THE CHURCH WILL BE CLOSED from Feb 22 – Mar 1, 2023.
All church activates are cancelled during the week. The Appreciation Sunday Dinner and Program has been rescheduled to Sunday, Marlch 26, 2023.
Archives
“Ecological Salvation”
DOWNLOAD THE MORNING PROGRAM HERE
Ecological Salvation
The Rev Dr Mark Y.A. Davies, leading
Of his discourse, Mark writes: Salvation is a concept shared by a number of different religious traditions and typically focuses on the salvation of individuals or portions of the human community from evil, travails, suffering, and even death itself. The context of the ecological devastation of our times calls for an expansion of the religious concept of salvation to include the salvation of the whole ecological community.
About our visiting minister:
Rev. Dr. Mark Y. A. Davies is the Wimberly Professor of Social and Ecological Ethics, Director of the World House Institute for Social and Ecological Responsibility, and Executive Director of the Leadership. Education, and Development (LEaD) Hub North United States for the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) at Oklahoma City University where he has worked in both teaching and administration for 25 years. He is an ordained elder in the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church where he has served as Chair of the Board of Church and Society from 2015 to 2018.
“What’s Your Story?”
What’s Your Story?
Elena Westbrook, leading
Download the Morning Program here (later in the week)
As soon as we can talk, humans ask for stories. Stories are how we make sense of our world. But have you ever thought about the story you tell yourself about yourself? In this service, we’ll look at how the stories we tell shape our experience, and how changing them can perhaps reshape our future.
About our visiting speaker:
Elena
“The BLUU Story”
The BLUU Story
Jana Norris, guest speaker
Download the morning program HERE
Of her discourse, Jana writes..
February is Black History Month. Knowledge of one’s history grounds one’s journey, while dreams of the future share and direct it. However, it is only in the present that action can take place. But acting in the present is difficult when one is in a minority. For Black UU’s, this has been a painful struggle. Eight years ago, an affinity group Black Lives UU—BLUU—was formed to create fellowship both on this journey and in taking action.
BLUU is committed to expanding the power and capacity of Black UUs within Unitarian Universalism by providing support, information and resources for Black Unitarian Universalists and justice-making liberation for Black people through our faith.
On Sunday, we hear in their voices the passion, the pain, and the determination the past has caused them, and we see their strength, power, and joy as they strive to create not just a future but a present out of their hopes and dreams.
About our guest speaker
Jana Norris is a member of Red River UU Church. She earned her law degree from U of California Davis, practiced family law mostly in Dallas and Rockwall Counties, and retired to Grayson County, with a stint in MidCoast Maine.
She grew up Methodist, tried the Episcopal Church for a few years, then found a spiritual home in the California neopagan community. Since returning to Texas, she has found fellowship and delight in the UU Church. She serves on the Worship Team and was elected to the minister search committee in 2022.
“Beliefs and Values”
Beliefs and Values
The Rev. Dr. Mark Y.A. Davies, leading
Download the morning program here or read it below without having to download it.
When it comes to building Beloved Community, shared values are much more important than adherence to a set of beliefs, doctrines, or dogmas.
About our visiting minister:
Rev. Dr. Mark Y. A. Davies is the Wimberly Professor of Social and Ecological Ethics, Director of the World House Institute for Social and Ecological Responsibility, and Executive Director of the Leadership. Education, and Development (LEaD) Hub North United States for the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) at Oklahoma City University where he has worked in both teaching and administration for 25 years. He is an ordained elder in the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church where he has served as Chair of the Board of Church and Society from 2015 to 2018.
Reaction to Modernity
Reaction to Modernity
Walter Norris, leading
Download the Morning Program HERE or read it below without downloading it.
Karen Armstrong in several of her books about the history of religion reveals that “religious fundamentalism is a 20th Century phenomenon.” She further communicates that “this phenomenon is a reaction or rejection to modernity.”
I am taking the opportunity to develop a three-part exposure of religious fundamentalism that will take place over three different morning discourses, each focusing on a Century – the 19th, 20th, and 21st.
On Sunday we will start with the early indicators during the 19th Century looking at the lessons from “Frankenstein”, Marxism, Evolution, and the loss of Colonialism.
Fifth Sunday All-Church Potluck Lunch
5th Sunday Potluck Lunch is today. Everyone from longtime members to first-time visitors is warmly invited to participate. The process is simple: bring a dish to share and plan on enjoying a lively, inclusive, and fun time.
We start immediately after the morning assembly.
THE MORNING PROGRAM:
TMP - Jan 29 - v.2The Social Ethics of Social Media
The Social Ethics of Social Media
The Rev. Dr. Mark Y.A. Davies, leading
The chaos at a certain social media company over the past few months raises the question, “What is the good of social media?” With billions of persons investing so much of their time and lives into their presence on social media, how can social media be used in ways that benefit rather than harm the well-being of the human community?
