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 - April 2025

I am awed, proud, and delighted by the generosity of our congregation. The last two weeks’ offering baskets brought in $629 for the Stillwater Strong relief for wildfire victims. Our month-long Pledge Drive brought in a total of $71,935, 90% of our goal. Forty-six of our members and friends made pledges, and more are trickling in! We will follow up on the pledges with reminders. If you are unable to maintain your pledge, be sure to contact Lynn Little (Treasurer-uustw@gmail.com) to modify it. Your generosity is essential to the support of our church and speaks well for our UU Values. 

Attendance at church this month has been amazing! The parking lot has been overflowing, and we have had to add chairs to the sanctuary, but don’t worry – we still have room for everyone. Maybe the word is getting out: that we welcome everyone and share tolerance, respect, and love. 

The Monday evening classes on our UU Values: Justice, Equality, Transformation, Pluralism, Interdependence, and Generosity, all centered on Love, are going well. Discussion and sharing among the participants has been rewarding for all and has led to greater understanding of our UU Faith. I recommend this series to everyone, and remind you that you can join the class at any time (two sessions remaining). 

Finally, the first Sunday of next month is our Annual Meeting when we elect officers, approve the budget, and view our plans for the coming year. Please speak to any member of the Nominating Committee (Doug Williams, Tana Del Prete, Rebecca Brienen) or any Board Member if you are interested in participating next year as an officer, board member, or committee chair. We need you. 

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, April 6, 2025 - Rev. Donna Compton, "Filled with Loving Kindness"

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, April 13, 2025 - Rev. Catherine Shearer, TBA

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, April 20, 2025 - Reverend Susan Ross, "Earth Resurrection"

Can we turn climate change around? Can it turn us around? What (or who) needs resurrecting? Where and how does resurrection happen for us and for our blue boat home? 

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, April 27, 2025 - Rev. Mark Christian, “Can the Center Hold?”

The poet Yeats observed that the center cannot hold, predicting ensuing periods of chaos, having apocalyptic visions. And I’m wondering—CAN the center hold? Join us as I consider this and the times we live in. 

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. 

Announcements & Events

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

DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME BEGINS - Sunday, March 9, 2025

Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday, March 9th, so remember to set your clock forward one hour.

MARCH IS PLEDGE MONTH

This church exists because of your commitment of time, energy and resources. We request pledges in March because in April we create our proposed operating budget for the next fiscal year that will begin on July 1st. The proposed budget is finalized in April because we vote on it at the Annual Congregational Meeting on the first Sunday in May. You can complete a pledge form (available at the entrance to the Social Room) and place it in the red slotted lockbox. A sample is included at the end of this newsletter. It’s not interactive, but could be printed if you want.

FORUM MARCH 9

Dani Kirsch and Jaina Agan will lead a forum entitled, "Pronouns, Privilege and Progress: A Forum on LGBTQ+ Inclusion" at 12:30 on Sunday, March 9th. This forum will give us an opportunity to learn about LGBTQ+ identities, gender and sexuality, pronouns, and examine assumptions and privilege. Dani and Jaina will mention ways to get involved locally in Stillwater and in Oklahoma more broadly to support and advocate for LGBTQ+ individuals. There will also be ample time for questions.

SOCIAL ACTIVITY: ”IN YOUR EASTER BONNET" MARCH 15

Join us in the church social room on Saturday, March 15th from 1:00 to 3:00 to make Easter bonnets to wear on Easter Sunday, April 20. $15 per person. Everything will be provided to make a perky whimsy or a grand chapeau! (What will be provided: unadorned hats, ribbon, jewels, netting, and refreshments.)

STILLWATER TRASH-OFF MARCH 29

Help protect our watershed! Our Social Action Committee is assembling a group from our church to pick up trash in Stillwater's Annual Trash-Off on Saturday March 29th from 9:00 to noon. Groups will meet at Couch Park Pavilion 2. There is a sign up sheet in the Social Room for anyone interested in joining us. The City's Watershed Quality Division will provide work gloves, safety vests, and trash bags. And, anyone wishing to earn community service hours can get verified hours from this event.

CANVASS CELEBRATION

Promises made. Promises fulfilled. Thank you! Let's celebrate. Cake and ice cream after service on March 30th. Compliments of the fundraising committee.

RAISING VOICES CHOIR

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.