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Forward facing view of First Universalist Church of Rochester

Our Mission

To nurture the spirit and serve the community.

Join us Sundays at 10:30am
at our hybrid Worship Services! 

See Details Below

What's Happening at First Universalist

Find out what's going on and join us for one of our upcoming events.
Weather & Emergency Updates on this week's service will be posted here:

Upcoming Services

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Sunday Service:
In Our Hands: Climate Change & the Role of Individual Action
4/6/25 at 10:30am

A service exploring the urgency of climate change through real-world examples—devastating storms, rising sea levels, and environmental injustice—while emphasizing the power of individual and collective action. A major focus is on how personal choices, particularly regarding food and sustainability, can drive systemic change.  First Universalist will be joined by Jasmin Singer of Environmental Connections on WXXI!​

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Speaker: Jasmin Singer

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This will be a hybrid service, with the in-person portion being held in the sanctuary of First Universalist, and the virtual portion being held on Zoom.​

Other Events

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March 18 - April 82025

Introduction to Unitarian Universalism

Join in a four-part series exploring the history, theology, and lived practice of Unitarian Universalism.  A great course for people new to Unitarian Universalism or who have been Unitarian Universalist for years.

 

Sessions will be both informative and participatory. People can participate in-person and online on Tuesday evenings at 7-8:30pm from March 18 through April 8.

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Dates:

  • Tuesday, March 18

  • Tuesday, March 25

  • Tuesday, April 1

  • Tuesday, April 8

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Please email Rev. Lane-Mairead Campbell to register at minister@uuroc.org.

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April 11, 2025

Spring Potluck Dinner

Being together, chatting, and sharing good food are fundamental features of a human community. Please join us on April 11 at 6pm for our Spring Potluck dinner at church. Remember we are a peanut-free zone. and please et us know all ingredients in your dish. COME ONE, COME ALL Friday, April 11, 6-8 at church for our Spring Potluck dinner! Hope to see you there!

 

Donna Anderson

membership chair

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April 14, 2025

Passover Seder

Please come enjoy a traditional Seder for all ages.

 

The Seder begins at 5:30pm and we will enjoy a buffet meal at 7pm. Please bring a dish to share. Sign-ups begin March 16.

 

Tableware, soup, wine, grape juice, and matzoh will be provided.

 

Questions? Contact Lew Ward-Baker or Richard Reed.

Image by Karly Santiago

May 11, 2025

A Crafty Afternoon!

We had so much fun in March, we’re doing it again!

Join us from 3:30-5:30pm in the Clara Barton Lounge. Bring your own project to work on, join in an easy craft project (supplies provided), play board games, or just hang out. 

Please wear a mask (masks provided if you need one). One of a series of masked events for Rochester UU’s and the larger community.

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Postponed - Date TBA

Welcoming Neurodivergent Children: Video and Discussion Part II

Noon-1:15pm in the Sanctuary

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Please join us to view, consider and discuss the second part of "Welcoming Neurodivergent Children," a webinar from the UUA. You don't have to have attended Part I to participate. Rev. Michelle will facilitate.

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April 6, 2025

In-Person Drop-In Discussion: Restorative Practice

Restorative practice is a process of dealing with conflict that works with all the parties involved to hear the different points of view, explore the impact the conflict is having and finding mutually agreeable solutions. How does this differ from Conflict Resolution and how can we make this an everyday practice? David Damico will do a presentation and lead a discussion.

     

We will meet at 9:15am in the Chalice Room. Drop-in discussions will continue on the first Sunday of the month through June 2025.  If you have a topic you would like discussed or, better still, would like to lead a discussion, please speak with Phil Ebersole. ​​

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All are welcome! 

Image by Jaredd Craig

April 132025

Book Group: Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver

The Book Group will meet Sunday, April 13, after coffee hour, in the Chalice Room to discuss the 2022 novel “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver.

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Ron Charles’ Washington Post review said “it may be the best novel of 2022, equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking. It is the story of an irrepressible boy nobody wants but readers will love. Set in the mountains of Southern Appalachia, it is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single wide trailer with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper colored hair, a caustic wit and fierce talent for survival. Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Damon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can’t imagine leaving behind.”

You do not need to read the book to participate. Questions? Contact bookgroup@uuroc.org.

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You do not need to have read the book to participate. Questions? Contact bookgroup@uuroc.org.

Image by Janay Peters

April 19, 2025

Monthly Gathering of the Men's Group

First Universalist Men's Group meeting, all who identify as he/him or they/him are invited! We shall meet from 10am to noon in the Clara Barton Lounge at First Universalist. We hope to see you there!

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Spring 2025

Eastman at Washington Square - Spring 2025

The Eastman Community Music School is proud to present free weekly concerts featuring artists from the Eastman School of Music and ECMS. Faculty and Student Performances from both schools offer an excellent opportunity to hear some of the best musicians that Rochester has to offer and all performances are absolutely free!

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Concerts begin around 12:15pm, and run until 12:45 to 1pm. We hope to see you there!

 

January 9
Jazz at Noon

Join Eastman jazz faculty Bob Sneider, guitar, & company for a fabulous laid-back lunch hour.​

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January 16
Paris is for Flutists

Come and enjoy French music performed by flutis, Sophia Gibbs Kim, and pianist, Irina Lupines.

