Welcome to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Stillwater

We invite you to look around and get a feel for our church. We are a Welcoming Congregation. You will not be pressured into conversation or membership. We welcome you just as you are. Our members, friends, and guests include Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Pagans, humanists, atheists, agnostics, skeptics, seekers, singles, couples, families, heterosexuals, gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people, of different races, ethnic backgrounds, national origins and socio-economic circumstances.

If you're not currently a member of our church - we'd like to take this opportunity to invite you to one of our weekly services and/or covenant groups.

President’s Message - June 2025

June is bustin’ out all over. The flowers are blooming, and everything is green. Get ready for some good times. This month Lynn and John Little have invited us out to enjoy their pool, with fun, games, and refreshment on June 21st, to celebrate the Summer Solstice. There will be a Meaningful Movies Night and maybe we’ll even have some more Bocce Ball out back of the church. In July we start our 2025-26 Fiscal Year. I’m still looking for people to help with audio/ video, webpage, and social media. A teenager who likes electronics, computers, Youtube and social media would be great, but an older person who likes to try new things would be great, too. During the summer we expect to install our new AV system that will improve the sound in the sanctuary and really improve our social media presence. For this, technical savvy is not as important as dependability. This month please look for an email from the UU Church inviting you to put information into a personal profile. This invite comes from me, using new software called CHmeetings. When you fill out your profile, the information will go into a church database to aid in organizing, donating, and communicating. You get to determine how much information is in the database and how it can be used. The software includes an app for a personal portal on your cell phone to keep you in touch with other members and keep you current on what is happening at the church. I’ll have more on that later. 

Mike Smolen

Sunday Service 

Sunday services begin at 10:30 and generally conclude before noon. Services are followed by socializing and a smorgasbord of different foods, arranged with minimal planning. If you prefer to watch the service online, we share it by Facebook Live at  https://www.facebook.com/uuchstillwater . From Facebook, you will not be able to see the Trail Markers portion of the service or interact with others, but everything else is the same.

Sunday, June 1, 2025 - Rev. Donna Compton, "Acceptance vs. Complacency"

Cultivating acceptance as a spiritual exercise is not the same as accepting everything, forever. How can we continue a centered acceptance in times that call for change and action? Let’s talk. 

Reverend Donna Compton, M. Div. is an ordained Disciples of Christ minister. Ecumenism and Interfaith advocacy have been important themes in her ministry. She preaches for us every other first Sunday. 

Sunday, June 8, 2025 - Rev. Catherine Shearer, "Loving it All?!?" 

Reverend Shearer is an ordained Disciples of Christ minister and a psychotherapist in Oklahoma City. She speaks in our pulpit on the second Sunday of each month. 

Sunday, June 15, 2025 - Rev. Susan Ross, "Can UUs Be Saved?

What do people mean when they talk about (in a spiritual sense) "being saved"? Does it have to mean that? Can it/does it/should it happen to or for UU folk? 

Reverend Ross, ordained as a United Methodist minister, is our pastoral care minister and speaks on the third and fifth Sundays of the month. She also works for the Stillwater Public Library. 

Sunday, June 22, 2025 - Rev. Mark Christian, "Sign, Symbol and Substance"

Trying to find the substance behind all the smoke and fury and fire is a challenge these days. How do we identify signs and symbols and understand the substance they are focusing on? 

Reverend Christian is a third generation Unitarian Universalist and speaks to us on the fourth Sundays and alternate first Sundays. He has served congregations in OKC and in Las Cruces NM, prior to moving to Stillwater. Before his career in ministry he had a career in radio broadcasting. 

Sunday, June 29, 2025 - Rev. Susan Ross, "Practice, Practice, Practice"

What are those things called spiritual disciplines or spiritual practices? Can you just make them up? What good are they? 

Reverend Ross, ordained as a United Methodist minister, is our pastoral care minister and speaks on the third and fifth Sundays of the month. She also works for the Stillwater Public Library. 

Announcements & Events

Information about upcoming special events can be found under the "What's Happening" section. See Upcoming Events. 

RAISING VOICES CHOIR May 3 - June 14

Raising Voices is seeking singers, volunteers, board members and donors. This organization provides a supportive choral community for persons living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Cognitive decline can be isolating for those experiencing it as well as their loved ones. For eight Saturdays, April 26th to June 14th, the Raising Voices Choir will be singing once a week from 1:00 to 3:00 at Modella Art Gallery. Ultimately, the choir will be composed of 1/3 singers with dementia, 1/3 their care partners, and 1/3 community volunteers. They are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Please help spread the word about Raising Voices! Go to raisingvoicesok.com

Upcoming Covenant Groups

Information about each of our covenant groups can be found in "Our Gatherings" section.

Reports and other Items of Interest

Report on October 2024 Congregational Retreat 

Pastoral Care

Struggling? Need help? Or maybe you know someone who does? No question about it--it's a difficult time right now. Our Care Committee and Rev. Susan Ross, our Pastoral Care Minister, are still available to help you with whatever difficulties you're facing. We're only a phone call away! And if you are having trouble attending the Zoom services or Zoom meetings, we can try to help you get connected. Please contact us: Rev. Susan Ross: or 405-714-0064 or Susan Bullard (co-chair with Mia Owens): or 405-742-6529.

There are times when people aren’t sure if it is appropriate to contact the Pastoral Minister, or they are concerned that they may be interrupting something. Please know that the needs and concerns of the members and friends of this congregation are important to me. That is what the Pastoral Care Minister’s work is all about! The following is a list of occasions when it might be appropriate to contact me:

1) When you don’t know her but would like to.

2) When you have problems you’d like to discuss, job, children, marriage or anything else where a sympathetic ear might be of help.

3) When you are going into the hospital, or when someone close to you is going in, or when you know of someone else in the church going in.

4) When someone close to you has died or is critically ill.

5) When you are planning on getting married.

6) When you would like to have your child or children dedicated.

7) When you would like to know more about Unitarian Universalism.

8) When you are considering joining the church.

9) When you would like to help in committee work or join a covenant group.

10) When it is the middle of the night, and you are in some sort of trouble and you don’t know who else to call.”

Some of these are a little different for me (like numbers 7 & 8), since my background and training is United Methodist rather than UU. But I know who to ask about those, or who to refer you to! And, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected how I am able to respond to the other concerns. I do, however, still want to respond: we could talk on the phone, Facetime, communicate by email, or do a Zoom talk. And there are needs that will no doubt come up at this time that aren't on this list: when you are needing a break from only talking to yourself or your pets, or a break from talking to your family; when you are struggling with fears or doubts about the situation we are in, when you need help with something, when you know of needs that the Pastor's Emergency Fund might help meet.

Also, if you are interested in trying to be a part of, or at least listen to, the services we are now trying to make happen on Sunday mornings, and can't figure out how to do that, let me know and I will do my best to help. You can be a part of that service, or listen to it, by phone (audio only), by smart phone with audio and visual, by computer, and by tablet. And I think we are trying to have a recorded version of it available afterwards as well.