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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