Adult Fellowship and Faith DevelopmentExploring religious truth, meaning and experience is central to our Unitarian Universalist faith, and faith development is central to our liberal religious education. In our communities and as individuals we seek lives of meaning anchored by values and a commitment to promote principles of justice, love, trust, safety, tolerance and encouragement. We want to deepen in spirit and nurture our souls; we strive to contribute to and shape the wider world for the greater good. We recognize that we are part of an interdependent web of life. We believe that all religious education starts with the premise that we are all lifelong learners. We endeavor to make our educational opportunities holistic and transformational. We offer classes, workshops and retreats that illuminate the mind, enliven the body and enrich the spirit. In doing so, we explore this wonderful Unitarian Universalist faith and why people through history have dedicated their lives to its life-affirming principles. GROUNDWORK: RACE, CLASS AND COMMUNITYA 4-part co-sponsored by the MCUUF and the Hood River Commission on Families and Children, Fellowship/Community workshop series to explore difficult and timely issues for our country and community related to race and privilege. Rev. Joseph Santos-Lyons, a lifelong Unitarian Universalist and UU Minister will be facilitating all workshops. He is a graduate of the Harvard Divinity School and the University of Oregon. Joseph completed his ministerial internship with the UU Church of the Philippines. As Director of Campus Ministry and Field Organizing for the Unitarian Universalist Association, Joseph was responsible for unprecedented growth and leadership development in the young adult community, including youth and young adults of color. His professional interests center on the intersection of liberal religion and people of color communities, with focus areas in multiracial families, anti-racist identity development, youth, young adults, and spiritual growth concerns. As Unitarian Universalists (UUs), we are called to fight for justice and equity in our world through our principles and our ancestors who came before us. We have a North American culture, in which Western European culture is the norm and standard, and from which anything else is can sometimes be perceived as deviant. Our liberal religious faith calls for wholeness and justice in our lives and anti-racism transformation is at the heart of building healthy relationships, between humanity, creation and the sacred universe. As a path to racial and cultural diversity, it is important to develop our own individual and congregational anti-racist identity, in partnership with strategies that welcome and receive People of Color. Through the GROUNDWORK series (sermons and workshops) we seek to explore ways we might transform our world into an anti-oppressive, anti-racist, and multi-cultural community. Groundwork: Race, Class, and Our Community Workshop session topics will include:
Incorporating personal experience, video, brief assignments, and Rev. Santos-Lyons’ own scholarship in the area, the series will also connect to a 4-part Sunday sermon series, by Rev. Santos-Lyons. Children’s programs will be provided during workshops and Sunday sermon sessions. To register for the workshops, or for info contact mcuuf1@gmail.com Focus Group
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