Sunday Morning Worship
Sunday morning worship begins at 10:30 a.m. at UUFA.
Submit a Joy, Sorrow or Milestone here. (Please note: Items submitted after 8 a.m. Sunday may be shared the following week.)
For the link to join virtually on Sunday or access the archives, reach out to members@uuathensga.org or contact the administrator at admin@uuathensga.org.
This theme for January is Practicing Resistance.
The Fellowship offers many opportunities and invitations to explore and practice the theme. We will be exploring the theme through out the month in worship and Religious Exploration.
January 4: “Release, Cleanse, and Renew” with Michelle Covi and Leigh Harvey
For this New Year’s worship service, we will use the ritual of the fire communion to let go of anything from the last year that needs to be released, metaphorically cleanse our spirits, and prepare ourselves to begin the year with hope and intention, supported by each other in a loving community.
January 11: “How Not to Give Up When You Can’t Win” with Rev. Dr. Pippin Whitaker
As any underdog sports coach can tell you, how you play when a loss is ensured demonstrates the core character of the team. But it does more than that, in sports as in life. Bring your personal stories of resistance to this worship service.
January 18: “What We Resist Persists” with Chaplain Michelle Leebens-Mack
No matter our role in life, we are called to resist from a place of love those things that go against our UU Values. As Father Richard Rohr states: “To actively oppose something actually engages with it and gives it energy. That’s why good spiritual teachers say ‘What you resist persists.’” Chaplain Michelle Leebens-Mack will expand on our role in resisting through love.
January 25: with Rev. Dr. Pippin Whitaker
The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Let us delve into the truth of our hearts, minds, and spirits in this worship service on commitment.
Are you seeking more ways to explore the theme of Practicing Resistance?
Reflection Ideas and Questions
Are you seeking more ways to explore the theme of practicing resistance?
Consider reflecting on these quotes:
When you experience resistance, you find the lessons that you are meant to learn. – Jon Gordon
Whatever you fight, you strengthen. What you resist, persists. – Eckhart Tolle
If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. – Archbishop Desmond Tutu
You can’t be neutral on a moving train. – Howard Zinn
In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. – Martin Luther King Jr
Our resistance is not predicated on how likely it will be to alter the conscience of the oppressor. We resist to retain our own conscience. And to awaken all others who are still in possession of their own souls. – Cole Arthur Riley
Some questions you may use as a prompt for conversation or for a journal entry follow:
- As a kid, did you resist the rules, or did you follow them? How might you see an echo of that earlier self in your life today?
- Is it time to heed the warning that “What you resist, persists”?
- How might resistance be calling you to rest?
- What song, book or movie has inspired or supported your resistance efforts?
- How is your corner of the world calling you to help save it?
