Posts by Maria Greene
Announcing Connie Barlow and Michael Dowd, Religious Humanists of the Year, 2016
The UU Humanist Association is proud to announce
Connie Barlow and Michael Dowd
as the recipients of our
Religious Humanists of the Year Award, 2016
Please join us
Friday, June 24, 6:00 pm
at the Columbus, OH, Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly
Hilton Columbus Downtown, Edna Boise Hopkins Room
Following the award ceremony will be their talk on Read more about Announcing Connie Barlow and Michael Dowd, Religious Humanists of the Year, 2016 »
Freethinker Friendly Program Updates
We are very pleased with the interest in and engagement with the new Freethinker Friendly program. The purpose of the program is to increase the inclusiveness of UU congregations so that all theological perspectives, including non-theistic ones, are seen as valued and respected. In response to the feedback we've been getting, we've modified the first requirement about Welcome Statements somewhat and we've added two pages with more detail: Read more about Freethinker Friendly Program Updates »
Questions for the UUA Presidential Candidates
The UUA presidential race is just getting underway. UU Humanists would, of course, like the next UUA president to understand and support humanism in the association, help us attract humanists to Unitarian Universalism, and to increase the influence of our progressive philosophy in the culture at large. Our friends at the Humanist Group of the Unitarian Church in Summit, NJ have suggested that we solicit questions from our members and local groups in order to “crowdsource” the task of coming up with the best questions to pose to the candidates. This would be a great topic for a humanist group meeting at your congregation or on-line if you do not have a local group.
Read more about Questions for the UUA Presidential Candidates »
Join Us for Breakfast with Peter Morales at the AHA Conference
The UU Humanists will be tabling at the upcoming American Humanist Association conference in Chicago, IL. We're also pleased to announce that our Unitarian Universalist Association president, Peter Morales, will be hosting a breakfast at the event on Sunday, 8am. When you register for the conference, you can select the breakfast with your registration, or use the "Already registered?" link, then the Modify button to add the event. (The breakfast will only cost you $20, with over 2/3 of the cost being covered by the UUA.) Read more about Join Us for Breakfast with Peter Morales at the AHA Conference »
Washington Ethical Society's Inaugural Second Service a Big Success!
Washington Ethical Society's Attendance Increases By Fifty Percent in a Year
The Washington Ethical Society’s second Sunday service, first offered last week, was a dramatic success, shown by the nearly fifty percent increase in attendance in comparison to the same Sunday a year before, Senior Leader the Rev. Amanda Poppei announced today. “Our growth and appeal demonstrated the need for a second Sunday service, and we’re excited about that,” said Poppei; “We were thrilled to welcome about 230 people on Sunday, divided between the two services – and that was a Sunday during Spring Break for many in our community. Last year, that same Sunday had about 170 people in attendance. When we did a major building renovation nine years ago, our theme was opening our doors to the world. Well, we opened them, people came, and they weren’t disappointed!” Read more about Washington Ethical Society's Inaugural Second Service a Big Success! »
An Update on the UUA / Boy Scouts Agreement and the "God Issue"
The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), our leadership organization, announced last week on March 24 that it was renewing ties with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). The two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that restores the relationship after, as the related UU World article put it, "a years-long split over gay scouts and God". The split was 17 years, to be precise, and the reconcilliation was prompted by the changes in BSA policy last summer that removed the ban on gay scouts and adults. Read more about An Update on the UUA / Boy Scouts Agreement and the "God Issue" »
A Question for the Religion of Peace
The following is the question I asked at the “Meet the Muslims” panel discussion that was sponsored by our church. My aim was to see how they would answer the question but also to raise their consciousness about the presence of a substantial constituency of non believers in the general population and to face them with the implications of their scripture for that constituency.
A QUESTION FOR THE RELIGION OF PEACE
My name is David Miller and I am Minister Emeritus of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester. We are sponsoring this panel discussion in the spirit of the verse in Quran 49:13 that says “…we…made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other).” (Abdullah Yussuf Ali translation)
This winter I have been re-reading the Holy Quran to refresh my memory about its contents. Read more about A Question for the Religion of Peace »
Happy New Year!
Another year's over and a new one's just begun!
Happy New Year, everyone! 2015 was filled with accomplishments for the UU Humanist Association and 2016 is shaping up to be equally exciting. Last year we: Read more about Happy New Year! »
Applications Being Accepted for Freethinker Friendly Congregations
Let people outside your congregation know that UU communities are welcoming to atheists, agnostics, humanists, and other non-theists, and that you value diversity and questioning. A large part of the growing percentage of Americans who have left supernatural beliefs behind still value community and are not anti-religious -- they still seek supportive, loving relationships and a place to belong where they can give back through service. Read more about Applications Being Accepted for Freethinker Friendly Congregations »