Category: Celebrations of Life

“Solidarity in Song: Folk-Protest Music of the 21st Century/ Cinco de Mayo”

Marshall Voit is a musician and worship leader based in San Diego, CA. His career as a performer of Jewish music has taken him around the world, from extended residencies in Australia and South Africa, to short-term work throughout the Western U.S., British Columbia and New Zealand, and in Shanghai, China. Marshall is the music specialist for a Reform Jewish congregation in San Diego, works regularly with Unitarian Universalist communities, and often sings at protests, meetings, and fundraisers for leftist social change movements. Marshall’s clear voice and earnest demeanor make connecting and singing along with him easy. Visit www.marshallvoitmusic.com for 2019 tour dates and more information.

• Facilitator: D. Patton White
• Musician: Marshall Voit

“The Sound of Music”

Angela Denise Davis, M.Div., M.S., is a ukulele instructor, workshop facilitator, ordained minister, and public speaker. Her work as a minister focuses on how the fusion of art and spirituality can enlarge the ground beneath our feet and enrich the ways we move in personal and social spaces. In addition,
she is also the creator, host, and producer of the ZAMI NOBLA Podcast.

She is a graduate of Clark Atlanta University where she earned a B.A. in Art. She also holds a master of divinity from Vanderbilt University Divinity School, and a master of science in rehabilitation counseling from Georgia State University.

• Facilitator: Libby Ware
• Musician: Mick Kinney

“Here’s to Life”

“Retirement in Albuquerque has provided us the opportunity to develop relationships with family, my sisters and brothers, nieces and nephews, and delightful grand nieces, ranging in age 2 months to 4 years. We continue to settle
into our new home, enjoying more space, including a music room with a grand piano.”

• Facilitator: Jan Lister
• Musician: Scott Hooker

“Renewal”

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 40 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, and coordinated events and memorials.

• Facilitator: Robert Stewart
• Musician: Jez Graham

“None of the Above”

Shani Robinson, an alumna of Tennessee State University, taught in the Atlanta Public Schools system for three years and was wrongfully convicted the in Atlanta Public Schools cheating trial. She is free on bond while her case pends appeal. She is currently an advocate for social justice causes.

Anna Simonton is an independent journalist originally from Atlanta and an editor for Scalawag magazine. She is a proud graduate of Atlanta Public Schools, and a member of the First E.

Our topic:

Shani Robinson and Anna Simonton will discuss their book None of the Above: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Public Schools Cheating Scandal, Corporate Greed, and the Criminalization of Educators. The book delves into Shani’s personal story as a new mother facing 25 years in prison for a crime she did not commit. The authors also explore the historic and political context underlying a trial that scapegoated Black employees for problems in the education system.

Stretching all the way back to Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling that outlawed segregation in public schools, to examining the corporate-led education reform movement, the policing of black and brown communities, and widening racial and economic disparities in Atlanta, Robinson and Simonton reveal how real estate moguls and financiers have lines their pockets with the education dollars that should have been going to the classroom.

• Facilitator: Charlene Ball
• Musician: William Chelton

“Runner-Up Word”

The word or words of the year are chosen by major dictionary publishers based on search metrics. Come learn about one of these and what it might or might not have to do with Women’s History month.

Rev Marti Keller recently finished a justice ministry with the Unitarian Universalist Women’s Federation that spanned two decades. Prior to this she had been a communications director, legislative advocate and executive director for several women and family policy groups, including a dozen years with Planned Parenthood. She is still serving as consulting parish minister in Auburn Alabama

• Facilitator: Jan Lister
• Musician: Jean Heinrich

“Bliss and Other Good Things”

Lisa is a psychotherapist in private practice, a poet, writer, and activist. She is a long-time member of the First Existentialist Congregation. She has been a student of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh since 1999 and has studied with many other Buddhist teachers. Lisa incorporates feminism, existentialism, mindfulness and compassion in her therapy practice. She also trains therapists how to use mindfulness in their lives and professional practices. She offers her CD, Mindful Meditations for Well Being, as a free download from www.wellbeingpsychotherapy.net. 

• Facilitator: Robert Stewart
• Musician: Mick Kinney