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Please scroll down to see earlier 2012 programs

September 2, 2012 – Dale Barrington, UU member at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Tullahoma, TN will present, “Humanism: Secular, Religious, and Naturalistic”. 

September 9, 2012 – Ken Johnson will present, “Optimism”.  Is optimism a skillful approach to life or a recipe for self-deception?  Although research shows that optimists are more content, more resilient, and have fewer physical and emotional disorders than pessimists, some of us may be skeptical.  Making oneself “think positive” or “look on the bright side” sometimes seems like naiveté or, worse, foolishness.  We’ll take a realistic look at positive thinking! 

September 16, 2012 – Simon Mak, member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Shoals will present, “Cycles”. 

September 23, 2012 – Ken Johnson will present, “Is Your Spiritual Alarm Clock Going Off?”.  Aging serves as a spiritual alarm clock, says writer and therapist Thomas Moore.  He adds, “Aging is one of the ways the soul nudges itself into attention to the spiritual aspects of life.”  As we enter the second half of life and our bodies begin to slow down, this reminder of mortality compels us to ponder larger realities.  “Aging” Moore writes, “forces us to decide what is important in life”.  With this in mind, we will look at and discuss what some have called “The Stages of the Soul” and examine how it impinges on our own lives.  Where are you in this universal human journey? 

September 30, 2012 – Brenda Durham, recent Vanderbilt University Divinity School graduate will present, “A Peaceful and Tolerant Society—Can We Get There?”  An honest assessment of where we are, who we are, and how we want to live. 

July 1, 2012 – Ruth Anne Mak, member of the UUCS, will present, “Letting Go”. 

July 8, 2012 – Ken Johnson, member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, will present, “Beyond the Contentious Heart”.  In the river of our emotions we find the shoals of ANGER.  It is said that, “anger” is just one letter short of “danger”.  It is indeed a powerful influence for both life and destruction of life!  We’ll discuss “anger” from the perspective of current behavioral science and ancient wisdom.  How can we deal wisely and intelligently with this powerful energy?

July 22, 2012 -  Come open the Handy Fest with the UUs and enjoy music from The Blue Navigators.  The Blue Navigators are a local acoustic band that bring an eclectic blend of blues, rock, country, folk and American roots music to their performances. 

July 29, 2012 – Ken Johnson will present, “I Set Out in Search of the Source of Happiness” Anthony deMello.  Does happiness come from within?  Or, does it come from outside us?  Or, does it come from somewhere between the two?  Were the ancients right about the places to find peace of mind or not?  Perhaps, when we come to understand a little better what kind of creature we are—we will understand better what will give us contentment.  Is happiness even something you can find, acquire, or achieve?  Should provide a great discussion!  Bring your thoughts!

June 3, 2012 – Local musical group, “The Bear” will perform.  Amber Murray and Nathan Pitts perform original music on guitar, banjo and ukulele.  

June 10, 2012 – Ruth Anne Mak, UUCS member,  will present a program entitled, “No”.  

June 17, 2012 -  Ken Johnson UU member at the Murfreesboro, Tennessee Unitarian Universalist Church will present, “Father: Who Was That Masked Man?  We’ll look at the “7 Kinds of Fathers” and see how their influences are probably still with us today – even in adulthood.

April 1, 2012 – Brenda Durham, Divinity student at Vanderbilt Divinity School will present, “Getting in Touch with the Divine Feminine”.  After a recent trip to India, Brenda will share her experiences there and how the Divine Feminine is becoming more manifest at a time when the Earth’s consciousness is shifting.

April 22, 2012 – Ken Johnson, Lay Minster with the Unitarian Universalist Church of Murfreesboro, will present, “Healing the Dysfunctional Church Family.”

Religious bodies have high ideals for love, fellowship, and open communication.  But, often, we bring the baggage from our dysfunctional families and relationships into our church family.  What can we do to inoculate our healthy church against developing dysfunctional patterns? 

April 29, 2012 - The Whiloms Band will perform an acoustic program of pop, rock and bluegrass influenced music.  The Whiloms Band is comprised of Michael Clements and Kirsten Shaw.  Michael and Kirsten were both born and reared in central Alabama.  Michael sings and plays all the instruments and acts as producer and recording engineer.  Kirsten adds a zest and love for live performing with dynamic vocals.

December 8, Thursday - 2011 – Winter Solstice Celebration with Harpist Annette Harman.  Service at 7:00 p.m.  Refreshments following service. 

November 6, 2011 – Daphne Simpkins, Professor of Creative Writing at AUM, will present, “Emerson’s Links”. Much touted for his original thinking and emphasis on self reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson shaped the understanding of transcendentalism and provided for a rich legacy of people who would reinvent how self reliance is considered and is manifested in popular culture forms. We move in this presentation from a discussion of Thoreau’s Walden to the virtual self reliance of surrogate heroes who populate machine-made worlds like video games. We will test the idea of whether the evolution of the natural self celebrated by the early transcendentalists had helped to produce virtual adventures in self reliance in a different kind of natural world. Toward that end, we will look at Japanese creator Shigeru Miyamoto (The Legend of Zelda) and the author of three books that read the way a video game is played, Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games trilogy).

