All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church of Shreveport, Louisiana
A home for Unitarian Universalism and liberal religion in Shreveport, Bossier City, and Northwest Louisiana since 1950
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we have begun to broadcast a livestream video of our Sunday morning worship services.
This worship video will be available live and in recorded formats.
For our livestream video of our worship services, we are using Facebook Live. One does not have to log into Facebook or have a Facebook account to view this video.
Please join us this Sunday (20 October 2024) at 11:00 AM for “The Invisible, Interdependent Web” featuring the children, youth, and adults of All Souls.
Join us this Sunday for an interactive service that will feature a presentation of The Invisible Web by Patrice Karst as well as a introduction to a creative spiritual practice for all ages that helps to deepen and strengthen our own connections in the interdependent web of all life.
This service will be an intergenerational worship service — our children and youth remain for the entire service and not depart for religious education classes.
We will be meeting in the sanctuary for this worship service. Please join us in person at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 9449 Ellerbe Road, Shreveport LA 71106 if you are able to do so.
Our service will also be livestreamed on Facebook Live here if you cannot attend in person.
The COVID risks for Caddo, Bossier and De Soto Parishes (the Shreveport metro area) are all low as of 14 September 2024 according to the CDC’s COVID County Check website.
Additional data can be found on the Louisiana Department of Health’s respiratory virus dashboard web page. The most sensitive metric to follow for current COVID trends is the “Laboratory Surveillance Data” link. The link is currently showing a downward trend in COVID positive tests as of 12 October 2024.
The CDC does not recommend mandatory masking for all indoor events in “low” risk areas.
Starting on 13 November 2022, masks will be optional indoors at All Souls.
Anyone who prefers to keep wearing a mask is welcome to do so and attending worship through livestream video is also an option.
We will still have KN95 masks available in the foyer for anyone who needs one.
We continue to recommend that you stay home if you have any symptoms, and that you keep up with all available vaccinations and boosters.
We no longer require proof of vaccination against COVID for all attendees ages 11 and up for indoor events.
However, we do strongly encourage that anyone attending our worship services or other indoor events at All Souls be vaccinated against COVID.
If you are recovering from COVID and have no symptoms, you should mask in public until you have tested negative twice in a 48 hour period.
We also ask that you go by the previous CDC guidelines of waiting at least 5 days past the onset of symptoms rather than the current 24 hour recommendation.
And of course — if you have symptoms (COVID or other respiratory illness) — please stay home and take care of yourself.
Our October 2024 give-away-the-plate recipient is Students for Justice in Palestine (LSU-S Chapter).
And you can contribute to All Souls using this online resource.
Please join us on Sunday (20 October 2024) for our adult religious education class at 9:00 AM.
Our adult religious education class is now a dual-platform class — meeting in person in the church social hall and also on Zoom.
Our dual-platform adult religious education class will begin reading and discussing Love at the Center.
This is an anthology of Unitarian Universalist theological writings by various leaders of our movement seeking to answer the question posed by Rev. Dr. Sofia Betancourt in the book’s introduction:
“We may agree that love is central, but what does that mean to us and what does it require of us?”
This book is currently available only in ebook format pending final edits of the approved revisions to Article II of the UUA Bylaws at the 2024 General Assembly (Kindle, Nook, and Kobo).
You can read the Preface and chapter one of this book here.
If you order from the UUA inSpirit Bookstore, you will be pre-ordering a printed copy that will be available in January of 2025.
If you have trouble accessing an ebook for financial or technological reasons, text Susan and she can help you.
It’s Pledge to Vote Sunday in Louisiana (20 October 2024).
Have you taken the Pledge?
Scan the QR code provided above or go online here to take the pledge.
The All Souls goal is 50 persons taking the pledge from our congregation — we have met 42% of our goal.
Pledge to Vote is a person-to-person voter mobilization effort that has proven to increase voter turnout by up to 54%, with particular success increasing participation among the so-called ‘casual voters.’
By taking the pledge and then following through and voting, you become part of a large and broad coalition of active voters who can let our elected leaders know that we are paying attention and we vote.
