All Services

Here are all our previous service posts; some are the full text of the service.

Black and white image of fish and birds blending into each other

Sunday, 19 May 2024: The Artist At Work - My mother’s name will only appear in texts or in conversations because she was my mother — the mother of a man who inexplicably became famous. I want you to know, however, that my mother was a great artist, a powerful artist who poured creativity and ingenuity and brilliance into raising her children, infusing us … Continue reading

Sunday, 12 May 2024: Seeing - I put on my newly acquired and still frustrating reading glasses and lament my middle-aged vision. The words on the page float in and out of focus. How is it possible that I can no longer see what was once so plain? My fruitless strain to see what I know is right in front of … Continue reading

Sunday 5 May 2024: Church! What Is It Good For? - People who have never been Unitarian Universalists often ask me why we bother with the whole church thing. Buildings and ministers are expensive. Committees and classes and Sunday services are time-consuming. And for what? Our churches don’t promise to take us to heaven. At the end of the day, we’re going to make up our … Continue reading

Sunday, 28 April 2024: Margaret Fuller’s Transcendentalist “Credo” - [Margaret Fuller] was a leading light among the Transcendentalists. While for much of America Transcendentalism was a literary explosion, in fact it was a religious revolution. Birthed within Boston and the immediate surrounding areas among Unitarians, clergy and laypeople, Transcendentalism’s influences have continued to this day. James Ford We are currently having a full service … Continue reading

Sunday, 21 April 2024: Ready-Made Religion - … just as some of us understand that when we are trying to buy a new dress or suit, the ready-made cuts and sizes are never going perfectly to fit us, some of us also understand that the ready-made religions are never going perfectly fit us either, and that something more fitting can be made. … Continue reading

Sunday, 14 April 2024: Ocean Parable - However, sometimes, whilst we are flailing away, we have all experienced “times when waves overtake us from behind, lifting us up and along” and from these moments, Bugbee says “we may take courage and be thankful.” But our new-found courage and thankfulness can all too easily and quickly morph into the delusional thought that, somehow, … Continue reading

Sunday April 7, 2024: Flower Ceremony - Please bring flowers to share in the service. Whatever is blooming, or a twig in bud, is fine. Everyone is invited to lunch at Robert and Lisa’s house after the service; ham, potato salad, and rolls will be provided. Other dishes to share are welcome. We will have our Flower Ceremony, which was created by … Continue reading

Datura wrightii flower opening, pure white with pinkish highlights in a silky pinwheel

Sunday, 31 March 2024: Building Your Own Theology, Volume 2, Session 10 - Touch not my lips with the white fireFrom the glowing altar of some peaceful shrine.Thrust not into my hands the scroll of wisdomGleaned through the patient toil of the centuries;Give me no finished chart that I may followWithout effort or the bitter taste of tears.I do not crave the comfort of the ancient creeds,Nor the … Continue reading

Sunday, 24 March 2024: Building Your Own Theology, Volume 2, Session 10 - I call that mind free, which sets no bounds to its love, which is not imprisoned in itself or in a sect, which recognises in all human beings the image of God and the rights of his children, which delights in virtue and sympathises with suffering wherever they are seen, which conquers pride, anger, and … Continue reading

Ancient stone tomb called Trethevy Quoit, near Tremar Coombe, Cornwall

Sunday, 17 March 2024: Building Your Own Theology, Volume 2, Session 9 - Persons are part of the everyday world with which science is concerned, and the conditions which determine their existence are discoverable. A drop of water is not immortal; it can be resolved into oxygen and hydrogen. If, therefore, a drop of water were to maintain that it had a quality of aqueousness which would survive … Continue reading

Sunday, 10 March 2024: Building Your Own Theology, Volume 2, Session 8 - Is this to say that suffering is indispensable to the discovery of meaning? In no way. I only insist that meaning is available in spite of – nay, even through – suffering, provided, … that the suffering is unavoidable. If it is avoidable, the meaningful thing to do is to remove its cause, for unnecessary … Continue reading

