Apr 13, 2022 | Featured
This is a self-paced experience with recorded lectures, supplemental materials, and one live processing session presented by the Southern Region of the UUA. The topics covered in the Primer LE are UU Theology, Covenant, and UU History.
Sending leaders to a Leadership Experience is an investment in the future of a congregation and in the future of Unitarian Universalism. Leadership Experience participants return to their congregations more grounded in Unitarian Universalism and hear a deeper call to serve. They function at a high level and are able to inspire and invite others. Because this experience is so valuable for individuals, teams, and congregations, the Southern Region staff recommends that congregations build leadership development, in general, and sending teams to Leadership Experiences, in particular, into their budgets. Register today!
The cost is $35 per person; UU Asheville congregants are eligible for scholarships so money cannot be your excuse! Here’s what James Cassara has to say: I’ll speak from experience and say this is a powerful and engaging experience, one I have now done twice. It is a great way to deepen your commitment and understanding of UU Asheville and how we can build the Beloved Community we all desire. For more information watch an introductory video here.
I’ll be glad to share my experience. Feel free to contact me, James Cassara.
Apr 13, 2022 | Vespers & Wednesday Program
Vespers Wed April 13 at 6:30 PM: “The God of Our Understanding”
Bill Wilson, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, was highly skeptical of the existence of a personal God. To help make AA accessible to persons of all beliefs (or none), he wrote the 12-step program with the suggestion that we “turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understand [God].”
As Unitarian Universalists who have many different beliefs (or none) regarding the existence of a higher power, who or what is the ultimate guiding principle, force or being in our lives? What practices do we have to help us cultivate or enlarge the existence of this guiding principle, force, or being in our daily lives? How can our practices help heal our hurting hearts and world?
Rev. Terry Davis invites us to reflect upon these questions and then share our thoughts and feelings.
Program at 7 PM: Liberation Conversations. Join us for an update on the final congregational assessment report that will be shared at the end of the month. We will also discuss next steps and brainstorm ways to welcome all levels of experience into the work of collective liberation/anti-racism. Facilitator: Rev. Claudia
Next week: Vespers Wed April 20 at 6:30 PM: Nourishing our Spirits
“What a gift we can give ourselves by paying attention to what our souls need and doing our best to give them that.” ~ Steve Garnaas-Holmes Led by Rev. Cathy
Program Wed April 20 at 7 PM: Gene Lambirth will talk about hiking as a spiritual practice and his journeys on the Camino de Santiago and other pilgrimages. What is it about this experience that can feed your soul and what lessons can you take from it that will allow you to lead a richer and more meaningful life?
Apr 12, 2022 | Featured
This UU Common Read invites us to ask ourselves, “Why is it important for UUs to Defund Fear?”
Once we find a leader, we can plan to gather for a deep dive into Zach Norris’s Defund Fear: Safety without Policing, Prisons, and Punishment (Beacon Press, 2021). While Zach Norris’s book is secular, the issues it confronts and the solutions he offers raise core theological questions for Unitarian Universalists. Groups can meet for one 90-minute session or adapt the discussion materials to go deeper together with multiple meetings.
Here’s a recorded conversation (Vimeo, 1:10:00), moderated by UU World executive editor, Roger Santodomingo, that engages author Zach Norris with UU religious professionals on ways the book resonates for UUs. The conversation calls us to respond individually and collectively with prophetic, faith-based participation in our shared public safety.
Contact Rev. Claudia Jiménez if you are interested in leading a single-session or 3-three-session discussion group for UU Asheville. Here’s the resource for doing that: This discussion guide, for any UU congregational group (Word, 59 pages), offers a single 90-minute session and a three-session option for online or in-person gatherings.
