August 8, 2008 PM

Commentary: Church shooting won't undermine tenets of our faith

Commentary by Jill Stiemsma, Lyn Corder and Judy Harris members of the Prairie Lakes Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Ripon, WI.

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Hatred of liberals can’t shake a strong faith in humanity’s goodness

Opinion column by the Rev. Richard M. Stower of the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church (Scituate, MA) in The Patriot Ledger.

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All believers are welcome here

Faith & Values column in the Columbus (OH) Dispatch. It has mentions of the First Unitarian Universalist Church in Clintonville, OH; North Unitarian Universalist Congregation and it's minister, the Rev. Susan Ritchie as well as Donna Jarrell, head of First Unitarian Universalist's worship committee.

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In wake of attack, Conejo fellowship to hold vigil

The Conejo Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship plans to hold a solidarity vigil at 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10 to express solidarity with the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church.

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Only the Truth Can Save Us: 'Abstinence-only' won't work

Rev. William Sinkford, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association, has an article on HIV/Aids and the abstinence only policy our government continues to insist on.

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Church group meets friends from across the world

Mpnnow.com has a story about the members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Canandaigua who will be meeting the representatives of a Pakistani relief organization, Pakistan Relief, for whom the church has made, collected and sent things to for distribution to the needy in Pakistan.

Comments are always welcome.

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Spring Gala and Silent Auction

According to the York Daily Record/Sunday News, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Susquehanna Valley will be holding their fourth annual Spring Gala Saturday, April 19, 2008 at the Front Street Station in Northumberland, PA.

The event will feature live music, live and silent auctions, food and a cash bar.

Proceeds will benefit programs and outreach of the congregation.

Tickets are $20, children are free, contact information for the UUCSV is available both through their website as well as the original news article.

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One Man Play About Clarence Darrow

The Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City is helping to arrange a performance of "Clarence Darrow: The Search for Justice" by Gary Anderson according to the Iowa City Press-Citizen.

"We are celebrating a historic event, and he is such an historic figure," said Mark Yuskis, of the Unitarian Universalist Society, which is helping arrange the event. "I heard about performances that he gives all across the country, and I just wanted to bring him to Iowa City sometime."

The play is in conjunction with the 100-year anniversary of the Unitarian Universalist Society's building, 10 S. Gilbert St.

"He is a good fit with our support of social justice issues," Yuskis said.

The play will take place at the University of Iowa, Boyd Law Building, Leavitt Auditorium on Friday, April 11 at 7:30 pm.

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White Plains Church to Host Immigration Panel

The Community Unitarian Church of White Plains (NY) will be hosting a panel discussion entitled "Borders, Immigrants, Sanctuaries and Unitarian Universalists". The event will take place Sunday, April 13 at CUC, 468 Rosedale Ave., White Plains, NY 10605(directions).

Speakers will include Debbie Almontaser (founder and former Principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy, the first Arabic Language High School in the U.S.), members of the First Unitarian Congregational Society of Brooklyn, members of CUC and others. Visit CUC's website and contact Al Shehadi, co-chairman of the action for social concerns committee, if you need more info.

Hat tip to Greenwich Post.

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Pastor Reproves Press & Sun-Bulletin Coverage

In a post in the Viewpoints section on the (Binghamton, NY) Press & Sun-Bulletin's website, pressconnects.com, Rev. Douglas Taylor reproved the papers coverage of the vigil that the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Binghamton held to mark the fifth anniversary of the Iraq "War."

Instead of hearing about the countless Iraqi deaths, I read about motorists who are inconvenienced. Instead of hearing about the overwhelming number of Americans gathering peacefully to call for an end to this war, I read about a minor outburst between a few college kids and a few police officers.

Read the entire post.

Quietly protesting will not do the job. Rev. Taylor is showing the way.

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"Broadway Show" to be presented in Westchester

The First Unitarian Society of Westchester (NY) will be presenting “Give My Regards to Broadway!”, a cabaret style event, on Sunday April 20, 2008, according to Westchester.com.

The Society's website describes it as "a salute to Broadway featuring many of our talented FUSW members and friends." Donations will go to the First Unitarian Society’s flood-repair program. Sounds like an enjoyable evening.

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ACLU to hold screening of "Soldiers in the Army of God" at UU Church

According to the Northwest Florida Daily News, the ACLU in Pensacola, in conjuction with local religious and women's rights organizations, will be screening a film on women's reproductive rights entitled "Soldiers in the Army of God" on April 24 at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Pensacola.

A description of the film from the HBO (it was originally the second film in a series aired on HBO) website:

Many of the most extreme members of the anti-abortion movement reveal themselves to HBO cameras for the first time in this disturbing verite documentary. The film focuses primarily on "soldiers" in the Army of God, a pro-life group bonded together by the Internet, by organized rallies, and by a common belief that abortions must be stopped at all costs.

In addition to intimate footage of Army members at their homes, in their cars and at gatherings, the film includes harrowing footage of high-profile crimes targeted at abortion clinics, most notably the 1993 murder of two abortion-clinic workers in Pensacola, Florida. The documentary also features an exclusive death-row interview with the man who committed these murders: Paul Hill, who has become a hero and martyr to many Army of God zealots.

