Thematic Ministry

NEW THEMES COMING IN SEPTEMBER 2025!

 

Each monthly theme plays a part in the development of a well-grounded religious and spiritual life. These topics are selected so that, cumulatively, month after month, year after year, spiritual understanding matures and develops, lending greater meaning and depth to all aspects of our congregational life (and, indeed, our lives apart from our congregation).

The themes provide us with a set of common stories and ideas that become elements of our ongoing community conversation. Be warned: Seriously engaging these themes significantly risks transforming your life!

PURPOSE

To engage and empower First Unitarian Church of Des Moines and its members to think theologically and live our ministry and calling at home and in the wider world — thereby also strengthening the Unitarian Universalist network of congregations so engaged and empowered.

THE BASICS

The monthly theme is the focus of church life and programming across the lifespan.

Each theme offers language, symbols and metaphors on the theme. The congregation is offered multiple ways to engage the themes through worship, classes, small groups, newsletter articles, spiritual homework, and at-home family practices.

IMPORTANCE

  1. Religious Competence. Explorations of the monthly themes helps UUs develop a common language of faith, competency in the liberal theology, and liberal religious resources for dealing with tough times loss, betrayal, addiction, evil, tragedies and personal crises. We will all face such times, and it’s better to develop the coping resources before we are in the midst of them.
  2. Integrating Worship, RE, and Small Groups. Coordination between the Sunday school programming for children and what is being discussed by the adults in worship and small groups enhances community building and intergenerational religious learning.

HOW TO TAKE PART

  1. Attend the service on the first Sunday of each month. Of course, we encourage attendance at every service, but on the first Sunday of the month (and sometimes on subsequent Sundays) the minister’s sermon will explore the theme, and the story for all ages that day will introduce the theme for our children and youth.
  2. Take up a journaling practice. (If you don’t already have a journaling practice, to get started try an internet search for “how to journal.”) Your journal allows you to reflect in various ways – for instance, we recommend beginning each daily entry with gratitude’s: listing three unique things that happened in the previous 24 hours for which you are grateful. Then, on some days each month, reflect on the monthly theme.
  3. Join a small group where you can discuss the themes in more depth and connect with others!
  4. Other church programming, such as our affinity groups or theological-identity groups, may also choose to orient their meetings to touch upon aspects of the monthly theme from their diverse perspectives.

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