Brown Bag Lunch with the Minister
Second Tuesdays, 12-1 pm
Led by Harold Babcock
Lower Meeting House
Discuss a short story chosen by Harold Babcock. Bring a lunch. All are welcome.
Small Ministry Groups
Meets every other week, various dates and times
Call 978 465 0602 x401 for list of groups
Lower Meeting House
Led by a trained facilitator, small groups meet every other week to reflect on a relevant life theme such as "friendship" and "acceptance." Once formed, these groups are ongoing and offer our members a chance to forge relationships with each other and to explore the implications of various religious themes on their lives. As our church grows, the challenge of creating closeness with our fellow members also grows. These small groups become more important as a means to maintain connections with each other and the values we strive to live by. Call 978 465 0602 x401 for more information or to sign up for one of the groups.
Retired Guys Out to Lunch
Third Tuesdays
Once a month these guys go out to lunch. All (guys) are welcome. Call 978 465 0602 x401 for current lunch date and location.
Retired Ladies Lunch
Third Wednesdays
Once a month these women go out to lunch. All women are welcome. Call 978 465 0602 x401 for current lunch date and location.
Men Can Read Too Book Group
First Sundays 6:30pm
Meets in participants' homes
This ongoing group is open to all. Please call 978 465 0602 x401 for the title of the current book to be discussed and the place of the meeting.
Women's Alliance
Second Tuesdays, noon
Lower Meeting House
This group meets for a program and refreshments. All are welcome. Call 978 465 0602 x401 for the program theme.
Jazz Vespers
First Wednesdays 8:00-9:00pm
Church Sanctuary
Jazz services with music by Edson Wordon, Lark Madden, & company and readings by parishioners. Peaceful. All are welcome.
New ways to learn at Meadville Lombard, a Unitarian Universalist Seminary
Weekend and Week-long formats allow flexibility for Ministers and Lay Leaders
Meadville Lombard is now offering courses in formats that make it easier for working religious professionals and lay leaders to broaden or deepen their theological and congregational understanding. These on-campus courses were designed in a format best suited to developing religious leadership skills--a format that is face-to-face and heart-to-heart.
Weekend Courses
Lay Leadership Development with Rev. Brian Covell; October 3-4 and 24-25, and November 14-15, 2008
Designed to help ministers, lay leaders and post-internship seminarians become acquainted with the paradigms, problem-solving and relational skills necessary for effective lay leadership development. Because of the nature of this course, we offer this incentive for congregational teams: Pay for two team members from your congregations, and register a third for free. Audit: $700.00/Credit: $1400.00.
Real Peace/Real Security: UU Perspectives on Peace and War with Dr. Sharon Welch; January 17-18, 2009
In this half-credit course, address the issues posed by the UUA CSAI study/action issue on peacemaking. Examine options for enhancing peace and security in our contemporary world and explore perspectives held by Unitarian Universalists on: strategic peacebuilding, just peace, just war, preventive defense, nonviolence and pacifism. Then discuss the concrete ways in which congregations best foster open dialogue and informed engagement on these crucial issues of peacemaking and conflict transformation at all levels: interpersonal, congregational, national and international. Audit: $375.00/ Credit: $750.00.
Problems in Public Ethics with Rev. Dr. William Schulz and Dr. Sharon Welch; January 23-25, 2009
Learn to clarify the theological and ethical underpinnings of your approaches to public problems; consider five of the most pressing such problems on the national and world stage today: torture, military intervention, abortion, death penalty, and poverty and learn how to articulate your perspective and navigate the complexities of dealing with such issues in an institutional context. Audit: $750.00/ Credit: $1500.00.
Week-long Courses
Fling Wide the Doors: Children and Church Growth with Rev. Greg Stewart; January 12-16, 2009
How well do we welcome children into the church family and what impact does that have on church growth? Audit: $750.00/ Credit: $1500.00.
