August 2011 Blog Posts (17)

Attending the June 2011 GA this summer left me buzzing with energy for this upcoming church year. I'm also starting my third church year at UUCA working as the Director of Youth Ministry, so I'm more aware of the nuances of youth ministry and how to connect the dots at church.

Over the course of this summer I had the privilege of attending numerous conferences as a panelist and as a scholarship winner. I won a scholarship to attend the …

Just in time for Labor  Day Sundy ... from the AFL-CIO NOW BLOG - http://blog.aflcio.org -

This blog is featured at the UUA website for Standing on the Side of Love, with photos.

On Wednesday, August 24, 10 members of UUCA and I joined some 300 people to testify against the US Homeland Security initiative called "Secure Communities".  A Task Force, charged with reporting back on this policy to ICE, held hearings around the…

Wednesday August 24th

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is holding a hearing on the massive deportation program, "Secure Communities," program TONIGHT in ARLINGTON!  

Press conference and rally 5:00pm 

St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church

3304 Washington Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201               

The Hearing will be at 6:00 - 8:00pm

George Mason Law School @Founders Hall  

3351 Fairfax Drive Arlington, Virginia 

ICE…

The UUCA building rocked and rolled along with everyone else in the area.  But it seems to be fine on first inspection. 

How are the rest of you?   My heart goes out to everyone who was stranded on the streets or in traffic after all the office buildings emptied.  Safe travels home, and we'll see you in our sanctuary soon!

This Labor Day . . . PROTEST

 MURDER in Colombia

• 50 Labor Union Activists Assassinated there in 2010
• World Leader in Union…

The GREAT NEWS is that we will be welcoming a growing number of children and youth to UUCA's learning groups this fall!  We are planning for 28 or 29 groups, the most we've had in years, for the more than 430 currently registered.  We are also expecting that we will be adding more friends to our groups, as new families come to UUCA.

The CHALLENGE to all UUCAers is that all these groups mean we need some 120 teens, young adults, and adults to be on the teaching teams (four per…

Maybe it’s just personal things—my writing, or my brother’s illness—but there’s something else bothering me:

The nature of public dialogue among us spiritual progressives. 

I’m worried about our focus on morality and blame.   I was grateful for Rev. Carlton’s sermon “Gently” because that’s not what I’m hearing much anywhere else. 

I’m not happy about all the media folks piling blame on Obama for not being angry…

I had a great time at our church booth at the Arlington County Fair on Thursday night.  I hope many of you can stop by, or even volunteer a couple of hours at the booth.  It is a great way to meet and greet church members, and folks who are a bit curious about our church--- I had some wonderful conversations with a wide range of people--- an energizing night!  

12th & Delaware

As we watch President Obama, with both grief and dismay from the leftward leaning sidelines (and lesser playing fields) we have to ask ourselves (all progressive communities) what are we doing to lay the groundwork for liberal literacy in this country? For it has surely been both taken for granted and swept away from honest discussion, as if we actually imagine that we have lived for the last 50 years under pure laissez faire capitalism. 

 

In fact, since Roosevelt, we have been…

FROM INTERFAITH WORKER JUSTICE:

"Labor Day weekend is a time for congregations to reflect on the significance of work and labor in the society. It offers an opportunity to lift up the shared values between unions and religious…

Today - August 2nd -  is the birthday of one of my favorite Unitarian she-roes! 

The pioneering religious educator Sophia Lyon Fahs was born in China in 1876, the daughter of Presbyterian missionaries.  She went to the College of Wooster, in Ohio (my alma mater!), and then went on to get her MA from Columbia Teachers College in NYC in 1904, and in 1926 her Divinity degree from Union Theological School in NYC.  A student of John Dewey, she revolutionized religious education, moving…