Coming next Saturday (26 October 2024) from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM is our annual Trunk or Treat event — A Halloween celebration in the parking lot at All Souls!
Put on your costumes, decorate your cars, bring your kids and your neighbors’ kids, and come on out to join us for an evening of Trick or Treat fun.
Please join us next Wednesday (23 October 2024) at 12 noon for our weekly Zoom lunch.
Our weekly Zoom lunch is returning to dual-platform access — join us from home using Zoom or in person in the social hall.
Bring your lunch and meet up with your All Souls friends, have lunch, and just catch up.
Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East (Shreveport Chapter) will be screening FEDAYIN: Le Combat de Georges Abdallah (George Abdallah’s Fight) on Saturday (19 October 2024) at 3:00 PM.
The location for this screening is The Highland Center (520 Olive Street, Shreveport LA 71104).
This 2021 documentary explores the life and struggle of Georges Abdallah — a Lebanese Arab advocate for Palestinian freedom who has been imprisoned in France for 39 years.
Abdallah was convicted in 1984 on charges of fighting with the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions against the Israeli military invasion.
He was eligible for parole in 1999 — yet despite approval by French judges and even a request by the Lebanese government that he be deported back to his home country — the French government has refused and he remains in prison.
Please join us on Saturday (19 October 2024) at 10:30 AM for our weekly meditation group with Larry Androes.
This group will be meeting via Zoom and not in person.
This is a sitting Buddhist meditation including a brief introduction to mindfulness meditation, 20 minutes of sitting, and followed by a weekly teaching.
The group is free and open to all.
Please join us this Sunday (13 October 2024) at 11:00 AM for our annual Blessing of the Animals worship service with “Lessons I’ve Learned from Horses” by Barbara Deger with Jennifer Russell (Worship Associate).
This service will be an intergenerational worship service — our children and youth remain for the entire service and not depart for religious education classes.
We will be meeting in the sanctuary for this worship service. Please join us in person at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 9449 Ellerbe Road, Shreveport LA 71106 if you are able to do so.
Our service will also be livestreamed on Facebook Live here if you cannot attend in person.
The COVID risks for Caddo, Bossier and De Soto Parishes (the Shreveport metro area) are all low as of 14 September 2024 according to the CDC’s COVID County Check website.
Additional data can be found on the Louisiana Department of Health’s respiratory virus dashboard web page. The most sensitive metric to follow for current COVID trends is the “Laboratory Surveillance Data” link. The link is currently showing a downward trend in COVID positive tests as of 5 October 2024.
The CDC does not recommend mandatory masking for all indoor events in “low” risk areas.
Starting on 13 November 2022, masks will be optional indoors at All Souls.
Anyone who prefers to keep wearing a mask is welcome to do so and attending worship through livestream video is also an option.
We will still have KN95 masks available in the foyer for anyone who needs one.
We continue to recommend that you stay home if you have any symptoms, and that you keep up with all available vaccinations and boosters.
We no longer require proof of vaccination against COVID for all attendees ages 11 and up for indoor events.
However, we do strongly encourage that anyone attending our worship services or other indoor events at All Souls be vaccinated against COVID.
If you are recovering from COVID and have no symptoms, you should mask in public until you have tested negative twice in a 48 hour period.
We also ask that you go by the previous CDC guidelines of waiting at least 5 days past the onset of symptoms rather than the current 24 hour recommendation.
And of course — if you have symptoms (COVID or other respiratory illness) — please stay home and take care of yourself.
Our October 2024 give-away-the-plate recipient is Students for Justice in Palestine (LSU-S Chapter).
And you can contribute to All Souls using this online resource.
There will be no adult religious education class this Sunday (13 October 2024). We are postponing tomorrow’s class for two reasons:
On 20 October 2024, our class will resume at 9:00 AM in person in the social hall or via Zoom.
On that Sunday, we will wrap up this session on climate change as we look at two small Southern towns working their way toward 100% renewable energy — the hopes, dreams, and drawbacks — and a North Carolina farm family finding the balance between paper and lumber needs and reforestation.