Afro-Americans and the Universalists, Unitarians, and Unitarian Universalists with Rev. Dr. Mark Morrison-Reed; January 26-30, 2009
Become familiar with both the Afro-American experience within the liberal religious community and the community's attitudes toward Afro-Americans. Who were these Afro-American women and men and when and how did they become part of this religious movement? What were the attitudes they met among Anglo-Americans and what was the institutional response to them? One objective of the course is for students to create a historical record of their home congregation with regard to race. Audit: $750.00/ Credit: $1500.00.
Visit our website (www.meadville.edu) for a full listing and course syllabi and to register online. Please note that the tuition does not include lodging, and registrants will need to apply for Student at Large status ($45.00) and pay a registration fee of $50.00. Contact Erika Chavez, Director of Admissions, at (773) 256-3000 x 250 for more information.
International Convocation of UU Women
Gather Together To Celebrate
February 26 to March 1st, 2009, Houston, Texas
Join us at this first ever International Convocation of UU Women. Gather with us as we listen to the women leaders of our faith.
Connect with UU women from all around the world. Take stock of the status and condition of women. Learn how we can take care of ourselves and how we can find our voice in the world. Register online at icuuw.com by August 31st and lock in the Early Bird Rate of $299 with a $100 deposit (balance payable by November 1st). Registration rate includes three meals and a welcoming reception Thursday at 4PM. Additional $50 cash rebate to the first 200 ministers and seminary students.
Discount flights are available online through Continental Airlines. Use our group code: ZE3NCPMGM4. Hotel Reservations may be made online through the website at icuuw.com. The rate of $146 per room per night is the same for double, triple and quadruple occupancy.
Speakers: Rebecca Adamson, First Peoples Worldwide; Margot Adler, NPR Correspondent; Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards, Third Wave Feminists; Cathy Cordes, UU Partner Church Council; Gini Courter, UUA Moderator; Emma's Revolution, Activist Musicians; Dr. Caren Grown, American University; Rev. Dr. Laurel Hallman, First Unitarian Dallas; Dr. Kalpana Kannabiran, Sociologist, NALSAR University, India; Francis Moore Lappé, Author, Diet for a Small Planet; Rev. Pap Maria, District Dean, Transylvanian Unitarian Church; Kathy Matsui, International Association of Liberal Religious Women, Japan; Carolyn McDade, Composer, "Spirit of Life;" Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt, 4th Universalist, NYC; Dr. Chris Nielsen, University of Baltimore; Dr. Creamlimon Nongbri, North Eastern India Unitarian Union; Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker, President, Starr King School for the Ministry; Rev. Dr. Ann Peart, Unitarian College, Manchester, England; Rev. Meg Riley, UUA Advocacy and Witness; Rev. Rebecca Sienes, UU Church of the Philippines; Dr. Diana Strassmann, Rice University; and Dr. Sharon Welch, Provost, Meadville Lombard Theological School.
Sponsors: Southwest UU Women, UUA, UUSC, ICUU, UU Women's Federation, UUPCC, UU-UNO, UU Women & Religion, International Judicatories and organizations from Transylvania, India, Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa. Particular thanks to the UU Funding Panel for its early and continued support to the Convocation.
If you have any questions contact the registrar at treasurer@icuuw.com or call toll free at 877-424-5608
Concert: September 13th at 8:00 p.m.
to benefit Promise the Children
Promise the Children is a UU advocacy organization which strives to improve the lives of children and youth. Its mission is to enlist UUs to advocate for improved education, nutrition housing and healthcare for our Nation's children.
Promise the Children will be having it first annual benefit concert on September 13th at the One World Performance Center at the First Universalist Church in Essex, MA. Performing will be New England's best, Bob Franke.
From http://www.bobfranke.com/: Bob Franke (it rhymes with "Yankee") is at the peak of his considerable craft; brimming with the wise and spiritually generous songs for which he is best known, along with wrenchingly convincing topical songs and sugared with the hilarious. His are the kind of songs that really do have the power to change the world by being taken into the lives of people. They come to you, these songs.
As Tom Paxton says, "It's his integrity. I always think of Bob as if Emerson and Thoreau had picked up acoustic guitars and gotten into songwriting. There's touches of Mark Twain and Buddy Holly in there, too."