Sunday March 3 2024: Saving Daylight - “Beginning with the first day of Daylight Savings Time, those entering the contest must begin saving daylight. Those who save the most daylight by midnight of the last day of Daylight Savings Time will be awarded a prize.” “Only pure daylight is allowed. No pre-dawn light or twilight will be accepted. Daylight on cloudy days … Continue reading

Sunday, 25 February 2024: Building Your Own Theology, Volume 2, Session 7 - From the beginning the weakness as well as the strength of the democratic ideal has been the people. People cannot be free unless they are willing to sacrifice some of their interests to guarantee the freedom of others. The price of democracy is the ongoing pursuit of the common good by all of the people. … Continue reading

Sunday, 18 February 2024: Building Your Own Theology, Volume 2, Session 6 - A homogeneous community, one exhibiting almost total similarities of taste, habit, custom and behavior is culturally dead, aside from being downright boring. New and different life styles, habits and customs are the lifeblood of America. They are its strength, its growth force. Just as diversity strengthens and enriches the country as a whole, so will … Continue reading

Sunday, 11 February 2024: Building Your Own Theology, Volume 2, Session 5 - If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy … Continue reading

Sunday, 4 February 2024: Love Is Too Strong a Word - In 1984, Kurt Vonnegut asked what makes us so bloodthirsty, in the Ware Lecture "Love Is Too Strong a Word" at the Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly. Vonnegut was a third-generation Unitarian, and great-grandson of a founder of the Freethinker’s Society of Indianapolis. We will hear a tape of his lecture, which is still startlingly topical today.

Sunday, 28 January 2024: Building Your Own Theology, Volume 2, Session 4 - “Do you believe in the soul?” It wasn’t quite the question he had been going to ask, and it took him by surprise to hear it coming from his mouth. He had intended to say something less direct, but there was nothing less direct that he could say. “Depends. Back in my day, we had … Continue reading

Sunday, 21 January 2024. No Service - Because of the cold weather and apparent road problems here tomorrow morning, we have decided to cancel tomorrow’s service and again postpone this week’s session of Building Your Own Theology until next week. We hope everyone stays warm and safe, and that we will see you all next week. We expect to return next Sunday, … Continue reading

Sunday, 21 January 2024: Building Your Own Theology, Volume 2, Session 4 - Strange! that no one has ever been persecuted by the church for believing God bad, while hundreds of millions have been destroyed for thinking him good. The orthodox church never will forgive the Universalist for saying “God is love.” It has always been considered as one of the very highest evidences of true and undefiled … Continue reading

Sunday, 14 January 2024. No Service - Because of the developing weather situation, we have canceled our service and RE session for Sunday 14 January 2024. We expect to return next Sunday, 21 January. Thank you.

Sunday, 14 January 2024: Building Your Own Theology, Volume 2, Session 4 - Strange! that no one has ever been persecuted by the church for believing God bad, while hundreds of millions have been destroyed for thinking him good. The orthodox church never will forgive the Universalist for saying “God is love.” It has always been considered as one of the very highest evidences of true and undefiled … Continue reading

Sunday, 7 January 2024: Building Your Own Theology, Volume 2, Session 3 - My text this morning is taken from no Hebrew Scriptures, whether of the Old or New Testaments. America is every whit as sacred as Judea. God is as near to you and to me, as ever he was to Moses, to Jesus, or to Paul. Wherever a human soul is born into the love of … Continue reading

Sunday, December 31, 2023 - Potluck Brunch! New Year’s Potluck Brunch! We are continuing our tradition of a brunch on the Sunday after Christmas. Bring food to share, or just bring yourself! There will be a Zoom session, if you can’t attend in person, where we will share the conversation but sadly not the food. Come and join us at … Continue reading

Sunday, December 24, 2023: People, Look East - People, look east. The time is nearOf the crowning of the year.Make your house fair as you are able,Trim the hearth and set the table.People, look east and sing today:Love, the guest, is on the way. Please join us at 10:30 on Christmas Eve for a service of songs and readings. And stay after for … Continue reading

