Programs for the Year 2009
January 4: The Power of Positive Addictions - Rev. Ron Green
We all know the destructive power of addictions, but there is an equally positive power when the behaviors we are addicted to have a positive influence in our life. We can nurture these behaviors. What better time than the New Year to reflect on nurturing positive behaviors in our life?January 11: An Unintended Spiritual Journey - Bill and Mary Ann Griffin
The Griffins will talk about the death of their youngest son, Yale.January 18: The Power of Community - Rev. Ron Green
The communities we are part of influence us in many ways. Some can be quite helpful, others can harm us. We need first to recognize the power of community and then choose our associations wisely. Our UU Fellowship is an important community for us. This Sunday we will consider the effect communities can have, particularly our very own UU community.January 25: Race and Memory in American History - Barclay Key
February 1: Hal-Obama-luia !! - Rev. Ron Green
What is it that has a good bit of the world singing Alleluia these days? Ok, easy answer. Anyway, I’d like to spend a morning program celebrating why we are so hopeful and happy. Maybe it won’t last, in which case it is all the more reason to savor this moment.February 8: Beginning America Anew: The Obama Awakening - John Simmons, Chair of the WIU Philosophy Department
February 15: A Trip Through Egypt - Larry and Melanie Rawlins
The coffee bean and coffeehouse have a rich and troubled history. Coffee is the world’s second most valuable market commodity after petroleum. Coffeehouses have been banned by Imans, women have been banned from them, and some say they sparked the seeds of the enlightenment and the first encyclopedia. Grab a cup and come to this program!February 23: TBA - Tom Carper, former mayor of Macomb
March 1: Joseph Priestly Scientist, Unitarian, Discoverer of Oxygen - Rev. Ron Green
March 8: Corporate Pig Farms: 11 years after "Naked Came the Farmer." - Bill Knight and Karen Hudson
March 15: That word "Liberal." What does it mean to be a "Religious Liberal"? - Rev. Ron Green
March 22: The American Dream: Changing Stories, Shifting Roles - Tracy Knight
March 29: How Local Foods Build Community - Vajo Necak
April 5: The Experience of Loneliness - Rev. Ron Green
Lonely is a feeling we all know, and experience as sublimely painful. It is part and parcel of the human condition. Overcoming it is part spiritual growth and part relational. Come for a discussion of this universal experience.April 12: Jesus as a Risen Robin Hood? - Amy Carr
April 19: Spirituality for the UU - Rev. Ron Green
There is much to development of the spirit that is necessary for fullness and satisfaction in life. Though there are many names for the stages and processes of growth, some religious and some not, we are all spiritual beings. Our discussion will highlight the means and paths to spiritual growth.April 28: Building Community in an age of Globalization - Tom Sadler
August 22 (Saturday), 7:00 PM: Water Ceremony
Darwin Series
August 23: Darwin, Evolution, and Religion - Ken Cramer
August 30: Darwin and Morality - Brian Powell
September 6: The Human Animal?: Darwin and Turn-of-the- Century American
and British Literature - Jacque Wilson-Jordan
September 13: Bread and Roses? How workers fought on May Day but got Labor Day - Peter Cole
September 20: Love Skills and Petty Tyrants - John Curtis
September 27: Bronson Alcott: Transcendentalist Educator - Molly Selders
October 4: Living Deliberately According to Thoreau - Tom Joswick
October 11: Socially Engaged Buddhism - Sarah Haynes
Wellness Series
October 18: Meditation: The Effortless Opening to Wisdom and Compassion - Adam Chacksfield
October 25: Cultivating Awareness through Yoga - Karen Mauldin-Curtis
November 1: Sacred Circles: understanding the labyrinth through myths,
tradition and "feet on" experience - Kelley Quinn
November 8: When God Was a Woman - Alice Davenport
November 15: T.B.A. - Harold Schmalfeld
November 22: Poetry Sunday
November 29: Capote’s ‘A Christmas Memory’: A reading - Jeannie and Dan Woods
December 6: Ways to Recognize and Relieve Stress - Pam Godt
December 13: The Historical Jesus - Bill Davenport
December 20: Christmas Carols and Readings - Molly Selders
December 27:Lesser-known Christmas Music - Harold Schmalfeld
This will be an informal service.