UU History

Sunday, 4 February 2024: Love Is Too Strong a Word

LdeG

In 1984, Kurt Vonnegut asked what makes us so bloodthirsty, in the Ware Lecture “Love Is Too Strong a Word” at the Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly. Vonnegut was a third-generation Unitarian, and great-grandson of a founder of the Freethinker’s Society of Indianapolis. We will hear a tape of his lecture, which is still startlingly topical today.

Lisa deGruyter will lead the discussion.

Please Join us for Worship.

Our services are Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time on ZOOM and in person at the Progressive Women’s Association Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse.

Children are welcome. The building is wheelchair accessible, with an accessible restroom. You may park in the lot on the west side of the building; DO NOT PARK in the Washington Avenue pay lot. Please enter through the door on the west side of the building.

Map

If you wish to join on ZOOM, please contact us for logon information. If you prefer not to be seen, video is optional. If you would like to participate, please email westforkuu@gmail.com for details and a link, or for help with using ZOOM.

A coffee hour, a time for discussion and socializing (including ZOOM participants), follows from the end of the service until 12:00 noon. More about us.

If you have been a regular attendee, we have added you to our Google Group if we had an email address. If you have not gotten a group email already, please email westforkuu@gmail.com so that we can add you to the group, which we will be using for staying in touch with each other. Public announcements will continue to be posted here on the website and on our Facebook page and Twitter account, as usual.

Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302

Sunday, 5 March 2023: We Are One

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Welcome before Prelude

Good morning and welcome to West Fork Unitarian Universalists. I’m Lisa and I feel blessed to serve this congregation as a lay leader. I’m glad to see all of you here today.
Thank you for joining us.
Let us use the prelude for centering. We are about to enter sacred time. We are about to make this time and this place sacred by our presence and intention.
Please silence your phones… and as you do so, I invite us also to turn down the volume on our fears; to remove our masks; and to loosen the armor around our hearts.
Breathe.
Let go of the expectations placed on you by others—and those they taught you to place on yourself.
Drop the guilt and the shame, not to shirk accountability, but in honest expectation of the possibility of forgiveness. Let go of the thing you said the other day. Let go of the thing you dread next week. Be here, in this moment. Breathe, here.

Prelude: The Story of Four Rivers

Welcome: Look To This Day by Kalidasa

Look to this day: For it is life, the very life of life. In its brief course Lie all the verities and realities of your existence. The bliss of growth, The glory of action, The splendor of beauty Are but experiences of time.

For yesterday is but a dream And tomorrow is only a vision; But today well-lived, makes Yesterday a dream of happiness And every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well therefore to this day.

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Sunday, 5 March 2023: We Are One

LdeG

The seeming lack of animation and organization in earth, air, liquids, and metals is, as Leibniz guessed long ago, an illusion of our senses. Furthermore, the strict determinism of classical physics is now seriously challenged or rejected by many, perhaps most, physicists. For all we can know, when an atom of uranium turns into an atom of lead, it may be a spontaneous act of the atom. No law determines when it happens.

Charles Hartshorne, “A New World and a New World View,” in The Life of Choice, ed. Clark Kucheman, Beacon Press, (1978)

Lisa deGruyter will offer music, words, poetry, and talk relating to UU philosopher Charles Hartshorne and his process theology. As he says “Some call it “process philosophy.” It changes everything. For example, it gives a new answer to the old question, “Why does God not prevent suffering and evil?” and also to the question, “Why do animals all die?”

Please Join us for Worship.

Our services are Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time on ZOOM and in person at the Progressive Women’s Association Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse. If you wish to join on ZOOM, please contact us for logon information. A coffee hour, a time for discussion and socializing (including ZOOM participants), follows from the end of the service until 12:00 noon. More about us. If you prefer not to be seen, video is optional. If you would like to participate, please email westforkuu@gmail.com for details and a link, or for help with using ZOOM.

If you are a regular attendee, we have added you to our Google Group if we had an email address. If you have not gotten a group email already, please email westforkuu@gmail.com so that we can add you to the group, which we will be using for staying in touch with each other during this time. Public announcements will continue to be posted here on the website and on our Facebook page and Twitter account, as usual.

Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302

Sunday, December 11th, 2022: “They Should Have Sent a Poet”

johnnyawwsome

In this week’s service by John Hall, we’ll explore the human urge to express ourselves in artful verse and learn about influential UU Poets.

Please join us for Worship:

Our services are Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time on ZOOM and in person at the Progressive Women’s Association Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse. If you wish to join on ZOOM, please contact us for logon information. A coffee hour, a time for discussion and socializing (including ZOOM participants), follows from the end of the service until 12:00 noon. 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.

