The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Oxford
Follow UUCO
  • About
    • Unitarian Universalism
    • Our Covenant
    • Our Team
    • Directions
  • Our Services
    • UUCO Service Schedule
    • Online Services
  • Religious Exploration
    • Children and Youth
    • UM Campus Outreach
    • Adult Religious Exploration
  • Social Justice
    • Welcoming Congregation
    • Green Sanctuary
    • Interfaith Compassion Ministry
    • Community Resources
  • UUCO Music & Art
  • Members & Friends
    • Compassion Ministry
    • Online Giving >
      • Share the Plate
    • UUCO Hall Calendar
    • UUCO Documents
    • UUCO Online Directory >
      • UUCO Directory
    • More Resources
  • Contact

The Life of Joseph Priestley - June 28, 2015

6/25/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Roger Kuhnle will share a touch of Unitarian Universalist history in an exploration of the life of Joseph Priestley and his effects on science and religion. Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) was an important figure in science, religion, and politics in England and in the early days of our country, after he emigrated to the United States. A contemporary and associate of Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, he is credited with discovering Oxygen and with shaking up religion and politics with his ideas. Be inspired by the example of this courageous historical figure.

0 Comments

Growing Up UU, by Ruby Reithel

6/22/2015

0 Comments

 
Late last year, Ruby Reithel shared her unique experience as a child growing up in a UU congregation. Ruby is a university student, equine trainer and riding instructor, and member of UUCO. 

Growing Up UU

Picture
Growing up UU meant there was never only one right way of doing things -- whether that meant building dreamcatchers, designing thank-you cards, or drawing pictures of what God might look like.

Growing up UU meant that as a child, even with my own extended family living halfway across the country, I never once in my life have felt unloved. When UU's run into each other around town (especially when you are a "UU Child"), they often engage in a sort of odd, exceedingly joyous, exceedingly celebratory display of affection that to-the-unfamiliar may seem somewhat over-zealous. You'll get used to it.

Growing up UU meant I had a circle of friends that were steady playmates, peers, and almost like siblings. I grew up with these people. We embarrassed ourselves at talent shows (repeatedly, over time), cooked together, ate together, got stung by bees together, dealt with the shortcomings of public education together, camped together, rock-climbed together, volunteered at the Humane Society, local Pantry, and elderly homes together.

Picture
Growing up UU meant I, even as a child, felt important and felt my voice mattered.

Growing up UU meant I believed there was an abundance of Good in the world -- and knew that there were others who felt the same.

Growing up UU meant I was not afraid to rant and rave about my interests and passions -- because I understood these were truly things which made me unique and worthwhile.

Growing up UU meant not everyone in the world would understand me, or comprehend what it means to be Unitarian Universalist, but un familiarity is just a part of life, and a chance for teaching and sharing, and that's okay.

Growing up UU meant there was always more to learn -- about life, about love, and about other ways of thinking. A closed door is simply that -- a closed opportunity. We don't always have grand choices in our lives, but when we realize our power is in finding the open doors -- we become free and powerful navigators of our own lives.

0 Comments

Summer Solstice - June 21, 2015

6/18/2015

0 Comments

 
On June 21, 2015, at 11:39 am, the sun is going to be at its most northerly place in the sky. It will also be the longest day of the year.
Ancient peoples all over the world celebrated this important day with rituals to the return of the sun after a long period of darkness.  The five animal play is a Taoist Qigong that imitates five animal movements, with four animals representing a cardinal direction and one marking the center.

During this movement ritual we can observe the interaction of the five animals and seasons by imitating their spirits, which can bring us closer to understanding the seasonal cycles of the earth.

Vicki Reithel and Chris Aloia will lead us in this service.


0 Comments

World Religions Wrap-Up    June 14, 2015

6/11/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture

Members of our Unitarian Universalist community have been meeting monthly since last fall, to study and discuss major world religions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Primal Religions and Taoism.  Huston Smith's book, The World Religions, has been the guide for this journey.

The study has helped participants deconstruct stereotypes by looking at each religion's origins, cultural context and foundational beliefs.  Despite the many differences, they saw commonalities. For example, each faith enjoins its followers to love one another and show compassion. In spite of cultural and religious differences, if we listen closely in love, we discover the same universal search for connection to something larger than ourselves. 


At this service, study participants will share readings and excerpts to give 'voice' for each religion, focusing on ways other faiths intersect with Unitarian Universalist principles. Join us in experiencing a compassionate respect for the tapestry of beliefs in our world.

