Join us for Sunday Services at 10:30 a.m.
Special Services
Weddings, Child Dedications and Memorial Services
Unitarian Universalism, like other world religions, celebrates special occasions and life passages, and each UU congregation has its own unique ways of doing so. We share our joys and sorrows, supporting one another through difficulty and success. From birth to death, our congregations help us live with deeper gratitude, greater connection, and more reverence for life.
Weddings
Our custom-made weddings and memorial services honor the people involved by reflecting their unique personalities and values. Clergy work closely with couples and loved ones to design these very special events.
Because of our strong respect for each person's beliefs and values, each wedding is custom-crafted with a couple to reflect participants’ personalities and relationship. You are welcome to ask your own minister to officiate, or ask ours. Our officiate is William S. Coker (Bill), an ordained minister in the Universal Life Church since 2004. Unitarian Universalists’ respect and our flexibility enable our ministers to be skilled officiants for interfaith weddings, atheist weddings, and weddings for those with diverse beliefs, including non-traditional gender identifications.
Child Dedications
Rather than holding Christian-style baptisms or christenings, most Unitarian Universalist congregations have child dedication ceremonies for infants and children.
Child dedications have several interrelated meanings:
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We welcome children into the world, and into the religious community, by formally giving them their name
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We dedicate children to the highest ideals of life
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The congregation dedicates itself to supporting the parents/guardians and the child/ren, as the child/ren grows up
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We rededicate ourselves to creating a more sane and just world, a world in which all children are welcomed and may thrive.
Child dedication ceremonies are usually crafted by the parents, the congregation's minister, and religious educator working closely together. Many will include the following elements:
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A blessing for the new life of the child
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An expression of the parent or parents' hopes for the child
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A promise by the congregation to support and nurture the child
Memorials
Services to honor loved ones who have passed on are often very personal occasions. In Unitarian Universalist congregations, these services are developed by the family of the deceased and the presiding minister to specially honor the memory of that individual. The service might include the following elements:
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A eulogy
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Poems and other readings
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Prayer or meditation
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A time to remember the deceased with stories and memories
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Hymn singing or other music
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A time for personal reflections
When you are ready for a tour of the building and would like to discuss your plans, contact Bill Coker at 563-212-5784 for a tour or more information, or refer to Renting Space for more information.
