Announcements

8 June 2014 Worship and Summer Religious Education

JimVanderWeelePlease join us at 10:30 AM on Sunday (8 June 2014) for “I’m Feeling Vulnerable” by Rev. Jim VanderWeele (Community Church Unitarian Universalist of New Orleans).

In his sermon, Jim will step into the feeling of vulnerability that lives within many if not all of us.

He will use the first chapter of Jonah — the story of a prophet who lost his respect for being a prophet — to point out the difference between feelings and the facts of the matter.

Our children and youth will join the community for the first 15-20 minutes of the worship before leaving for their exciting activity:

Tie-DyeTie-Dye for Dads and Other Special Grown-up!
Each June (on the Sunday before Father’s Day), our children and youth have the opportunity to create one-of-a-kind wearable art for their Dads and others to wear to church on Father’s Day.

Children and youth are encouraged to wear their grubbies (clothing that can handle stains … and that applies to shoes, too) and to bring a 100% cotton t-shirt or other fabric item to dye (Prewashed is better for holding the dye but we do soak them ahead of time).

We will have bandanas and a few shirts on hand for donation, but bringing your own insures the right size and fit.

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Summer Worship and Religious Education Schedule

Starting next Sunday (8 June 2014) and continuing throughout the summer vacation season, the entire church community (children, youth, and adults) will take a break from our 9:00 AM Religious Education hour.

We will have our worship service at 10:30 AM.

For most Sunday services, the children and youth will leave the worship service after the first 15 to 20 minutes to enjoy their fun and relaxing summer activities.

On very rare occasions, we will have an all-ages worship service where the children and youth stay with us for the entire worship service (this will be announced on our website and on Facebook).

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1 June 2014 Worship for All Ages

Please join us at 10:30 AM for “Love Is Our Doctrine, Service Is Our Prayer ” —  our 2014 Affirmation Sunday worship service.

Increasingly, Unitarian Universalists are realizing that the best question is not “What do you believe?” but rather “How does your faith inform and transform your life, and how do you walk that transformation out into the world?”

If you’ve wondered how it all works, with so many beliefs under this tent, come and learn something about that from some of the children, youth and adults of our congregation.

We’ll honor the transitions of our children and youth, thank our teachers, sing and celebrate, with a few fun surprises for all ages.

Please join us!

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1 June 2014 Brunch for All Ages

BrunchPlease join us this Sunday (1 June 2014) for our 9:15 AM Brunch for All Ages (this brunch will replace our Sunday Religious Education for all ages for this Sunday).

Bring your favorite brunch or breakfast treat to share with your All Souls friends.  Join us in the Social Hall to celebrate Affirmation Sunday and the beginning of summer.

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Summer Religious Education Schedule Changes Begin 8 June 2014

Starting next Sunday (8 June 2014), the 9:00 AM Religious Education hour for children and youth will take a break for the summer.  We will have one service at 10:30 AM.  We will “sing out” the children and youth for their summer activities for most Sunday services.

Continue reading “Summer Religious Education Schedule Changes Begin 8 June 2014”

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25 May 2014 Worship Service

LadyCarlsonPlease join us on 25 May 2014 at 10:30 AM for our Sunday worship for all — “American Jesus” by Lady Carlson (Organizer — Northern and Central Louisiana Interfaith).

Always inspiring and motivational, Lady is back to challenge us to answer the call of scripture to work for justice for “the least of these, my brothers and sisters.”

Before the service, Lady will be speaking at the 9:00 AM Adult Religious Education class where she will present “Crime and Punishment in Louisiana” (the tragedy of mass incarceration in Louisiana).  Claudia Harris will be this morning’s Worship Associate and Bob Jordan will provide music.

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25 May 2014 Religious Education for All Ages

Please join us on Sunday (25 May 2014) at 9:00 AM for our all-ages religious education hour.

The adult class will continue a series of Civic Academies from Together Louisiana (Northern and Central Louisiana Interfaith belongs to this statewide organization).

