Sundays at UUS

During Sunday services you will find diverse sources of wisdom in support of your personal spiritual journey, a call to love more broadly and actively, a joyous sense of community, and vibrant programs for children & youth.

Join the Sunday Live Stream

Every Sunday at 10:00 am

Join now
Past Messages

What to Expect

Weekend Services

You will find in our Sunday services that big questions are addressed, many sources of wisdom are used as guides, and there is no prescribed way to think. Our members have a range of religious perspectives and backgrounds, and they often report a sense of liberation at discovering a community that accepts them for who they are and encourages their growth without dogma or judgement.

Sunday Service

Sundays 10:00 am, in person and online

During Sunday service you will find diverse sources of wisdom in support of your personal spiritual journey, a call to love more broadly and actively, a joyous sense of community, and vibrant programs for children & youth.

Directions
Live Stream

What to Expect

Service Format & Content

At a typical service you will experience a sermon from our minister or a guest speaker, as well as hymns and songs, special music by choir or instrumentalists, readings from the pulpit, a story for all ages, time for quiet meditation or prayer, and an offering for a community partner. If you have attended worship at a protestant church, our service format will likely feel familiar.

The content of our services is very different from those of most other denominations. In particular, you may notice:

  • Our central religious symbol is chalice that we light to begin each service.
  • We do not rely on the Bible or any other single source for inspiration. You may hear a poem or quote from a contemporary book, a reading from Buddhist or Indigenous traditions, or a quote from a Black Lives Matter activist. Our themes are guided instead by our Unitarian Universalist principles and supported by a wide range of sources. Learn more about the Six Sources of our living tradition here.
  • We choose our words carefully in all parts of the service to be inclusive and to speak to each individual’s own spiritual journey. You may even recognize traditional hymns with revised lyrics to speak to a broader audience.
  • When we celebrate traditional Christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter, we focus on stories, teachings, and earth-centered rituals rather than on miracles.
  • Our time together is more focused on how we can build a better world in this lifetime than on salvation or an afterlife. As part of this commitment, our Sunday offering is donated each week to a local community organization.
  • Following service, everyone is invited to the Fellowship Hall for an informal social hour for conversation and refreshments. We also offer an online social hour via Zoom for those participating from home.

Families, Children & Youth

Everyone is welcome in our sanctuary regardless of their age and abilities, but we also have other spaces where children and their families can engage with services.

In our nursery, you’ll find that we have the service streaming on a monitor for young children (0-3) and their caregivers who may be more comfortable in that setting.  There is also a speaker in our RE Commons for families who would be more comfortable participating in service from that space.

Many Sundays after our “Time for All Ages,” children and youth are invited to our Religious Education classrooms where we read books, do crafts, and play games to engage with the monthly themes.  Preschoolers and kindergarteners are welcome to begin service in their classroom if a transition during service would be a struggle. During warmer days, we often engage with the various curricula by going outside.

Stop by the RE Welcome Table before service to chat with an RE team member and get a tour of our spaces.

Our family-friendly congregation also boasts:

  • Free childcare during service in our nursery for ages 0-3
  • Classroom activities for elementary aged children during service after the “Time for All Ages” segment
  • Teen youth group following service
  • Creativity kits for use during worship featuring crayons, markers, paper and fidget toys
  • Welcoming Space for children at the front of the Sanctuary featuring floor cushions, soft/quiet toys, activities, books and fidgets with nearby seating for caregivers
  • A table in the Sanctuary with writing and drawing supplies for people who would prefer to engage with service while taking notes or drawing
  • Nursing room for quiet feeding/changing space
  • Natural playscapes, gardens, and trails to explore as a family
  • Lego Table in the Fellowship Hall so all ages can enjoy social time after services

Join the UUS Families Facebook page to stay in the loop about events and activities. Contact our Director of Lifespan Religious Education (education@uusic.org) with questions about Sunday programming and how to participate.

Youth Sunday Programs

Sundays 10:00 Am

At UUS, we understand spirituality is a journey that starts young. Our Religious Education program provides an opportunity for children to ask questions, explore, and encourages connection to nature and others.

Learn More

Service Archive

Past Services

View past Sunday services below.

We carry many ancestors with us, both those whose of blood and those of spirit. Join us to celebrate the strength, hope, and resources that our ancestors give us, even as we reflect on their struggles. What do we hope to learn from our ancestors' lives that will help us become good ancestors? Rev. Diana Smith preaching. If you are a visitor, and would like to let us know you have participated in our service today, you are invited to fill out a UUS Visitor form: https://forms.gle/4tefFpSCjEXiSPnj9 For this October fifth Sunday, the offerings will benefit Iowa LEAP. Donate online at http://bit.ly/UUSPartner, or mail a check to UUS with “Iowa LEAP” on the memo line. You can also donate to the regular October Community Partner, the Domestic Violence Intervention Progam, by using the link above or mailing a check with "DVIP" on the memo line. If you'd like to make a gift or pledge payment to our Operating Budget, donate online at http://bit.ly/UUSOperating, text “GivetoUUSIC Operating” to 73256, or mail a check to the office with “operating” or “pledge” on the memo line.
UUS Sunday Service: "Honoring Our Ancestors, Becoming Ancestors," October 29th, 2023
How can each of us, whatever our circumstances, help cultivate a community where we cultivate and express care and compassion for each other in ways small and large? Join us as we celebrate cultivating compassion and care, and celebrate a new member welcome ceremony! Rev. Diana Smith preaching. If you are a visitor, and would like to let us know you have participated in our service today, you are invited to fill out a UUS Visitor form: https://forms.gle/4tefFpSCjEXiSPnj9 In October the Sunday offerings benefit the Domestic Violence Intervention Program (DVIP). Donate online at http://bit.ly/UUSPartner, or mail a check to UUS with “DVIP” on the memo line. If you'd like to make a gift or pledge payment to our Operating Budget, donate online at http://bit.ly/UUSOperating, text “GivetoUUSIC Operating” to 73256, or mail a check to the office with “operating” or “pledge” on the memo line.
UUS Sunday Service: "Cultivating Compassion, Making Space," October 22nd, 2023
Guest speaker CB Beal will return to us and continue the theme of being Love's Hands in the world by exploring how we respond to the Call of Love as part of a community in covenant one with another. If you are a visitor, and would like to let us know you have participated in our service today, you are invited to fill out a UUS Visitor form: https://forms.gle/4tefFpSCjEXiSPnj9 In October the offerings support the Domestic Violence Intervention Program (DVIP). Donate online at http://bit.ly/UUSPartner, or mail a check to UUS with “DVIP” on the memo line. If you'd like to make a gift or pledge payment to our Operating Budget, donate online at http://bit.ly/UUSOperating, text “GivetoUUSIC Operating” to 73256, or mail a check to the office with “operating” or “pledge” on the memo line.
UUS Sunday Service: "Love’s Hands: Covenant and Community," October 8th, 2023
The draft text for the proposed new Unitarian Universalist value of Gratitude reads: "We cultivate a spirit of gratitude and hope. We covenant to freely and compassionately share our faith, presence, and resources. Our generosity connects us to one another in relationships of interdependence and mutuality." Join us for an all-ages worship service where we'll explore what this could mean and how it could help us grow as Unitarian Universalists. After the worship service, we will have all ages religious education. Each month on the 3rd Sunday, after our All Ages worship service, there will be at least three diverse activities to choose from that will engage participants in the theme for the month: a discussion; an art, craft, or hands-on activity; and a music, meditation, and more activity. Rev. Diana Smith preaching. If you are a visitor, and would like to let us know you have participated in our service today, you are invited to fill out a UUS Visitor form: https://forms.gle/4tefFpSCjEXiSPnj9 In October the offerings support the Domestic Violence Intervention Program (DVIP). Donate online at http://bit.ly/UUSPartner, or mail a check to UUS with “DVIP” on the memo line. If you'd like to make a gift or pledge payment to our Operating Budget, donate online at http://bit.ly/UUSOperating, text “GivetoUUSIC Operating” to 73256, or mail a check to the office with “operating” or “pledge” on the memo line.
UUS Sunday Service: "Generosity," October 15th, 2023
Growing Our Story: Join us as UUS members Mary Kathryn Wallace, Alice Atkinson, and Peg Bouska share stories of how UUS has supported them in their journeys and how they're helping UUS grow our story. If you are a visitor, and would like to let us know you have participated in our service today, you are invited to fill out a UUS Visitor form: https://forms.gle/4tefFpSCjEXiSPnj9 In October the Sunday offerings benefit the Domestic Violence Intervention Program (DVIP). Donate online at http://bit.ly/UUSPartner, or mail a check to UUS with “DVIP” on the memo line. If you'd like to make a gift or pledge payment to our Operating Budget, donate online at http://bit.ly/UUSOperating, text “GivetoUUSIC Operating” to 73256, or mail a check to the office with “operating” or “pledge” on the memo line.
UUS Sunday Service: "Growing Our Story," October 1st, 2023
