First Existentialist Congregation
An independent member of the Unitarian Universalist Association
We’re all different. But what does that actually mean? In this sermon, we’ll dive into the nuances and intricacies of neurodiversity and the beautiful significance surrounding it. We’ll also explore how to empower and uplift the neurodiverse community in order to create a just, compassionate and more equitable society for all those who identify as different.
Facilitator: Rev. Marti Keller
Musician: Jean Heinrich
A rumination on race, politics and contemporary society and culture.
Facilitator: Rev. Marsha Mitchiner
Musician: William Chelton
Spiritual guidance comes not only in words, but from experience with flora and fauna.
Facilitator: Charlene Ball
Musician: Mick Kinney
When I left to go to the International AIDS Conference with a team from Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health, President Joe Biden was still the presumptive Democratic nominee for the 2024 election. In just a week, things changed dramatically. We’ll explore how alignment with a presidential candidate may benefit our mental health and the sake of the nation.
Facilitator: Cindy Lou Who
Musician: Craig Rafuse
Some of the scriptures have been used out of context to harm women. What do they really mean in context?
Facilitator: D. Patton White
Musician: Charli Vogt
We live in a time where there’s not much that can’t be explained or answered away in just a few moments. Of course, that has its benefits. Is there something we have lost by knowing “all” the answers? Sara will explore the role of wonder in our lives and how we might attempt to cultivate more of it.
Facilitator: Jan Lister
Musician: Jean Heinrich
Kathie deNobriga lived in seven cities, and in each one she has collected original art from the local artists. This art has followed her from state to state, bringing joy to each new wall. In this talk, she will reflect on the process and of having a daily dose of beauty.
Facilitator: Marti Keller
Musician: William Chelton
Our world is complicated and often chaotic. How do we navigate with authenticity and an open heart the challenges presented each day.
Facilitator: Wade Marbaugh
Musician: Craig Rafuse
With gentle reflection and heartfelt humor, Abby will share a little of her life, from childhood to the present, and the influences and circumstances that shaped her commitment to embrace a life of kindness and fairness.
Facilitator: D. Patton White
Musician: Kathy McGuire
I would like to live long enough to experience a country where I am fully accepted as a Black woman and a Southerner — that I may finally heal from my personal psychological scars dating to Jim Crow segregation. I want to know what it is like not to feel a visceral reaction for survival whenever I sense the revulsion of a White supremacist, whose roots of hate were instilled during the origin of what would become the US. These roots were imbued in the Doctrine of Discovery created by the Catholic church in 1493, giving White men permission to destroy the lives and culture of anyone who would not convert to Christianity. I feel angst that such thinking continues to rule who I am. I want to know what it would be like as a Black woman, only six percent of the US population, not to be thought of as the savior of democracy. I am exhausted and my shoulders hurt from moving that boulder of social change, although I will never stop doing my part to build a country where my existence matters.
Facilitator: Charlene Ball
Musician: William Chelton