Recent Sunday Programs
June 29 - "Independence through the Eyes of Adams and Jefferson" - Presented by Dallas Calhoun
June 15 - "21st Century Fathers" - Presented by Derek Hoggett
June 22 - "Giving Life the Shape of Justice: The Second UU Priniciple" - Presented by Sheila Rae
June 8 - "Peruvian Slide Show" - Presented by Bassett Maguire
June 1 - "What Are You Reading" - Facilitated by Judy Lazarus
May 25 - "Memories of a Year in the Iraq War" - Presented by Mitch Fuller, Cedar Park City Council Member
May 18 - "The Paradox of Spring" - Rev. Kathleen Ellis
As our Spring blooms into Summer, growth abounds. When death intrudes, the contrast with the season seems both disconcerting and comforting. Rev. Kathleen Ellis, a minister at Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Church, explored this odd paradox.
May 11 - "Milk Bank Power" - Bridget McCauley, Mother's Milk Bank at Austin
On this Mother's Day, Mother's Milk Bank Program Director, Bridget McCauley, talked about the evolution and current operations of the Milk Bank and what we can do as a community to help premature babies and others get a healthy start on life with this valuable resource.
May 4 - "UU Values" - Presented by Mike Pore
April 27 - "I Will Be Thirsty for the Rest of My Life: A Unitarian Universalist Exploration of the Suffering Caused by Addiction" - Rev. Eliza Galaher, Wildflower Church
Rev. Galaher spoke about current UU efforts to address addiction and help people recover from it.
April 20 - "Native Plants in our Landscape" - Matt Turner
Mr. Turner, program chair and past president of Native Plant Society of Texas, Austin Chapter, spoke about why it's important to stick with native plants when gardening or landscaping. He will soon be coming out with a book called, The Remarkable Plants of Texas.
April 13 - "Happy Birthday to Us! A celebration of the Fellowship's 21 years in Austin"
April 6 - "Living with Harmony" - Mary Jane Ford and Mark Skrabacz
Mary Jane Ford and Mark Skrabacz of First UU Church presented a set of Mary Jane's original songs with sermonic and harmonic accompaniment. Mary Jane plays guitar and Mark plays harmonica. This was an environmental program in celebration of Earth Day. As each song was about some aspect of nature, they provided musical harmony to the harmony of nature.
March 30 - "Education" - a group discussion facilitated by Sandy Carter
March 23 - "Celebration of Spring with Flowers and Poetry"
March 16 - "Wholeness and Healing" - Michele Riggs, The Samaritan Center
Michele Riggs is a combat veteran and a counselor specializing in trauma. She also coordinates the Samaritan Center's program, Hope for Heroes. Ms. Riggs talked about this innovative program, which provides no charge mental health services to soldiers that served in Iraq or Afghanistan and their families.
March 9 - "Slave to Laughter" - Christopher Cannon, Stand-up Comedian
Nationally know comedian, Christopher Cannon, talked about what laughter has meant to his life.
March 2 - "Letting Go of Regrets" - Hamilton Beazley, Author of No Regrets: A Ten-Step Program for Living in the Present and Leaving the Past Behind
Award-winning author, Dr. Hamilton Beazley, discussed regrets and how to let them go.
February 24 - "Freethinkers and 48'ers: German Immigrants Who Headed to the Texas Hill Country" - Don Rhoades
Don Rhoades, the founding member of the Atheist Community of Austin, spoke about the remarkable mid-19th century wave of settlement activity that took place in small communities on the Texas frontier.
February 17 - "What Are You Reading" - Internal program
February 10 - "Matters of the Heart" - Karen Kreps
Karen spoke on the value of prioritizing your love life in order to find and sustain a fulfilling romantic relationship. Ms. Kreps writes the column, "Intimacies", for The Good Life magazine and is author of the book, Intimacies: Secrets of Love, Sex & Romance.
February 3 - "Austin's Least Wanted Invasive Plant Species" - René Barrera
Non-native plant and invasive species are reducing Austin's biological diversity and threatening our natural heritage. Environmental Conservation Information Specialist, René Barrera, discussed what can be done to stop this silent invasion.
January 27 - "Redesigning the United States Constitution" - Dr. Sanford Levinson
Dr. Levinson is a professor at the UT Austin School of Law and Department of Government. He discussed his most recent book, Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How We the People Can Correct It).
January 20 - "This I Believe" - Presenters: Geyla Camp, Sandy Carter, and Derek Hoggett
January 13 - "Notable Notes" - Facilitated by Judy Lazarus
January 6 - "Is Intelligent Design coming to Texas Public Schools?" - Dr. Arturo DeLozanne
Two years after the major legal defeat of the intelligent design movement in Dover, Pennsylvania, it would seem that most boards of education would try to avoid similar mistakes. Yet, it appears that Texas has not learned the lessons from Pennsylvania, Kansas and Ohio. Texas may become the next front in the battle over the teaching of Evolution in public schools. Dr. DeLozanne discussed why intelligent design does not have a place in science classes and the brewing problems in Texas public education.