Sunday Talks
What can you expect?
The UUUS is a religiously liberal congregation with Sunday talks each week on varied subjects including, but not limited to, science, spirituality, and social concerns. Please refer to our Upcoming Sunday Services at the bottom of this page. Our members have varied backgrounds, beliefs, and interest which overlap Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Humanism, etc. Our members and friends are encouraged to participate in our church community, see the "Community" and "Committees" sections of this web site. Of course, all ages are welcome, regardless of ethnicity, or religious belief. Our membership includes and welcomes Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered individuals.
Dress attire is casual. Our child care and Sunday school (for both children and adults) starts at 9:30 a.m., please see the Lifespan Religious Education page for more information. Sunday service begins at 10:30 am. Inside, a greeter will welcome you. A typical service begins with music and opening words. Soon afterwards, the service leader for that week will ask if anyone wishes to share any cares and concerns such as births, illness, or important personal events. Next, we collect an offering that we share with a local charity. Youth may then choose to stay through the remainder of the service with their parents or join age-appropriate activities. We have a glass "wiggle" room where young children and their parents can see and hear the service. Next, our service leader will introduce the speaker whose talk will typically last about thirty minutes. We may have an interactive Q&A section in the service or afterward in our Library. After the service, everyone is welcome to join us for conversation, coffee, refreshments and snacks.
University UUS offers live streaming SHOUTcast of the services! What this means is that if you're unable to attend the service while its going on, you can still listen to the service as it's happening via the internet. To listen to the service, visit the SHOUTcast page. As of January 2007, we have made our Sunday talks available as an MP3 download on our MP3 Audio Archive page, as well as a tape or CD for our members and friends (friends are those who are not members, but who attend our services).
Upcoming Sunday Services
January 29th
Jeff Nall "The Five Faces of Oppression"
The talk is based on philosopher Iris Marion Young's work defining oppression, and helping us understand how it works.
Very often these terms "oppression" "evil" or even marginalization are mentioned without clear discussion of exactly what they mean,
and how they appear in society. Often they exist beneath our noses so to speak.
Jeff returns with one aspect of our focus on the issues around immigration.
Jeff Nall is a PhD candidate in Comparative Studies: Feminism, Gender, and Sexuality, at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Boca Raton.
He holds a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies from FAU, and a Master of Liberal Studies from Rollins College.
Nall teaches philosophy at Indian River State College and gender studies at FAU.
February 5th
Cathy Giordano "Just Know They Love You"
Cathy adopted her son, John at the age of 5 years. She shares the experience of bringing a child from a foreign country which amounted to being kidnapped in his mind. She had to overcome many obstacles including language. Cathy presents her talks at other UU churches and has become sought after as a speaker.
February 12th
Rev. Mark Spivey "Love"
Rev Spivey plans to examine the love any human (UUs included, of course) may experience (feel, sense) from GOD. While The Holy Bible teaches that God made man in His image, it is Man who really makes GOD in his or her image. Rev Spivey is a counselor, chaplain and honorary UU who uses language to convey the full spectrum of the human experience.
‐‐‐ POTLUCK AFTER SERVICE ‐‐‐
February 19th
Jennifer Hancock "The Power of Compassion"
Compassion is one of our strongest emotions and when wielded correctly, it has the power to create positive social change. Jennifer Hancock will provide a Humanist perspective on the role compassion plays in our lives. Jennifer Hancock is a writer, speaker, and Humanist. She is the author of the new book, "The Humanist Approach to Happiness: Practical Wisdom." She is the Tampa Humanism and Freethought Examiner for Examiner.com and writes a monthly freelance column about Humanism for the Bradenton Herald Newspaper. She also has her own blog and podcast about the Humanist Approach to happiness. Jen is on the web at: www.jen-hancock.com
‐‐‐ QUARTERLY MEETING AFTER SERVICE ‐‐‐
February 26th
Rachel Newcomb "The Arab Spring"
Rachel Newcomb is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Rollins and developed this talk for her students. She returns after a long absence as both a professor and the mother of a 3 1/2 year old. This presentation focuses on the changes in the Middle East and how social media (Internet, etc) has helped these revolutions to take place.
Speaker selection is made by the Programs Committee. If you have a speaker that would be interesting for the UUUS, please contact the committee chair, Judith Minear.
