Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

Winter 2007-2008

For information on any Adult RE class, seminar or workshop, contact the church office, or send an email to are-info@uucpa.org.  To sign-up, send an email to eventsignup@uucpa.org.

• Parent Journey Group
• Science Tid-Bits
• Family-Friendly Nature Outing:  Kite Flying - Shoreline Park
• The History of the Bible:  The Making of the New Testament Canon
• The Welcoming Congregation
• Voluntary Simplicity:  What is it?  Why do it?  And how?
• Common Ground:  The Historical Roots of Monotheism in Persian Religion
• UU History 101
• Grief and Healing:  Dealing with the Death of a Parent
• Exploring the New Atheism

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Parent Journey Group

Parent Journey meets on the second Sunday of the month from 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in the Fireside Room.  

The mission of the UUCPA Parent Journey Group is to allow parents in the congregation a safe, engaging and contemplative place in which to explore issues related to parenting in general, parenting and theology, parenting as a UU and any other parenting-related, religion-related topics that may come up.  This is a loose, coffee clutch type gathering for busy parents looking to commune around topics both profound and humorous.  Please join us.  Childcare will be provided (no pre-arrangement necessary). 

Recent Developments in Science. - Science Tid-Bits –

Monthly on second Tuesdays, 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm, in Room 6.

Discussion is mainly at informed lay level. The purpose is to become better informed about intriguing current developments that may have wide impacts. Original publication references are reviewed when possible.  About half a dozen current topics are summarized using visuals and handouts. Discussion follows a short summary of each topic presented by the facilitators and attendees. Occasional topics get more in depth treatment. Closing minutes cover future topics and facilitator and presenter rotations.

Contact Ed Zebroski for questions.

Nature Outing – Farm and Creeks at Hidden Villa

Saturday, May 3, 1:00-2:00 p.m.
Meet at UUCPA (last car leaves at 12:30 p.m.) or at the Hidden Villa parking lot at 12:45 p.m. Note time change to later tour

Come and join church members and guests for a family-friendly tour through Hidden Villa.  In addition to seeing the educational garden and baby farm animals, we can hike up the wooded trail and splash in the creek. We will return to the parking lot around 2:00 p.m., where, if you’d like to bring a late lunch, we can find a few picnic tables in the shade.

We have reserved 12 places at a docent-led tour starting at 1:00 p.m. (there will be a $7 per person charge for this).  Be sure to pre-register quickly if you want to participate, since it’s likely that the tour will fill up.  Pre-register by emailing eventsignup@uucpa.org, calling the church office at 650-494-0541, or signing the binder at the Adult RE table on Sunday mornings.

For further information, contact Bill Cortright or Laura Coleman. 

THE HISTORY OF THE BIBLE:  The Making of the New Testament Canon

Thursday evenings March 13 – April 17, 7:00 – 9:00
There is no question that the New Testament is the most important book—or collection of books—in the history of Western civilization.  But most people today do not know much about it: when the books were written and by whom, when and for what purpose, how the books were transmitted down through the ages, and when and why they came to be collected.

In six two-hour sessions, we will consider these basics in broad and specific terms.
March 13        An Overview of the New Testament
                        Paul – The Earliest Christian Author
March 20        The Pauline Epistles: The Problem of Pseudonymity (letters claiming to written by Paul but weren’t)
March 27        Beginning of the Gospel Traditions
                        The Earliest Gospels
April 3             The Other Gospels
                        Apocalypticism and the Apocalypse of John
April 10           The Copyists Who Gave us Scripture
                        Authority in the Early Church
April 17           The Importance of Interpretation
                        When Did the Canon Get Finalized?

Each session includes the viewing of two 30-minute segments of the DVD course/lecture by Professor Bart D. Ehrman.  Dr. Ehrman is the James A. Gray Professor and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; the winner of several teaching awards, and the author/editor of 16 books.

Preregistration would be much appreciated:  eventsignup@uucpa.org, 650-494-0541, or binder on the patio on Sunday mornings.  Childcare is generally available with two weeks notice (uucpa@uucpa.org, 650-494-0541) .

Discussion leader: Rev. Eva Českava

The Welcoming Congregation

Wednesdays, 7:00 p.m. March 5, march 19, April 16, April 30, May 21, June 4, June 18, and a Saturday Intensive , May 10, 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The Welcoming Congregation course is a dynamic, interactive series of workshops developed by the UUA's Office of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Concerns.   It has been carefully designed to help congregations deepen their awareness of issues about sexual orientations across the full continuum of human affectional attraction.  It seeks to help UU communities become more welcoming to all people regardless of their orientation, and also to learn how to fully affirm and celebrate sexual orientation differences. 

