Community Walks are Temporarily Suspended for 2021-22!

[There are no 2022 walks scheduled at this time. If you would like to organize a walk, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.]

Our need to safely connect as families and as community continue into the 2021-22 year as many of us remain cautious about indoor gatherings..

Let's WALK, ROLL or STROLL together! Individuals, couples, whole families are invited to sign up for small group walks. The walks vary in difficulty, with some short, paved and fine for walkers/ wheelchairs, some over rugged terrain for those who want to exercise their hiking boots. Some are dog friendly. Read the descriptions and find one that is right for you!

Community Walks in 2020-21

During the 2020-21 pandemic year of limited in-person contact, UUAA held many "walk, roll or stroll" activities for member to enjoy getting outdoors together safely in community. A big thank you to Sandy Eyl for a lot of organizing work and to all of the UUAA congregants who planned and led the walks.

May 22nd Walk

Several groups went out in May and found birds, flowers, fungi and beautiful area spots to walk. This group in the Arb took great photos -- peonies were blooming.

April 10th Walks

March Walks --

March 20th -- The First Day of Spring!

Equinox walkers in the Nichols Arboretum next to the Huron River

Equinox walkers in North Bay Park next to the lake.

March 14th We Celebrated PI Day with 3.14 mile walks around Gallup Park - one in the morning, one in the afternoon.

March 8th was International Women's Day and a group of walkers celebrated by touring U of M main campus art by and about women.

UUAA Walkers at the sculpture "Behind the Walls"

Art installation "For Your Eyes Only" by Yasmine Nasser Diaz. It is inside, but viewed from the sidewalk.

In February, Black History Month, walkers toured historical black neighborhoods of both Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti

A community walk in Baker Woods

New Year's Day 2021- First of the Year Hike, Stroll or Roll

Parker Mill New Years Day hike 1/1/2021

Tours of "The Back 40" on Dec 12th

(A little precipitation, but hearty souls toured the UUAA property.)

The outdoor worship area in speckled sunlight.

Day after Thanksgiving Walks

On November 27th, groups of 6 or less (masked and distanced!) walked together.

... And the Outdoor Women's Group Meets and Hikes Throughout the Year

The Outdoor Women's group has an email list to gather UUAA women who enjoy outdoor activities. In the cold weather this has included hiking and bonfires.

During the year 2020 and into 2021, we needed community more than ever! Our staff and lay leaders were busy and creative in setting up new and different ways for us to stay in touch with each other and help each other through the pandemic. 

We are now beginning to re-open to in person gatherings. Please read the latest information from our Covid-19 Advisory Team. And a big thank you to our Covid-19 Advisory Team - We are fortunate to have experienced public health professionals in our congregation who volunteered to advise the Board and Senior Minister on how best to respond to the fast changing information on the pandemic. Thanks Laura Bauman, Jim Lee, Jim Marks, Tom Reischl, Quiana Perkins, Cassandra Hartley,and Manish Mishra-Marzetti for serving on the team!

Follow this link to read the most recent recommendations.

Many Events are hybrid now -- Check your UUAA Calendar of Events

Be sure to check out the UUAA calendar, and keep up to date with the many changes by subscribing to the UUAA Weekly Bulletin and Monthly Newsletter. To subscribe please fill out the subscription form using this link.  (You can use the form to update your contact information, also.) 

UUAA's WORK IN THE 2020-21 WORLD

This inspiring video created for our 2020 Annual Budget Campaign gives an overview of just some of the amazing work we are doing in our community during this challenging year.

HELPFUL INFORMATION ABOUT ZOOM...

Online Meetings with Zoom

Zoom - This link goes to an instructive video with all the details for getting started.

Zoom has a collection of video tutorials that might help you.

This Zoom tutorial gives a good background for basic controls to use during meetings.

Check email from UUAA for links to UUAA meetings, gatherings, services.

Links-

Go to the home page of this website .

Follow this link to UUAA's audio sermon archive, or the video sermon archive.

View the playlist of Children's Corner Videos

VIRTUAL this year!

Missing meaningful discussions with other UU men?
Join us Saturday, June 13th at 7:00 PM for a free online gathering via ZOOM.  We will meet as a large group and then break out into a moderated topical discussion group of your choosing. Connect with your computer or telephone.

