Theme Based Ministry
The Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church participates in theme-based ministry as a way to enrich our lives and deepen our relationships. Each month, we focus on a theme, which is carried out through our newsletter, worship and religious education. Though the themes could be described as theological classics, each month we will draw from the theological diversity of Unitarian Universalism as we explore together. In addition, you are invited to take up the theme in your own life. Come join us on this journey of wanderers and worshipers! For further details see http://themebasedministry.org/themes
September: Compassion
At General Assembly, the writer Karen Armstrong delivered a powerful lecture on compassion challenging us to break our addictions to cynicism and negativity. She concluded that compassion—the call to treat others as we would be treated—was at the heart of the world’s religions. This month will consider the practical application of the call of compassion in our own lives.
October: Forgiveness
Got forgiveness? Got anger? Got pain? It is impossible to live a life without being in need of giving and receiving forgiveness. But what does forgiveness mean? We’ll consider the Christian and Jewish understandings of forgiveness alongside contemporary Unitarian Universalism.
December: Faith
What do you believe? Unitarian Universalists, though named for theologies, often are more social justice inclined than theologically. What is a Unitarian Universalist faith and how does it nurture your spirit and heal the world?
January: Hope
Faced with a milieu of mixed messages of greed and despair, where is the well of hope in our own lives? This month will consider “the thing with feathers” in the words of Emily Dickinson and how to bring hope to our weary world.
February: Justice
In the years since the 1960s, civil rights struggles have continued to try to draw upon petitions and protests. In recent years a new model of relational organizing has emerged. Given our Unitarian Universalist values of the inherent worth and dignity of every person, how do we organize for justice without turning the other side into an enemy?
March: Love
As Unitarian Universalists we stand on the side of love. The Universalists declared that God was too loving to damn anyone eternally to hell. In contrast to the wrathful God preached by mainline Christianity in the 19th century, Universalists offered love as God’s distinct essence. From the Universalists, we believe the holy is made manifest in our love. The Unitarian declared that God was one, we were connected by a divine spark that called us to draw upon the gifts of heart—and mind. So it is, this month we will draw upon heart and mind in the search for the holy made manifest in our love.
April: Brokenness
We each carry regrets and pieces of ourselves we’d rather not let the world know. But in a world of brokenness, how can we be made whole without offering our own fragile humanity—mistakes and all? Come bring your whole self to worship this month as we release shame and welcome what it is to be human.
May: Transformation
Some churches promise to change you in a BIG way. You come into the community and are transformed completely! Unitarian Universalists tend to take a more gradual subtle approach, proclaiming you are good as you are and complete. But is there room for a little change? Do we have Unitarian Universalist conversion?
June: Transcendence
Walk in the woods. Let the sun filter down through the trees and connect to this sacred earth. The Transcendentalists believed that such communing led to great wisdom and insight. Take a walk in the woods with us as we ready for summer.