Rev. Kurt Kuhwald will be facilitating and encourages UUCPA members and friends to participate whether or not you have participated in the program in the past.  This is deep work requiring long-term commitment about how we want to live individually and within community.  Rev. Kurt says: "I encourage you to take this opportunity to grow and to deepen your compassion, joy and sensitivity and openness: for your self, and for this beloved community."

Voluntary Simplicity:  What is it?  Why do it?  And how?

March 25, 7:30-9:00 p.m., Fireside Room
Join a 90 minute presentation and discussion introducing us to “living simply so that others may simply live.”  We will be introduced to life-style changes we may choose to make in order to free up more time and energy for the really important things in life.  We will hear about an 8-session discussion course we may choose to use to help us implement our changes. 
Pre-registration would also be appreciated; email eventsignup@uucpa.org, call the church office at 650-494-0541, or use the signup binder at the Adult RE table on the church patio on Sundays.  Childcare is generally available on two weeks notice; contact uucpa@uucpa.org.
Facilitated by Richard Hawley, 1155 Lenor Way , San Jose CA 95128

Needs Connected Living:
A daylong introduction to nonviolent communication

Saturday, March 29, 10 am – 4:30 pm
Requested Donation: $0 - $45.
The goal of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is to enable us to stay selfconnected with our deepest longings as we choose and (inter)-act, both with others and ourselves. This daylong introduction will provide an exploration of the basic principles. Live modeling demonstrates how the NVC process can be used in a wide variety of real-life situations. Participants are asked to bring their lunch.

Facilitator: Bob Yamtich. Bob has been studying Nonviolent Communication (NVC) since 2003. A graduate of BayNVC’s Leadership Program, he has been teaching NVC at San Quentin State Prison since 2006 and currently assists in BayNVC’s 2008 Leadership Program. For further information on the workshop or class, or to register, please email Bob Yamtich. The office has the email address.

Common Ground:  The Historical Roots of Monotheism in Persian Religion
A talk by Courtney Roberts, M.A.  

Sunday, April 13, 7:00-9:00 p.m., Fireside Room
Three years ago, Courtney Roberts gave a very well-received talk on Zoroastrianism at UUCPA.  This ancient Persian religion was an important influence on the development of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; most evident in the pervasive dualism underlying the still popular beliefs in God and the Devil, Heaven and Hell, and the ultimate battle between good and evil at the end of the world. Ms.Roberts will talk to us about her latest research into the diffusion of Persian influences throughout western monotheism, and how a renewed appreciation of this underlying common ground might help in bridging the divide between Jews, Christians, and Moslems today..

Courtney Roberts, M.A., is the author of books such as The Star of the Magi and Visions of the Virgin.  She’s based in New York state.

There's no charge for the event, but donations to defray Ms. Roberts' travel expenses would be appreciated.
  Pre-registration would also be appreciated; email eventsignup@uucpa.org, call the church office at 650-494-0541, or use the signup binder at the Adult RE table on the church patio on Sundays.  Childcare is generally available on two weeks notice; contact uucpa@uucpa.org.

UU History 101

Sunday, April 27, 1:00 p.m., Fireside Room
Rev. Eva Českava will facilitate a video presentation and discussion on the history of Unitarian Universalism.  This event should be of special interest to new UUs.
Pre-registration would also be appreciated; email eventsignup@uucpa.org, call the church office at 650-494-0541, or use the signup binder at the Adult RE table on the church patio on Sundays.  Childcare is generally available on two weeks notice; contact uucpa@uucpa.org.

Adult RE Life Issues Series:
Grief and Healing:  Dealing with the Death of a Parent

Sunday, June 8, 7:00-8:30 p.m., Fireside Room
This event is designed for adults who have recently lost a parent, and for those who are facing this prospect.  Jim Bronson, Director of Community Outreach at the grief-counseling organization Kara (www.kara-grief.org) will provide advice on dealing with this issue, lead small-group experiential sessions, and answer questions.

Pre-register by emailing eventsignup@uucpa.org, calling the church office at 650-494-0541, or signing the binder at the Adult RE table on Sunday mornings.  Childcare is generally available on two weeks notice (contact uucpa@uucpa.org).

Exploring the New Atheism
A Workshop with the Rev. Scotty McLennan

Saturday, May 31, 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
What's right and what's wrong with the atheism of Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett and Christopher Hitchens? These new best-selling atheists claim that religious liberals are in large part responsible for the violence and bigotry perpetrated in the name of religion, since we provide a cloak of respectability to an otherwise irrational and dangerous enterprise. Let's look at some of their writing in this session and decide if UU's are more part of the problem or of the solution.

Rev. Scotty McLennan is a Community Minister associated with UUCPA and is Dean of Religious Life at Stanford.