Register to choose your discussion topic and to provide your contact details. We will send you instructions by email a few days before the event.
Register using this link... Questions?  Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

-----------
Discussion topics areas:
How has the pandemic impacted your well being and plans for the future?
What are the public policy and social justice lessons we are learning from our current experience?
What parenting challenges have you encountered and how can we support each other through it all?
What unexpected joys or discoveries have you made in the last few months?

TrUU Hope is a UU group for LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and similarly identified) youth. We aim to grow community and to provide social, support, educational, and activist programs and opportunities for our youth to explore their identities and interests.

Upcoming Events

(coming soon)

We will meet one Sunday after SGD, and one Friday evening each month

Please come back to this page to learn about events as they are scheduled.

Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Multicultural Outreach at UUAA centers the voices, needs, and spiritual growth of Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC).  

Historical Black Neighborhood Walks

For Black History Month, during February, 2021, the Multicultural Outreach Ministry, Racial Justice Arc and Outdoors Womyn groups all joined together to provide UUAA congregants with Historical Black Neighborhood Walks and Talks. Congregants could sign up for groups who took guided walks of the historical black neighborhoods in Ypsilanti and/or Ann Arbor. The walks were followed by Zoom discussions where participants shared what they learned, how they felt about engaging with local black history, how Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor black history and current demographics compare, and more.

The guided walks and Zoom conversations are over for this year, but there were requests to leave the information available to allow those who missed the walks to take them on their own (and in warmer weather!). Some participants want to repeat the walks and take more friends along to continue to learn together.

Download the Ypsilanti Historical Black Neighborhood map and guide

Download the Ann Arbor Historical Black Neighborhood map and guide

Black history mural at 4th & Ann Streets in Ann Arbor 

Black Congregants @ UUAA + POC Gathering Zoom Meet up

Watch for dates and times in your newsletter or e-bulletin.

We are creating community space to be heard, heal and help each other.
This inclusive BIPOC event will include a chalice lighting, reading, and space to dialogue.
Families are encouraged to attend!

You must request the zoom link by email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Black Congregants@ UUAA

In addition to being a supportive space for Black UU’s, the group will also initiate and support collaborative social actions. This group meets twice a month (business meetings, BLUU Worship watch events).          

Lay leaders: Constance Dickinson and J. Johnson

Next gathering:  Black Congregants@UUAA (formally BLUU) meeting dates will be posted in the e-bulletin. Questions? This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 *All those who identify as black are welcome to attend.

 People of Color Gatherings

POC Gatherings: The purpose of the group is to be a brave and supportive space for UU POCs to share their unique perspectives through conversation and community building. The group is also committed to be in active partnerships that support the work of this congregation. 

 Lay Leader: E. Camu Kramp

 Next gathering:  POC will take part in the Zoom meet-ups described above.

*All those who identify as people of color are welcome to attend.

Staff Liaison: Quiana Perkins- Social Justice & Pastoral Care Coordinator This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Resources

Download the reflection questions and resource list from Quiana Perkins' forum presentation Oct 28, 2019, when she described the current UUAA Multi-cultural outreach projects.

Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU)

BLUU web site: https://www.blacklivesuu.com/connect

BLUU open facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BlackLivesUU/

BLUU VIDEO: https://www.facebook.com/BlackLivesUU/videos/1986713814908831/

Diverse and Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministries (DRUUMM)

DRUUMM: http://druumm.onefireplace.org/

https://www.uua.org/offices/organizations/druumm

DRUUMM closed facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2173825969543475/about/

Learn about the UUAA Challenging Racism Group.

Mission: Started in 2019, the 'Unity Group' focuses on the UUAA community, offering intellectual and cultural programs representing a range of religious perspectives, in an effort to expand interfaith and intercultural understanding. The group presents programming that reflects our UU principle of respecting the inherent worth and dignity of every person. We are especially interested in presenting under-represented voices at UUAA. Events might include intercultural music or dance, speakers and more. If you have suggestions for Unity Group programs, you can contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Background: The “Unity Group” is named in honor of a proud part of UUAA's history, the very successful Unity Club” started in 19th century Ann Arbor by our then minister, Rev Jabez Sunderland. The Unity Club held public meetings with a variety of speakers on issues of the times. The program was said to bring people into a stronger sense of community and fostered positive interfaith dialog in Ann Arbor.

Interested in co-sponsoring a forum with the Unity Group? Download and fill out a forum information form to help us schedule and advertise the program.

