Starting April 3, masks and social distancing will be optional for vaccinated adults and children over five at UUNB, barring unforeseen Covid flare-ups. Spaced seating will also be available in the gathering room for those who want extra precautions. Other Covid requirements, including vaccination, remain in place with one exception–coffee will be available following the April 3 service! See you there.
Category: Uncategorized
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Building Your Own Theology class with Rev. Addae
This three-volume curriculum is based on the assumption that everyone is their own theologian. The first session begins with an introduction to the six sources of Unitarian Universalism. At the end of the three sessions participants will create a personal credo. All sessions will be virtual from 9:00am-12:00pm. Contact Rev. Addae with questions or to enroll. revaddae@verizon.net or email uunb135@gmail.com
February 19, Saturday – Volume1
Introduction to the six Sources of our UU faith, and discussing/exploring your personal fundamental religious beliefs, values and convictions that inform the way you direct your life.
February 26, Saturday – Volume 2
This session continues the credo-development process by focusing on various theological questions to help you grow in your ability to understand and clearly articulate your own belief systems.
March 19, Saturday – Volume 3
Participants will examine key issues in religious inquiry, including truth and authority, theological diversity, spirituality, sin and salvation, justice, suffering, death, immortality and the concept of the beloved community.
Reading List
Rev. Addae strongly recommends these titles to newcomers and anyone else who wishes to fill in the gaps about the history of Unitarian Universalism. All of these books are available at www.uuabookstore.org
- Being Liberal in an Illiberal Age: Why I’m a Unitarian Universalist by Jack Mendelsohn
- A Chosen Faith: An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism by Forrrest Church, John A. Buehrens
- Universalism 101 by Richard Trudeau
- The Larger Faith: A Short History of American Universalism Author: Charles A. Howe
- A Stream of Light: A Short History of American Unitarianism Author: Conrad Wright
- Without Apology: Collected Meditations on Liberal Religion by A. Powell Davies (Forrest Church)
- Black Pioneers in a White Denomination Author: Mark D Morrison-Reed
- A People So Bold: Theology and Ministry for Unitarian Universalist John Millspaugh editor
- Three Prophets of Religious Liberalism: Channing, Emerson, Parker Author: Conrad Wright
- Faith Without Certainty by Paul Rasor
- A Documentary History of Unitarian Universalism from beginning-1899
- A Documentary History of Unitarian Universalism from 1900- Present
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Congregational Meeting Agenda for January 22, 2022
Dear Members and Friends of UUNB,
Please save the date for our next Congregational Meeting to be held on Saturday, January 22, 2022 at 1:00PM in the Zoom Room (zoom details will be provided closer to the date).
Please review the following documents before the meeting:
- Previous Congregational Meeting Minutes
- January 22, 2022 Congregational Meeting Agenda and Slate of Candidates (below)
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THE DISCUSSION GROUP
Listed below are items considered but have not yet selected for discussion. The group shares these to give you a sense of the subjects we’re willing to tackle.
This list, plus other subjects no yet identified—including any great ideas you suggest—will be used to identify the focuse of our next extended conversation.
So join and help us decide which.
YouTube Videos
“Is America Due for a Revolution? How to fix a broken system. Some Americans have claimed that the time has come for another revolution. See what others think.
Is America due for a Revolution? A Braver Angels Debate
Podcast The New Liberals Podcast: When it comes to the political, it’s not unusual to agree to disagree. But when our modern discourse so often feels toxic, how can we be more agreeable in our disagreement? “Disagreeing Better” with John Wood, Jr. https://newliberals.fm/episodes/1-disagreeing-better-with-john-wood-jr
Book Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World. This book by Jason Hickel due to come out Nov. 1, 2021, in paperback and Kindle, is described as “A groundbreaking exploration of the best possible solution to the climate crisis: a new economic model, and a new way of viewing our relationship with the natural world
Weblinks “Death of local newspapers: 2,” 100 or 25% of 9,000 local newspapers published in 2003 died by 2018, creating news deserts with no coverage of critical local issues; many in rural places but also wealthy suburbs. Numerous causes and dire consequences aggravate divisiveness and political divide. Why a problem? How can we fight back and better support local news sources?
and
Book Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth, Chris Tomlinson and Jason Stanford. The Texas revolt, for 150 years, was largely ignored by academics, in part because…state government of Texas…for 120, 130 years, made very clear to the University of Texas faculty and to the faculty of other state-funded universities that it only wants one type of Texas history taught … and that if you get outside those boundaries, you’re going to hear about it.
