February 5th, “Drumming Our Way to Wellness”
Dan Metzger, Guest Speaker
In this service, the nature of drumming circles and their use as a wellness tool in elder care populations and the nature of music-making as an activity that restores health will be shared/discussed/examined.
Our guest speaker, Dan Metzger, is the Chaplain/Director of Music at Oakton Place Senior Center and also a lay minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Stockton, Illinois.
February 12th, “Men with Scientific Minds and Religious Souls: Charles Darwin and Asa Gray”
Rev. Jacqueline Ziegler
This service will offer a dramatic reading of the correspondence between Charles Darwin and Asa Gray, a Harvard professor of botany who was also an orthodox Christian. Gray was Darwin’s strongest and most vocal scientific supporter in the United States and encouraged Darwin to set his theory forward.
Rev. Jacqueline Ziegler, along with Ken Klick and Michael Merritt, who will be reading the poignant words of Darwin and Gray, offer this service.
February 19th, “Life Beyond Protest: Unitarian Universalists and the Local Sustainability Revolution”
Dan Kenny, Guest Speaker
This service will examine possible directions Unitarian Universalists can take in creating the world we want now in our own communities. The reflection will look at alternatives to follow from the “Occupy Movement” and examines what follows protest.
Our guest speaker Dan Kenney is involved with Northern Illinois Jobs with Justice. He is involved in other pertinent issues, has published numerous related articles and has been a keynote speaker for a number of major conferences. Dan is a member of the DeKalb Unitarian Universalist Church.
February 26th “Moved by Love, Awed by Existence, Guided by Reason and Science: Religious Humanists”
Rev. Jacqueline Ziegler
We have all heard a lot in recent years about the supposed evils of “secular humanism.” It is thought that our 20th century Unitarian ancestors and Unitarian Universalists today are secular humanists. But that is not really the truth as the vast majority of our Unitarian ancestors were religious humanists and Unitarians Universalists today identify themselves as religious humanists or give themselves other religious identities.
In this reflection, Rev.Jacqueline Ziegler sheds light on this most important religious way of being and shares how religious humanism has played a very important role in Unitarian Universalism and in western civilization.
