Unitarian Universalists in the Media

A frequently updated guide to stories about Unitarian Universalists from other sources around the web.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Obama attends memorial service at UU church

by Sonja L. Cohen

The UUs in the Media blog will be on holiday until January 9, but I just couldn't let this bit of news wait until then.

President-elect Barack Obama and his family attended a memorial service for his maternal grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, on Tuesday at the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu. The hour-long service was
followed by a private ceremony to scatter Dunham's ashes. (CNN.com - 12.24.08, Chicago Tribune - 12.24.08)

posted by Sonja L. Cohen at 10:36 AM

Friday, December 19, 2008

UU churches celebrate a variety of holidays, and more

by Sonja L. Cohen

UU churches celebrate variety of holidays
Newburyport, Mass.'s First Religious Society, UU, keeps an 83-year-old Christmas tradition alive with its annual Candlelight Service. (The Daily News of Newburyport - Newburyport, MA 12.18.08)

The Paint Creek UU Congregation in Rochester, Mich., prepares for its annual Winter Solstice celebration. (Mirror - Royal Oak, MI 12.14.08)

The UU Society of Sacramento, Calif., celebrated Día de los Muertos, the Mexican Day of the Dead. (Sacramento News & Review - Sacramento, CA 12.11.08)

Church remembers Knoxville with performance
The Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge is staging a production of Annie Jr., the children's play that was interrupted by a church shooting at the Tennessee Valley UU Church in July. (2TheAdvocate - Baton Rouge, LA 12.14.08)

A minister's thoughts on Prop 8
The Rev. Dr. Betty Stapleford, minister of the Conejo Valley UU Fellowship in Newbury Park, Calif., writes about her sadness over the state's passing of Proposition 8, which stops same-sex couples from marrying. (Ventura County Star - Camarillo, CA 12.17.08)

UUs reflect on their religious history
Jane Reuter writes about her path to Unitarian Universalism. (YourHub.com - Denver, CO 12.9.08)

Five lifelong Unitarians and Universalists will talk about their religious background in a special service at the UU Congregation of Somerset Hills in North Branch, N.J. (Somerset Reporter - Somerset, NJ 12.11.08)

posted by Sonja L. Cohen at 1:07 PM

Friday, December 12, 2008

'Green' churches, ministering to grief at the holidays, and more

by Sonja L. Cohen

UU churches using 'green' building practices
The Boston Globe reports on the almost-complete $1 million, two-year-long "green" renovation at the First Parish in Concord, Mass. The same reporter also did a recent story on environmentally friendly building efforts at the First Parish in Needham, Mass. (Boston Globe - 12.7.08, 10.26.08)

Creating a better school
The Rev. Cheryl Lloyd of the First Unitarian Society of Newton, Mass., and coordinator of the William Ellery Channing Elementary School Project, is working to make an underfunded local school a better place for its students. Lloyd leads a team of volunteers who offer tutoring, and money from fundraising and from a UU social responsibility grant pays for extracurricular programs like Hip Hop dancing and drama. (Boston Globe - 12.3.08)

Making a place in the holidays for grief
Each December the UU Congregation of York, Pa., opens its doors to the Victims Assistance Center and the community for its annual Victims of Homicide Memorial Service. (York Daily Record - York, PA 12.8.08)

Live Oak UU Congregation in Goleta, Calif., is holding a “Tender Hearts, Tender Times” service for those who have experienced a significant loss this year. (The Santa Barbara Independent - Santa Barbara, CA 12.7.08)

What makes a miracle?
The Rev. Erica Baron, consulting minister of the UU Fellowship of Bennington and the UU Church of Rutland, Vt., writes about what makes a miracle a miracle. (Bennington Banner - Bennington, VT 12.06.08)

Also in the media:

The Unitarian Church of Sharon, Mass., has voted to house a cell phone transmitter inside its steeple, which has some neighbors worried. (Sharon Advocate - Norwood, MA 12.4.08)

