Tag: Unitarian Universalist Church of Minnetonka

Wayzata Churches Using Caution When Considering Reopening

May 27th, 2020

Faith-based communities and places of worship can now resume hosting larger gatherings.

This comes after an announcement last week by Gov. Tim Walz.

The new guidance allows occupancy not to exceed 25 percentwith a maximum of 250 people in a single, self-contained space. In outdoorsettings, gatherings must not exceed 250 people.

This guidance, released on May 23 updates what the Governor released on May 20 in which churches were still limited to no more than 10 people.

This was immediately met with opposition by Senate Republicans.

That’s the back story.

What does this mean moving forward and what does this mean for places of worship in Wayzata?

Unitarian Universalist Church of Minnetonka

“Like many faith communities, UUCM has been closed for in-person gathering since mid-March,” said Arif Mamdani, a member of the interim ministry team at Unitarian Universalist Church of Minnetonka. “Since that time, we have moved all of our worship and faith formation programming online, and plan to stay with this plan for the foreseeable future.”

Wayzata Community Church

“We are following guidelines provided by local, state, and federal authorities as we make plans to reopen our building to staff and church programs of less than 10 people,” said Reverend Dr. John F. Ross of Wayzata Community Church. “We will continue with online worship only for the foreseeable future.”

Redeemer Lutheran Church

“As a Christian congregation, we are called to be good citizens of our state and country,” said Redeemer Lutheran Church Pastor Steve Ferber. “But above everything, we are also called to obey God and His Word. Exactly how that will work itself out in the coming days and weeks, we don’t know yet. We are prayerfully considering our options.”

St. Bartholomew Catholic Faith Community

Meanwhile, a message from Fr. Mike Van Sloun of St. Bartholomew Catholic Faith Community on May 22 stated the following:

Our Logistics Team has determined that the earliest possible date for St. Bart’s would be Sunday, June 7. Our lay leaders, our trustees as well as our Pastoral and Finance Council members, a number who are medical professionals, advise abundant caution and to proceed slowly, particularly since the number of cases has not yet begun to decline, hospital admissions are up, and the danger an extended large-group gathering poses to our parishioners.

All of the Wayzata churches are using caution during the reopening process.

“Like other faith communities, ours includes many who fall into a variety of categories who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, and given that we have successfully transitioned to doing church work in physically distanced ways, see no reason to put any of our people at risk,” said Mamdani.
Wayzata Church to Celebrate Historic Building’s Centennial

April 29th, 2016

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Minnetonka (UUCM) will host a centennial celebration of their historic church building with a special worship service and open house on Sunday, May 15, 2016 at 605 Rice Street, Wayzata, Minnesota. The public is invited to the celebratory service at 10:30 am, which will be led by UUCM minister Reverend Kent Hemmen Saleska.

The service will honor the building’s 100 years as a home to three congregations, all still active in Wayzata. The Community Open House will be held from 1:004:00 pm and will feature tours, information and displays about the historic building, highlighting its dramatic interior and commemorative stained glass windows. Refreshments will also be served.

The open house is cosponsored by UUCM, the Wayzata Historical Society and the Wayzata Heritage Preservation Board. These events are free and open to the public. For more information contact the Unitarian Universalist Church of Minnetonka at office@uucmtka.org, (952) 473-5900 or visit www.uucmtka.org

Designed in 1916 by prominent architect Harry Wild Jones (Butler Building, Lakewood Chapel) for Wayzata Community Church, this is the oldest church building in Wayzata, and is the recipient of the Wayzata Heritage Preservation Board’s 2016 Centennial Building Award.

This building replaced Wayzata Community Church’s second building, also designed by Jones, which had burned in February of 1916 and was almost identical in design. The building has housed the Wayzata Community Church (1916-1949), Wayzata Free Church (1952-1965) and UUCM (1965-present). UUCM is preparing to break ground this year for a new church home in the Holdridge area of Wayzata, and this historic building will be offered for sale this spring.

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Minnetonka (UUCM) was founded in 1960 and has been served by The Rev. Kent Hemmen Saleska since 2007. UUCM holds Sunday worship services and religious education classes at 10:30 am year round. UUCM’s mission is to inspire, educate and serve as a welcoming congregation on a quest for meaning and purpose to create a community of conscience in our neighborhood and the world.

UUCM welcomes and affirms the worth of all people regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender, physical abilities, affectional orientation, marital status, or religious beliefs. For more information about UUCM visit www.uucmtka.org, or contact the church at (952) 473-5900, office@uucmtka.org.
Unitarian Universalist Church of Minnetonka Launches Website "Our New Church Home"

May 7th, 2009

Submitted by Christy Dachelet

A website describing the proposed new church home the Unitarian Universalist Church of Minnetonka would like to build at 2030 Wayzata Blvd. East is now available. The website describes the proposed project and answers frequently asked questions about it. To access the site go to www.uucmtka.org and click on “Our New Church Home” in the left hand column.

UUCM is currently located at the corner of Rice and Walker Streets in Wayzata which has been its home since 1965. The current church building no longer meets the needs of the church to accomplish its mission. UUCM has asked the City Council to approve a rezoning of the property to allow it to build at this new site.

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