The children and youth continue their pillar on personal spiritual growth

  • Pre-K/K-1 — The pillar theme explores our emotions. The lesson theme this week is Laughter, and this will be a fun lesson. They’ll talk about the things that make us laugh, hear a story about a ridiculous family (Make Way for Dumb Bunnies!) and play some fun games.
  • 2nd-5th Grade — Continuing their focus on Prayer, a way of connecting to Source in a way that is meaningful for each of us, the class will explore themes of Insight and Sorrow and continue making their UU Prayer Beads.
  • Middle School/High School — Now planning activities for the end of the year, so we need everybody here.

WorldIncarcerationRatesOur adults will be learning about “Crime and Punishment in Louisiana” — A Civic Academy on Mass Incarceration presented by Lady Carlson

Behind the numbers, which are horrifying enough, lies a tragic story of lives destroyed over youthful mistakes and big money for the Prison Industrial Complex.

And yet, a recent bill to bring some sanity to sentencing reform died in Senate Judiciary Committee C.

Join Lady Carlson to find out more about the problem and possible solutions.

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Artist Sunday Weekend and Bizarre Bazaar Coming Soon

If you love our annual Artist Sunday worship (10:30 AM — Sunday, 22 June 2014), check out this year’s Artist Sunday Weekend.

You can also enjoy this year’s Bizarre Bazaar:

  • Saturday, 21 June 2014 — 5:00 – 8:00 PM
  • Sunday, 22 June 22 2014 — 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

BizarreBazaar2014

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18 May 2014 Worship Service

FrancesKelleyPlease join us on Sunday (18 May 2014) at 10:30 AM for guest speaker Frances Kelley.  Frances will also be this year’s recipient of our annual Ralph Waldo Emerson Award.

Every year, All Souls presents the Emerson Award to an individual or organization out in the wider community who best exemplifies the principles of liberal religion.

This year’s recipient is Frances Kelley, Director for Organizing for Louisiana Progress, Louisiana Progress Action, and field coordinator for Equality Louisiana.

Frances is a graduate of Caddo Magnet High School and Yale University (where she received her undergraduate degree in Religious Studies with an emphasis on Christian ethics, theology and social justice).

She also spent time in Nicaragua, studying liberation theology and social justice movements.

She has worked locally, across the state and regionally on such issues as healthcare reform and Medicaid Expansion, LGBT rights, immigrant rights, abolition of the death penalty, prison reform, education and climate change.

She was recently arrested in Texas while protesting the Keystone XL pipeline.  Her activism springs from her deep Baptist faith.

We are proud and blessed to honor her with the Emerson Award and to hear her speak this Sunday.

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18 May 2014 Religious Education for All Ages

Please join us on Sunday (18 May 2014) at 9:00 AM for our all-ages religious education hour.

The adult class will continue a series of Civic Academies from Together Louisiana (Northern and Central Louisiana Interfaith belongs to this statewide organization).

The children and youth continue their pillar on personal spiritual growth:

  • Pre-K/K-1 — The pillar theme explores our emotions.  The lesson theme is fear.  In a safe, non-threatening environment, the children will have a chance to talk about things that are scary, and how they might ease those fears and feel safe.  They will make “monster puppets” to help bring their fears down to size.
  • 2nd-5th Grade — Continuing their focus on prayer, a way of connecting to source in a way that is meaningful for each of us, the class will explore themes of thankfulness and hope.
  • Middle School/High School — Continuing their discussions of the big questions and planning activities for the end of the year.

PaydayLoansThe adult class will explore “The Fight for Payday Lending Reform in Louisiana.”

Despite widespread support from citizens as well as a majority of clergy and a wealth of civic organizations, meaningful reform of the payday lending industry keeps stalling out in the legislature.

Can you guess why?

Learn how this multi-million dollar industry continues to trap so many of our citizens in an endless spiral of debt, and how we can ultimately reverse that trend, not only legislatively but by educating our population on the alternatives.

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