharing our Sunday morning offerings with the Minister’s Discretionary Fund. People who are traditionally marginalized and oppressed in our community are suffering disproportionately from the effects of COVID-19. Your gifts will help by purchasing food, masks, gloves, utilities, shelter, and other necessities for those in need.