All are invited for this Sunday morning when the service will focus on the special and spiritual qualities of Oxford and this congregation, a community within a larger community!  Young adult voices will lead the service, which will have both familiar and new music, special readings, and reflections by the congregation's long-time and newest members.

Newcomers to both town and the uni versity are especially welcome!  Refreshments and coffee will invite all to stay and visit after the service.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Oxford is part of a religious tradition dating back to the Reformation and the founding of the United States of America and a part of a wider family of Unitarian Universalist congregations linked together around the world.

Unitarian Universalism is an inclusive religion which invites all to bring their own experiences and beliefs into a conversation that is respectful of the diversity and congruence of truths found within all cultures, wisdom traditions and religions.

Unitarian Universalist congregations are welcoming to all, regardless of one's previous religious or spiritual journey, regardless of sexual orientation, regardless of age or ability.

Join us this Sunday!  For special transportation or information needs email [email protected] or [email protected].  

Gail Stratton, Speaker
Ben Pinon, Service Leader

"Forgiveness is the name of love practiced among people who love poorly.  The hard thruth is that all people love poorly."  Henri J.M. Nouwen
 
The Jewish High Holy days are the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in the Jewish Calendar.  This year  Rosh Hashanah is on Sept. 14 and begins the day before, Sept. 13, at sundown.  Yom Kippur is Sept 23 (and begins at sundown Sept. 22).   Sometimes called the Days of Awe, they are days of preparation for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement is the holiest day of the year and is a time of repentance and atonement.   
 
Surely, one of the life-long, recurrent challenges of being human is to fail, to do and be less than what we want or even what we expect of ourselves.  We will take this Sunday to explore the regular challenges of repentance and forgiveness: how do we forgive ourselves?  How do we forgive each other?   And how do we ask others to forgive us?  How do we grow in our ability to do all of these things?    And, recognizing that we are a theologically diverse group,  how do we seek forgiveness from God or from Spirit even while affirming our theological diversity? 
 
We will be blessed with two special visitors:  Gloria Lenhoff and Don Kartaganer will be providing music for this special service!  Gloria Lenhoff is a lyric soprano & accordionist with Williams syndrome.  In recent years Gloria has performed locally at the U. of Mississippi, with the Opera Memphis Chorus, & as assistant cantor to Don Kartaganer at B'nai Israel.
 
Don Kartiganer taught in the English Department at the University of Mississippi from 1991 to 2009. He was the lay Cantor at Temple Beth El in Tacoma, Washington from 1982 to 1991, and at Temple B'nai Israel from 1997 to the present.

Unitarian Universalism is an optimistic faith.  We believe in inherent goodness.  We invest in human growth and potential.  We trust that there truly is a moral arc to the universe.  All of which makes it difficult for us to understand when bad things happen to good people and when stories do not have happy endings.  In this very personal sermon, visiting lay minister Dr. Tony Stringer explores the larger meaning of one person's tragic life, and finds it in two cherished love letters.   

Dr. Tony Stringer has been a frequent and favorite guest speaker at UUCO, and it is a pleasure to welcome him again.  A lay minister and long-time leader in the UU Congregation of Atlanta, Dr. Stringer has also served as a lay minister for the Emory University Unitarian Universalist Student Association.
 
Tony believes that his calling is to a ministry of diversity. He likes to work in the space where people of differing cultures, perspectives, and orientations meet and is interested in the intersection of science and religion. He draws personal spiritual inspiration from religious humanism and religious naturalism, and for several years has been engaged in the study of the traditional religions of West Africa.  

In his 'day job,' Dr. Stringer is a Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine and is Director of the Division of Neuropsychology and Behavioral Health in the Emory University School of Medicine. In his professional life he provides diagnostic and rehabilitative care to persons with brain injury, stroke, and epilepsy and does research on brain recovery of function and rehabilitation outcome.

At this summer's UUA General Assembly the Reverend Marlin Lavanhar preached a powerful sermon, in which he called for Unitarian Universalism to play a strong role in the world today.  This morning, via the modern miracle of good video recording, we will have Rev. Lavanhar with us on screen and hear his words, which include these: 

"This covenanted faith is an extraordinary contribution to religious life in America. In fact, it’s an incredible development in the history of human social evolution. I do not think America can ever be the country it can and must be, if Unitarian Universalism does not become what it needs to be. And I don’t think humanity will ever become what it needs to be until we, or some other group, achieves the promise that this covenanted tradition offers."

Rev. Dr. Lavanhar is the Senior Minister at All Souls Unitarian Church, Tulsa OK, one of the largest and most dynamic Unitarian Universalist congregations in the country.

Marlin Lavanhar grew up in Chicago and received a BA in Sociology from Tulane University. Upon graduation, he spent two years in Kyoto, Japan, after which he embarked on a three-year odyssey travelling 20,000 miles around the world on a mountain bike. He returned to the U.S. and entered Harvard Divinity School where he received his M.Div. Since 2000, Marlin has served All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, where, during his tenure, membership has increased by 80%.