Book 12 Rules for Life, An Antidote to Chaos ©2018 Jordan B. Peterson Renowned psychologist’s answer to most difficult questions combines truths of ancient tradition with stunning revelations of cutting-edge scientific research. Humorous, surprising and informative. Why why skateboarders must be left alone, terrible fate awaits those who criticize too easily, why you should always pet a cat when you meet one on the street. Shatters modern commonplaces of science, faith and human nature, while transforming and ennobling the mind and spirit of its readers.
Book On Tyranny Graphic Edition: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century ©2021 Timothy A clear picture of how to learn from history in order to protect and preserve democracy Snyder uses 20th-century moments to teach 20 lessons on resisting modern-day authoritarianism. Among them are: warning how symbols used today could affect tomorrow, reminder to fully research everything for yourself, use personalized / individualized speech rather than mass appeal clichés. Emphasizes importance of being active, conscious, and deliberate participants in resistance. Nora Krug uses highly inventive art style to breathe new life, color, & power into historical references, making a quick-read pocket guide visually striking rumination.
Book Caste, The Origins of Our Discontents ©2021 Isabel Wilkerson From NY Times (highly rated): Wilkerson’s book is about how brutal misperceptions about race have disfigured the American experiment. This is a topic that major historians and novelists have examined from many angles, with care, anger, deep feeling and sometimes simmering wit.
Book On Corruption in America – And What Is at Stake ©202016 Sara Chayes Zepher Teachout Filled with colorful anecdotes about Americans getting away with all sorts of chicanery… shows that it is possible to establish and maintain governmental institutions that shield us from our worst instincts. This was the goal of Madison and his peers, and it could still be achieved with a better public-election finance system, which could be constitutional under Citizens United if the system did not restrict private donations. Democrats who will be looking for a fresh agenda in 2016 should read Teachout’s book carefully.”—Max Ehrenfreund, The Washington Post
Book The End of White Christian America, Robert P Jones. The religious right may be even more “dangerous on its decline than in its triumphant phase.”
Book Surviving Autocracy, Masha Gessen. …the Trump phenomenon and how it has transformed US society
Book The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race, Walter Issacson. Explores significant advance in biology… important consequences for the future of the human race…presents a set of ethical questions on the issue of gene editing – should we or not, who decides, what should be permitted
Interested?
Send an email to José at
to let us know and to suggest other topics
Current participants
- Bruce Carpenter,
- Carolyn Carr,
- José Antonio Contreras,
- Mary Hitch,
- Irene Keller,
- Bob Keyser,
- Ted Mills,
- Mary Powel,
- Toby Tate,
- Tricia Stevens,
- Kathryn Walker
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Christmas Eve Special Event
“Hope and Joy” – Rev. Addae Kraba & Yesenia McNett
Christmas offers us a chance to affirm together the vision that shapes and challenges us as a people of faith, because our faith is evident in the way we celebrate the season. Love reaches out beyond our own families as our hands do the work of making this world a better place for all people. Let’s celebrate those things that offer hope to bring us joy. 🎄 This service will be posted to the UUNB YouTube page by 6pm on Christmas Eve. You can access the service at the time which is the most pleasant for you and your family at the UUNB YouTube Channel.
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Reopening Announcement
The Board of Trustees is delighted to announce that our wonderful church will be reopened for in-person hybrid services beginning December 5! Those of you that wish to continue attending via Zoom will be able to do that. You will continue to receive a newsletter and a mid-month UUpdate with the Zoom link. Those of you who wish to attend in-person can do so beginning December 5. Out of continuing concern for our health and well-being, vaccinations and masks will be required. Determination of vaccination status will be on the honor system. If you have not been fully vaccinated, please continue to attend via Zoom. Please bring a mask, although we will have some to distribute if you forget. We will have greeters to meet you at the doors and ushers to help you with seating.
