Category: Archives

7/27/2014 Today, our own Betty Cooper traced for us the idea of justice, from Plato’s justice in ancient Greece to today’s movement toward Restorative Justice.  How can we acknowledge harms done and obligations owed while moving both victim and offender toward wholeness in a healed community? UUFJC News and Events this week: The August Newsletter…

7/20/2014 Today, Rev. Mike brought us a message about Jeremiah, who is remembered as a major Hebrew prophet despite being unpopular in his own day.  He told the people of Judea just what they didn’t want to hear — about how they failed the most vulnerable among them, about whether their political strategies were workable.…

7/14/2014 Yesterday, both our Forum led by Bob Boldt and our Sunday message by Don Love focused on the German philosopher Hannah Arendt.  Arendt is most famous for the idea of “The Banality of Evil,” developed in response to the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann.  Eichmann argued (truly or not) that he was…

7/6/2014 Today, Rev. Nancy brought us a message for Independence Day weekend, when we celebrate America as a land of liberty and justice.  Nancy asked which comes first, the liberty or the justice, and concluded that they are always intertwined.  To truly follow them in their conjoined spiral dance, we must look beyond liberty and…

6/23/2014 Yesterday, our own Jim Davis brought us a message about the fascinating history of University City, Missouri (a suburb of St. Louis) and its founder, Edward Gardner Lewis (Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Gardner_Lewis).  Lewis published a magazine for women and founded the American Woman’s League, as well as an Art Academy, People’s University, and a mail-order People’s Bank.…

6/15/2014 Today, we had a potluck celebration to say goodbye to the Ordway family, who have been a part of our Fellowship community for many years and now are moving away.  We wish them the best in their new home and new work, and we look forward to the times when they can come back…

6/9/2014 Yesterday, Michael Lester visited us from The NEEED Project to talk about Heart of Missouri Gardens and their general mission to find local solutions for “Nutrition, Energy, Environment and Economic Development.”  The organization is working on providing fresh, wholesome food for local charities — the Senior Center is already getting a taste — and even fighting Global Warming,…

6/1/2014 Usually I take this space to recap the message from service, but this week I wanted to talk about the Adult Forum we had this morning.  Bob Boldt led us and some guests in a forum focused on poetry.  Several of us brought poems to read aloud, from the universal spiritual themes of Khalil…

5/26/2014 Yesterday we held our service at Memorial Park pavilion to enjoy the beautiful weather and delicious food, including cookout fare from some of our grillmaster members.  In such leisurely surroundings, Rev. Mike brought us a message about the paradox of action and contemplation; we feel like we have to do one or the other…

5/19/2014 Yesterday our members came together to live out the 5th Unitarian Principle (the one about democratic process etc.) with our Annual Business Meeting.  We adopted resolutions supporting marijuana decriminalization and a constitutional amendment to reclaim elections from corporate money.  We also elected a new slate of officers, so say hello to your 2014-2015 Board…