First Existentialist Congregation
An independent member of the Unitarian Universalist Association
Drawing from pagan, Jewish and Native American resources, we will explore the idea of spiritual compass points and how to use them to help us as we wander ” in the wilderness” that is this current time of Covid.
Anthony Knight is the Founder, President & CEO of The Baton Foundation—a Georgia nonprofit organization that serves the emotional, intellectual and cultural needs of Black boys ages 10-17. 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.
Rev. 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.
Janna Nelson currently lives with her husband, Scott Hooker, and her younger son, David Nelson-Hooker in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they have now lived for almost six years. They moved there after 40 years in Atlanta to be closer to family, and they have always preferred the New Mexican climate and open skies and country.
For Janna, it is a return to a land and people of her youth. Born the youngest of six in rural Alabama in 1958, she moved with her family to New Mexico in 1963. Her father, a Southern Baptist missionary, and the family spent the next seven years in various locations on the Navajo Reservation before moving to Albquerque. Witnessing and being part of several traumatic and life changing events left her a seeker.
She moved with her parents to Atlanta in 1975 and culture shock ensued. Due to accessibility issues with high schools at that time, she took a GED and went to Clayton Junior College, then GSU, taking whatever she wanted, working various interesting jobs until she started working at Sevananda, where she worked for seven years. During this time she had her older son. At age 25, she returned to GSU and graduated with a teaching degree three years later, starting a career in education that was deeply satisfying. She also started performing music solo and with others, starting her lifelong partnership in song and love with Scott.
She discovered First Existentialist Congregation in 1981 and it was the first place that felt open enough for her mind and spirit, as she had left religion behind at this point. After years of involvement in various aspects of the community, she entered into a five year Existentialial Ministerial Studies Program with Rev. Lanier Clance and was ordained as a minister by the Congregation in 1999, which she continued to serve in a varying capacity until moving to Albuquerque in 2014. She is delighted to see the flourishing of this intentional community and still calls it as one of her homes.
The broken US immigration system is harming many of our neighbors here in Georgia, with high immigration court bond amounts, local cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and inhumane detention centers and deportations that break up families. Join us to hear how you can help fight this crisis, and witness the testimony of a young adult asylum-seeking immigrant from Jamaica.
Dr. Jean Heinrich, practicing clinical psychologist and musician, humbled human being:
“I’ve been struggling with how to embrace existentialism and Easter in our pandemic zeitgeist. Like all existentialists, realizing it’s a personal thing, I’ve landed on Dawning. Dawning, beginning, becoming, actualizing. Remember Camus’ writing (Return to Tipasa), “In the middle of winter, I at last discovered that there was in me an invincible summer.” Invincible, a strange word to use in the midst of our virus humbling vulnerability, and yet highlighting the power of the human spirit in our ability, as free agents, to choose kindness, generosity, courage.”
Please tune in to our live-streaming of this spoken-musical word on First Existentialist Congregation of Atlanta Facebook page 11:00 EST, Sunday, April 12th.
Welcome to summer in Atlanta! We are officially half way through the year and the Hotlanta temps are in full swing. This morning, the humidity made 80 feel like 87 (per the weather station) and I felt it. As someone who tends to “glisten” easily, it has not been pleasant. The worst is I don’t want to work in my yard/garden. You know it’s bad when that’s hard for me to do. But I have had a few tomatoes, turnips, cucumbers and lots of basil. (Chancey made pesto to put over shrimp and pasta. yum.) I’ve even beat the birds to several cups of blueberries. I let the celery get too old before I picked it and it was too hard. The onions got too wet but the potatoes seem to be doing fine. Ok. Enough about my mini-farm. 
PASS THE PLATE COFFEE HOUSE FRI 6/10 8:00This Friday will be our first foray into virtual entertainment. We are fortunate to have awesome performers who have donated their time and talents to create an online coffee house of music, dance and spoken word. See Robert’s email for a great flier with pics and info.This is a “pass the plate event” to offset our inability to receive non-pledge offerings on Sunday during our Celebration of Life due to the pandemic. It is open to all, at no charge, but with the available option to make a donation to our general fund. I’ll try to include the QR code to donate but if I’m not successful, go to Robert’s email. Of course, you’re welcome to mail a check marked “pass the plate” if you prefer. I hope you will join in for this opportunity to enjoy the music, movement and spoken word by these generous, gifted artists. Please thank them for their talents and generosity.
I can’t write this without addressing the pandemic. I’m sure you keep up with the current status but I feel the need to ask you to not become complacent and loosen your guard against the infection. It is understandable to want to get together with others who have been isolating. Remember that as we go out anywhere, even wearing a mask and gloves, we have the possibility of contact with the virus; that many who are infected are asymptomatic; that asymptomatic people can pass the virus on to others.(I wanted to/was preparing to return to my work as a Massage Therapist but accepting the facts that there is the possibility, even if low odds, of getting the virus, I sadly decided it wasn’t worth the risk.) So continue to be careful when you go out and use safe distancing when gathering with others. I believe that many reading this, like me, would not survive COVID. And if we did, the damage done to the body by the virus and its complications are serious and appear to be ongoing. This time is a test of our ability to stay focused on reality and not let our anxiety, boredom and desires overcome necessity. ‘Nuff said.
Fourth of July was interesting. The messages ran the gamut from Trump at Mt Rushmore further inciting division in the country to CNN’s celebration focused on BLM. We picked up BBQ and the fixings to enjoy at home and watched fireworks on TV. (The dogs were less than happy about the local fireworks.) Each year I become more aware of truth about how our country developed and the systems that maintain inequality. Growing up in Macon GA in a lower income neighborhood to Southern Baptist parents and attending segregated public schools taught by Southern women (never had a male teacher til college), I grew up with a Southern take on history. Although my parents taught me to respect others and never used derogatory language toward black people (we lived 3 doors down from where the paved road became red clay lined by black shanties), there was this unspoken racism throughout the town. I remember seeing/hearing “the south shall rise again” and feeling a sense of pride to be from the south. Naively I never attached that to racism. I am grateful I had the experiences I did and made choices that have brought me to this point of willingness to accept that I have unconscious perceptions and prejudices that are racist; and I am willing to work on this. It’s great to be in a community that encourages and facilitates this work.
I read that ICE has determined that international students cannot remain in the US under their student VISAs if the school they attend does not offer classroom studies this fall. There are no plans to provide exceptions for those who would return to dangerous situations.
The election is 4 months away.
That’s it for today. I’ll end with some funnies and hopefully you’ll find the QR code for Friday.
Stay strong, be kind.
Hugs, Marsha
