Unitarian Universalist

Fellowship of Lafayette

Greetings fellow UUs and supporters!

We are meeting IN PERSON

and on Zoom until further notice.

Our theme for December is Joy.

‘Chris Meadows writes that joy is related to a sense of harmony within and with other people; an increase in vitality that makes us feel more alive; an experience of transcendence in which we move beyond personal ego boundaries; and, finally, a sense of physical freedom, as well as freedom of thought….Our task is not to cultivate joy, but to cultivate life in such a way that joy abounds. Perhaps this is the answer to Mary Oliver’s haunting question: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do / with your one wild and precious life?”’ (Source: Touchstones Journal)

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Sunday, December 4th Service:

This sermon first delivered by Rev. Matt Alspaugh of The First Unitarian Universalist Church of Youngstown, Ohio begins by proposing that happiness is a joy. Psychologist Martin Seligman suggested that there are three pathways to authentic happiness: pleasant life where we choose pleasurable activities, good life where we do what we have talents for, and meaningful life where we apply our talents in service to something larger than ourselves.Together Seligman calls this living the full life, saying "A full life consists in experiencing positive emotions about the past and future, savoring positive feelings from the pleasures, deriving abundant gratification from your signature strengths, and using these strengths in the service of something larger to obtain meaning."

Please visit our Sunday service either in person at 1119 Johnston St. or on Zoom via:

tinyurl.com/zoomuufol

or the link at uulala.org

We now have Religious Education for pre-teen children. We visit with coffee and snacks from 10:30-11 am. The service runs from 11 am until 12 noon. After the service we go to a restaurant for lunch. Grab a coupon for a free meal on us from the service table and join us. Everyone is invited!

Service outline Service slides

Full sermon text Sermon excerpt

Facebook Event

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Last Sunday's Service Recap:

Rev. Sian Wiltshire shares that her trans niece fears how she will be received in new environments and that it is important for there to be places for trans people to be accepted and supported. If we are kind, we will make an effort to respect other individuals' gender identities and be supportive so they will not have to fear acceptance. Unfortunately, some churches and individuals are intolerant and hostile toward anything other than their views of gender. As this may be perceived as a threat to their world view, their fear may progress to anger, hate, then violence. Today we honor lives taken away from us by people who were threatened by the authenticity of another person. Today we honor last Sunday's Transgender Day of Remembrance. In the sermon video, 32 people who lost their lives within the last year are remembered in a candle-lighting ritual. This was followed by a remembrance of 11 trans people murdered in Louisiana between 2018 and 2021. All of them were Black. All of them were trans women. All were under 33 years old. (Source: transgenderlawcenter.org)

Service slides Sermon video

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Useful Links:

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Recorded services

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