Sunday, 17 December 2023: Building Your Own Theology, Volume 2, Session 2 - See, our differences are our strengths. We have got to pull together. In athletics, we know it. See, divided teams lose; united teams win. We have got to unite and pull together, and there’s nothing we can’t do. But if we sit around blowing all this energy out the window on racial strife and hatred, … Continue reading

Sunday, 10 December 2023: Building Your Own Theology, Volume 2, Session 1 - Almost every sect, that has ever been, makes Christianity rest on the personal authority of Jesus, and not the immutable truth of the doctrines themselves, or the authority of God, who sent him into the world. Yet it seems difficult to conceive any reason, why moral and religious truths should rest for their support on … Continue reading

Sunday 3 December 2023: First Sunday in Advent - — J.R.R. Tolkien, “On Fairy-Stories” (1938) This Sunday we will be entering the Christmas holiday season. We will be talking a bit more generally about the winter holidays and the coming year. We will also consider how we need to proceed with services through this month and the coming new year. We will open with … Continue reading

Sunday 26 November 2023: Building Your Own Theology, Session 10 - Whilst we compose a Catechism, we prescribe nothing to any man: whilst we declare our own opinions, we oppress no one. Let every person enjoy the freedom of his own judgment in religion; only let it be permitted to us also to exhibit our view of divine things, without injuring and calumniating others. For this … Continue reading

Great Blue Heron striding along a drifting log in Reelfoot Lake State Park, Tennessee

Sunday 19 November 2023: Building Your Own Theology, Session 9 - I do believe in the priesthood of all believers, and I do believe in the worth and the valor of all artists, and we are all artists. There is clearly a hierarchy, and one does not confuse the brilliant child whose work hangs on the refrigerator with Picasso, but you praise the child and you … Continue reading

Sunday 12 November 2023: Building Your Own Theology, Session 8 - There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born till the moment you die is a process of learning. Learning has no end and that is the timeless quality of learning. And you … Continue reading

Sunday 5 November 2023: Building Your Own Theology, Session 7 - That perennial question, “Does the end justify the means?” is meaningless as it stands; the real and only question regarding the ethics of means and ends is, and always has been, “Does this particular end justify this particular means?” — Saul D. Alinsky, Rules for Radicals: A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals (1971) This Sunday … Continue reading

Sunday 29 October 2023: Building Your Own Theology, Session 7 - That perennial question, “Does the end justify the means?” is meaningless as it stands; the real and only question regarding the ethics of means and ends is, and always has been, “Does this particular end justify this particular means?” — Saul D. Alinsky, Rules for Radicals: A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals (1971) This Sunday … Continue reading

Sunday 22 October 2023: Building Your Own Theology, Session 6 - Our age is retrospective. It builds the sepulchres of the fathers. It writes biographies, histories, and criticism. The foregoing generations beheld God and nature face to face; we, through their eyes. Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe? Why should not we have a poetry and philosophy of insight and … Continue reading

Sunday 15 October 2023: Building Your Own Theology, Session 5 - My text this morning is taken from no Hebrew Scriptures, whether of the Old or New Testaments. America is every whit as sacred as Judea. God is as near to you and to me, as ever he was to Moses, to Jesus, or to Paul. Wherever a human soul is born into the love of … Continue reading

Sunday 8 October 2023: Building Your Own Theology, Session 4 - At every moment you choose yourself. But do you choose your self? Body and soul contain a thousand possibilities out of which you can build many ‘I’s. But in only one of them is there a congruence of the elector and the elected. Only one — which you will never find until you have excluded … Continue reading

Sunday 1 October 2023: Building Your Own Theology, Session 3 - To know or tell the origin of the other divinities is beyond us, and we must accept the traditions of the men of old time who affirm themselves to be the offspring of the gods — that is what they say — and they must surely have known their own ancestors. How can we doubt … Continue reading

