Last month I wrote about our upcoming all-congregation workshop titled “What Makes UCE Thrive and You Come Alive.” (“The Thrive Workshop” for short.) I hope you’ll make a point of coming. It will be both personally meaningful as well as instructive for our leadership as it plans for the future.
This month I write about the curriculum I am co-leading with Chris Isely on Monday nights in October (10/13, 10/20, and 10/27), sponsored by the Peace and Justice Committee.
The curriculum is not only for congregations that seek to be more inviting and inclusive of military members, veterans, and families (although that’s certainly part of it), but also for wrapping our own hearts around the challenging spiritual issues of reconciling and forgiving the presence of war in our world. Participants will hear stories of both veterans and peace activists — and learn about issues surrounding military service. Together we will foster respectful and non-judgemental conversation about the ethical and moral dimensions of peace and war.
Our final steps will be to explore what reaching out might look like, and building a worship service for Veteran’s Day that shares this work with the rest of the congregation. If you are interested in participating, please sign up at the back table on Sunday morning. You can download the handouts here: