Category: Social Justice

10 August 2014 Worship and Religious Education

New Orleans Standing on the Side of Love
Members and friends of First Unitarian Universalist Church of New Orleans in a peaceful protest of the actions of Operation Save America.

Please join us on Sunday (10 August 2014) at 10:30 AM for “When Love is Not the Message Received” by Susan Caldwell (All Souls Director of Religious Education).

We speak often of “Standing on the Side of Love,” but how do we do that when our faith is challenged and called into question — sometimes quite harshly — by those with no interest in a civil dialogue on spiritual matters?

Models abound to teach us, whether we look to our contemporaries in New Orleans, to the prophetic women and men who have come before us, or to the firm foundation of our Living Tradition, a theology grounded in love and hope.

Mystery of the 3D Hand Revealed this Sunday
Children and youth attend the first 15-20 minutes of the service before we sing them out to their summer activities.

As Unitarian Universalists, we look to our own Direct Experience of Mystery and Wonder as a lens for exploring the world around us and our own spiritual nature.

ThirdHand

This Sunday, we reaffirm that Mystery and Wonder are no farther away than our very own hands, and that even the closest, most familiar things we see are not always what they seem.  Alice, Neill and Samantha Normand will be with the children and youth again this morning.

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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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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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11 May 2014 Religious Education for All Ages

Please join us on Sunday (11 May 2014) at 9:00 AM for our Religious Education for all ages.

Our children and youth continue their pillar on personal spiritual growth.

For the next 3 weeks, the Adult class will continue a series of Civic Academies from Together Louisiana (Northern and Central Louisiana Interfaith belongs to this statewide organization).

The presentations will include PowerPoint presentations, discussion on various issues facing our state, and the work Interfaith and other organizations are doing around these issues.

This Sunday’s issue is Human Trafficking in Louisiana.  As we pray for the 200 girls in Nigeria and try to figure out how we put hands and feet to those prayers, we do have the means to help put a stop to a form of modern slavery that is happening much closer to home.

Join us to view and discuss Together Louisiana’s Civic Academy presentation on the topic and to learn about HB 569 (which will be debated on the House floor on Monday, 12 May 2014).

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4 May 2014 Religious Education for All Ages

Please join us on Sunday (4 May 2014) at 9:00 AM for our all-ages religious education (RE) hour.

Our children and youth will begin their pillar on Personal Spiritual Growth.

For the next 4 weeks, the Adult RE class will feature a series of “Civic Academies” from Together Louisiana and the Northern and Central Louisiana Interfaith.  The presentations will include PowerPoint presentations and discussion on various issues facing our state along with the work that Interfaith and other organizations are doing around these issues.

Wetlands

This Sunday — “Coastal Land Loss in Louisiana: The Challenge of Our Time” — Join us to view the presentation that retired Lieutenant General Russel L. Honoré shared with attendees at the 2014 Together Louisiana Statewide Conference.  Learn what we can do to halt and help to reverse the devastating fate of one of our most precious resources.

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Holocaust Memorial Service — 27 April 2014

The 31st annual Shreveport – Bossier City Holocaust Memorial Service will be happening on Sunday (27 April 2014) at 4:00 PM at the Christian Center of Shreveport (207 Idema Street, Shreveport LA).

From Rabbi Jana De Benedetti (B’nai Zion Congregation): Continue reading “Holocaust Memorial Service — 27 April 2014”

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Religious Education for All Ages (16 March 2014)

UnderstandingTheBiblePlease join us on Sunday (16 March 2014) at 9:00 AM for Religious Education for All Ages.

The adult class will continue with Understanding the Bible: A Guide for Skeptics, Seekers and Religious Liberals based on the book of the same name by Rev. Buehrens.  This week, we continue our exploration of the Christian Testament where we will encounter the Passion stories:

The related materials are in Rev. John Buehrens’ book on  pages 156-159.

Religious Education for Children and Youth will continue our pillar on Peace, Social Justice and the Interdependent Web.  Focusing on our Second, Sixth, and Seventh Principles and our Second Source; the Children and Youth will begin their pillar on Peace, Social Justice and the Interdependent Web.  You can find our UUA Principles and Sources here.

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