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.
The UUFA monthly theme for July is Renewal. The Fellowship offers many opportunities and invitations to explore and practice the theme. We will be exploring the theme throughout the month in worship and Religious Exploration.
July 5: “Freedom Is Not Just Another Word” with Chaplain Michelle Leebens-Mack
Freedom is not just another word, contrary to what Janis Joplin sang in her 1971 song “Me and Bobby McGee.” As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, we will explore the theme of freedom. Chaplain Michelle Leebens-Mack invites you to examine with her what Franklin Delano Roosevelt called the “Four Freedoms” in his 1941 State of the Union Speech to Congress. Our Unitarian Universalist Covenant calls us “to learn from one another in our free and responsible search for truth and meaning,” and as American activist Fannie Lou Hamer famously said, “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” Let’s learn and grow together.
July 12: “Renewing the American Quilt” with Myrna Adams West and Herb West
At the 1984 Democratic Convention, Civil Rights and LGBTQ rights activist, the Rev. Jesse Jackson described America as a “quilt—many patches, many pieces, many colors, many sizes, all woven and held together by a common thread.” It has been 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Join Herb West and Myrna Adams West in exploring how we might renew that common thread.
July 19: Title: Good Conflict with Reverend Jonathan M. Rogers
As UUs, we covenant to “dismantle racism and all systems of oppression.” This covenant includes our prison industrial complex, which directly oppresses millions of people in our country. In seeking to humanize our nation’s justice system, we remember the words of Frederick Douglass, “Power concedes nothing without a demand.” Speaking truth to power and bringing change to oppressive systems will require productive confrontation and conflict with those who benefit and profit from the current system. Douglass, Unitarian abolitionists, and others from the abolitionist movement of the 19th century have a great deal to teach about abolishing systemic oppression in the 21st century. Let us join together in honoring our collective humanity by affirming the path to freedom for all in our nation.
Reverend Jonathan M. Rogers is an affiliated community minister from Abundant Love, an emerging UU congregation in Atlanta’s West End rooted in the African-American tradition. He serves as a volunteer driver and spiritual outreach coordinator for Freedom University, a freedom school for undocumented students. He believes strongly in our UU principle of justice, which calls us to “dismantle racism and all forms of systemic oppression.” He lives in Decatur with his wife Annie and their three rescue dogs: Tony, Grover, and Pickles.
July 26: Changing the Landscape with Bob Clements, Leigh Harvey, Bob and Jane Kobres
By changing the landscape, beavers help create an ecosystem that supports life. In our social landscape, social rights and freedoms are eroding. Join members of the congregation and the Beaver Riparian Team to explore how we, too, can change the landscape to build a balanced, healthy social ecosystem that benefits all.
Are you seeking more ways to explore the theme of renewal?
Consider reflecting on these quotes:
A day when one has not pushed oneself to the limit seems a damaged, damaging day, a sinful day. Not so! The most valuable thing one can do for the psyche, occasionally, is to let it rest, wander, live in the changing light of a room. May Sarton
Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us. Maya Angelou
Even if my body and spirit are asking for a break, I expect myself to power through. But if I power through, I am not leaving room for guidance of the spirit. Rev. Darcey Laine
Humanity is on a treadmill that is moving fast. And if you were to ask, “Where are you going? The answer may very well be, “I don’t know but I have to get there quickly.” Betty Goedhart
All you can do for another person is be an environment in which if they wanted to come up for air, they could. Ram Dass
Some questions you may use as a prompt for conversation or for a journal entry follow:
- How does your body tell you it is in need of renewal? What is it telling you now?
- Which of your senses most reliably leads you to renewal? What might you do this week to make room for its gift?
- More of an invitation than a question: Spend one day in which you produce nothing, don’t check a single thing off your to-do list, confront no problems and search for no solutions. What happened?