Proceeds from an organ concert at the First Universalist Church of Auburn, Maine, will help people who need assistance paying their fuel bills. (SunJournal.com - Lewiston, ME 12.0.08)

posted by Sonja L. Cohen at 11:22 AM

Friday, December 05, 2008

UUs and Obama, reclaiming Black Friday, and more

by Sonja L. Cohen

How Obama can reform human-rights policy
William Schulz, former executive director of Amnesty International USA and UUA president, suggests five initiatives that could help President Barack Obama signal the start of a new era in U.S. human-rights policy. (Boston Globe - 11.25.08)

Theodore Parker's indirect influence on Obama
A letter to the editor in the New Yorker points to the contributions of the 19th-century Unitarian minister and abolitionist Theodore Parker to president-elect Barack Obama's victory speech. The writer points out that famous phrases uttered by Abraham Lincoln and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were adapted from Parker's work. (New Yorker - 12/8/08)

Taking back Black Friday
Bill Doherty, a family social science professor at the University of Minnesota and a UU World contributor, led a gathering at Unity Church-Unitarian in St. Paul, Minn., on Black Friday urging people to stop the shopping madness and reclaim the holiday season in the name of reflection and family. And his cry has not gone unheard—at least by the media. Some of the stories that talk about Doherty's efforts:

Shop 'til you drop? This group says not (Star Tribune - Minneapolis-St. Paul 11.28.08)

U professor Bill Doherty works to help families recapture the deeper spirit of the holidays (UMNews - 12.5.08)

Shopping frenzy tramples right over the reason for the season (Star Tribune - Minneapolis-St. Paul 12.1.08)

Religious groups feeling effects of poor economy
The Boston Globe examines how clergy and religious organizations such as the UUA are preparing for a major downturn in giving. (Boston Globe - 11.30.08)

Notable author, UU dies
Pamela Morgan, co-author of the popular women's health book Our Bodies, Ourselves, and an active member of First Unitarian Society in Newton, Mass., died November 17 of pancreatic cancer. (Newton TAB - Needham, MA 11.24.08)

Opposing Proposition 8
Lindi Ramsden of the UU Legislative Ministry is interviewed in a story about a recent gathering of 5,000 opponents of California's Proposition 8 at the state's capitol building. (San Francisco Chronicle - 11.23.08)

UU councilwoman still in trouble for remarks
Beaufort County Councilwoman Laura Von Harten, a member of the UU Fellowship of Beaufort, S.C., has drawn fire for anti-Catholic remarks she made during a zoning debate. Despite her public apology, and a statement from her minister on the importance of the separation of church and state, she remains the focus of heavy criticism. (Hilton Head Island Packet - Hilton Head Island, SC 11.21.08)

In the congregations
The UU Church of Santa Clarita Valley respond to the recent fires in California. (Signal - Santa Clarita, CA 11.21.08)

See also: Fires affect California UUs (uuworld.org - 12.1.08)

The First Unitarian Society of Madison's newly completed $9.1 million "green" building addition to its Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Meeting House is a study in how an addition can successfully work with the design of a historic structure. (Chicago Tribune - 11.26.08)

See also: Frank Lloyd Wright's Unitarian Universalist churches (UU World - May/June 2005)

The Morristown, N.J., Unitarian Fellowship is also planning a "green" expansion to its 96-year-old building. (Dailyrecord.com - Parsippany, NJ 11.24.08)

The UU Congregation of South County in South Kingston, R.I., gives thanks for its new building and for being nominated as a Breakthrough Congregation. (South County Independent - Wakefield, RI 11.26.08)

The UU Society of Fairhaven, Mass., Alternative Gift Fair encourages shoppers to cut out the Christmas clutter and buy items and services for needy people around the world in the name of loved ones. (South Coast Today - New Bedford, MA 11.23.08)

The First Universalist Church in Pittsfield, Maine, is set to start offering a weekly free lunch to anyone who wants one. (Central Maine Morning Sentinel - Augusta, ME 12.1.08)

The Rev. Anne Felton Hines, minister of Emerson UU Church in Canoga Park, Calif., reflects on her 25 years in the ministry. (Los Angeles Daily News - 11.28.08)

The Rev. Dr. Tess Baumberger, minister of Unity Church in North Easton, Mass., writes about the value of covenant. (Easton Journal - Raynham, MA 11.20.08)

Chris Walton contributed to this week's blog.

posted by Sonja L. Cohen at 4:26 PM

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