*November 6, 2011 – Daphne Simpkins will have a book signing from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. at Cold water Books in Tuscumbia for her newest novel, Cloverdale.

July 17, 2011 – Chuck Morgret will present, “The Meaning of Life”. When we recite our fourth principle, “A Free and Responsible Search for Truth and Meaning,” we tend to run “truthandmeaning” together as if it were a single concept. This talk is an exploration of the distinction between “truth” and “meaning” leading to his interpretation of what it means to be a UU. Chuck Morgret is a long-time member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tullahoma, TN. An aerospace engineer in his day job, Chuck admits that his only real qualification to speak on spiritual matters is that he thinks about stuff a lot, often from unusual perspectives. He deeply appreciates the opportunity to occasionally share some of the stuff he’s been thinking about.  

July 31, 2011 – Bill Parkhurst will present, “Our Universalist Roots- What’s love got to do with it?” A little history, a little theology and a whole lot of love.

April 10, 2011 – Cindy Crawford, President of the UUCS, will present, “Square Foot Gardening: an easier, more fun way to garden”.  Does your garden turn into an unkempt mass of weeds and unmet goals?  Square Foot Gardening, developed by Mel Bartholomew, is an efficient, easier method of gardening.  Cindy Crawford will discuss the highlights of the method, and the changes needed for our climate.  Feel the satisfaction of having your own little plot with maximum results.  Your green thumb will emerge again!

April 17, 2011 – Ken Johnson, Chaplain at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, will present, “Post Traumatic Religion Disorder: Unhooking Your Heart from Toxic Faith”.  (This will be Part One of this series.  Part Two will be presented May 8, 2011, discussion will follow the services for those who wish to stay).  Mr. Johnson’s experience has been that the majority of UU’s are what he calls “church refugees”.  They come to Unitarian Universalism from other churches—often after very unpleasant and negatively formative encounters.  This “trauma” has ongoing effects in the life of the recovering person.  It has a potentially de-formative effect on future attempts at building a personal theology and can postpone, hinder or derail spiritual development and evolution.  The series is divided into 4 sections:  1. What are the Sources of Post Traumatic Religion Disorder? Giving words to what happened to us  2.  What are the Symptoms of PTRD? What are the lingering effects on our lives?  3.  What are the Signs of moving beyond/healing PTRD?  What are the indications that we are healing?  4.  What are some Suggestions for moving on?   Some positive suggestions for avoiding the traps that keep us stuck.  Mr. Johnson will present the first two sections on April 17, 2011.

Mr. Johnson is a former evangelical minister.  He graduated from David Lipscomb University in 1988, and Asbury Theological Seminary in 1995.  He has an M.A. in Counseling.  He served Churches of Christ and Independent Christian Churches until 2001 when he resigned after over 20 years of ministry.  He has also worked 18 years at Parthenon Pavilion Hospital in various roles in acute care psychiatry in care giving and administrative capacities.  He resigned in 2010 to re-imagine and re-direct his life.  He is currently a member of the board at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Murfreesboro and is one of two “chaplains” there and has had this position since 2009. 

March 6, 2011 – Doug Traversa, lay minister with the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tullahoma, Tennessee and divinity student at Meadville-Lombard College in Chicago, Illinois, will present, “The Pernicious Doctrine of Hell.”  A critical look at the doctrine of Hell as found in the Bible and the Koran.  Belief in Hell harms individuals by warping the basis of their relationships and creating the image of a hateful God.  A doctrine of eternal punishment also creates hatred, division, and animosity towards others who believe differently.  Only when people stop categorizing certain groups as “deserving eternal punishment” can they enter into meaningful dialog and mutual love, support, and ministry. 

March 13, 2011 – The Blue Navigators.  Local musicians Tim Kelley, Toni and Kenneth Brooks and Ernie Fite will entertain the congregation with a variety of songs from folk to blues to rock and roll.  Come join us for a relaxed and fun hour of music.

March 20, 2011 – Daphne Simpkins, Professor of Creative Writing at AUM, will present, “After Alzheimer’s”  This presentation will consider the effect of Alzheimer’s disease on a family after the initial diagnosis and then after the afflicted patient has passed on.  The disease doesn’t actually stop with the death of the patient.  Alzheimer’s remains with the survivors in many ways.  The changes it creates are powerful.  Beginning with a great unraveling of one person’s mind, the disease leaves behind for others a number of questions that can be authentically answered; and when they are, a different world view—or at least, a fresh view of personhood – emerges in ways that are as surprising as the announcement of the disease when it first made its presence known.  This presentation will explore some of the questions raised by Alzheimer’s and offer some of the answers.  The speaker today has written about Alzheimer’s in a memoir, The Long Good Night (available on Kindle). 

