Category: Social Justice

“What’s in a Home? Thoughts on a Trip to Palestine” Worship Service (26 July 2026)

Our first worship service in our new home will be “What’s in a Home?  Thoughts on a Trip to Palestine” by Melissa Gibson.

Our new home after we leave Ellerbe Road will be in The Highland Center (520 Olive Street, Shreveport LA  71104)

All Souls member Melissa Gibson drops in from Omaha, Nebraska to discuss her recent trip to Palestine.

She will explore the idea of what home means — appropriate as we conduct our first service in our temporary home at The Highland Center.

Melissa is a seminarian pursuing a Masters in Divinity degree at Starr King School for the Ministry and is on the staff at First Unitarian Church of Omaha, Nebraska.  Melissa is also an Aspirant within the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Ministerial Fellowship process.

Members of the All Souls choir will sing for this worship service.

Drive around to the back of The Highland Center and enter from the ramp-accessible entrance in the back on Topeka Street, take the second hallway to the right, and our worship will be in the first room on the right.

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All Ages Worship (5 July 2026)

Please join us this Sunday (5 July 2026) at 11:00 AM for “ACTION IS RESISTANCE” by Cathy Chapman-Hackett (Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East Chapter of First Unitarian Church of Dallas TX)

Join us this Sunday as we welcome Cathy Chapman-Hackett to our pulpit.

Cathy founded the UUJME chapter at the First Unitarian Church of Dallas.

She also worked with national UUJME President Dana Ashrawi to build an Apartheid-Free Community there.

Cathy retired from a statewide position as Vice President/Secretary-Treasurer with SEIU Local 1000 which she served in numerous other capacities including worksite steward and bargaining chair.

A supporter of Palestine for over a decade, she is also a member of People for Justice in Palestine and serves on the board of the Dallas Peace and Justice Center.

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 27 June 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 July 2026 give-away-the-plate recipient is the OUTNorthLA Film Festival.

And you can contribute to All Souls using this online resource.

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Online and In-Person Adult Religious Education (5 July 2026)

Please join us on Sunday (5 July 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 have a viewing and discussion on “They’re Trying to Silence Us:  Students and Faculty on the Silencing of Gaza Protests at University Graduations.”

We will viewing followed by discussion on a segment from Democracy Now featuring interviews with Rutgers law professor / Palestinian human rights attorney Noura Erakat and CUNY law graduate / President of CUNY Law Students for Justice in Palestine Shivani Desai.

The tradition of student speakers has been eliminated at many university graduations across the country for the past two years over the issue of protests of Israel’s actions in Gaza.

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OUTNorthLA Film Festival — July 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 July 2026, we choose the OUTNorthLA Film Festival.

The festival always features a collection of innovative films that lift up a variety of voices from the LGBTQIA+ experience.

Usually at least one film maker, actor, or cast is present in person for a panel discussion after selected screenings.

Past distinguished guests have included Bruce Vilanch, John Waters, and Margaret Cho.

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 North Louisiana Interfaith and then put “GATP JUL 2026” or “OUTNorthLA Film Festival” in the comment section.  All online collection plate contributions for the month of July 2026 will go to the OUTNorthLA Film Festival.

Offline — Please send your give away the plate contribution checks to All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 520 Olive Street, Shreveport LA  71104.  Please put “OUTNorthLA Film Festival” on the memo line of the check if  you want to have 100% of your check go to the OUTNorthLA Film Festival.  If you want less than 100% of your check to go to the OUTNorthLA Film Festival, please put the amount you want going to the OUTNorthLA Film Festival on the memo line.

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All Ages Worship (28 June 2026)

Please join us this Sunday (28 June 2026) at 11:00 AM for “Uncomfortable Truths, Ultimate Love” by Kelli Coffey — a service in celebration of pride month.

Given recent events in our city, our state, and our nation, it is more important than ever that we honor the struggle and celebrate the triumphs of the LGBTQIAP community.

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 20 June 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 June 2026 give-away-the-plate recipient is North Louisiana Interfaith.

And you can contribute to All Souls using this online resource.

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Online and In-Person Adult Religious Education (14 June 2026)

Please join us on Sunday (14 June 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 continue our viewing of “David Brooks:  How America Will Recover from All This” followed by discussion.

David Brooks is a conservative commentator who always considered himself more “center right” — but like many who considered themselves an old school conservative — he has found the ground shifting rightward under his feet.

David Brooks is not a supporter of the current administration to say the least.

Agree, disagree, or perhaps a little bit of both — we think he has some interesting things to say about how we come back from the current state of affairs.

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Online and In-Person Adult Religious Education (7 June 2026)

Please join us on Sunday (7 June 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 “David Brooks:  How America Will Recover from All This” followed by discussion.

David Brooks is a conservative commentator who always considered himself more “center right” — but like many who considered themselves an old school conservative — he has found the ground shifting rightward under his feet.

David Brooks is not a supporter of the current administration to say the least.

Agree, disagree, or perhaps a little bit of both — we think he has some interesting things to say about how we come back from the current state of affairs.

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North Louisiana Interfaith — June 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 June 2026, we choose North Louisiana Interfaith.

North Louisiana Interfaith is an organization of member institutions who work together to create real change in our community and across our state.

All Souls has been a member congregation of North Louisiana Interfaith for over 21 years, and we have worked together on many issues:

  • Securing a renter’s code with the Department of Property Standards
  • Working locally and at the statewide level for reforms to the state’s wasteful Industrial Tax Exemption Program
  • Securing funding for two Community Lighthouses that are now up and running in Shreveport with two more set to open soon
  • Worked with the statewide organization Together Louisiana to defeat the most recent set of disastrous state constitutional amendments

And for the broad-based multi-faith community that has grown out of this  shared work, we are proud to be a supporting member congregation of North Louisiana Interfaith.

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 North Louisiana Interfaith and then put “GATP JUN 2026” or “North Louisiana Interfaith” in the comment section.  All online collection plate contributions for the month of June 2026 will go to North Louisiana Interfaith.

Offline — Please send your give away the plate contribution checks to All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 9449 Ellerbe Road, Shreveport LA  71106.  Please put “North Louisiana Interfaith” on the memo line of the check if  you want to have 100% of your check go to North Louisiana Interfaith.  If you want less than 100% of your check to go to North Louisiana Interfaith, please put the amount you want going to North Louisiana Interfaith on the memo line.

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