Upcoming Programs - 'Curiosity, Conversation, Covenant' Series

*POSTPONED-- This will be rescheduled asap* Sunday, March 22nd: 'Conflict Resolution: Part III'

Reese Havlatka, UM Office of Student Conflict Management, Co-sponsored by UUAA's Unity Group and Shared Ministries Team

This is Part III of a workshop on Conflict Management that includes interactive activities and a question/answer session. You do not need to have attended Part I or Part II to participate! We work together to learn new insights and skills for talking and working with others we may not agree with. With elections coming up, these skills are essential.

Sunday, April 26th: 'Separated'

Author William Lopez; Co-sponsored by the Unity Group and UUAA's Immigration Action Coalition and Challenging Racism Group

Author William Lopez will conduct a book discussion of his new book, “Separated: Family and Community in the Aftermath of an Immigration Raid.” The book tells the story of a raid in Ypsilanti that directly impacted the lives of three different families with young children and how their health and welfare was negatively affected by this event. 

Past Programs

Sunday, Nov 24th: 'Conflict Management: Talking Across the Divide II'

Reese Havlatka, UM Office of Student Conflict Management, Co-sponsored by UUAA's Unity Group and Shared Ministries Team

Part II of a workshop on Conflict Management included interactive activities and a question/answer session

Handouts will be posted here soon.

Sunday, November 17th, 1-2:30pm, Fahs Chapel: 'Michigan Poor People's Campaign - Work in Washtenaw County and Beyond'

Rev. Joe Summers, Eric Krawczak and John Hollingworth, Michigan Poor People's Campaign

Co-sponsored by UUAA's Unity Group and Challenging Racism Group

Participants were encouraged to sign up to receive the Poor People's Campaign newsletter to learn about actions taking place in housing, education, climate change, hunger and other intersectional issues that have huge effects on poor people in our state. The PPC website is https://www.michiganppc.org/ and their Facebook Page is https://www.facebook.com/michigansppc/

Sunday, October 27th, 1-2:30pm, Fahs Chapel: 'UU Multicultural Outreach and Ministry'

Quiana Perkins, UUAA Social Justice & Pastoral Care Coordinator

Co-sponsored by UUAA's Unity Group and Challenging Racism Group

Quiana Perkins presented the Multicultural Outreach projects in progress at UUAA, including UUAA participation in BLUU (Black Lives of UU), DRUUMM (Diverse & Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministries) and the UUAA's POC (People of Color) gatherings.

Download the chalice lighting written by Micky ScottBey JonesDownload the reflection questions and resource list Quiana provided, (read at the presentation by Lou Calloway).

Download the reflection questions and resource list Quiana provided.

Sunday, Sept 22nd: 'Conflict Management: Talking Across the Divide'
Reese Havlatka, UM Office of Student Conflict Management

Co-sponsored by UUAA's Unity Group and Shared Ministries Team

Conflict can be hard--and right now, it feels like there is a lot of it. You are not alone in struggling with this! We will hold time and space for each other to understand what we believe about conflict, how we tend to respond to it, and what we might be missing as we search for practical and just ways of engaging across differences. Being socialized in white supremacy culture means that certain conflict resolution approaches are elevated over others. This workshop offered several opportunities to explore this socialization and how it contributes to division and polarization.

Due to popular demand, a Part II will be scheduled in the near future.

You can download the materials from the workshop:

    The presentation slides, including references

     Handout on culture based perspectives on conflict.

August 25, 2019: 'Refusing to Be Enemies' Laurie White and the Zeitouna Group

Co-sponsored by UUAA's Unity Group and UU Justice in the Middle East Group

A viewing of the documentary "Refusing to be Enemies" was followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker Laurie White and another member of "Zeitouna", a group of Michigan women, half are Jewish and half Palestinian. For over a decade they have modeled their approach to listening to others, remaining in conversation and good relationship, even in the face of profound disagreement.

You can view the documentary "Refusing to Be Enemies" following this link.

 On 8/25/19 filmmaker Lauri White led a Q&A after a screening of "Refusing to Be Enemies" , a presentation in the Unity Group's "Dialog Across the Divide" series.

May 19, 2019: A Contemporary Overview of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Professor Victor B. Lieberman

Prof Lieberman is a Raoul Wallenberg Distinguished University Professor of History and Professor of Asian and Comparative History at the University of Michigan. An historical and contemporary overview of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on a course that he teaches at the University of Michigan, a course popular with students of quite diverse ethnic, religious, and political backgrounds. His talk considered the origins of the conflict, self-images and grievances held by the two sides, and barriers to resolution.

