July 5, 2026
Rev. Monica Dobbins,
Assistant Minister, First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City
Presents via video “What America Will Be”
Jennifer Bacmeister, Worship Leader
Gary Smart, Pianist
Timothy Edwards, Violin, Guest Musician

Rev. Monica Dobbins reflects on her conflicted response to America’s 250th anniversary, expressing skepticism about patriotic celebration in light of injustice, inequality, and unmet national ideals. Drawing on voices like Vincent Harding and Langston Hughes, she urges listeners to see the United States not as a finished reality but as an unfinished promise – one that calls for active work toward justice, belonging, and a more compassionate future.

Please bring loose change or extra cash for our monthly “Pennies from Heaven” collection. In celebration of our BBUUC Accessibility Team, the benefactor of our July through September collections will be Hope Haven, a Jacksonville nonprofit serving children and young adults with special needs. Hope Haven provides assessments, intervention, education, and advocacy – empowering individuals and their families to thrive.

About Our Speaker

Rev. Monica Dobbins is in her third year at First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City, where she preaches, leads adult religious education, supports older youth, and provides pastoral care. Her social justice priorities include health care reform and immigration justice. During seminary she interned at Greater Birmingham Ministries, served as a chaplain intern at Princeton Baptist Medical Center (completing one unit of CPE), and was ministerial intern with the Unitarian Universalists of Tuscaloosa, focusing on membership growth. She enjoys the outdoors, quilting and learning to knit, and reading—especially biographies, political analysis, science fiction, Harry Potter, and Haruki Murakami. A proud Southerner and Birmingham native, she’s eager for what’s next.

About our Guest Musician

Timothy Edwards studied violin in Detroit public schools and at Interlochen Arts Academy before earning a Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music and a Master of Music from the University of Michigan. He has held section, principal, and concertmaster roles with the Des Moines Metro Opera, Flint Symphony, and Toledo Symphony, with substitute appearances for the Detroit and Jacksonville symphonies. A dedicated educator, he has guided gifted young violinists and served as an adjunct professor at Florida State College at Jacksonville. He currently performs as a soloist and chamber collaborator for four Jacksonville churches and is concertmaster of the Civic Orchestra of Jacksonville, which offers free concerts to the community.