Screenshot
Are you Worried about Our Democracy?
Class
1U Book Club Continues!
Discussion of “On Repentance and Repair” ends April 18th, and “Disability Visibility” begins May 2nd!
Spiritual Conversations
Which Unitarian Universalist value guides you the most-how and why? Hearing from our elders and contributing our own thoughts, the group at 9:15 am on Sunday appreciated the contributions of elders-some of whom have died and the purposeful gifts they offered as loving people and via their interviews. This was a motivating and inspiring way to start the week. Consider attending next time this series is offered. Thank you Greg B. and Mike H. for the interviews, the selections and the class.
Unitarian Univeralist History comes alive with Ken
This month Ken shared with attendees the story of 1U’s first minister, Rev. Eleanor Gordon, and selections of sermons, newspaper articles, and event notices, as well as church growth history. All of us were so heartened that her words rang true today about today’s issues.
The next UU history class will be Wednesday, March 13, and the topic will be “John Pierpoint, Radical in the Pulpit.” Ken writes: What happens to “freedom in the pulpit” when the minister’s moral preaching offends the congregation? Would you believe —a trial? Come hear the story of John Pierpoint, 19th century Unitarian minister, who directly addressed the vices of his congregational members.
Thirty Days of Love January 15,2024- Feb. 15
Imagining an Interdependent Future
Side With Love is thrilled to announce 30 Days of Love 2024! Our annual month of spiritual nourishment, political grounding, and shared practices of faith and justice, 30 Days of Love will go from Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (January 15) through Valentine’s Day (February 14).
This year’s 30 Days of Love is a gift to our whole community: a love letter, a warm hug, a spiritual balm for all of the individuals, families, religious professionals, partners
and communities that embody our values and work for justice and liberation year round. Each week will feature a spiritual theme overlapping with one of Side With Love’s intersectional justice priorities, and we’ll share an array of offerings to help nourish your spirit and give gratitude and affirmation.
- WEEK 1 (January 15-21) Safety :: Decriminalization
- WEEK 2 (January 22-28) Re-Imagining :: Climate Justice
- WEEK 3 (January 29 – February 4) Possibility :: Bodily Autonomy (LGBTQIA+, reproductive, gender, and disability justice)
- WEEK 4 (February 5-11) Resilience :: Democracy & Electoral Justice
- BONUS DAYS (February 12-14) Interdependence :: Liberatory Intersections
If you sign up via the SWL emails, each week, you can expect to receive several different kinds of offerings, each from a different voice within Unitarian Universalism. Each week’s resources will be published by 12pm ET every Monday. If you wish to learn more on your own and select offerings for each week, link here.
Remembering Trayvon Martin and Black Lives Matter
From Wikipedia: Trayvon Benjamin Martin (February 5, 1995 – February 26, 2012) was a 17-year-old African-American from Miami Gardens, Florida, who was fatally shot in Sanford, Florida, by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old Hispanic American. Martin had accompanied his father to visit his father’s fiancée at her townhouse at The Retreat at Twin Lakes in Sanford. On the evening of February 26, Martin was walking back to the fiancée’s house from a nearby convenience store. Zimmerman, a member of the community watch, saw Martin and reported him to the Sanford Police as suspicious. Several minutes later, an altercation happened and Zimmerman fatally shot Martin in the chest.
Zimmerman was not charged at the time. The police said there was no evidence to refute his claim of self-defense, and Florida’s stand-your-ground law prohibited them from arresting or charging him. After national media focused on the incident, Zimmerman was eventually charged and tried, but a jury acquitted him of second-degree murder and manslaughter in July 2013.[2]
Following Martin’s death, rallies, marches, and protests were held across the United States. In March 2012, hundreds of students at his high school held a walkout in support of him. An online petition calling for a full investigation and prosecution of Zimmerman garnered 2.2 million signatures. Also in March, the media coverage surrounding Martin’s death became the first story of 2012 to be featured more than the presidential race, which was underway at the time. A national debate about racial profiling and stand-your-ground laws ensued. The governor of Florida appointed a task force to examine the state’s self-defense laws. Martin’s life was scrutinized by the media and bloggers. The name Trayvon was tweeted more than two million times in the 30 days following the shooting.[3][4][5][6][7][8] More than 1,000 people attended the viewing of his remains the day before his funeral, which was held on March 3 in Miami. He was buried in Dade-Memorial Park (North), in Miami. A memorial was dedicated to Martin at the Goldsboro Westside Historical Museum, a Black history museum in Sanford, in July 2013.[9][10][11][12][13][14]
Sikh Temple Field Trip with Religious Enrichment
1U visitors were honored guests at the Orlando Sikh Temple. Attendees learned about their history in America and Orlando and about their religious beliefs.
