Author: 1stexistentialist

“The Threat of Blackness: Black History Month and the Promise of Self”

Anthony Knight is the President & CEO of The Baton Foundation, a Georgia nonprofit organization that serves the emotional, intellectual and cultural needs of Black boys in grades five through nine. Before founding the Foundation, Mr. Knight worked for twenty-two years as a museum educator and consultant.

Mr. Knight has extensive experience with and interest in African-American history and culture, public and living history, informal education and Black youth. Mr. Knight’s work with The Baton Foundation reflects his ongoing interest in the issues and practices related to the collecting, preservation and interpretation of information about and material culture from the African Diaspora.

Mr. Knight’s undergraduate work was in Spanish and English (Ohio Wesleyan University), and his graduate work was in museum education (The George Washington University). Mr. Knight also holds a degree in Spanish-to-English translation from the Núcleo de Estudios Lingüísticos y Sociales, Caracas, Venezuela. Mr. Knight is a New York City native.

“Long as You’re Living: A Sermon in Three Songs and Some Words”

Reverend Janna Nelson was ordained by the First Existentialist Congregation of Atlanta in 1999, where she was an active member for decades before moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to be closer to her large family. She is a retired elementary school teacher and preschool director who enjoys children and who learns as much from them as they do from her. She misses the daily opportunities to address various biases and provide more accurate historical perspectives for children, to build empathy and critical thinking as they try to understand their place in this complex world. She was singing with a sister in classrooms in a local school until the pandemic closed schools down in March.

Since moving to Albuquerque, she has finally had the time and opportunity to explore her voice more fully as a teacher, as well as mess around on the piano more. This time and work have given her the confidence to start teaching a little piano and voice, meeting people where they are.

She is honored to be speaking to the congregation and is grateful to be invited to share reflections through an existential/feminist perspective, going back to source material. She had personal experiences as a young person that stirred ideas about life that she later found expressed by these writers and thinkers. These ideas and concepts continue to be a touchstone for a way to live life more fully, with all its complexity and grief and uncertainty, to participate in freedom from oppression and alienation of all kinds, a way to keep moving forward, to help build something good, to participate in healing. A way to still live in the moment, to find lightness, to cultivate curiosity, to let in beauty, to grow and expand, to connect with others, even while living in these times.

“Our Right to Dreams of Justice”

Rev. Duncan Teague (former longtime member of the First E Cong) dreamed and planted the Abundant Love Unitarian Universalist (UU) Congregation in the West End community of SW Atlanta. Abundant LUUv, soon 3 years old, February 2021, is committed to the work of healing communities. The congregation is working, for example, with Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health and the School of Nursing to assist with research to inform faith-based HIV/AIDS prevention programs from the perspective of Black gay and bi-sexual men. Rev. Teague has served a term on the UU Ministers’ Association’s Committee on Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression, and Multiculturalism (CARAOM) and the Appointments Committee of the UUA Board of Trustees. Rev. Teague resides in Decatur, GA with his husband, David Thurman, a retired researcher, celebrating 27 years together.

“Re-imagine: Being and Flow”

Dr. Jean Heinrich is a moving human being, musician, licensed clinical psychologist, long-standing member of the First Existentialist Congregation, and sometimes Trickster. She is presenting, in word and song, “Re-imagine: Being And Flow” and inviting you to experience creating in one’s mind in a new, refreshed way.

“Voting as Spiritual Practice”

Franklin Abbott has been a practicing psychotherapist in Atlanta for nearly forty years. He is also a poet, musician, community organizer and amateur oral historian. His connection to the Congregation and Old Stone Church goes back more than forty years to early urban radical faery gatherings held in the sanctuary before First E became its steward. He has spoken at First E many times, performed music and poetry there, coordinated events and memorials. He and First E founding minister Lanier Clance were friends and co-hosted an eclectic close existential radio program on WRFG for over five years in the mid-‘80’s.

“On Resolve and Determination”

These remain tumultuous times; likely, more tumultuous than we have ever experienced. As hard as we have tried and after all we have been through, we find our circumstances worse than when COVID first appeared. Much worse. We are in lockdown with thousands dying daily. Hope is on the horizon but we still face a global crisis and, as a nation, one might argue we have failed to curb the tide of suffering and loss. How do we muster the courage to proceed especially when we may be of an age where we have less resilience, less energy and fortitude? Together, we can explore teachings and practices that can support our resolve to carry on. First and foremost, we must be determined to not cause more harm. We start with ourselves. What can we do to ease the suffering in our own lives? This allows us to take yet another giant step forward and resolve to cultivate the skillful means to help end the suffering in the lives of others. The good news is we are not alone. Being in spiritual community is refuge. Together, we will know the benefit of our resolve.

John Mifsud was born on the Island of Malta and identifies as Arab-American. He has practiced Insight Meditation since 2001 and graduated from the Community Dharma Leaders Training Program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center where he is currently on the Board of Directors. John has extensive retreat experience and practiced throughout Asia. He is the Guiding Teacher of the Malta Insight Meditation Society and a former Community Teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center (EBMC). He is the founding leader of EBMC’s Deep Refuge Sangha for Alphabet Brothers of Color. He teaches internationally with a special interest in delivering mindfulness tools to marginalized communities.