Sunday 24 September 2023: No Service - Hope is not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out. — Václav Havel There will be no service, either in person or on ZOOM, on Sunday, 24 September 2023. We look forward to … Continue reading

Sunday 17 September 2023: Building Your Own Theology, Session 2 - The need of reason is not inspired by the quest for truth but by the quest for meaning. And truth and meaning are not the same. The basic fallacy, taking precedence over all specific metaphysical fallacies, is to interpret meaning on the model of truth. — Hannah Arendt, The Life of the Mind This Sunday … Continue reading

Sunday 10 September 2023: Building Your Own Theology, Session 1 - Theologians have argued that we are justified — saved — by faith, by works, by character. What does justify our existence in the short years allotted to us? What is the purpose of humankind? What are our purposes? Do we really want to be saved? This Sunday we will begin our religious education program with … Continue reading

Sunday, September 3, 2023: Deegan and Hinkle Lakes, Bridgeport - Little Blue Heron at Deegan & Hinkle Lakes Park We have Spiritual Outings on the first Sunday of each month during the summer and into the winter. For this year’s September outing, we will return to Deegan & Hinkle Lakes Park in Bridgeport for a celebration of nature, fellowship, and the beginning of autumn on … Continue reading

No Sunday Service Until September - We are taking a break in our services. There will be NO Sunday service, either in person or on ZOOM, until September 2023. We are on hiatus for the summer. We will return to weekly meetings in September, beginning with a Spiritual Outing on Sunday September 3. We are planning a weekly service of meditation … Continue reading

Sunday, June 4, 2023: Valley Falls State Park - We have Spiritual Outings on the first Sunday of each month during the summer. For this year’s second outing, we will gather for a celebration of the beginning of summer, flowers, and the challenges of fellowship, June 4, at Valley Falls State Park — picnic and hiking on the banks of the Tygart Valley River. … Continue reading

Sunday, 28 May 2023: No Sunday Service This Week - I do believe in the priesthood of all believers, and I do believe in the worth and the valor of all artists, and we are all artists. There is clearly a hierarchy, and one does not confuse the brilliant child whose work hangs on the refrigerator with Picasso, but you praise the child and you … Continue reading

Sunday, May 21, 2023: Annual Meeting - This Sunday is our Annual Meeting. We will gather at 10:00 for coffee, check-ins and informal discussion, and the Annual Meeting will begin at 10:30. Everyone is invited to participate in the discussion; decisions are by consensus of members. If you’d like, bring a snack to share. Annual Business Meeting. The annual business meeting shall … Continue reading

Sunday 14 May 2023: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - From ancient times – the Buddha, Greek philosophy, Jesus, modern philosophers and psychologists, and current happiness research, we have been told that pursuing happiness doesn’t work. This Sunday Lisa deGruyter will talk about how pursuing happiness causes suffering, and what works instead. Please Join us for Worship. Our services are Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Eastern … Continue reading

Sunday, 7 May 2023: Watters Smith Memorial State Park - We have Spiritual Outings on the first Sunday of each month during the summer. For this year’s first outing, we will gather for a celebration of spring, flowers, and the challenges of labor history on Sunday, May 7, at Watters Smith Memorial State Park. There will be no ZOOM session this Sunday. We will meet … Continue reading

Sunday 30 April 2023: But How Do We Fit In? - We hear much about the importance of preserving the environment, preserving the natural world in contrast to the world that has been created by human actions. But aren’t people part of the natural world, too? This Sunday Robert Helfer will contemplate the idea of “nature” and consider our place in it. Please Join us for … Continue reading

Sunday, 23 April 2023: Enlightment Now - Part of working for equity and justice is to try and make more of life’s goodnesses available to everyone. Over time, if we squelch and reject those goods, not only is life miserable for us, we make it really difficult for us to participate in society, be friends or coworkers, love anyone, or keep up … Continue reading

