Feb. 2025 Saturday Worship with JD Stillwater

2025 Feb 19 | News, Worship Service, Worship Services

NAUA 3rd Saturday Worship Service – Nature’s Scripture: the Interfaith Promise of Science.

Underlying the human world of strife and separation is an oft-neglected landscape of commonality between faiths: the natural world. At precisely the time when our religious and political divisions threaten the existence of life on Earth, science offers a sweeping interfaith vista filled with revelations and insights as spiritually meaningful as ancient scriptures. Read as “scripture,” science offers a common text for all the world’s faiths.

January 2025 Service – Enlightment Values

2025 Jan 21 | News, Worship Service, Worship Services

Enlightenment Values of Freedom, Reason and Tolerance. January’s monthly worship service focused on the Enlightenment Values of Freedom, Reason and Tolerance, the very same values that were adopted by the NAUA and that stand at the core of Western liberal tradition. The full service title is: “The Enlightenment Values of Freedom, Reason, Tolerance; Advancing the Human Condition Materially and Spiritually; Our Core Strengths.” The worship team will make this a group effort. Join in exploring and honoring the primary core values and Principles of our liberal faith.

Jan. 14, 2025 – When we Almost Got it Right – Societies that Worked

2025 Jan 12 | NAUA Academy, News

As we hear distressing stories of violence and oppression from around the world, we may benefit from reminding ourselves of times and places when human beings did organize themselves into durable just societies.

In this talk Dr. Reimers discusses some of these times and places: from the world’s first cities in 4000 BCE, to  the Indus Valley civilization, widely revered as the most advanced society of 2000 BCE, to the small democratic city states in Central America, which held off the encroachments of the Aztec empire for centuries, to the peaceful coexistence among Christians, Jews and Muslims in 12th-century Andalusia  which lit the spark for the European Renaissance a century later.

Dr. Reimers further discusses what principles and strategies they used to organize their societies, how they ended, and how their experience may inform our ideas of justice today.

Dr. Mark Reimers is a quantitative neuroscientist who has worked at the National Institutes of Health, the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, and Michigan State University. He was the leader of the Richmond Humanists in Virginia and UU forum in Lansing Michigan. He has lectured on a wide variety of scientific, humanist, religious, and behavioral subjects.

Join Our New NAUA Conversation/Discussion Circle!

2024 Dec 30 | News

We’re excited to announce the launch of a new monthly space for connection and community building – The NAUA Conversation/Discussion Circle! This circle is designed for NAUA members and friends to gather, share ideas, spark meaningful conversations, and deepen our connections.
 
Our first gathering will take place on January 15th, the third Wednesday of each month, from 4:00 – 5:30 pm Pacific Time / 7:00 pm Eastern Time. Everyone is welcome. We invite you to join us in creating a vibrant, supportive space for dialogue and reflection. The zoom link is:   https://tinyurlcom/naua-circle
 
For questions or to register for reminders, email us at circles@naunitarians.org. The circle will be facilitated by a member of the NAUA Board of Trustees. We hope to see you there!

January Worship Service: “The Enlightenment Values of Freedom, Reason, Tolerance”

2024 Dec 23 | News

January’s monthly worship service will focus on the Enlightenment Values of Freedom, Reason and Tolerance, the very same values that were adopted by the NAUA and that stand at the core of Western liberal tradition. The full service title is: “The Enlightenment Values of Freedom, Reason, Tolerance; Advancing the Human Condition Materially and Spiritually; Our Core Strengths.” The worship team will make this a group effort. Join in exploring and honoring the primary core values of our faith tradition.

The service will take place on Saturday, January 18th at 10 AM Pacific Time, 11 AM MT, 12 noon CT and 1 PM ET. We always have a lively breakout room discussion after the service, where you can meet both new and long time friends.  

“North American Unitarian Association is a member service organization dedicated to supporting and promoting the practice of liberal religion by embracing freedom, reason, and tolerance—rooted in our commitment to the inherent worth and dignity of every person and all peoples.”

Solstice Service, 2024

2024 Dec 22 | News, Worship Service, Worship Services

I’ve been attending Unitarian Solstice services for as long as I can remember, but I have never enjoyed one as much as this Solstice. Maybe it was the music, the poems, Rev Manning’s talk or just being (virtually) with 50 old and new friends.

From all of us at NAUA, warmest wishes for a thoughtful, rejuvenating and joyful holiday season!