UPUCC Returns to In-Person Worship (and continues virtually as well!)
- Don your masks and ‘join in’ for our joyful steps toward ‘normalcy’!
- As an unabashedly liberal group, in this instance we will move more conservatively, asking all present to wear masks and socially distance while indoors. The service (and future worship services) will be live streamed to allow all to participate.
- While many of us are fully vaccinated, others, including all children, have not yet had that opportunity. Children are certainly welcome, but no special children’s classes or inside gatherings in worship will be offered until further notice. (Watch for details as possible outside children’s gatherings are planned.)
Though we do not anticipate more persons in attendance than our space can safely accommodate, the length of our worship may be shortened, some aspects may occur outdoors, and singing may be recorded instead of sung live...but we’ll come together safely with enthusiasm and creativity!
Worship Zoom link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87850109590?pwd=UloxR1BqWG9na01FM0FESmJ1MWRCUT09
Meeting ID:
878 5010 9590
Password: 001672
Dial in- 929 436 2866
Sunday Forum 9 am - Beginning August 1, join in-person or online.
August 1st
– Racial Justice: Where Can We Go from
Here? Please join the racial justice
work(ing) group to learn about what we've been up to and where we want to go...
book studies, personal growth, partnering with Poplar Springs Christian Church,
activism, education, and more. We would especially welcome folks who have not
been a part of this group to share your thoughts and brainstorm on what is
important to us as a community in the racial justice realm.
August 8th – Guest Speaker- Interfaith Discussion: Vedanta / Hinduism We are pleased to welcome Venkat Mandavilli to discuss Vedanta, the philosophical foundation of Hinduism, with us. A board member and moderator of adult study groups at the ChinmayA Mission Center in Raleigh, Venkat was born and raised in India and moved to the United States as an adult. Studying under his Guru, Swami Chin mayA nandA, Venkat will discuss how he sees Religion as a means to attain the end goal of living harmoniously with the environment in which he lives. In addition to sharing his experiences, Venkat is looking forward to answering questions we may have about Vedanta Hinduism and its relationship to other spiritual paths.
August 15th- How the Bible Actually Works, Session 2 In this session of the How the Bible Actually Works video series, we’ll hear Pete talk about the ancient nature of the Bible. If you’ve ever wondered why the Bible seems so out of step with our modern (or post-modern, but let’s not open that can of worms!) sensibilities, hopefully this session will help answer some of your questions. Join Brian Spears on August 15 at 9:00 am for the video and discussion.
August 22nd – Songs of the Spirit What makes a song “sacred”? What makes a song “spiritual”? Is there a difference? Join Anthony Neff as we discuss these topics, and talk about our favorite hymns and secular songs that have spiritual meaning to us.
August 29th – UPUCC Poets Share Wall Poems What is a wall poem? Our poetry group realized during one of our weekly meetings that some poems hit us in different ways than others. Sometimes we hear a poem, or a verse from a poem, that is so meaningful, inspirational, and motivational that we want to paint it on our walls! Come join us at the forum on August 29 as we share the origin story of what makes a wall poem and to hear some of them read. We will share poems that we've written ourselves, as well as poems from the others in our group, that made an impact on us and made us want to put them up on our walls!
Forum Zoom link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83482803068?pwd=TFF2eXdCd2JQdGdNOHdMOGFiTmdKUT09
Meeting ID: 834 8280 3068
Passcode: 918716
Dial in: 301 715 8592
Exploring Our Story Through Biblical Stories
Meeting each Monday evening virtually at 7:00 p.m. Facilitated by Anthony Neff anthonerd@gmail.com
Monday night Progressive Bible Study is currently offering History, the Bible and You. As the foundational text of our faith, the Bible is an important piece of our journey. But as our UPUCC Covenant says, we seek to:
Search the scriptures with open-minded thoughtfulness; taking the Bible seriously while knowing it cannot always be taken literally;
Using materials and the approach outlined in the History in the Bible podcast from Garry Stevens (https://www.historyinthebible.com/), we’ll look at some of the latest research into the Biblical texts and the archaeology behind them. In addition to considering historical / archaeological findings and critical research from biblical and literary scholars, we’ll take the time to discuss how we can make scripture meaningful to us in our own lives today (and which parts of scripture are NOT meaningful to us personally).
Our Monday night sessions offer the opportunity to explore the Bible with open minds and open discussions. Join us as we begin a new ground floor approach!
Progressive Bible Study Zoom link
https://zoom.us/j/94118673022?pwd=NHNSNmFiS3lWT0lWRU9HMzQwR0FLdz09
Meeting ID: 941 1867 3022
Passcode: 674350
If you've missed our virtual worship services, you can find the videos here.