Sunday, 16 April 2023: Solitude - Not all people are called to be hermits, but all people need enough silence and solitude in their lives to enable the deep inner voice of their own true self to be heard at least occasionally. — Thomas Merton (modified slightly) Each of us needs to make space for the “still small voice” of our … Continue reading

Sunday April 9, 2023: Flower Ceremony - Please bring flowers to share. Whatever is blooming, or a twig in bud, is fine. We will have our Flower Ceremony, which was created by Dr. Norbert Čapek for the Liberal Religious Fellowship he founded in Prague, then Czechoslavakia, in 1925, and which became the largest Unitarian Church in the world. He sought a ceremony … Continue reading

Sunday, 2 April, 2023: Our Universalist Roots - The early Universalist Hosea Ballou said “Man, being not only a religious, but also a social being, requires for the promotion of his rational happiness religious institutions, which, while they give a proper direction to devotion, at the same time make a wise, and profitable improvement of his social feelings.” Universalism has a long history … Continue reading

Sunday, 19 March 2023: No Sunday Service This Week - I do believe in the priesthood of all believers, and I do believe in the worth and the valor of all artists, and we are all artists. There is clearly a hierarchy, and one does not confuse the brilliant child whose work hangs on the refrigerator with Picasso, but you praise the child and you … Continue reading

Sunday, 12 March 2023: No Sunday Service This Week - He was a lonely ghost uttering a truth that nobody would ever hear. But so long as he uttered it, in some obscure way the continuity was not broken. It was not by making yourself heard but by staying sane that you carried on the human heritage. He went back to the table, dipped his … Continue reading

Sunday, 5 March 2023: We Are One - Welcome before Prelude Good morning and welcome to West Fork Unitarian Universalists. I’m Lisa and I feel blessed to serve this congregation as a lay leader. I’m glad to see all of you here today.Thank you for joining us.Let us use the prelude for centering. We are about to enter sacred time. We are about … Continue reading

Sunday, 5 March 2023: We Are One - The seeming lack of animation and organization in earth, air, liquids, and metals is, as Leibniz guessed long ago, an illusion of our senses. Furthermore, the strict determinism of classical physics is now seriously challenged or rejected by many, perhaps most, physicists. For all we can know, when an atom of uranium turns into an … Continue reading

Love is an action, Never simply a feeling. -- Bell Hooks

Sunday, 26 February, 2023: On Love and Loving - To begin by always thinking of love as an action rather than a feeling is one way in which anyone using the word in this manner automatically assumes accountability and responsibility. We are often taught we have no control over our “feelings.” Yet most of us accept that we choose our actions, that intention and … Continue reading

Sunday, 19 February, 2023: Weighing Principles - The good thing about principles is that they make life easy. I have heard it said that when someone bases his life on principle, 99 percent of his decisions are already made. — Dave Ramsey, Total Money Makeover But will principles always lead us to good decisions? Are there never conflicts? If there are conflicts, … Continue reading

Sunday, 12 February 2023: What is love and how might we practice it? - Without saying it in so many words, often the thread holding all our thoughts and activities together is: “What’s in it for me?” We wonder how we can survive, get ahead, win, succeed , overcome, take over, grab something, be recognized, appreciated, rewarded…you name it, the list is endless. In lojong practice, the idea is … Continue reading

Sunday, January 29, 2023: Personal Centering Practices - This Sunday, Phoebe Durst will present a service on “Exploring Personal Centering Practices.” We will also have some time to share our own experiences with centering. Please Join us for Worship. Our services are Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time on ZOOM and in person at the Progressive Women’s Association Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in … Continue reading

Sunday, January 22, 2023 - “When someone deeply listens to you, your bare feet are on the earth and a beloved land that seemed distant is now at home within you.” – John Fox This Sunday, John Hall will present a service on finding our center within the first principle titled, “The Challenge of the First Principle.” Please Join us … Continue reading

