Ware Lecture GA 2019
Selected by President Obama as the fifth inaugural poet in U.S. history, Richard Blanco is the youngest and the first Latino, immigrant, and gay person to serve in such a role. Born in Madrid to Cuban exile parents and raised in Miami, the negotiation of cultural identity characterizes his three collections of poetry: City of a Hundred Fires, which received the Agnes Starrett Poetry Prize from the University of Pittsburgh Press; Directions to The Beach of the Dead, recipient of the Beyond Margins Award from the PEN American Center; and Looking for The Gulf Motel, recipient of the Paterson Poetry Prize and the Thom Gunn Award. He has also authored the memoirs For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet’s Journey and The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood, winner of a Lambda Literary Award. His inaugural poem “One Today” was published as a children’s book, in collaboration with renowned illustrator Dav Pilkey. His latest book, Boundaries, a collaboration with photographer Jacob Hessler, challenges the physical and psychological dividing lines that shadow the United States. A new book of poems, How to Love a Country, is forthcoming from Beacon Press in April 2019. Blanco has written occasional poems for the re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Cuba, Freedom to Marry, the Tech Awards of Silicon Valley, and the Boston Strong benefit concert following the Boston Marathon bombings. He is a Woodrow Wilson Fellow and has received numerous honorary doctorates. He has taught at Georgetown University, American University, and Wesleyan University. He serves as the first Education Ambassador for The Academy of American Poets.
Sunday, June 23, 2019: The Song Remains the Same
Unitarian Universalists have from time to time found themselves at the center of political and social issues. Robert Helfer will share some thoughts on a piece of this history and how it affects our present.
Our services are Sundays at 11 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association Uptown Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse. There are classes for children and adults 10 to 10:45 am, and a coffee gathering before the service. More about us.
We would love to have you come worship with us.
Children are welcome. There is childcare and an activity for young children during the service.
The building is wheelchair accessible, with an accessible restroom. You may park on the south side of the building, which is marked reserved for the PWA.
The schedule for the current adult religious education class is here.
Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302
Congratulations to the Newly Called Ministers
Special Music Service Sunday, June 9, 2019
Musician Andrew McKnight is coming to do a special worship service for us! It is titled “Gifts in our Genes”. We would love for you to attend.
He is an Award-winning singer/songwriter, guitarist and poet from northern Virginia’s Blue Ridge
McKnight writes, sings and speaks eloquently of the struggles and successes of rural America.
Nationally-acclaimed singer/songwriter and guitarist celebrates rural America, weaving his masterfully crafted songs, humorous stories and poetic drama into a musical soundscape sketched with shades of Appalachia, tasteful slide and jazzy blues, feisty anthems, and rustic folk.
“With a voice reminiscent of Don McLean, McKnight traverses from old-time Appalachian tunes to contemporary folk and blues, all backed up by his dead-on guitar playing” – The Boston Globe
Here is a taste of his music – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNJoP21AFWg
Join us for Worship:
Our services are Sundays at 11 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse. There are classes for children and adults 10 to 10:45 am, and a coffee gathering before the service. More about us.
Classes and worship are replaced by Spiritual Outings on the first Sunday of each month during the summer, with brief worship, a potluck picnic, and outdoor activities. The schedule is in the sidebar.
We would love to have you come worship with us.
Children are welcome. There is childcare and an activity for young children during the service.
The building is wheelchair accessible, with an accessible restroom
The schedule for the current adult religious education class is here.
Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information
or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302
Photo credit: Christi Porter
Sunday, June 2, 2019: Ferguson Memorial Park, Shinnston
- Ferguson Memorial Park, Shinnston
We have Spiritual Outings on the first Sunday of each month during the summer. For this year’s first outing, we will gather for a celebration of summer on Sunday, June 2, at Ferguson Memorial Park in Shinnston
We will meet at 11 a.m. in the picnic area for a short service, followed by a potluck picnic, conversation, walking, and possibly swimming. [Note that there is a fee for using the pool.]
We would love to have you come worship with us.
For a map, please use this link: goo.gl/maps/enAartS4VNE2
Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information or to carpool, or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302
Sunday, May 26, 2019: Church as Spiritual Practice
Over the centuries, our Protestant forebears, especially the Calvinists and Pietists from whom we descend, gradually eliminated most of the liturgy and ritual from services, and Unitarian and Universalists in the mid-20th century turned Sunday services into lectures. Worship has gradually returned to a more spiritual experience over the last 50 years. Lisa deGruyter will share some thoughts on that.
Our services are Sundays at 11 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association Uptown Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse. There are classes for children and adults 10 to 10:45 am, and a coffee gathering before the service. More about us.
We would love to have you come worship with us.
Children are welcome. There is childcare and an activity for young children during the service.
The building is wheelchair accessible, with an accessible restroom. You may park on the south side of the building, which is marked reserved for the PWA.
The schedule for the current adult religious education class is here.
Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302
Sunday, May 19, 2019: Annual Meeting
Instead of our religious education hour and service this Sunday, we will have our annual meeting, starting at 10. Please bring a snack to share.
Annual Business Meeting. The annual business meeting shall be held each year on the third Sunday of May, to hear reports of officers and staff, to appoint new officers and committees, to adopt an annual budget, and to transact any other business that may properly come before the congregation.
Agenda
Treasurer’s Report
Election of Officers (Until the beginning of the church year after the membership reaches 15, the officers shall be the President, the Moderator, the Chair of Ministry and Oversight, and a Secretary/Treasurer, who will serve as the Board and Nominating Committee. The congregation as a whole will carry out the functions of the Committee on Ministry and Oversight.)
Bylaws Amendment. (These bylaws may be amended by consensus of the congregation after the amendment has been placed on the agenda for discussion at least three monthly business meetings, or fewer if there are more than sixty percent (60%) of the members present and there is unanimity.) Our Bylaws provide for an outside limited audit every year, which we have never done. We should consider whether we should remove that from the bylaws if we are not going to do it.
Annual Review of the Covenant of Right Relations. https://westforkuu.org/about/covenant-of-right-relations
Planning and Budget for 2019-2020 Church Year (starts July 1)
Including discussing
- Welcome Words
- Before Offering Words
- Soul Matters / Monthly Theme
- Religious Education/ Life Long Learning
- Updating the Website
Our services are Sundays at 11 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association Uptown Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse. There are classes for children and adults 10 to 10:45 am, and a coffee gathering before the service. More about us.
We would love to have you come worship with us.
Children are welcome. There is childcare and an activity for young children during the service.
The building is wheelchair accessible, with an accessible restroom. You may park on the south side of the building, which is marked reserved for the PWA.
The schedule for the current adult religious education class is here.
Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302
CB Beal, a Unitarian Universalist religious educator, sexuality educator, and the director of Justice and Peace will receive the 2019 Angus H. MacLean Award for Excellence in Religious Education at General Assembly in Spokane, Washington.
Sunday, May 12, 2019
“We are born of love; Love is our mother.” – Rumi
This Sunday, our youth will talk about mothers and Mother’s Day.
Our services are Sundays at 11 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association Uptown Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse. There are classes for children and adults 10 to 10:45 am, and a coffee gathering before the service. More about us.
We would love to have you come worship with us.
Children are welcome. There is childcare and an activity for young children during the service.
The building is wheelchair accessible, with an accessible restroom. You may park on the south side of the building, which is marked reserved for the PWA.
The schedule for the current adult religious education class is here.
Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302