March 27, 2011 – Brenda Durham, divinity student at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, will present, “Planting Seeds of Compassion”.  What is your Compassion Quotient (CQ)?  All of the major world religions and spiritual traditions have at the heart of their belief system some version of the Golden Rule, or the principle of compassion.  Karen Armstrong, religious historian and founder of the “Charter for Compassion” says, “We can learn to make educated, informed compassionate responses and see all sides of the problem.”  Compassion begins as a seed and when cultivated can be expanded globally breaking down political and ideological barriers.  The world is hungry for change, for a more compassionate response to living. 

February 6, 2011 -  Dr. Larry Bates, Professor of Psychology at the University of North Alabama, will present, “Sacred Emotions”.  As we draw near Valentine’s Day, perhaps it’s a good time to examine some of the emotions that we find sacred.  These are emotions that are perhaps more likely to occur in religious settings, or elicited through spiritual practices, but can be experienced in nonreligious settings as well.  Some emotions are just great and probably need sacred status.

February 13, 2011 - James Barrington will present, “Hide and Seek: theology as a corrupt form of spirituality”.  Mr. Barrington will speak on the religious metaphors that has inhibited his growth in spirituality instead of enhancing it.  He has spent his life trying to figure out how to explain religious concepts that made sense to him and simply had to reconstruct or replace the cultural metaphors that shaped him from birth.  To be true to his head and heart with a loving presence has been his hope.  This has worked some times and sometimes it has not.

January 2, 2011 – Bill Parkhurst will present, “Ignorance is bliss….the resolution of Science and Faith”.  My ignorance is encyclopedic.  Nevertheless, this absence of certainty allows one to plumb the depths of the oft-considered rift between science and faith.  Talk about your New Year’s resolutions! 

October 24 – David Walton, Sheffield native, song writer and musician will present a program of original music on acoustic guitar and bamboo flute. 

 August 29, 2010 – Dr. Larry Bates, Professor of Psychology at the University of North Alabama, will present, “The Religion –Health Connection: Facts and Fiction.”  “Any link between religion and health defies simple explanation.  Clearly there is a link, but probably not as robust as advertised in the sound bites we see on the news or as fodder for our sermons.  The effects are also a bit bipolar, with both positive and negative effects, and related to both physical and mental health.  Hence, we’ll take a fresh look at this odd relationship from an empirical standpoint.”

January 3, 2010 – Sharon Bonner Austell will present, “Looking at the Road Through the Raindrops”.  Ms. Austell will talk about the lenses through which we view our lives, and ways to improve our views by recognizing our strengths and indwelling divinity.  (Ms. Austell has a BA in religion and psychology from Athens State College and is a first year student at Vanderbilt University in the Master of Divinity program.  She is pursuing ordination in the United Methodist Church.  She has been married for 19 years to her high-school sweetheart and they have four children.) 

January 10, 2010 –  DVD presentation of “The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die”, by Dr. John Izzo.  Talk # 1 on January 10, 2010 will be "Reflect More: Living a Life of Intention". (John Izzo is the bestselling author of Second Innocence  and the host of the public television series The Five Things You Must Discover Before You Die.  Holding advanced degrees in religion and psychology, Izzo has spoken to one million people on four continents about living more purposeful lives.  For this book/DVD series, John Izzo interviewed over 200 people, ages 60-106, each of whom was identified by friends and acquaintances as “the one person they knew who had found happiness and meaning.”  From town barbers to Holocaust survivors, from aboriginal chiefs to CEOs, these people had over 18,000 years of life experience between them.  He asked them questions like, What brought you the greatest joy? What do you wish you had learned sooner? What ultimately mattered and what didn’t? Here Izzo shares their stories- funny, moving, and thought-provoking—and the Five Secrets he learned from listening to them.) 

January 24, 2010 – Gerald and Cindy Crawford will present, “Our Friends to the North—The Canadian Maritime Provinces”.  The Crawfords spent most of August and September traveling in Eastern Canada with a group of American RV enthusiasts.  They learned so much about, and gained a great respect for the warm people and beautiful windswept country in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Labrador and Prince Edward Island.  The presentation will include photos and history, along with a close look at the Acadians, the hardy descendants of Seventeenth- Century French colonists. 

January 31, 2010 – Brenda Durham will present, “Ars Viviendi – The Art of Living Well”.  We can easily become discouraged and pessimistic when we turn on the news and are continually bombarded with the dominance of the negative sides of our human natures in society.  We can become frustrated with the human race and give up on others.  Or we can learn to look beyond appearances to see what is true for everyone and find hope in the world and learn to experience the art of living well. (Brenda Durham is a Divinity School student at Vanderbilt University.  She is from Birmingham, AL and holds a Master’s degree in Public and Private Management from Birmingham-Southern College.  Her goal is to pursue ordination as a Unity minister.  She is a Master Prosperity Teacher having trained with Edwene Gaines and is a Master Reiki practitioner.)