Welcome to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Oxford, Mississippi! We are an intergenerational community that fosters spiritual growth through free thought and respect for personal beliefs. We seek the wisdom of many religious traditions and of ourselves, and we encourage the expression of personal ideals in service to people, other life, and our planet.

We meet Sundays at 11:00 at 31 CR 198. The link below provides a map to our location. We welcome children of all ages and provide childcare during the service (from 10:50 -12:15).
Click here for directions to the home for Unitaritarian Universalists in Oxford!

August 1--Peacemaking, Plenaries and Potential      Gail Stratton and Pat Miller

Ideas and inspiration from the General Assembly, the yearly gathering of Unitarian Universalists.


August 8--Getting Back in Whack          Rev. Barry Whittemore

What's out of whack and what's not? What of "the refulgent summer" needs to be with us always? Spiritually and religiously, as individuals and as congregations, we can be out of whack and seemingly, perfectly normal at the same time. The last service before the re-gathering Water Service just might be a good time to recheck our priorities. Recommended reading: Isaiah 1:1,10-20 and Luke 12:22-38.

Rev. Whittemore was ordained in 1999 in the Holston Valley UU Church in Gray, Tennessee. He holds an M.Div. from Duke Divinity School and a doctorate in History from Carnegie Mellon. He has served churches in Tennessee, North Carolina and Alabama and in addition, served as the Heritage and Values Lecturer at the Mountain School for Congregational Leadership from 2003-2008. Rev. Whittemore is now based in Birmingham and is helping churches that do not have a regular Minister. We are pleased to welcome him back to our congregation!

August 15--Ingathering Water Ceremony and Potluck immediately following the service.

Many UU congregations now hold a Water Communion once a year, often at the beginning of the new church year (September). At the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Oxford, we have long celebrated the start of our year in just this way.

Members and friends bring to the service a small amount of water from a place that is special to them, perhaps a place they have visited during the summer. During the appointed time in the service, people one by one pour their water together into a large bowl. As the water is added, the person who brought it tells why this water is special to them. The combined water is symbolic of our shared faith coming from many different sources. Please bring small vials of water this Sunday, from your special places or water that symbolically represents these special places.

Bring a dish to share for our ingathering potluck and plan to stay for a good meal and a good time!

August 22--In the Sanctuary of Outcasts        Neil White

Our first principle states that we affirm the dignity and worth of each person. Come hear how Neal White learned about this principle, while in federal prison. "But it was no ordinary prison. The isolated, beautiful colony in Carville, Louisiana was also home to the last people in the continental United States disfigured by leprosy . . ."

"A remarkable story of a young man's loss of everything he deemed important, and his ultimate discovery that redemption can be taught by society's most dreaded outcasts." --John Grisham

Neil White lives and works in Oxford, where he owns a small publishing company. In addition to writing plays and essays, he teaches memoir writing. He is the former publisher of New Orleans Magazine, Coast magazine and Coast Business Journal. More information is available at: http://www.neilwhite.com. Welcome Neil!

August 29--For The Love of the Earth       Ken Sizemore

Ken Sizemore, a gifted musician from the coast known as "the Old Folkie," will be leading a musical program on loving the earth. In addition to the songs and readings in support of our seventh principle, members of the congregation will be invited to share some of their favorite places on the planet and how we can personally make a difference in taking care of our world.

Ken Sizemore is a long time leader in the UU Fellowship of Bay County, in Panama City, Florida. He has been performing folk and early pop music all over the country for more than 40 years. As a folk singer and guitarist, Ken plays the "classic" folk music of the 50's, 60's and 70's-songs by such artists as Peter, Paul, and Mary, The Kingston Trio, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, John Denver and many more. While based in Nashville for almost 30 years, he performed as a solo artist, as part of the folk duo "Judith and Ken", and with the folk trio "The Folk Revival". He has done thousands of concerts, clubs, listening rooms, coffee houses, banquets, and festivals over the years. In addition to playing concerts and coffee houses, Ken has developed a number of programs that he presents to church groups and has visited many of the Unitarian Universalist Congregations throughout our district! We are happy to have him back at UU

The UU Congregation of Oxford began gathering a decade ago and was formally recognized by the Unitarian Universalist Association in 1997. We moved into our current buiding in 2003. We are part of the Mid-South District.