March 18 Service: “Aren’t We All Minorities in One Way or Another?”

The majority of us find ourselves as a minority at one time or another. Regardless of whether its because of your political, religious, social or fiscal beliefs, or you’re a minority because of your ethnicity, race, gender, age, gender preference, food habits, or size, we all find ourselves in the minority sometime.

How do we react when we are the minority? How do we react to minorities and how do we make minorities feel like the rest of us?

Another aspect related to this is political correctness. Should it be forgotten or should it be embraced?

Worship Leader: Don Morishita

Sunday, March 18, 2012
Twin Falls Senior Center, Twin Falls, Idaho
Beginning at 10:30 AM

March 11 Service: “Imagine a World”

What does the Magic Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Community really mean to you?

Our congregation has been dreaming big and moving forward with confidence in building that future.

More than ever, the pledges we make in support of our congregation are pivotal to our shared future and our ability to realize our dreams and then move forward to dream even bigger!

This Sunday, the Magic Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship will kick off its 2012-13 Stewardship Campaign. This service will explore why people belong to our congregation and why they give their time, talent and treasures.  We will hear from a few folks why they love and give generously to our congregation.

Worship Leader: Rev. Suzanne Marsh
Worship Associate: Kyi Kyi Whiting

Sunday, March 11, 2012
Twin Falls Senior Center, Twin Falls, Idaho
Beginning at 10:30 AM

 

March 4th Service: “Judaism”

Join us this Sunday as Robin Dober and Tony Prator (husband and wife) explain the basic beliefs of Judaism.

Judaism is the first tradition to teach monotheism, the belief that there is one God.  Judaism focuses more on the way in which you practice and live in the world than it does on analyzing the nature of God.  Robin and Tony will offer a glimpse into the basic beliefs of Judaism and explore how the various branches of Judaism view prayer, tradition, holidays and God.

Worship Leader Robin Dober/Tony Prator
Worship Associate Karen Fothergill

February 26th service: “No Separate Existence”

Join us this Sunday as Michael Johnson discusses how clinging to what we think we know can be a barrier to understanding. We will also gain an understanding that that everything is interconnected.

If this is not problematic enough, what’s to gain if one comes to understand and accept this notion?  Is this “Enlightenment?” – And what is enlightenment anyway?  Sometimes it’s like a big wrestling match in the mind.

Worship Leader: Michael Johnson
Worship Associate: Ken Whiting

Sunday, February 26, 2012
Twin Falls Senior Center, Twin Falls, Idaho
Beginning at 10:30 AM

February 19th Service: The Science of Evolution

In honor of what would have been Charles Darwin’s 203rd birthday, we will take the opportunity this Sunday to discuss the science of evolution.  If Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection has triumphed as a sound scientific theory among biologists then why do so many people still find the concept difficult to accept?

Join us this weekend as Ryan Terry presents his views on the subject.

February 12th Service: Standing on the Side of Love

On this Sunday, the closest to Valentine’s Day, we will explore what it means to “Stand on the Side of Love” with undocumented immigrants and their families. In the fall I spoke with you about the “Dream Act”, which would provide a path to citizenship for undocumented folks who came to this country as children. Our General Assembly in June in Phoenix AZ will also focus on this issue. In this service we will explore the broader immigration landscape and attempt to find some historical perspective on this issue, which is nearly as old as our country. I hope to answer questions such as: What (if any) is our civic and spiritual responsibility relative to the undocumented residents of our country? Why is this issue a priority for our denomination? What’s love got to do with it anyway? A discussion will follow the service for those who are interested.
Worship Leader: Rev. Suzanne Marsh
Worship Associate: Kyi Kyi Whiting.

 

February 5th Service: The Faith of our (Founding) Fathers

As we approach Presidents Day weekend, lets explore what we really know about our “Founding Fathers” thoughts on the separation of church and state. We’ll also consider what, if any, part their faith played in their ideas or if they were a result of Enlightenment thinking rather than religious values.  In the wake of the increasingly loud voices telling us that our country was founded as a “Christian nation”, we’ll try to discover whether the Fathers intended us to be “one nation under God” or a secular nation, with liberty and justice for all. A discussion on the topic will be held after the service for those who are interested.

Worship Leader: Rev. Suzanne Marsh
Worship Associate: Kyi Kyi Whiting

Choir practice begins at 9:45 am and the service begins at 10:30

January 22nd Service: What’s Salvation Got to Do With Us?

Our denomination’s name, Unitarian Universalist, gives equal billing to both of the religious traditions of our forebearers, but I don’t think we modern UU’s give them equal time. So often, the Unitarian part of our heritage, with its illustrious writers and great orators, grabs most of our attention. The simplicity of the Universalist message as summed up by Rev. John Murray: “Give them not hell but hope”, stymies us. When the majority of us believe in neither heaven nor hell, do we need to be engaged in questions of salvation? This Sunday we will learn some Universalist history and ponder how the theology of Universalism might inform our lives here in the 21st century.  A discussion will follow the service for those who are interested in the topic.
Worship Leader: Rev. Suzanne Marsh
Worship Associate: Karen Fothergill

January 15 Service: A Celebration of the Life of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

On this Sunday before the Martin Luther King holiday, we will celebrate the life of Dr. King, a leader and ultimately a martyr for the cause of civil rights in the United States. Both Rev. King and his wife Coretta Scott King attended Unitarian Churches and felt a strong affinity with liberal theology and the principles found in Unitarian Universalism. In this service we will consider the beliefs that were at the core of Dr. King’s call to activism and consider what his cherished beliefs and those at the core of our faith have to teach us about both our humanity and our divinity.

Worship Leader: Rev. Suzanne Marsh
Worship Associate: Karen Fothergill

January 8 Service: “Humanism: What is It?”

Worship Leader: John Olsen

As the human race moves into the year 2012, and we move into the second decade of the 21st century, the schisms between major traditional cultural & religious entities has grown to a degree not seen in centuries.

In the last 20 years the human species, moving at breakneck speed via the digital & information age, are now facing not only social, political, financial, and cultural issues never seen before, but are also experiencing a distinct, spiritual void that demands attention.

The spiritual aspects that are so essential to mental & physical health will not just go away, they must be intelligently addressed.

“Humanism” bears further investigation by those who have become disenchanted with current offerings.

John Olsen will provide insight on the following:

  • What are the origins of “Humanism”?
  • Are Humanists necessarily atheists?
  • What is the guiding moral code for Humanists?
  • How does Humanism square with the ‘Ten Commandments?

Twin Falls Senior Center, Twin Falls, Idaho
Beginning at 10:30 AM