August 2016 – All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church of Shreveport, Louisiana

28 August 2016 Worship Service and Religious Education for Children and Youth

Please join us on Sunday (28 August 2016) for “A Sense of Belonging” by Rev. Barbara Jarrell.

What does it mean to have a “sense of belonging” in a faith community? Or in every aspect of one’s own life? We will also have an ingathering of new members as a part of this service so — whether you are welcoming or being welcomed — please join us.

Religious education classes for children and youth are offered during the 11:00 AM service — children and youth attend the first 15-20 minutes of the service and then are dismissed to class.

21 August 2016 Worship Service and Religious Education for Children and Youth

Please join us on Sunday (21 August 2016) at 11:00 AM for “From Ashes to Action: The Rebirth of the YWCA” by Rachel Scott.

Join us as we welcome Rachel Scott (President of the Board of the newly revitalized YWCA and Minister of Service and Outreach at Noel Memorial United Methodist Church).

Rachel will be speaking on the dialogues on race — deep small group discussions happening now to help improve and strengthen the state of race relations in our community.

Religious education classes for children and youth are offered during the 11:00 AM service — children and youth attend the first 15-20 minutes of the service and then are dismissed to class.

Church Governance Religious Education Class — 21 August 2016

Please join us on Sunday (21 August 2016) at 9:15 AM as our Committee on Ministry continues a class on church governance.

Our congregational governance and polity is rooted in the history of our faith tradition — a history of congregations who govern themselves independently while still being a part of a larger association.

Join members of the Committee on Ministry to learn about the structures of church governance, our congregational bylaws, our covenant of right relations, and some basics on Robert’s Rules of Order.

This week, Bennett Upton will review the church bylaws.

For more information, contact John Ratcliff at 318-573-2733 or Susan Bettinger at 318-868-0863.

14 August 2016 All-Ages Water Communion Worship Service

Please join us on Sunday (14 August 2016) at 11:00 AM for our annual water communion worship service.

PeteSeegerWater

This is the time of year when we return from our various summer adventures and activities, and share water from those experiences.

This is not a travelogue or a competition for who has the best travel tale — although your water may be from faraway places or from nearby.

Whether your water comes from the Mediterranean Sea or your own kitchen sink, we invite you to bring it to add to the communal waters and to tell briefly the story of why you have brought it.

If you forget or couldn’t bring water, we will have water on hand to pour symbolically into the common bowl. The children and youth will be with us in the sanctuary this morning.

The combined water is filtered, boiled, and frozen for future use in child dedications or other church rituals.

Following the service, we will have a potluck lunch at the church (see 14 August 2016 Swim Party Cancelled on our web site for more details).

Church Governance Religious Education Class — 14 August 2016

On Sunday (14 August 2016) at 9:15 AM, the Committee on Ministry will offer a class on church governance at All Souls.

Our governance and congregational polity are rooted in the history of our faith tradition — a history of congregations who govern themselves independently while still being a part of a larger association. This is also deeply rooted in our fifth Unitarian Universalist principle (“the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large”).

Join members of the Committee on Ministry to learn about the structures of church governance, our congregational by-laws, our Covenant of Right Relations, and some basics on Robert’s Rules of Order..

For more information, contact John Ratcliff at 318-573-2733 or Susan Bettinger at 318-868-0863.

14 August 2016 Swim Party Cancelled

The End-of-Summer Swim Party originally scheduled for Sunday (14 August 2016) after church has been cancelled due to the high probability of severe weather including thunderstorms tomorrow.

We will have a potluck after church.

Please bring the goodies you were planning to share and we will enjoy those together after our water communion service.

7 August 2016 Worship Service and Summer Fun for Children and Youth

Please join us on Sunday (7 August 2016) at 11:00 AM for “One Big Rhythm” by Rev. Barbara Jarrell — a different way to explore the idea of listening to all voices, even — perhaps especially — when we may disagree.

The All Souls Choir is back this week.

The summer fun activity for today will be Adventures in Art History.

Adventures in Art History Summer Fun — 7 August 2016

During the summer, our children and youth take a break from their regular religious education classes to enjoy various artistic and creative activities all together.

On this Sunday (7 August 2016), our children and youth will be exploring and experimenting with the styles of famous artists with Melissa Gibson.