Blog Archives

Sunday November 2, 2025

10/29/2025

"We Owe a Cock to Asclepius:" Gratitude as Humility, Not Bean Counting
with Dr. Nathan Oakes

Present-day philosophers have distinguished two forms of gratitude. You can be grateful *to* someone for something, or you can be grateful *that* some fact is the case. Against the mainstream, I think gratitude *that* is the more interesting and spiritually important of the forms. Looking to Plato, Marcus Aurelius, and St. Francis, we find that what's inspiring about gratitude, and what makes it worth cultivating as a virtue, lies in humility and joy.

Nathan is from Tupelo, MS. He has a PhD in ancient philosophy and leads ethics programming at Ole Miss. He's also a coordinator of youth programs for the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi.

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October 29th, 2025

10/29/2025

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The Monsters Are Due: Welcome to the Twilight Zone
with Rev. Sarah Osborne

Are the monsters due or are they already here? The social commentary featured on the Twilight Zone more than 50 years ago warns that some weapons of conquest and destruction can be as simple as thoughts, attitudes and prejudices. How do we deal with the fallout of our own making? Can we flip the script, instead of plying fear and suspicion, can we make way for compassion and joy?

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Sunday, October 19th, 2025

10/13/2025

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Freedom of Speech in a “Competitive Authoritarian” Context
with Dr. Miguel Centellas

Many of us are committed to freedom of speech. But how is this commitment challenged in an authoritarian context? And how do we defend freedom of speech when others use the term selectively? This is a particular challenge in “competitive authoritarian” regimes, which have the veneer of democratic competition and participation, but without safeguards for civil liberties or the rule of law.

Miguel Centellas teaches sociology at the University of Mississippi. His academic training was in political science, with an interest democratic theory and practice. In addition, Miguel serves as a board member of the ACLU of Mississippi. He’s also a husband and father of three.

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Sunday, October 12, 2025

10/9/2025

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Pulling Up Icarus
Oct. 12, 2025

What can our expectations really be of people working for their own liberation? What can people working for liberation expect from their allies? And what does this have to do with old paintings and slightly newer poems?

Rev. Sam Teitel comes to us from Memphis and brings an amazing depth of skills and experiences in ministry. He is the former minister at Church of the River, a former Outreach Coordinator at First Parish in Wayland, MA and has worked at Slam Free or Die - Poetry Open Mic.

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Sunday November 2, 2025

"We Owe a Cock to Asclepius:" Gratitude as Humility, Not Bean Counting
with Dr. Nathan Oakes

October 29th, 2025

The Monsters Are Due: Welcome to the Twilight Zone
with Rev. Sarah Osborne

Sunday, October 19th, 2025

Freedom of Speech in a “Competitive Authoritarian” Context
with Dr. Miguel Centellas

Sunday, October 12, 2025

Pulling Up Icarus
Oct. 12, 2025

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Copyright © 2009–2025, The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Oxford. All rights reserved.

Sunday November 2, 2025

"We Owe a Cock to Asclepius:" Gratitude as Humility, Not Bean Countingwith Dr. Nathan Oakes

October 29th, 2025

The Monsters Are Due: Welcome to the Twilight Zonewith Rev. Sarah Osborne

Sunday, October 19th, 2025

Freedom of Speech in a “Competitive Authoritarian” Contextwith Dr. Miguel Centellas

Sunday, October 12, 2025

Pulling Up IcarusOct. 12, 2025

Archives

Categories

Copyright © 2009–2025, The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Oxford. All rights reserved.

"We Owe a Cock to Asclepius:" Gratitude as Humility, Not Bean Counting
with Dr. Nathan Oakes

The Monsters Are Due: Welcome to the Twilight Zone
with Rev. Sarah Osborne

Freedom of Speech in a “Competitive Authoritarian” Context
with Dr. Miguel Centellas

Pulling Up Icarus
Oct. 12, 2025