By Rev. Jennifer A. Hackett UUCE Minister of Pastoral Care & Adult Faith Formation I am writing to you today to let you know that our colleague, the Rev. Lois Van Leer will be participating in the Service of the Living Tradition to signify her retirement from parish ministry.
Rev. Lo was my teaching minister last year when I was a ministerial intern at the UU Church in Eugene, OR. She mentored me and is now a friend.
The UU Church in Eugene is assembling a card bouquet to present to her after the service on 06/23. (Sadly, I believe the service is being restricted just to Assembly registrants due to Covid protocols).
We welcome cards mailed to the UU Church in Eugene ℅ Rev. Lois Van Leer 1685 W. 13th Ave Eugene, OR 97402 by Wednesday, June 15.
Filmmaker Vivien Hao is making a documentary film that uplifts and spotlights Asian and Pacific Islander Unitarian Universalists. The film needs your compelling story of experiences in general communities or Unitarian Universalist spaces. All people who identify as Asian and Pacific Islander and Unitarian Universalist in Washington State are invited to submit their stories for consideration to be in the film.
What if you thought of it
as the Jews consider the Sabbath—
the most sacred of times?
Cease from travel.
Cease from buying and selling.
Give up, just for now,
on trying to make the world
different than it is.
Sing. Pray. Touch only those
to whom you commit your life.
Center down.
And when your body has become still,
reach out with your heart.
Know that we are connected
in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.
(You could hardly deny it now.)
Know that our lives
are in one another’s hands.
(Surely, that has come clear.)
Do not reach out your hands.
Reach out your heart.
Reach out your words.
Reach out all the tendrils
of compassion that move, invisibly,
where we cannot touch.
Promise this world your love–
for better or for worse,
in sickness and in health,
so long as we all shall live.
Copyright Lynn Ungar 3/11/20
About the Author
The Rev. Dr. Lynn Ungar is minister for lifespan learning and editor of Quest for the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Larger Fellowship, an online congregation for isolated religious liberals. Her work is included in the anthology What We Share. …
Would you be foolhardy enough to
make a defiant gesture to a dictator? To her own shock, Helen, a risk-averse bureaucrat,
finds herself doing just that. Immediately, her wife and son — as well as her
livelihood and freedom — are severely threatened. This fast-moving drama
challenges audiences to ask themselves, “Would I have the moral courage to
risk everything for freedom?”
“Risk/Benefit” is an exciting hour-long drama
that will have its world premiere at Shoreline Unitarian Universalist Church in
late February. It will be presented as a staged reading. An open discussion
will follow.
Quotes from early readers:
“I love your play! It’s so ominous, but also so hopeful and it shows the
impact that one small act can have.”
“I started and could not put it down.” “I started reading
your play…and read it all at once!”
The playwright, Rev. Amanda Aikman, serves as
Temporary Minister at Shoreline UU Church. She has had a dozen plays produced,
and has won 14 national contests for her writing. The director, Carissa Meisner
Smit, has extensive directing experience at theaters throughout the Seattle
area.
Performances are at Shoreline UU Church, 14724 1st Ave NE, Shoreline on Sunday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m., and Saturday, Feb. 29 at 7 p.m. Tickets.
There will be a third performance at Prospect Congregational United Church of Christ, 1919 East Prospect, Seattle on Sunday, March 1 at 1 p.m. Tickets.
Tickets may be purchased through Brown Paper
Tickets or at the door. All seats $10. Not recommended for children under 12.
Join us for Seminary for a Day on Saturday, Jan. 25 at First Unitarian, Portland. This year’s spiritual theme is entitled, “Spiritual Practice for Difficult Times.”
This year’s keynote presenter will be Rev. Dr. Robert M. Hardies, senior minister of All Souls Church, Unitarian in Washington, DC, a large, dynamic and multicultural congregation in our nation’s capital. Rob is a former member of First Church, Portland, where he discovered Unitarian Universalism in the early 1990s. Rob’s own spiritual life has been deeply influenced by his 20-plus-year study of the spiritual practices of our Unitarian and Transcendentalist ancestors. At Seminary for a Day he is eager to share some of what he’s learned with folks at First Church.
Rev. Robert Hardies will join us for two dynamic workshops on spiritual practices. Additional offerings throughout the day will include such topics as Stories of Hope in Uncertain Times, Life and Nature as Sacred Text, The Practice of Prayer: A Holy Charge, Dancing to the Rhythms of the Earth, Writing in Response to Transcendentalism, and many more.
