Faith In Uncertainty
Annual Theme: Rooted & Rising: Faith for a Changing World
In a time of global transformation, uncertainty, and awakening, our Unitarian Universalist tradition calls us to be both deeply rooted and boldly rising. This congregational year, Rooted & Rising: Faith for a Changing World invites us to explore how our spiritual lives, values, and communities can ground us while inspiring courageous action.
Monthly Reflection
Where am I clinging to certainty – and what might open if I allowed myself to live more fully in the unknown?
As the winds shift and the world continues to unravel and remake itself, we are called to practice faith – not as blind certainty, but as bold trust in the midst of not knowing. Faith in uncertainty is the courage to keep going when the path disappears in fog, to act even when the outcome is unclear. It is the quiet wisdom that lives in our bones, the ancestral whisper that says, you do not need to have all the answers to take the next step.
This month, we let go of the illusion of control, and lean into the mystery of becoming.
Significant Dates
- 10/01 Yom Kippor
- 10/11 National Coming Out Day
- 10/13 Indigenous Peoples (Columbus) Day
- 10/14 Black Entrepreneurs Day
- 10/17 Black Poetry Day
- 10/21 Multicultural Diversity Day
- 10/31 All Hallows Eve (Halloween)
- 10/31 Samhain
Celebrating Diversity: “Tales of Resistance: Global Queer Courage & Indigenous Wisdom”
As Unitarian Universalists, we affirm that Love is interdependence. By honoring global queer courage and Indigenous wisdom, we deepen our commitment to solidarity and to building a world where every story, every body, and every spirit can thrive.
Sunday Celebrations Overview
NOTE: BridgesUU does not host Sunday Celebrations. We offer resources including monthly and weekly blurbs, Celebration Outlines, Sunday Scripts, Musical Selections, Celebrating Our Youth Stories, Activies, and Resources, as well as, Multimedia Decks.
This month, we will explore how courage and love guide us when the path ahead is unclear. From honoring ordinary prophets to blessing our animal companions, from wrestling with the meaning of land acknowledgments to remembering our ancestors at the thinning of the veil, we root ourselves in tradition while rising into new possibilities.
Faith is not certainty – it is courage, trust, and love in the midst of the unknown. This month, we explore what it means to root ourselves in tradition, ritual, and relationship while rising to meet the uncertainty of our times. Through history, nature, justice, and mystery, we ask: How can faith guide us when the path ahead is unclear?
Sunday Celebrations
Sun, Oct 05, 2025 – “Ordinary Prophets”
Join us for a conversation about some of our greatest UU prophets who were not cloaked in robes or crowned with power, but walked among us as neighbors, friends, and fellow seekers. Following this conversation we will be having our usual extended check-in and discussion.
Sun, Oct 12, 2025 – “Blessing All Creatures”
We join in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, who saw all living beings as kin. This service celebrates the interdependence of all life and invites us to bring our animal companions for a Blessing of the Animals. We give thanks for the love, lessons, and joy our creaturely companions bring, and we reflect on how they help us navigate a world filled with both uncertainty and grace.
Sun, Oct 19, 2025 – “The Promise and the Problem of Land Acknowledgments”
Many congregations begin gatherings with land acknowledgments, but what does this practice really mean? Why is it important and why can it be complicated? Join us as we reflect on when land acknowledgments are faithful acts of justice and when they risk being empty gestures. Together, we will consider how this practice can deepen covenant and accountability with Indigenous peoples and the land itself.
Sun, Oct 26, 2025 – “When the Veil Grows Thin”
As autumn deepens, many traditions mark this season as a time when the boundary between the living and the dead is more porous. In this service, we honor All Hallows Eve, Samhain, and Día de los Muertos as we remember our ancestors and beloved dead. With candles, ritual, and story, we create space for both grief and gratitude, rooted in the mystery of life and death, and rising into love that transcends time.
Music
Each month we are creating our music that align with our theme for the month. All of our music is available for unlimited use by BridgesUU Covenanting Communities. If you are interested in becoming a BridgesUU Covenanting Community or licensing one of our songs, please let us know. We will be happy to provide sheet music as well as audio and video files.
“Faith is the Ever Rising Sun” by Paul Ermisch
Faith is the sun ever rising, as it shines, so do we
Faith is the fall of the night, as we dwell in mystery
As the world turns, changing every day,
We will walk with courage, come what may.
Trust in ourselves and each other,
In this changing world,
Joining hands in faith.
Faith is the touch of a hand, reaching out, warmly held.
Faith is the gathering of friends, in our hearts, where we dwell.
When we listen, deeply, without fear,
We find our boundless faith is always near.
In silence shared and stories told,
Faith weaves new threads
through patterns old.
Faith is belief in ourselves, growing still, growing strong.
Faith flows deep in our souls, like a stream, like a song.
As we journey life through paths unknown,
We find faith and never are alone.
Like an ever rising tide,
Filling up our hearts,
Faith is our guide.
Additional Musical Suggestions:
The following musical selections align with our theme for the month.
Singing the Living Tradition
- 193 “Our Faith is but a Single Gem”
- 368 “Now Let Us Sing”
- 396 “I Know This Rose Will Open”
Singing the Journey
- 1000 “Morning Has Come”
- 1014 “Answering the Call of Love”