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January 23
“H & G, a Great and Terrible Story”

Eastman Opera Theatre is excited to feature a preview of an opera by A. Shawn/Hong & Randich that offers abstract reinterpretation of Grimm's fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel. â€‹

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January 30
Evidence of Things Not Seen: Songs of Ned Rorem

Come hear songs of Ned Roren with lyrics drawn from the works of various poets presented by Eastman Opera Theatre.​ 

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February 6 

Hungarian Motifs 

Eastman Violin professor Mikhail Kopelman and pianist Anna Gourfinkel will perform music by Brahms and Hubal. 

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February 13 

Love All Around 

Come and enjoy music from the heart as Jessica Ann Best and Irina Lupines present love songs from different parts of the world. 

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February 20 

Violin and Piano Showcase 

Eastman professors David Bowlin, violin, and Tony Cho, piano, will perform music by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Debussy, and Sarasate. 

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February 27 

Piano Extravaganza with Alexander Kobrin  

Professor Alexander Kobrin will join his students performing fabulous works for solo piano. 

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March 6

The Sound of Low Brass   

Enjoy the magnificent sound of ESM Trombone Choir directed by Larry Zalkind. 

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March 13

Women in Music 

Cellist Jennifer Carpenter and pianist Gina Lee perform music by French female composers Lili and Nadia Boulanger.

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March 20

Ainadamar

Eastman Opera Theatre presents the true story of Federico Lorca and his muse Margarita Xirgu in an 'opera in three images' by Argentinian composer Oswaldo Golijov. The story takes place in flashbacks from the present-day Uruguay of 1969 to the onset of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. The title Ainadamar comes from the Arabic word meaning 'fountain of tears.' 

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March 27

Lomazov/Rackers Piano Duo

From Mozart to Stravinsky-masterpieces of piano duo repertoire presented by Eastman professors Marina Lomazov and Joseph Rackers. 

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April 3

An Afternoon with Strings 

The Lazuli String quartet will share a variety of unique selections for strings.

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April 10

Ying Quartet 

As quartet-in-residence at the Eastman School of Music, the Ying Quartet occupies a position of unique prominence in the classical music world, combining communicative performances with a fearlessly imaginative view of chamber music in today's world.

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April 17

One Piano-Many Fingers! 

Please join the students of Professor Tony Caramia as they explore piano compositions at one piano with multiple players. This digital extravaganza features pieces by Bizet, Bonis, and Casella.

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April 24

"A Time to Remember ... ,,

Spend an afternoon with a preview of Eastman's Holocaust Remembrance Concert. ESM faculty and students will perform works by Jewish composers who died in or survived the atrocities of World War II.

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May 1

Violin and Piano Showcase

Renowned violinist Oleh Krysa and pianist Irina Lupines will perform gems of violin/piano repertoire from Beethoven to modern times.

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May 8

Guitar Roots

Join Eastman alum and graduate dean, Matthew Ardizzone, for a solo classical guitar program rooted in folk music and features pieces by Leo Brouwer, Edward Flower, and Joaquin Rodrigo.

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May 15

Gracias a la Vida: Music & Poetry of Chile

Tenor Pablo Bustos and pianist Priscilla Yuen will present the highlights of the cultural richness of Chile through musical settings by Chilean composers and poetry by Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda.

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May 22

ECMS Honors Finale

Enjoy the final concert of the season, featuring the amazing young high school graduates from 
the Honors Program at the Eastman Community Music School

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More to come as they are announced!

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April 8, 2025

Drop-In Discussion: 
Open Topic

Let’s discuss whatever is on our minds. These discussions are often our most interesting and engaging conversations. John Lukes will moderate..​

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​Drop-in Discussions meet via Zoom Tuesday nights from 6:30-7:30pm.

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April 132025

Monthly Food Ingathering

Our monthly food ingathering for the Community Food Cupboard! Low-sodium non-perishable food, toiletries, paper products, and cash are always needed and deeply appreciated!

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April 20, 2025

April Social Justice Plate Offering: REACH Advocacy

Our April Social Justice Plate Offering is designated for REACH Advocacy.

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REACH Advocacy is a community-minded organization seeking safe, supportive housing for people experiencing chronic homelessness in the Rochester region.


Please contribute as generously as you can to support this important work. For more info, visit their website https://reachadvocacy.org/.​

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TBA - Being Rescheduled

Listening Circles: Covenant of Right Relations and Policy on Respectful Relationships

The Committee on Ministry reviewed and revised our church’s “Covenant of Right Relations” and its “Policy on Responsible Behavior”. These revised documents provide a structure to guide our process of conflict resolution. The documents can be found on our website at uuroc.org/bot.

We want our church to be a sanctuary in these challenging times—even as we are facing major changes ourselves. Distress around us can leak into relationships even in this community of intentional love and support.

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The design of the new policy is based on the Unitarian Universalist value of Love at the center of all interactions. Specific elements were developed from our own church’s previous policies as well as the work of other congregations.

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There is a forum planned to discuss and practice the policy as well as to review the Covenant following the service on Sunday, March 30. Please plan to attend!

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The documents have been approved by the Board of Trustees and other church leaders. We hope that some of you will look them over. and contact any member of the committee with questions or comments. Email any one of us at com@uuroc.org.

We acknowledge with respect the Seneca Nation, Keepers of the Western Door and part of the Haudenosaunee People, on whose ancestral land First Universalist Church now stands.

Contact Us

150 South Clinton Ave

Rochester, NY 14604

585-546-2826

office@uuroc.org

Current Office Hours

Tue & Thu 9am-4pm

Closed on Mondays 

Join Us For Service

Sundays @ 10:30am 

LGBTQ Welcoming Congregation
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© 2016 First Universalist Church of Rochester

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