0 Comments

Marching in the Arc of Justice with Susan Zachos

6/5/2015

0 Comments

 
In March 2015, UUCO member Susan Zachos attended the "Marching in the Arc of Justice" Conference in Birmingham, Alabama, which celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Selma Voting Rights Campaign. In this post, Susan reflects on her experiences in this landmark event.

Reflections on my "Marching in the Arc of Justice" Experience

PictureImage © 2015. Living Legacy Project. All Rights Reserved.
Last March, I went to a Conference honoring "the 50th Anniversary of the Selma Voting Rights Campaign."  Expertly planned and hosted by UU's Living Legacy Project (with support from the UUA General Assembly), those 3 days were Powerful & Unforgettable.  If you don't know the Living Legacy Project, come to the dinner we host RIGHT HERE each fall. Or visit their web site, to get inspired and get involved.

From the opening remarks of the Rev. Hope Johnson, to the Day Three March across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the buoyant energy was like no gathering I have attended. 

In her opening remarks, Rev. Johnson set the tone by reminding us that, to have "hope for better days and a more just tomorrow," we must live in right relationship with each other.  Wisely, she also reminded us that, although many of us are "fueled by the raw yearning for meaning in our lives – to MAKE meaning OF our lives,"  we cannot do that unless we also take time to create space for that "right relationship" to blossom.  The Conference created that space for many.  And we came away inspired, with new clarity about the past, and for the future. 

Rev. Johnson also reminded us that "living fully and deeply means taking risks."  

What we did in Selma this year was not "taking risks," but taking time, and making space, to honor and celebrate those who did – those both living and gone.  They took risks, so that each of us might come closer to finding that "right-relationship" with each other and the world.

The Conference was also creative, in its kaleidoscope of activities and speakers.  It included huge gatherings, rousing speakers, singing & dancing, mounds of delicious food, tweets, workshops, and visits to historic places.  Here are some of my recollections: 

  • Joyfully and passionately singing my heart out to the music of the 60's protest songs, led by Reggie & Kim Harris and Brother Sun -- every day and night of the Conference!
  • Watching actors present powerful scenes from Night Blooms – a play by Margaret Baldwin based on her personal research about events in her grandmother's home in Selma 50 years ago.
  • Gaining new insights about the many facets of racism – from incarceration and targeting in the criminal justice system, to modern-day denial of voting rights.  As a speaker on "the New Jim Crow" panel pointed out "even if we woke up tomorrow and no one was racist, there are still systems in place that would result in racism."
  • Being moved to tears by Rev. William Barber who was an overwhelming, powerful and irresistible force of logic and passion.  Among other things, he founded the huge Moral Mondays movement in North Carolina – because, as one of the speakers quoted him -- "we're tired of people hating on each other."
  • Being humbled and inspired by the vision and determination of Opal Tometi – who (with 2 other young women), founded Black Lives Matter.  She explained "leadership from the margins," and told us, "You have to BE what you want to see in the world."
  • The rare privilege of a quiet lunch conversation with one of the veterans who was there - who not only took risks to change history, but was himself changed by the bravery and kindness of the towns people who sheltered and fed him.
  • Reflecting on the pain of the families that were torn apart by the Civil Rights movement, as we solemnly watched the living family members emerge from the Brown Chapel AME Church where protesters took sanctuary 50 years ago.
  • Being deeply thankful to the thousands who participated in the Civil Rights movement (when I was only 12), as we topped the arch of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, shoulder to shoulder, Black and White, singing Civil Rights Marching songs  -- in complete and total safety.
  • And finally, laughing out loud at the extreme irony, while members of the Alabama National Guard – both Black and White – posed for "selfies" with many of the young marchers, just yards from where their predecessors attacked non-violent protesters 50 years ago.  Place and Time had become weird dimensions.



Remembering the love and joy in the air, as I was pressed in among the thousands marching across the Bridge that sunny Sunday afternoon in Selma, I am reminded of something I had only felt once before – in 2009 as I walked the streets of our Nation's Capital, and then stood among thousands in the freezing cold, at the base of the Washington Monument on the Capital Mall, during President Obama's first inauguration.


But, as we know – one election, one event, even a hero's death, cannot change the world forever.  What does change the world is:  all of us, willing to take even small risks, one day at a time, to Stand on the Side of Love.

Learn more about this event

Visit the the conference website or watch highlights from the conference.
0 Comments

    Archives

    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014

    Categories

    All
    Announcement
    Highlight
    Service
    Special Event

    RSS Feed



📧 uucostaffer@gmail.com
📍31 County Road 198, Oxford MS
PictureUsing Amazon for your online shopping needs? By clicking this link to the Amazon homepage a portion of every purchase you make goes back to help UUCO.




Please click above to donate to UUCO.

Copyright © 2014, The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Oxford. All rights reserved.