Welcome to the This I Believe web page and archive!
This I Believe is a longstanding tradition at WBUUC where members of the congregation are invited to share their journeys of faith.
Thanks to a diligent team of volunteer members and staff, you now have access to dozens of talks delivered from the mid-1960’s to the present. There are more to be located and new talks will be added continuously to the archive.
This beautiful preservation of our living history offers the latest opportunity to share what we value about our faith and our spiritual community. Take some time to read, reflect, and discover how our unique and common experiences have led us to this particular spiritual community over the decades.
We’re sure you’ll be moved by the wealth of insight and wisdom housed in this archive.
This I Believe: Teal Bassett (2023)
Good morning! What an honor it is to be in front of my congregation – I have so much respect for this space and all of you, so thank you for this opportunity to tell you a little about who I am and my spirituality. My childhood was very normal. My mom’s main role was caretaker of the household while my fathers was working outside the home. I have two siblings – I’m in the middle – we grew up in Stillwater, where I still reside today. My parents didn’t take us to church and were not interested in raising their children in a religious...
read moreThis I Believe: Dick Grant (2022)
Good morning. My name is Dick Grant and I was a member here for 23 years until we moved to Oregon. In 1995 I presented my “This I Believe,” and was asked if I would be willing to do it again. I grew in many ways while here, and feel it was a most enlightening time in my life. Since then we’ve loved being out here in Oregon near lots of grandkids, and until Covid, things were going great. But during the Covid years I was diagnosed with ALS in December 2020 and I wanted to share my story with you. As you might know, ALS is a fatal disease –...
read moreThis I Believe: Claire Gilbert (2021)
When I was four years old, I became a criminal. When my mom wouldn’t buy me a bag of skittles at the grocery store, I stole them. My mom knew something was up when she saw me grab a pair of scissors and dart into my bedroom. I thought I had locked the door, but she came around the other way through a bathroom. I had cut open the bag and spread them on the floor. “Claire!” she said, “Don’t you know the Bible says stealing is wrong.” “But Mom,” I told her, “I can’t read!” My mom and I laugh about this story today, but it also makes me sad. It’s...
read moreThis I Believe: Troy Stein (2021)
Good morning. I am Troy Stein. I’m 53 years old, married for 29 years and I have three kids. I work in IT for the State of Minnesota. I was raised in rural North Dakota, and I moved here in 1990 and my life changed for the better when I met my wife in 1991. One of my proudest accomplishments is my work as a professional ghost writer. I worked with a local author and together we wrote eight mysteries. I love telling stories. So this is my UU story. About 40 years ago my friend, Scott, asked me to join him as a duo to play “Taps” for military...
read moreThis I Believe: Kristen Daniels (2021)
I remember the very first time I felt truly alone. I’m sure there were times before but this one sticks out in my mind and was different. It wasn’t anything extraordinary. I was driving at the time, probably 17 or 18 years old, and was driving home from dropping off a friend. This was a new friend who lived clear across the St. Paul/Minneapolis metro area from where I lived. I’m talking Woodbury to Champlin Park. I was returning home and got turned around. I don’t really understand how it happened but I found myself in a neighborhood...
read moreThis I Believe: Paige Heitpas (2021)
Every year I take a trip on my birthday in order to nourish my thoughts and freshen my brain to start a new year of being me. When I turned twenty-five this past February, I went on a week-long COVID solo road trip down to Missouri to nourish the thoughts in my head. As I stroked South on I-35, I got an e-mail from Jack and Victoria graciously inviting me to join a membership class for the church and then to sign my name into the membership book. This is a book I sometimes associate as like a community scripture, which is a literally a list...
read moreThis I Believe: Joan McIntosh (2021)
Thank you for the opportunity to explore more deeply my closely held spiritual beliefs and the experiences that shaped them. These remarks come from a long overdue examination of days long past, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to share them with you today. The story I am about to tell is one familiar to us all: who am I, really? Why are we here? What does it all mean and where is that darn owner’s manual explaining how to be a good person? My husband John and I joined WBUUC in 2016 with the hope that even at this time of life, we could...
read moreThis I Believe: Alex Nelson (2021)
Thank you everyone, for having me here (virtually) and for taking the time to listen to me. I’d like to begin by talking about my childhood. I don’t know if I’m in the minority or not, but I was lucky enough to grow up as a Unitarian Universalist. As a child, this meant three things: 1) a love of coffee was expected and imparted at an early age, 2) at school nobody understood what religion I was when I loudly proclaimed, “I’m a UU!,” and 3) Blue Boat Home was like a family anthem. But there was another key aspect of my childhood that I think...
read moreThis I Believe: MJ LaVigne (2021)
Thank you, Victoria. I am speaking to you today from Dakota Makoce, the homeland of the Dakota, and Mahto Ska Bde, White Bear Lake. It means so much to me to share this with you, thank you. I grew up the middle of three sisters, a family small by St. Paul Catholic standards. We went to Immaculate Heart of Mary, an ugly church, with all the soaring majesty of a gymnasium. I remember being there for Mass, arguing in my head with the text while reciting the Lord’s Prayer. My first issue, being led into temptation never sounded that bad. “Thy...
read moreThis I Believe: Kaari Rodriguez (2021)
Hello, My name is Kaari Rodriguez. I have been coming to White Bear Unitarian Universalist Church since the summer of 2007. At the time, I was at a point in my spiritual journey where I could not in good conscience raise my children, 1 and 5 years old at the time, with the message that Jesus was the only path to God or salvation. I was not even sure there was such a thing as a god or heaven. When I first came to WBUUC, the beautiful sanctuary was still under construction and the current social hall was the worship space. Like many of you, I...
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