Silver cup with skeletons of Greek poets and philosophers; Epicurean

Sunday, 15 January 2023: Epicurean Practices - Luxurious food and drinks, in no way protect you from harm. Wealth beyond what is natural, is no more use than an overflowing container. Real value is not generated by theaters, and baths, perfumes or ointments, but by philosophy. Epicurus, from the esplanade wall at Oenoanda, now in Turkey, as recorded by Diogenes of Oenoanda … Continue reading

Sunday, January 8, 2022 - “An epiphany enables you to sense creation not as something completed, but as constantly becoming, evolving, ascending. This transports you from a place where there is nothing new to a place where there is nothing old, where everything renews itself, where heaven and earth rejoice as at the moment of creation.” – Abraham Isaac Kook … Continue reading

Sunday, January 1, 2023 - Potluck Brunch! New Year’s Potluck Brunch! We are resuming our tradition of a brunch on the Sunday after Christmas, resuming this year after two years of Zoom. Bring food to share, or just bring yourself! There will be a Zoom session, if you can’t attend in person, where we will share the conversation but sadly … Continue reading

Sunday, December 25, 2021: NO SERVICE - We are taking Sunday, December 25, off. There will be no Zoom service and no in-person service, while we celebrate with family and friends. Please join us January 1, 2023, when we will have our traditional Sunday after Christmas brunch, also available on Zoom (minus the shared food, unfortunately.). We have resumed in person services, … Continue reading

Sunday, December 18, 2022: Joy to the World - No more let sins and sorrows grow,Nor thorns infest the groundLet righteousness its glories showAs far as love is foundFar as the love is found,Far as the love is found,Far as, far as, the love is found. In these dark times, there will be singing. We will gather to light a candle and look forward … Continue reading

Sunday, December 11th, 2022: “They Should Have Sent a Poet” - Exploring the Power of Poetry in UU History

Sunday, December 4, 2022 - “Wonder is where love begins, but the failure to wonder is the beginning of violence. Once people stop wondering about others, once they no longer see others as part of them, they disable their instinct for empathy. And once they lose empathy, they can do anything to them, or allow anything to be done to … Continue reading

Sunday, 20 November 2022: Seven Pillars of Wisdom? - Wisdom has built her house;she has set up its seven pillars.She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine;she has also set her table.She has sent out her servants, and she callsfrom the highest point of the city,“Let all who are simple come to my house!” — Proverbs 9:1-4 (New International Version) Unitarian Universalist congregations … Continue reading

Sunday, 14 November, 2022: Stoic Practices - stoic: a person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining Oxford Language stoic: one apparently or professedly indifferent to pleasure or pain Miriam-Webster When considering the doctrines of the Stoics, it is important to remember that they think of philosophy not as an interesting pastime or even a particular body … Continue reading

Sunday, 6 November 2022: Planning and Brunch - “What’s the point of coming to this free religious church?” I say we come, firstly, to live our deepest questions so as to allow the meaning of our lives slowly to dawn upon us, and, secondly and equally importantly, to rehumanize ourselves through wit, decorum, story-telling, fellowship, conversation, courtesy, and sociability, so as be able … Continue reading

Sunday, 30 October 2022: The Veil - There was a Door to which I found no Key; There was a Veil past which I could not see: Some little talk awhile of ME and THEE There seemed — and then no more of THEE and ME. — Edward FitzGerald, translation of a poem attributed to Omar Khayyam We are told that there … Continue reading

Sunday, October 23, 2022 - Due to unforeseen circumstances, we will be having church on ZOOM this week. If you are interested in attending please email us at westforkuu@gmail.com This Sunday Cricket will be doing a service titled “The Courage to be Authentic: coming out of all of our closets.” “What if this darkness is not the darkness of the … Continue reading

Sunday, October 16, 2022 - What principles inspire courage? Is there courage without risk? What does it mean to take a risk for our principles.

