Category: Social Justice
All Ages Worship (19 April 2026)
Please join us this Sunday (19 April 2026) at 11:00 AM for “When Hope is Hard to Find” by Susan Caldwell with a Meditation by Kelli Coffey.
How and where do you find hope in challenging times?
The answer may be closer than you think.
Our service will also be livestreamed on Facebook Live here if you cannot attend in person.
We are moving our videos from Facebook to YouTube for long-term storage and viewing — you can find our worship videos on YouTube here.
State-level COVID 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.
Flu, RSV, and COVID are all showing low numbers in Louisiana as of 11 April 2026.
Masking and COVID vaccination are optional for attending in-person events at All Souls.
We encourage you to be vaccinated against COVID and to also have the most-current COVID booster shots. This provides greater protection to the individual and the church community.
Anyone who prefers wearing a mask is welcome to do so for in-person events and attending worship through livestream video is also an option where required for medical or schedule conflict reasons.
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.
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.
If you have symptoms for COVID or other respiratory illness, please stay home and take care of yourself.
Our April 2026 give-away-the-plate recipient is The Philadelphia Center.
And you can contribute to All Souls using this online resource.
Pride in the Park (19 April 2026)
The 2026 Pride in the Park event (sponsored by PACE — People Acting for Change and Equality) has been rescheduled to Sunday (19 April 2026) from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM due to forecast rain and thunderstorms on Saturday (18 April 2026).
Pride in the Park will be happening at Columbia Park in Shreveport, Louisiana.
The schedule will be the same as it would have been on Saturday (11:00 AM to 3:00 PM).
This makes the scheduling a little trickier with the 11:00 AM worship service at All Souls starting at the same time — just think of it as church in two locations.
Religious Education for Children and Youth (19 April 2026)
For this Sunday (19 April 2026), our children and youth will continue working on their project (bake sale and bracelet sale to benefit LAAID — Louisiana Advocates for Immigrants in Detention). The bake sale / bracelet sale will be happening on Sunday (3 May 2026).
They will also be working on a separate project to support an event in Alexandria this coming week.
Online and In-Person Adult Religious Education (19 April 2026)
Please join us on Sunday (19 April 2026) 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.
For this Sunday, we will watch and discuss Jon Stewart’s interview of Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon (authors of The Future is Peace).
Palestinian peace activist Aziz Abu Sarah and Israeli peace activist Maoz Inon have collaborated on the book which is released this week.
The two maintain that while they don’t always agree on every point but they do agree that “there is no way to bomb your way to peace.”
Come and learn more about these two fascinating men and their unlikely and inspiring friendship.
12 April 2026 Worship Video
All Ages Worship (12 April 2026)
Please join us this Sunday (12 April 2026) at 11:00 AM for the 76th anniversary celebration of All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church.
We will be presenting the Ralph Waldo Emerson Award to Alaa Khawaldeh (Founder and Leader of Students for Justice in Palestine LSU-Shreveport Chapter)
We will also have an ingathering of new members.
Our service will also be livestreamed on Facebook Live here if you cannot attend in person.
We are moving our videos from Facebook to YouTube for long-term storage and viewing — you can find our worship videos on YouTube here.
State-level COVID 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.
Flu and RSV are both showing declines in their numbers as of 4 April 2026. COVID is maintaining low but persistent numbers as of 4 April 2026.
Masking and COVID vaccination are optional for attending in-person events at All Souls.
We encourage you to be vaccinated against COVID and to also have the most-current COVID booster shots. This provides greater protection to the individual and the church community.
Anyone who prefers wearing a mask is welcome to do so for in-person events and attending worship through livestream video is also an option where required for medical or schedule conflict reasons.
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.
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.
If you have symptoms for COVID or other respiratory illness, please stay home and take care of yourself.
Our April 2026 give-away-the-plate recipient is The Philadelphia Center.
And you can contribute to All Souls using this online resource.
2026 Emerson Award and New Member Ingathering (12 April 2026)
Please join us next Sunday (12 April 2026) for our 76th Anniversary Celebration worship service.
This service will feature the presentation of the Ralph Waldo Emerson Award to Alaa Khawaldeh (founder and leader of Students for Justice in Palestine LSU-S Chapter).
Join us to celebrate 76 years as a beacon of liberal religion in the Shreveport-Bossier community.
We will pay tribute to our history, celebrate our present and future with an ingathering of new members, and recommit to our presence in the community.
A reception in the social hall will follow the service — join us!
Philadelphia Center — April 2026 Give-Away-The-Plate Recipient
Each month we dedicate all of our non-pledge income to a community organization doing the work that best embodies our Unitarian Universalist values.
For the month of April 2026, we choose The Philadelphia Center.
The Philadelphia Center is the HIV Resource Center in Northwest Louisiana.
Their mission is to empower people living with HIV, to eliminate new HIV transmissions, and to enhance community wellness.
The pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) program provides preventive medication that reduce the risk of HIV transmission. Studies have shown that it is 99% effective if taken as directed.
The Syringe Services Programs (SSPS) help persons who inject drugs to avoid or reduce injection-related health risks by providing sterile syringe and proper equipment for every injection.
Their counselors connect clients living with HIV/AIDS to support services like case management, transportation, food vouchers, housing/utility assistance, support groups, and substance and mental health counseling.
The Mercy Center provides housing for unhoused people living with HIV/AIDS.
Two ways to donate:
Online — Go to our donation site using this link. If you are paying your pledge, select “2026 Pledges” and enter that amount for your pledge contribution. Then select “Collection Plate” to give the amount you would like to give to The Philadelphia Center and then put “GATP APR 2026” or “Philadelphia Center” in the comment section. All online collection plate contributions for the month of April 2026 will go to The Philadelphia Center.
Offline — Please send your give away the plate contribution checks to All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 9449 Ellerbe Road, Shreveport LA 71106. Please put “Philadelphia Center” on the memo line of the check if you want to have 100% of your check go to The Philadelphia Center. If you want less than 100% of your check to go to The Philadelphia Center, please put the amount you want going to The Philadelphia Center on the memo line.