March 4, 2018
Rev. Carol Yorke
Background:
Rev. Yorke, now retired, has been a UU minster in Florida since 1998 and is a NCUU favorite.
Topic:“The Promise and the Practice”
Seeking to draw attention to the presence and patterns of white supremacy in our UU congregations and systems, this program asks us to halt those patterns – individual as well as collective – as we build a new way together. Today’s worship was created specifically for The Promise and the Practice Sunday by black religious professionals who were compensated for their time, wisdom, and skills. Through dialogue and covenant they chose to “story” their own lives – that is, to draw on their lived experience and make of it a text to be absorbed by UUs of all races and ethnicities.
Our worship service this morning is uniquely prophetic: it calls to us who identify as white to listen, humbly and perhaps with some discomfort, to the lived reality of black Unitarian Universalists in our midst. This discomfort is both a gesture of hospitality to voices that have not been heard enough, and a sign that we’re growing in the right direction. If you’re joining us today as a guest, know that you are witnessing this Unitarian Universalist congregation doing sacred work: collectively, we will wrestle with what it means to be a majority-white faith whose anti-racist intentions have not always been borne out.
March 11, 2018
Jeffrey Weisberg
Background:
Jeffrey Weisberg is a co-founder and executive director of the River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding, a comprehensive community peacebuilding model. Jeffrey is a lead facilitator in conflict resolution, social emotional learning, experiential learning and leadership development. Jeffrey has presented at national conferences and offered his expertise internationally through the US state department.
Topic:
“Humanizing Justice: From Conflict to Connection”
Conflict is inevitable, yet violence is not. Hidden within conflict lies tremendous potential to heal, grow, co-create and transform our relationship with self and others. Dominic Barter, a restorative justice facilitator writes; “Rather than being dangerous, conflict holds within it vital messages regarding unmet needs and areas of necessary change. Given this understanding, safety is increased not by avoiding conflict, but by moving towards it with the intention of hearing the messages within.”
So often in our criminal justice system, we focus on punishment as an act of accountability rather than using a restorative lens to rebuild relationships and repair broken trust.
March 18, 2018
Cliff Jackson
Background:
Cliff has been married to his dear wife Cathy for 43 years. They have two children Lisa and Sandra who are both married and living out of the nest. Cliff got his Organic Chemistry degree from Florida Technological University ( now called University of Central Florida) He started a chemical manufacturing business in 1980 that grew rapidly. ( be careful what you wish , lol) The last four years, which seemed like 20, it was running 24/7. He sold the business in 1996 and entered “slow time”; time to join UU, time to travel with family, time to grow personally and spiritually.
Topic:
“Aden’s Introduction to Jonathan Livingston Seagull ”
Life sends us challenges. Often, we have no choice in what comes our way. Surrounded by the shambles of what was, it is often difficult to see a clear way forward. Cliff has always enjoyed solving puzzles. Recently Cliff’s daughter presented a problem with his grandson. Pieces of that puzzle, a grampa, a grandson, an illness, a soul matters packet, a dusty little book that has sat on a shelf for 30 years and an ocean come together to show a clear path for a new way forward. We may not have a choice in what comes our way, but we do have a choice in how we live with it.
Transcript of Talk
March 25, 2018
Lynne Westmoreland
Background:
Lynne Westmoreland is a former professional pianist and teacher. In 2011 she received a second master’s in humane education. After teaching online for five years for the Institute for Humane Education she is now self-employed and teaching in the areas of humane education, non-violent communication, and meditation, mindful speech, and deep listening. Her teaching and talks draw on her Buddhist, Unitarian Universalist, Native American, and humane education experience, Her mission is to help us each discover those places where our lives and lifestyles may not accurately reflect our deepest values and ethics
Topic:
“My Religion is Kindness”
Examining what deep and unshakeable values do indeed direct our lives.
All Sunday Services begin at 10:30 AM.
Please join us after the service for coffee and refreshments followed by
a “Talkback Q&A Session” with our speaker.
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