Map

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, August 7, 2022

johnnyawwsome

“You are changing the situation of women within our denomination and, in so doing, you are opening up for all of us new ways of understanding and perceiving women and, we hope, men as well. And furthermore, this change is something the church, as an institution, could not do for itself. We might say it is pre-institutional. By changing women’s situations within the institution, your impact can be enormous in affecting sexist attitudes, assumptions and behavior. Let us all resolve to make it so.” – UU President Rev. O. Eugene Pickett

This Sunday, Cricket Hall will be talking about Unitarian Universalist Women and Religion. Fae will discuss Rosemary Matson, inclusive language, and the 1977 Women and Religion resolution and how they all affected the 1985 revisions to the Principles and Purposes.

We will gather at 10:30 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse.  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.

Map

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

July 17, 2022 Service – UU History: Secular Humanism

johnnyawwsome

“Of moral purpose I see no trace in Nature.  That is an article of exclusively human manufacture – and very much to our credit.”
– T H Huxley

Unitarian Universalism is a young religious tradition, but much of its purpose and focus for the early decades were rooted in secular humanism. Indeed, some UU churches with a humanist bend avoid all mention of spirit, faith, or anything mystical. Even churches that are more open to the idea of divinity and sacredness have strong humanist influences. John Hall will present a service about what secular humanism is and its role in Unitarian Universalism.

We will gather at 10:30 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse.  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.

Map

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 22, 2022

johnnyawwsome

“Our task is to be who we are, in every way we can be; our salvation proceeding in putting ­ourselves back together after each tumble…We irridesce, shine, and radiate. We exclaim and roar: we are.”            By Kenneth L. Patton

                                    Source: “Becoming: A Spiritual Guide for Navigating Adulthood”

Kenneth Leo Patton (August 25, 1911-December 25, 1994), identifed as one of the major poets and a prophet of contemporary liberal religion, was a voice for a poetic, naturalistic humanism at a time when most humanists were defining a religion of reason. Minister and scholar David Bumbaugh has summed up Patton’s work: “It was he who taught a monotone rationalism how to sing; it was he who taught a stumble-footed humanism how to dance; it was he who cried ‘Look!’ and taught our eyes to see the glory in the ordinary.”

We would love to have you come worship with us.

This Sunday we will explore Kenneth Patton and his legacy within our faith.

Our services are Sundays at 1030 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse.  A coffee hour, time for discussion and socializing, will be after the service, until 12:00 noon.

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. 

The building is wheelchair accessible, with an accessible restroom.

Map

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, April 10, 2022

johnnyawwsome

“What does it mean to be in covenant? How do we handle the mutual accountability of living in love? What do we need from our shared agreements now and in the future?”

Join us for worship and a potluck lunch. We will be discussing the Article II Study Commission and our values as they apply to our faith. Please join us and bring a dish to share!

We will gather at 10:30 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse.  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.

Map

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, March 13, 2022

johnnyawwsome

“They asked, ‘If a tree should fall in the woods and one is not there, does it make a sound?’
And the answer came, ‘If a tree should fall and no one is there, listen for the cry of mourning
birds who grieve the loss of their nests. They know where the tree lies. They call you to
companion them as they search for a place to rest. Listen then, for the mourning birds.'” – The Lesson of the Tree by Rev. Aaron R. Payson

This Sunday, Phoebe Durst will present a service titled “Finding our Footing, Renewing Our Faith  When We Are on Shaky Ground.”  She will be focusing on our monthly theme “Renewing our faith,” as it relates to UU history. Phoebe will touch a little on the contemporary history of the Unitarian Universalist Trauma Response Ministry.

Please Join Us for Worship.

We are forgoing meeting in person during the coronavirus epidemic, meeting on Zoom. We share music, readings, and hymns on our usual presentation slides, have a story and a talk, and share joys and sorrows, as well as a virtual “coffee hour” discussion starting at 10:30, with the service at 11. If you prefer not to be seen, video is optional. If you would like to participate, please email westforkuu@gmail.com for details and a link, or for help with using ZOOM.

If you are a regular attendee, we have added you to our Google Group if we had an email address. If you have not gotten a group email already, please email westforkuu@gmail.com so that we can add you to the group, which we will be using for staying in touch with each other during this time. Public announcements will continue to be posted here on the website and on our Facebook page and Twitter account, as usual.

Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302

Sunday, February 13, 2022

johnnyawwsome

“American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it.” – James Baldwin

The same could be said for Unitarian Universalist History. This Sunday join us as Cricket Hall explores UU History through the lens of Widening Our Circle.

Please Join Us for Worship.

We are forgoing meeting in person during the coronavirus epidemic, meeting on Zoom. We share music, readings, and hymns on our usual presentation slides, have a story and a talk, and share joys and sorrows, as well as a virtual “coffee hour” discussion starting at 10:30, with the service at 11. If you prefer not to be seen, video is optional. If you would like to participate, please email westforkuu@gmail.com for details and a link, or for help with using ZOOM.

If you are a regular attendee, we have added you to our Google Group if we had an email address. If you have not gotten a group email already, please email westforkuu@gmail.com so that we can add you to the group, which we will be using for staying in touch with each other during this time. Public announcements will continue to be posted here on the website and on our Facebook page and Twitter account, as usual.

Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302