2022-Adult Religious Education 2022 Fall Registration
Registration is now open for our fall adult education class offerings. Class size is limited. Questions? Email Derek Gersdorf at
Based on the bestselling philosophies of radical self-love, emergent strategy, and pleasure activism by Adrienne Maree Brown and Sonya Renee Taylor, this 12-week exploration gives you permission to love yourself, deeply, as you are. Journaling to these prompts will help you surrender to your body’s needs instead of forcing yourself into cramped disciplines. It will encourage you to become awed by the natural beauty of your divine self instead of being rampantly self-critical. It will aid you in embracing your shadows and accepting responsibility for your impact all while liberating you to just be.
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We are regularly faced with moral choices, big and small. Unitarian Universalism is a faith of deeds, not creeds. We believe our choices and actions matter. We believe the measure of our religion is the way we live our faith in our day-to-day lives.
But how do we decide what course of action to follow when a situation is complex, and the moral course is unclear? What must we do to follow the values of the Unitarian Universalist faith tradition? Where do we turn for guidance that will help us fulfill our own wish to live a moral life?
This program invites participants to focus attention on the moral and ethical questions that arise or have arisen in their lives and explore the ethical frameworks that can help in sorting through a dilemma. The discussions will be based on stories—stories from participants' personal lives, stories of people, congregations, and organizations at moments of decision, and complex real-life scenarios. Meetings will include discussion, reflection, experiential learning, and community building that brings Unitarian Universalist religious ethics to bear in our lives.
Participants will be introduced to philosophical frameworks of different schools of ethical thought as a way to engage in exploring and expanding our understanding of ethics and morality. We will promote participation right from the start with engaging hypothetical scenarios that lead us to explore each ethical framework.
All materials will be provided.
CLASS IS FULL
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For six weeks, each Wednesday evening at 7 pm at the First Unitarian Church starting October 5th, 2022, we will together do a close reading of each source, and then we will explore on a deeper level one source within each of the six broader categories. Derek Gersdorf will facilitate the discussions using Socratic and Small Group Ministry methods. 12 spots are available.
Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote seven Principles, which we hold as strong values and moral guides. We live out these Principles within a “living tradition” of wisdom and spirituality, drawn from sources as diverse as science, poetry, scripture, and personal experience. These are the six sources our congregations affirm and promote:
- Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
- Words and deeds of prophetic people which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
- Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
- Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
- Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit;
- Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature
CLICK HERE FOR THE SIX SOURCES REGISTRATION
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For those interested in adding meditation to their daily lives, we will experience various meditation practices and individually design how it is possible to receive the benefits of calm and insight.
Meditation is a process that helps us understand and experience our lives from a spacious and more relaxed perspective opening our inner wisdom and compassion to enrich our relationships to the world.
Participants 8-10, Duration: 4 Weeks Dates & Times to be determined by participants; Between 25 October - 19 November
References will include books, podcasts, websites and specific teachers on the internet.Refer to Tara Brach on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeBPgmZZ8H4
Or
The Wise Heart by Jack Kornfield or Why Meditate?: Working with Thoughts and Emotions by Matthieu Ricard, for what to expect.
It will be a pleasure to explore meditation and your questions together.