Sounds as if the film gives a rather unsettling view from the side of the pro-life extremists and what their motivations are. It's always good to understand what it is that motivates the other side. Obviously, given that the film covers the 1993 murder of two abortion-clinic workers in Pensacola, the film will strike home for many in that area on that point as well.

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Annual Empty Bowls Event in Marietta, Ohio

From the Parkersburg News and Sentinal:

Potters from all over the Marietta area contributed their artwork to a good
cause on Saturday morning.

It was part of Empty Bowls, a nationwide program where local potters are asked to donate their work to programs which feed the hungry.

According to Caroline Putnam, who coordinated the event this year, the First Unitarian Universalist Church started an Empty Bowls event in Marietta eight years ago.

“An unknown young woman, a potter, approached the service committee of the Unitarian Church and suggested this program,” she said. “She gave them some information from the Internet and then she disappeared.”

Over the years, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and the First Congregational Church in Marietta became part of the effort. This year’s event was held at First Congregational.

For $10, participants could get one of the 250 bowls provided by local potters and eat a lunch made up of food and soup donated by local restaurants. For $5 they could just eat lunch.

“Everything is donated,” Putnam said.

The only thing an organization is required to do when it participates in Empty Bowls is donate the money it raises to a group which feeds the hungry.

Sounds like a great event! Perhaps it will give others some ideas!

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The Oneonta Community Health Center to Open July 1

Two members of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Oneonta, Grace Smith and Dr. Benjamin Friedell, have been instrumental in helping Oneonta's free health-care clinic develop into the, soon to open, Oneonta Community Health Center. Read the article at The Daily Star. The clinic started as a social outreach project of the UUSO and has now developed beyond it's original scope. Great story.

BTW, make sure to check out the UUSO's web site. They have a picture of their absolutely gorgeous facility on their homepage.

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Society in Menomonie to Have Interactive Group Perform

The Unitarian Society of Menomonie (WI) plans to have an interactive theater presentation by The Theatre of the Oppressed with the subject matter being the war in Iraq. Via The Dunn County News:

To the editor:

On March 16 at the Mabel Tainter Theatre at 7 p.m., there will be a time for community conversations about the Iraq war. An interactive theatre group from Minneapolis will be presenting a new tool to help us share our feelings and opinions about this conflict that has taken over our country for six years.

Free and open to the public, The Theatre of the Oppressed will present a short play to lay out some of the strongly-held opinions on the war and give an opportunity to question and mediate between the actors and the audience.

As citizens, it is our responsibility to change society rather than contenting ourselves by merely interpreting it.

This forum is presented by the Unitarian-Universalist Society of Menomonie. Come for information, come for change, come to be a part of courageous conversations.


Penelope Michler

Sounds like a very interesting evening.

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Students host coffee house for African schools

Via WickedLocal Newton:

Lounging on couches or squeezed between round tables, audience members crowded into the First Unitarian Society in Newton for the annual coffee house on
Saturday...................organizers of the coffee house are directing the money collected to educating AIDS orphans in Africa. Through the Newton nonprofit Communities Without Borders, all money will go to the Chawama Family Home for AIDS in Lusaka, Zambia.

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Lecture to Commemorate 60th Anniversary of Church-State Separation Ruling

From The Mufreesboro Post:

Dr. Jim McCollum, whose mother’s lawsuit against his public school system
for mandating religious instruction resulted in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court
decision, will speak from 1-2 p.m. Monday, March 17, in Room 106 of the Paul W.
Martin Honors Building at MTSU. (Middle Tennessee State University.)

According to the article Dr. McCollum is also slated to speak that morning with his wife, Rev. Betty McCollum, who is pastor of the Greater Nashville Unitarian Universalist Congregation. They are scheduled to speak at Vanderbilt University.

Rev. McCollum will also be giving a sermon this Sunday, March 16 entitled, "When Dreams Collide” at the Greater Nashville Unitarian Universalist Congregation where she is pastor.

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San Pedro Faith Club brings taboo topics to the surface

Faith Club brings people of diverse religious backrounds together to discuss 'taboo' topics and misconceptions about one another and their faiths.

read more digg story

A wonderful story about how sharing and coming together can overcome one's preconceived notions. Here is an excerpt.

They gathered first to reflect on what it is they like about their faith. Barbara Love, a Christian-turned-atheist-turned-Unitarian, said she appreciated the inclusiveness of her church.

Syed Riyaz Mahdi, a Sufi Muslim, said he is drawn to the spirituality and discipline of Islam. "I feel like I'm learning much more through this process," he said, referring to the group.

The women who authored "The Faith Club" came to the same conclusion. Ranya Idliby, a Palestinian Muslim, and Suzanne Oliver, a Christian, met initially while waiting at their daughters' bus stop.

They decided to collaborate on a children's picture book examining the parallels between their faiths, but soon learned that they had to first overcome the perceived differences.

Through that process, and eventually with the contributions of Priscilla Warner, a Jewish mom, the three had to dig deeper into what it was they themselves believed, and the project morphed into a "how to" book for adults seeking kinship with those outside their religion.

The local group grew out of a series of "interfaith cafes" sponsored by the South Coast Interfaith Council last summer, and organizers say they hope to continue as long as participants are interested.

Love, who attends Pacific Unitarian Church in Rancho Palos Verdes, became involved in the interfaith cafes and said she wanted to continue her understanding of others.

"You see them as regular people," she said. "It's wonderful. In daily life, this just doesn't happen."

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