Gaye R. who was one of the attendees contributed the following information about the Sikh religion and the visit:
The Sikh religion is one of the youngest world religions and was founded more than 500 years ago (1469) in Punjab, Northern India, by Guru Nanak Dev Ji, in response to a spiritual revelation. It is the world’s fifth largest religion.
Guru Nanak was born into a high Hindu caste but renounced his caste, encouraging people of all backgrounds to break bread together. The Sikh religion has equality as its basic principle and strongly opposes discrimination based on caste, race, color of skin, gender, etc. At the Sikh Temple here in Orlando, however, men and women were required to sit on opposite sides of the Temple and only the men were engaged in singing the sacred texts. When I asked someone about this, he assured me that women were treated equally and were permitted to work outside the home or not, as they wished. In reading the Sikh material online, it pointed out that, historically, some women had held powerful leadership positions, even in wartime.
Society at the time of the founding of the Sikh religion determined that scared Hindu Vedic texts should only be read by Brahmins, the traditional elite. By exercising a monopolistic control over religious texts, this group ensured they were the “gatekeepers” to enlightenment. The Sikhs, however, made sure that their religious texts were open to everyone. When we visited the Sikh Temple here, they said that they were just finishing up singing the entire body of their religious texts. They continued to do the most of the time we were there. English translations were provided at the front of the Temple. Their texts are meant be sung rather than read aloud.
The Sikhs spoke of some incidents of discrimination against them here in the U.S. For example, one woman said that her father wore a turban and did not cut his hair, in accordance with Sikh religious laws. He had a hard time finding jobs when he was new to this country, and once he did find a job, his boss would often ask him to cut his hair. He refused to do this because of his religious beliefs, and because of that refusal lost several jobs.
Orlando Landfill Field Trip scenic and overwhelming
As we looked out over the Landfill’s huge hills, now covered with grass, it really brought it home to us how much we need to recycle. Our planet should support as few as possible of these enormous trash dumps. It was helpful to me to have the information on recycling provided by our guide, as I am even more motivated to use products that can be recycled.
17 people attended and all seemed to enjoy themselves. Two facts that stuck with Shana were:
- A large area of their property is dedicated to conservation land which provides habitat for numerous wildlife species including bald eagles, wood storks, sandhill cranes, gators (see picture!), tortoises, and wild boars.
- The landfill will be filled to capacity in only 20 years.
All attending, including the children, left the Landfill understanding the huge need to reduce waste, recycle and reduce our forever wastes. Thank you Gaye and Shana for photos and comments.
Women’s Christmas on Jan 6th
Celebrated on Epiphany (January 6) in Ireland and elsewhere, Women’s Christmas offers an opportunity at the end of the holiday season to celebrate with friends and to gather ourselves before diving into the year ahead. This day invites us to pause, to rest, to reflect.
In this spirit, we invite women and woman identifying persons to join us for a day of reflections and readings by Jan Richardson, time at our “pamper stations” and tea/refreshments.
Remembering Rosewood and Ocoee at Welcoming Wednesday on Dec 13 Time: 7 pm -8:30 pm
Come to the Gathering Place and renew your knowledge of these two events to give context and content to conversation when these events or places are discussed. Discuss how the feelings and attitudes that motivated the participants in these massacres may still affect the present day.
Words that are used in connection with these events and other similar events: Massacre, Riot, Reparation, Compensation, Election, Voting, Poll Tax, Avoidance, Intimidation, Generational Wealth, Whitecapping, White erasure, Denial, Fear, Exploitation, Innocent until proven Guilty. Reconciliation, Community Healing, Terror, Lynching
1U Blog 