U History: a chance to get our historical bearings
Wednesdays, November 4 – December 16 @ 7:00pm
UU History is an engaging 6-session introduction to people and from our history. In this Fiath Forward series, we’ll approach history from the starting point of compelling stories and personalities. We will explore the questions these people faced and make connections with our own lives and the world around us today. The overarching question is: how can history be translated into our religious life and practice? In addition to learning about history, we hope we will learn about ourselves.
While participating in all 6 sessions offers the deepest experience, these are designed also as drop-in opportunities. Join in as many sessions as work for you. (This is a repeat of the series offered in spring of 2025)
Join Rev. Kevin and Renée Fonbuena, Wednesday evenings 7:00-8:15 pm via Zoom, with both onsite and Zoom options for the 3rd and 6th Sessions.
RSVPs help us plan. If you know you are interested, let us know and we’ll share materials ahead of time. Send us a note at FaithForward@uugrassvalley.org
Nov 4 @ 7:00 pm via Zoom – A Question of Conscience
Bridge the centuries of our history by making connections between the perspectives of Michael Servetus (16th century) and William Ellery Channing and Lydia Maria Child (19th century)
Nov 11 @ 7:00 pm via Zoom – A Question of Love
We’ll explore how George de Benneville contributed to the growth of Universalism in America, consider Bill Sinkford’s call for language of reverence rooted in his own religious experience, and we’ll look for connections between the lives of de Benneville and Sinkford and our own lives.
Nov 18 @ 7:00 pm Onsite at UUCM AND via Zoom – A Question of Experience
Learn how direct experience is one of our key UU sources of wisdom, explore the historical and current significance of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, and the Transcendentalist movement, make connections between the educational innovations of Elizabeth Palmer Peabody and our current UU religious education programs and public education system, and reflect on how your experience informs your spiritual life.
Nov 25 THANKSGIVING WEEK BREAK
Dec 2 @ 7:00 pm via Zoom – A Question of Resilience & Courage
Discover the contributions of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Olympia Brown and Theodore Parker to our history and to social reform movements in the United States, explore the resistance faced by Harper, Brown, and Parker and how they lived with courage and resilience, and look for connections between the struggles of Harper, Brown, and Parker and the service and justice work we are engaged in today.
Dec 9 @ 7:00 pm via Zoom – A Question of Identity
Learn about the complex negotiations that brought together two religious denominations (Unitarianism and Universalism), explore questions of institutional identity and how these have informed UU history, and reflect on how your own religious past and present intersect to shape your identity.
Dec 16 @ 7:00 pm Onsite at UUCM AND via Zoom – A Question of Calling
Consider the present-day growth occurring in Unitarian Universalism, and the role of Lucile Schuck Longview and Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley in galvanizing those changes, understand ourselves as history makers, and reflect on how we are called to respond to the realities of life as people of faith.