Sunday, 9 October, 2022: Why Practice? - Unitarian Universalism has gone even farther than its Protestant forebears in trimming spiritual practice to the bone. Lisa deGruyter will consider what spiritual practices – exercise – might do to build skills and strength, and suggest some suitable for UUs. Our services are Sundays at 10:30 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association Event Center, 305 … Continue reading

Outing Cancelled – Sunday, October 2nd 2022 - Due to some unforseen circumstances and the chilly weather headed our way this weekend, we have decided to cancel this week’s Spiritual Outing. West Fork UUs will return next Sunday the 9th at the PWA in Clarksburg.

Sunday, October 2, 2022: West Virginia State Wildlife Center, French Creek - We have Spiritual Outings on the first Sunday of each month during the summer. For this year’s sixth outing, we will gather for a celebration of summer, nature, and fellowship on Sunday, October 2, at the West Virginia State Wildlife Center at French Creek. Please note that unlike most of the parks we visit, the … Continue reading

Sunday, September 24, 2022 - “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”— Hebrews 13:2 This Sunday, John Hall will present a Comfort & Inspiration service on chosen community in support of the September theme of Belonging. Join us for Worship: We returned to virtual services in August of 2021, but West Fork … Continue reading

Sunday, 18 September 2022: NO SERVICE - Due to scheduling conflicts this weekend, there will be no in-person or ZOOM service at WFUU on Sunday, 18 September 2022. Regular Sunday services will resume at 10:30 a.m. on 25 September 2022. Have a wonderful weekend. Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information or write to us at PO Box 523, … Continue reading

Sunday, September 11, 2022 - “If the world had a front porch like we did back thenWe’d still have our problems but we’d all be friendsTreating your neighbor like he’s your next of kinWouldn’t be gone with the windIf the world had a front porch, like we did back then” – from “If the World Had a Front Porch” by … Continue reading

Sunday, September 4, 2022: Ferguson Memorial Park, Shinnston - Ferguson Memorial Park, Shinnston We have Spiritual Outings on the first Sunday of each month during the summer. For this year’s third outing, we will gather for a celebration of summer on Sunday, September 4, at Ferguson Memorial Park in Shinnston We will meet at 11 a.m. in the picnic area for a short service … Continue reading

Sunday, August 28, 2022 - “A Caterpie may change into a Butterfree, but the heart that beats inside remains the same.” — Brock Join us for Worship: This Sunday, Loki Hall will present a service about Pokemon and Spirituality. SpecifIcally: Persistence and the power to not give up despite others unhelpful comments. We returned to virtual services in August of … Continue reading

Sunday, 21 August 2022: Live the Questions Now - Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point … Continue reading

Sunday, August 14, 2022: Audra State Park - Swimming at Audra We have Spiritual Outings on the first Sunday of each month during the summer, but due to other scheduling issues our August Outing will be on the second Sunday (14 August). For this year’s fourth outing, we will gather for a celebration of summer and fellowship on Sunday, August 14, at Audra … Continue reading

Sunday, August 7, 2022 - “You are changing the situation of women within our denomination and, in so doing, you are opening up for all of us new ways of understanding and perceiving women and, we hope, men as well. And furthermore, this change is something the church, as an institution, could not do for itself. We might say it … Continue reading

Sunday, July 24, 2022 - “I don’t think outside the box, I think of what I can do with the box.” – Henri Matisse “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking that we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein This Sunday we are taking the service “Out of the Box.” This will be an … Continue reading

July 17, 2022 Service – UU History: Secular Humanism - “Of moral purpose I see no trace in Nature. That is an article of exclusively human manufacture – and very much to our credit.”– T H Huxley Unitarian Universalism is a young religious tradition, but much of its purpose and focus for the early decades were rooted in secular humanism. Indeed, some UU churches with a … Continue reading

Sunday, July 10, 2022: Abundance and Hope - Welcome before Prelude Good morning and welcome to West Fork Unitarian Universalists. I’m Lisa and I feel blessed to serve this congregation as a lay leader. I’m glad to see all of you here today. Thank you for joining us. Let us use the prelude for centering. We are about to enter sacred time. We … Continue reading