Get started now:
Apr 11, 2022 | Sermons
Sunday, April 10, 2022 11am In person
Dr. Edwin Murillo, Guest Speaker
Dr. Edwin Murillo is the Department Chair of Latin American Studies at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. He has also been a professor at Penn State University-Berks. He received his doctorate in Romance Studies from the University of Miami. Most of his work focuses on Latin American Existentialism and his articles have appeared in Hispanófila, Crítica hispánica, and Hispanic Journal, among many others. His poetry, written in Spanglish and Portuñol, has appeared in various international journals. At UTC, he teaches Latin American studies, Spanish language, composition, and literature courses, as well as creative writing in Spanish. His short-story collection Midnight Vallenato is available through Floricanto Press.
Apr 7, 2022 | Weekly Message
This Sunday, April 10, Dr. Edwin Murillo will speak to us about the importance of understanding our United States history if we hope to accomplish the goal of becoming anti-racist and dismantling white supremacy. Dr. Murillo is a professor at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, an author of two books, a poet, and a husband and father of two daughters. He will join us after the service via Zoom for conversation and questions facilitated by Rev. Claudia. (See his bio below)
I was fortunate to take two classes with Dr. Murillo over the past two years, a Spanish language class and a World Cinema class that introduced me to the history of Hispanic Americans. Our first assignment was to view the first episode of that PBS series, Latino Americans, Foreigners in their Own Land. Over the semester, we viewed most of the episodes of the PBS series as well as many movies, Carandirú, Cesar Chavez, La misma luna, Mi familia, Machuca, The Mission, The Official Story, The Secret in Their Eyes, After the Rain, and more. The power of film to educate and challenge our erroneous assumptions cannot be overstated. The films we viewed and studied opened my eyes to the courage, integrity, sacrifice, endurance, and suffering immigrants to the U.S. endure not only in the arduous journey but also in what happens to them after they arrive. The truth is that many Hispanic Americans are here because they were always here. As one scholar pointed out, “they didn’t cross the border, the border crossed them.”
Professor Susan Drake compared the immigrant’s journey to Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey”; the three stages, departure, initiation, and return. She says that the immigrant’s journey follows Campbell’s outline in the departure and initiation phases, but that’s where it stops because the immigrant cannot return home and is forced to straddle two worlds and is never being fully at home in either. She writes, “The heroic journey of the undocumented immigrant experience remains somewhat incomplete—the treasure that the immigrants seek is out of reach or not quite what they imagined—yet they persevere, sharing what they gain with family and community.”
One day, I pray we will be able to experience fully the rich gifts an equal society has to offer that will benefit everyone. The greatest gift, the gift that Paulo Freire outlined in his scholarship over fifty years ago, is the gift of restoring humanity.
Join Rev. Claudia and Dr. Murillo this Sunday to reflect on the importance of knowing the complete history of our country and explore opportunities for religious communities to challenge bigotry based on lies and affirm the value of diversity and radical welcome.
Rev. Cathy Harrington, Interim Lead Minister
Dr. Edwin Murillo is an Associate Professor in the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. He received his doctorate in Romance Studies from the University of Miami. Dr. Murillo is a second-generation US Hispanic and the first person in his family to attend college. His articles have appeared in Hispanófila, Crítica hispánica, and Hispanic Journal, among others. His poetry, written in Spanglish and Portuñol, has appeared in various international academic journals. His short-story collection Midnight Vallenato was published by Floricanto Press in 2019. His book Latin America and Existentialism is under contract with the University of Wales Press. At UTC, he teaches Spanish language, composition, and literature courses, as well as creative writing in Spanish. He loves music, travel, and the noise his daughters make in the morning.
Dr. Edwin Murillo is an Associate Professor in the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. He received his doctorate in Romance Studies from the University of Miami. Dr. Murillo is a second-generation US Hispanic and the first person in his family to attend college. His articles have appeared in Hispanófila, Crítica hispánica, and Hispanic Journal, among others. His poetry, written in Spanglish and Portuñol, has appeared in various international academic journals. His short-story collection Midnight Vallenato was published by Floricanto Press in 2019. His book Latin America and Existentialism is under contract with the University of Wales Press. At UTC, he teaches Spanish language, composition, and literature courses, as well as creative writing in Spanish. He loves music, travel, and the noise his daughters make in the morning.