Download the Morning Program here
or read it below without having to download it. (Also available on our mobile app.)
TMP - Jan 22 v.2
About our visiting minister:
Rev. Dr. Mark Y. A. Davies is the Wimberly Professor of Social and Ecological Ethics, Director of the World House Institute for Social and Ecological Responsibility, and Executive Director of the Leadership. Education, and Development (LEaD) Hub North United States for the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) at Oklahoma City University where he has worked in both teaching and administration for 25 years. He is an ordained elder in the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church where he has served as Chair of the Board of Church and Society from 2015 to 2018.
Mark is one of the inaugural members of the New Room Books Editorial Board. New Room Books is a reviewed academic monograph series that offers scholars from the Methodist tradition and their students a way to share their work.
Since 2015, Mark has served on the United Methodist University Senate, which is “an elected body of professionals in higher education created by the General Conference to determine which schools, colleges, universities, and theological schools meet the criteria for listing as institutions affiliated with The United Methodist Church.”
Mark engages in advocacy and activism in the areas of peace, social justice, and ecological sustainability. Locally this is expressed through his work with the Human Community Network, which works to create non-violent systemic change for a just and flourishing human and ecological community through collaboration, education, innovation, and action. See www.humancommunitynetwork.org.
He and his wife Kristin live in Edmond, OK in the United States, and they have two daughters who attend Oklahoma City University.
It’s a Conspiracy!
It’s a Conspiracy!
The Rev Dr Mark Y.A. Davies, leading
DOWNLOAD THE MORNING PROGRAM HERE or read it below without downloading.
So many persons are drawn to conspiracy theories. When one begins to believe one of the many baseless conspiracy theories being spread, it is like a gateway drug that leads persons down a path of accepting beliefs and explanations of reality that are demonstrably untrue and that are often racist, anti-science, and have the capacity to motivate persons to bring great harm to others. You may read Dr. Davies’s bio below:
About our visiting minister:
Rev. Dr. Mark Y. A. Davies is the Wimberly Professor of Social and Ecological Ethics, Director of the World House Institute for Social and Ecological Responsibility, and Executive Director of the Leadership. Education, and Development (LEaD) Hub North United States for the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) at Oklahoma City University where he has worked in both teaching and administration for 25 years. He is an ordained elder in the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church where he has served as Chair of the Board of Church and Society from 2015 to 2018.
Mark’s Ph.D. is from Boston University in the area of Social Ethics, and he has served Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH) as a member of its Dean’s Advisory Board and as the alumnus representative on BUSTH’s Green Team as part of the Green Seminary Initiative.
Mark has led and implemented a number of initiatives in coordination with the Division of Higher Education of the United Methodist Church including a Methodist Higher Education Global Ethics Initiative from 2008 to 2012, a United Methodist Higher Education Interfaith Initiative from 2015 to present, and a Global Methodist Higher Education Social and Ecological Responsibility Initiative from December 2016 to the present. Mark has published in the areas of Boston personalism, process philosophy and ethics, and ecological ethics.
In 2017, the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church selected Dr. Davies to serve as the convener of the writing team tasked with revising “The Natural World” section of the Social Principles of the United Methodist Church. This is the first time the Social Principles have undergone a thorough revision since their adoption by the denomination in 1972.
Mark is one of the inaugural members of the New Room Books Editorial Board. New Room Books is a reviewed academic monograph series that offers scholars from the Methodist tradition and their students a way to share their work.
Since 2015, Mark has served on the United Methodist University Senate, which is “an elected body of professionals in higher education created by the General Conference to determine which schools, colleges, universities, and theological schools meet the criteria for listing as institutions affiliated with The United Methodist Church.”
Mark engages in advocacy and activism in the areas of peace, social justice, and ecological sustainability. Locally this is expressed through his work with the Human Community Network, which works to create non-violent systemic change for a just and flourishing human and ecological community through collaboration, education, innovation, and action. See www.humancommunitynetwork.org.
He and his wife Kristin live in Edmond, OK in the United States, and they have two daughters who attend Oklahoma City University.
TMP - Jan 15 v.2
Stepping into the Future
Stepping into the Future
Marla Loturco, leading
Download the Morning Program here
or read it below w/o having to download it.
An old year is ending, a new one beginning. We need to prepare ourselves for that step into the future by releasing whatever we want to leave behind and welcoming our next challenge. Along with the personal, we will also look at the UUA suggestions for the new 8th principle and the spiritual/religious challenge approaching.
January 2023 - v.3
Keeping the Church in your Heart – A New Year’s Day informal open house
Keeping the Church in your Heart
A New Year’s Day informal open house
While there will be no morning assembly on this New Year’s Day holiday, the chapel will be open with members of the worship and AV teams ready to greet all who may wish to drop in for an informal Open House. Nice people, wonderful surroundings, and lively conversations. Do come if you wish.
The Adult Forum and Conversations & Calories are taking the morning off.
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