We'll kick off our annual stewardship campaign with a special worship service about the seeds of our heritage, our hopes for the future, and what we are bringing to growing our story as a congregation. Learn more about the stewardship campaign at https://uusic.org/2024-stewardship-campaign. Rev. Diana Smith preaching. If you are a visitor, and would like to let us know you have participated in our service today, you are invited to fill out a UUS Visitor form: https://forms.gle/4tefFpSCjEXiSPnj9 In September the offerings support Shelter House. Donate online at http://bit.ly/UUSPartner, or mail a check to UUS with “Shelter House” on the memo line. You can also donate to the regular July community Partner, Inside Out, by using the link above or mailing a check with "Inside Out" on the memo line. If you'd like to make a gift or pledge payment to our Operating Budget, donate online at http://bit.ly/UUSOperating, text “GivetoUUSIC Operating” to 73256, or mail a check to the office with “operating” or “pledge” on the memo line.
UUS Sunday Service: "Growing Our Story," September 24th, 2023
Join us for a special All Ages worship service as we explore UUS's Vision of Ministry for the 2023-24 congregational year: Cultivating welcoming, hospitality, and homecoming; Nourishing resilience; and Nourishing our congregation's health. We'll reflect on what this could mean in each of our lives and how we can help live into this vision of ministry as a congregation. We'll also begin exploring one of the open questions that the Board of Trustees will be discussing with the congregation this year. Rev. Diana Smith preaching. If you are a visitor, and would like to let us know you have participated in our service today, you are invited to fill out a UUS Visitor form: https://forms.gle/4tefFpSCjEXiSPnj9 In September the offerings support Shelter House. Donate online at http://bit.ly/UUSPartner, or mail a check to UUS with “Shelter House” on the memo line. You can also donate to the regular July community Partner, Inside Out, by using the link above or mailing a check with "Inside Out" on the memo line. If you'd like to make a gift or pledge payment to our Operating Budget, donate online at http://bit.ly/UUSOperating, text “GivetoUUSIC Operating” to 73256, or mail a check to the office with “operating” or “pledge” on the memo line. Please join us for our Open Questions discussion after the service. Use the link below or enter the meeting ID and passcode at zoom.us: Topic: Sept. 17th Open Questions Discussion Time: Sep 17, 2023 10:30 AM Central Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81620575900?pwd=MTI0QW4wMWVmSDAvVTBqOU1jUWdCUT09 Meeting ID: 816 2057 5900 Passcode: 760309
UUS Sunday Service: "Nourishing Resilience" September 17th, 2023
What is a congregation? How is the space we create here a counter-cultural one that creates more space for us to be who we are without cutting off parts of ourselves to get or keep access to privilge? How can we cultivate this kind of space for each other? Join us to explore and celebrate the many ways we can cultivate communities of welcome and belonging here at UUS and in the wider community. Rev. Diana Smith preaching. If you are a visitor, and would like to let us know you have participated in our service today, you are invited to fill out a UUS Visitor form: https://forms.gle/4tefFpSCjEXiSPnj9 In September the offerings support Shelter House. Donate online at http://bit.ly/UUSPartner, or mail a check to UUS with “Shelter House” on the memo line. You can also donate to the regular July community Partner, Inside Out, by using the link above or mailing a check with "Inside Out" on the memo line. If you'd like to make a gift or pledge payment to our Operating Budget, donate online at http://bit.ly/UUSOperating, text “GivetoUUSIC Operating” to 73256, or mail a check to the office with “operating” or “pledge” on the memo line.
UUS Sunday Service: "Welcome and Belonging" September 10th, 2023
“Life is all about balance, and I fall down putting my pants on.” We hear constant messaging about work-like balance and how we must work to live not live to work. What does that mean in today’s society where everything appears “on” 24/7. How do we ensure we are allowing for self-care and self-compassion? Tending to our spiritual and emotional needs as well as our financial? Is Capitalism driving detrimental and insistent messaging if as UUs we are called to create Beloved Community? Balance is important but perhaps the idea of doing-being should guide our desire to be present in the moment, not multi-tasking (which it’s actually not real) and being busy. This exploration will serve to dive into the idea of balance and what they might look like for everyone of us juggling multiple rolls, ideas, commitments and jobs today. Are we authentically showing up…how, where and when we need to have fulfilling lives of love, friendship and meaning or is the one with the most toys the winner. UUS member Quanda Hood preaching. If you are a visitor, and would like to let us know you have participated in our service today, you are invited to fill out a UUS Visitor form: https://forms.gle/4tefFpSCjEXiSPnj9 September's Offering donations will benefit Shelter House. Donate online at http://bit.ly/UUSPartner, or mail a check to UUS with “Shelter House” on the memo line. You can also donate to the regular July community Partner, Inside Out, by using the link above or mailing a check with "Inside Out" on the memo line. If you'd like to make a gift or pledge payment to our Operating Budget, donate online at http://bit.ly/UUSOperating, text “GivetoUUSIC Operating” to 73256, or mail a check to the office with “operating” or “pledge” on the memo line.
UUS Sunday Service: "Labor Day," September 3rd, 2023
Load More… Subscribe

Service on Sundays at 10; Mon-Thurs 9-4 By Appointment

2355 Oakdale Rd, Coralville, IA 52241

(123) 456-7891​