Sunday, July 3, 2022: Watters Smith Memorial State Park - We have Spiritual Outings on the first Sunday of each month during the summer. For this year’s third outing, we will gather for a celebration of summer and fellowship on Sunday, July 3, at Watters Smith Memorial State Park. We will meet at 11 a.m. in the Pioneer shelter in the picnic area near the … Continue reading

Sunday, June 26, 2022: Self-Defense as Self-Care - This Sunday, Stacey Elza will discuss how the principles of resourcefulness, improvisation, and grace that underpin hapkido — the Korean martial art she practices — can have implications for our own spiritual practices, especially when the world seems intent on beating us down Our services are Sundays at 10:30 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association … Continue reading

Sunday, June 19, 2022: How We Worship - The primary benefit of practicing any art, whether well or badly, is that it enables one’s soul to grow. — Kurt Vonnegut Worship, simply put, is an art, one that Unitarians and Universalists have sometimes failed to understand. This Sunday Robert Helfer will explore some of the history of Unitarian Universalist worship and spirituality. Our … Continue reading

Sunday, June 12, 2022: Living Our Principles - It is always easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them. Alfred Adler What is a principle, and how do we live it? Our Principles services are usually about a particular principle, but this Sunday, Lisa deGruyter will explore what a principle is, where our UU principles came from, and our … Continue reading

Sunday, June 5, 2022: Prickett’s Fort State Park - We have Spiritual Outings on the first Sunday of each month during the summer. For this year’s second outing, we will gather for a celebration of summer on Sunday, June 5, at Prickett’s Fort State Park. During this time of continuing covid-19 pandemic we are following current CDC guidelines (see https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/gatherings.html). Fully vaccinated people are … Continue reading

Sunday, May 29, 2022: Beginning From a Place of Self-Love - Let nurturing beauty be our spiritual practice. On Sunday, Phoebe Durst will help us see how, “beginning from a place of self-love.” Our services are Sundays at 1030 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse. A coffee hour, a time for discussion and socializing, will … Continue reading

Sunday, May 22, 2022 - “Our task is to be who we are, in every way we can be; our salvation proceeding in putting ourselves back together after each tumble…We irridesce, shine, and radiate. We exclaim and roar: we are.” By Kenneth L. Patton … Continue reading

Sunday, May 15, 2022: Annual Meeting - This Sunday is our Annual Meeting. We will gather as usual at for coffee, check-ins and informal discussion, and the Annual Meeting will begin at 11:00. Everyone is invited to participate in the discussion; decisions are by consensus of members. If you’d like, bring a snack to share. Annual Business Meeting. The annual business meeting … Continue reading

Sunday, May 1, 2022: Valley Falls State Park - We have Spiritual Outings on the first Sunday of each month during the summer. For this year’s first outing, we will gather for a celebration of spring, flowers, and the challenges of labor history on Sunday, May 1, at Valley Falls State Park — picnic and hiking on the banks of the Tygart Valley River. … Continue reading

Sunday Service – April 24, 2022 - "With great power, comes great responsibility." - Stan Lee

Sunday April 17, 2022: Flower Ceremony - Please bring flowers to share. Whatever is blooming, or a twig in bud, is fine. We have resumed meeting in person. Everyone is invited to lunch at Robert and Lisa’s after the service; ham, potato salad, and rolls will be provided. Other dishes to share are welcome. We will have our Flower Ceremony, which was … Continue reading

Sunday, April 10, 2022 - “What does it mean to be in covenant? How do we handle the mutual accountability of living in love? What do we need from our shared agreements now and in the future?” Join us for worship and a potluck lunch. We will be discussing the Article II Study Commission and our values as they apply to our … Continue reading

Sunday, April 3, 2022 - “What does it mean to be in covenant? How do we handle the mutual accountability of living in love? What do we need from our shared agreements now and in the future?” Join us for worship and a potluck lunch. We will be discussing the Article II Study Commission and our values as they apply … Continue reading