The church will be divided into two spaces – one for vaccinated adults and one for largely still unvaccinated children. Adults will enter through the front double doors, pass through the foyer, and enter the Gathering Room. Children will enter through the playground door and enter the RE room. Both spaces have been equipped with air purifiers which kill the Covid-19 virus. A divider will be set up in the hallway between the two bathrooms. The former men’s bathroom will become the RE children’s bathroom. The former women’s bathroom will become a new unisex bathroom for adults. Bathroom use will be restricted to one person at a time.
The Gathering Room has been set up with 8 chairs socially distanced by 6 feet for immunocompromised adults, and 22 chairs socially distanced by 3 feet. When you enter the foyer, a greeter will ask you your party’s size and if you want to sit in a group. An usher will set up additional chairs next to each other to accommodate couples or larger groups. The RE children will be masked and socially distanced by 3 feet. If you have a child in RE, Jessica will be providing more details.
For now, there will be no beverage or food served, however, bottled water will be available. You are also invited to bring your own. We will not be requiring reservations, but a greeter will keep a list of attendees if we need names for contact tracing. If you are diagnosed with Covid-19 after having attended a service in-person, we ask that you inform Dianne Rahm via email or phone. If there are any questions, you can also contact Dianne Rahm (dianne.rahm@sbcglobal.net or 210-216-4976).
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Congregational Meeting Agenda for September 25, 2021
The next congregational meeting will be on September 25, 2021 at 1:00 PM.
All Members should receive emailed copies of the agenda, minutes of the previous congregational meeting, and the Zoom log-in prior to the meeting. If you are missing your materials, or if you are a Friend of the congregation and wish to attend, please email Pamela Schleicher with your request.
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Congregational Meeting Agenda for May 22, 2021
The next congregational meeting will be on Saturday, May 22 at 1pm.
All Members should receive emailed copies of the agenda, minutes of the January 23 meeting, and the Zoom log-in prior to the meeting. If you are missing your materials, or if you are a Friend of the congregation and wish to attend, please email Pamela Schleicher with your request.
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Project Santa Claus
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! We hope that you and all of your family members have had a wonderful Merry Christmas. Now it is time for a new year to start and for us to start planning our futures. With the COVID vaccines being administered, hopes of a better tomorrow are starting to whet our appetites to travel, to visit others, to get out and see the world again. While that could be our future, the future of those stuck at the border is much, much less certain. Let us hope our new administration will change the programs affecting our asylum seekers and make it easier for them to come into our country. Let us hope their lives will be better in the near future. Recently our UUNB congregation participated in a project that made the lives of those stuck at the border much better.
On Monday, December 21st, Tully Tullberg, Jo Pendleton (IWC member), and I crossed over into Nuevo Laredo, Mexico to take Christmas presents to the children of the parents stuck at the border. Many members of our church donated funds, toys, clothing, and other supplies to put together individualized gift bags for the kids. We then added items such as toiletries, fruit, candy, coloring books, and crayons, etc. The end result was 12 gift bags for the children in Nuevo Laredo and 7 for those in Saltillo, Mexico. We also took clothing, blankets, and food items for the adults. While we were there, the children put on a Nativity Play for us. It was amazing that they were able to make costumes, build paper mâché animals, angel wings, etc. They even built a small hut to simulate a manger. The baby Christ Child was an actual live refugee baby! We gave so little to them, but they gave us so much in return.
The leaders of the Refugee Support Network, the UUNB Board of Trustees, and other generous members of our community wish to thank all of those that helped make this project a huge success. We all experience a warm feeling when we are able to help others. Those 25 or so families that we gave a small bit of holiday spirit to will realize that there are some Americans who truly believe in their cause and will help them in whatever manner they can.
Here’s hoping you have a wonderful New Year!! Continue to stay healthy and to observe the guidelines of the CDC.
Chili Ornelas
