Sunday Services – December 2019

December 1, 2019

Annie Bumgarner

Background:

Annie has been a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist since 1981. She has combined this knowledge with spiritual components by becoming a Licensed Unity Teacher and Prayer Chaplain Trainer. She has recently become fascinated by studying Non Violent Communication, a technique developed by Marshall Rosenberg, and is in the process of becoming an NVC trainer. Annie works at Cedar Creek ALF, teaching classes, gives sermons and is an owner of an import company with her husband, Arbuth. She thrives on learning and believes that wellness and spiritual growth is a lifelong process of choices and renewal that creates quality of living. Annie presently lives with her husband and their two cats Buddy and Elf in Hernando.

Topic:: “Inner Peace: Possible?”

Have you observed your thinking recently? Would the way you are thinking provide you with inner peace or a ticket for FAST thinking? How can we create a practice for creating inner peace?

December 8, 2019

Rev. Dee Graham

Background:

A Florida native, Rev Dee earned her MDiv from Starr King School for the Ministry, was ordained and awarded denominational fellowship in 1994. Since then, she served Southern congregations plus a number of years as a professional chaplain and community minister. Finishing this church year with her official retirement from active Unitarian Universalist ministry, the Rev Dee Graham looks forward to organizing her library in her new Gulfport FL home, putting into story episodes from her life and the lives of her ancestors, and giving occasional sermons when opportunities arise.

Topic:: TBA

December 15, 2019

Judi Siegal

Background:

Judi has a long background in Jewish education, is a founding member of Congregation Beth Israel of Ocala, and is a Jewish community leader. She is a member of Ocala Harmony, women’s barbershop chorus, loves RVing and has three wonderful grandkids. She lives in Ocala with husband Phil of 49 years.

Topic:
“Jews and the American Experience”

A survey history of the Jews in America and how Jewish values shaped American laws and ethics.

December 22, 2019

Dr. Tom Hibberd and the NCUU Players

Background & Topic:

Written by resident NCUU playwright, Tom Hibberd, produced & directed by Tom, Lowell Smith and Maralyn Boysen, the all -star NCUU players will present the age-old Greek myth/story of Demeter, goddess of agriculture and harvest, losing her beloved daughter Persephone who had been abducted by Hades to his underworld. Angry and grief-stricken, Demeter vowed to never let even a stalk of wheat grow again, unless her daughter was returned. Winter and darkness came to the earth; the end of life for everything on the earth would soon follow. So how was this tragic situation resolved? Come to this special Sunday Service and find out!

December 29, 2019

Lama Drupon Thinley Rinpoche

Background:

Drupon Thinley Ningpo Rinpoche was born into a nomadic family in Eastern Tibet during the height of religious and cultural persecution under the Maoist regime. At the age of seventeen he became a school teacher and soon after studied to become a veterinarian. Shortly after Mao’s death there was a Buddhist revival in the 1980s throughout Tibet and a period in which many of the destroyed monasteries and holy sites were reconstructed. Tibetans while still under tight political control were allowed to practice their spirituality openly and freely to some extent. During this time Drupon Rinpoche became very inspired to devote his life to the spiritual path. He was very involved in the work of rebuilding the monastery in his local community and soon took monastic ordination. In 1988 he went on a year-long pilgrimage, visiting holy places throughout Tibet which culminated in his dramatic escape, a perilous journey on foot, across the Himalayas from Tibet to India.

Once safely in India, he entered Janchubling Monastery in Dehradun where he studied Buddhist philosophy and served as a disciplinarian for six years. In 1994 he entered a rigorous period of solitary meditation and contemplation known as the traditional Three-Year Retreat. Soon after he was given the title “Drupon” which means “master of spiritual attainment.” At the request of his own teacher, he traveled to the United States in 2001 to serve as a spiritual guide and teacher of meditation for western students interested in the Tibetan spiritual practices. He currently resides as the spiritual director at Drong Ngur Jangchubling Buddhist Center in Wesley Chapel, Florida.

Topic:
“Methods for Developing an Inner Sense of Well-being and Happiness”

He will speak about meditation and mindfulness, dealing with physical and emotional hardship and solutions for cultivating peace and happiness.