Author: UUFJC1

1/25/2015 Today, author and researcher Gary Kremer of the Missouri State Historical Society visited our Fellowship to give an excellent and challenging talk on the historical background of the racial issues we see today, in Ferguson and elsewhere.  He traces the problem to different experiences of history.  Many white people look to the past and…

1/18/2015 This morning, in both our Adult Forum and Rev. Nancy’s message, we explored the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and reflected that when a “prophet” like him confronts us with profound and challenging truths, it’s easier to praise the prophet as a hero than to absorb their challenging truths into our lives. …

1/11/2015 I hope everyone is keeping warm and safe in this weather!  I myself stayed off the roads today and missed our own Jim Davis’s talk about the Origins of Universalism in America.  According to Katherine Connor, it was very good.  She writes: “Jim started with Origen of Alexandria, went on to John Murray who brought…

1/4/2015 This morning, we began the new year with a look back at the history of Unitarianism.  As Rev. Mike argued, Unitarians have always aspired to universality of religion, ethics, and inclusion, but as we forge our identity, it necessarily creates a boundary, a wall between who we are and who we aren’t.  Through our…

12/28/2014 This morning was our last Sunday service of 2014 — I can hardly believe it!  We marked the occasion with an open mic on the topic,”Thoughts for the New Year.”  Among the diverse thoughts shared, several of us were especially concerned about the needs for justice that were revealed in this past year, and…

12/21/2014 This morning, Rev. Nancy reminded us how people have always understood this season in story.  Today in the US, many point to one particular story of the reason for this season (and many more define ourselves in part by how we view that story).  However, there is a rich, diverse history throughout the world…

12/14/2014 At our service this morning, Rev. Mike and Patt Behler got us into the holiday spirit, singing lots of Christmas Carols.  Some of them were childish and some were overtly Christian, but it was an opportunity to reconnect with the holidays’ childhood sense of fun, and perhaps to reconnect too with some of the…

12/7/2014 This morning, Kathlene Woodruff of the local YMCA addressed our Fellowship about the work of her organization, particularly their Respite Care events, which provide a safe, supervised place for foster children and give their foster parents some needed time for themselves.  Although “YMCA” stands for “Young Men’s Christian Association,” through its long history the…

12/1/2014 Sunday morning, Courtney Waters, Teen Librarian of Missouri River Regional Library, visited us to talk about Banned Books.  Thankfully we don’t live in a country where books are banned nationwide, and even the local bannings that remove books from schools and libraries are not very commonly enacted (although they are very commonly proposed).  So…

11/23/2014 This morning, Katherine Connor led a special service and our own Alexis Engelbrecht-Villafañe delivered a message based on the quote, familiar from Theodore Parker down to Martin Luther King: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” A glimpse of such a majestic arc can comfort us in times…