Soul Matters theme: Story
Unless otherwise noted, services include sermons preached by the Rev. Andrew Clive Millard and take place on Sundays at 11am via Zoom: https://uuma.zoom.us/j/920676087 or you can dial-in to 646-876-9923 (Meeting ID: 920 676 087)
May 2nd: “The Stories We Tell”
What are the stories we have heard about the world, and what are the stories that we tell ourselves? We welcome CVUU’s Rev. Viola Abbitt to the UUFP in her first pulpit swap with Rev. Andrew!
The Rev. Viola Abbitt is the settled minister at the Coastal Virginia UUs in Virginia Beach. She previously served as the half-time minister for UU congregations in Poughkeepsie and Westchester, NY. Rev. Viola was a contributor to the liturgical materials for “The Promise and the Practice of Our Faith”, and she is currently a member of the UUA’s Journey Toward Wholeness Transformation Committee, the UUMA’s Committee on Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression and Multiculturalism, and the board of UU Wellspring, Inc., for whom she recently co-authored a spiritual deepening program for youth.
May 9th: “They who go a-mothering find violets in the lane.”
As we celebrate this Mother’s Day, a secular holiday thanks to Anna Jarvis, her mother Ann Reeves Jarvis and the Unitarian Julia Ward Howe, let’s consider the older religious holiday of “Mothering Sunday”, a day to visit the church of one’s baptism, to take a break from Lenten fasting, and to gather violets for children to give to their mothers.
We’ll also celebrate the very successful conclusion of this year’s Canvass!
May 16th: “Wisdom from the Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”
Our service will be based on The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy. The author shares these words in the introduction: “I hope this book encourages you, perhaps to live courageously with more kindness for yourself and for others. And to ask for help when you need it — which is always a brave thing to do.”
A boy, a mole, a fox and a horse wander the countryside, watching the Sun set and the Moon rise. They ask questions and tell stories, learning a little about one another and a lot about life. Several of our youth will read the story to us and then we’ll go to breakout rooms to discuss its beauty, wisdom, humor and perspective.
Joanne Dingus is in her twenty-first year as Director of Religious Education at the Fellowship. Raised as a Unitarian Universalist from the age of twelve, she brings her UU faith to all aspects of her life. Joanne is a very proud and happy mother of two amazing young adults and is devoted to providing a wide variety of religious education experiences that enrich our community.
May 23rd: “This Is Us”
May is a significant month in our UU story! It’s when the UUFP received its charter in 1958, and it’s when the Unitarian Universalist Association was officially formed (by the consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America) in 1961 — and that means the UUA is turning sixty! Let’s celebrate!
We’ll also welcome our newest members to the Fellowship! And the UUFP’s Annual Membership Meeting will take place following the service and in the same Zoom room.
May 30th: “Joseph Jordan and Universalism in Hampton Roads”
In 1889, Joseph Jordan became the first ordained African-American Universalist minister, and the church he founded became the First Universalist Church of Norfolk. With support from the Universalist General Convention, Jordan expanded the church with a school for African-American children and founded another Universalist school in Suffolk that served generations of African-American families through the 1980s.