Spotlight on Books in the UUAA Library

Topic: New Atheism

New Atheism is a term coined in 2006 to describe the positions promoted by the “Four Horsemen of the Non-Apocalypse.”  This modern day atheism is advanced by Richard Dawkins, Daniel C. Dennett, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens.  They advocate for the view that superstition, religion and irrationalism should not simply be tolerated but should be countered, criticized, and exposed by rational arguments wherever their influence arises in government, education, and politics.

The “Humanism” section of the UUAA library includes these representative titles of New Atheism books:

• The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
• Breaking the Spell by Daniel C. Dennett
• The End of Faith by Sam Harris
• god is not Great by Christopher Hitchens.

 Here is an annotated bibliography of these writings as found on Wikipedia.

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

In The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins contends that a supernatural creator almost certainly does not exist and that belief in a personal god qualifies as a delusion, which he defines as a persistent false belief held in the face of strong contradictory evidence. He is sympathetic to Robert Pirsig’s statement in Lila (1991) that “when one person suffers from a delusion it is insanity. When many people suffer from delusion it is called religion.’ With many examples, Dawkins explains that one does not need religion to be moral and that the roots of religion and of morality can be explained in non-religious terms.

Breaking the Spell by Daniel C. Dennett

Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon is a 2006 book in which the American philosopher and cognitive scientist Daniel Dennett argues that religion is in need of scientific analysis so that its nature and future may be better understood. The “spell” that requires “breaking” is not religious belief itself but the belief that it is off-limits to or beyond scientific inquiry.

The End of Faith by Sam Harris

The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason is a 2004 book by Sam Harris, concerning organized religion, the clash between religious faith and rational thought, and the problems of tolerance towards religious fundamentalism.

Harris began writing the book in what de described as a period of “collective grief and stupefaction” following the September 11, 2001 attacks. The book comprises a wide-ranging criticism of all styles of religious belief.

god is not Great by Christopher Hitchens

god is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything is a 2007 book by Anglo-American author and journalist Christopher Hitchens, in which he makes a case against organized religion. Hitchins posited that organized religion is ‘violent, irrational, intolerant, allied to racism, tribalism, and bigotry, invested in ignorance and hostile to free inquiry, contemptuous of women and coercive toward children” and sectarian, and that accordingly it “ought to have a great deal on its conscience.” He supports his position with a mixture of personal stories, documented historical anecdotes and critical analysis of religious texts. His commentary focuses mainly on the Abrahamic religions, although it also touches on other religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism.

A History of Humanism at UUAA

[The following is an excerpt of a UUAA History written by member Timothy Richards. For the full history, follow this link.]

A key event in the history of Unitarianism occurred in the summer of 1920, when the Unitarian magazine Christian Register asked our minister Sidney S. Robins, to interview Professor Roy Wood Sellars, a University of Michigan faculty member, a noted humanist philosopher and an active friend of our congregation . . ..  At this time, humanist views were controversial within Unitarianism. Opponents insisted that “we must avow our faith in God” and that “atheistic humanism” would lead to the death of Unitarianism.

Robins’ article, “What is a Humanist? This Will Tell You” appeared in the July 29, 1920 issue of the Christian Register. In it, Sellars stated “belief in God must not be a creedal element.”  The response to publication of Robins’ interview with Sellars “was vociferous” . . . .

In 1931 Professor Sellars was the chief author of “A Reflection on the University Mind,” which was signed by nineteen members of our congregation who were also University of Michigan faculty members. This statement included the ideas that human experience is the sole source of authority for any philosophy of life and that religion consists in the daily quest of the good life here and now. 

In 1932, the Secretary of the Western Unitarian Conference asked Professor Sellars to prepare a “definitive statement of humanism.” Eventually, the “Humanist Manifesto” was released on May 1, 1933.  It was signed by thirty-four prominent individuals, including Sellars and our congregation’s minister, Harold Marley.  The Manifesto included the notion that the scientific method is fundamental in acquiring and interpreting reality; it is possible to live an ethical life without God and that religion must formulate its hopes and plans in the light of the scientific spirit and the rejection of an afterlife.

Publication of the Manifesto elicited little reaction. What criticism it did receive focused on its “sweeping rejection of theism.” What is most interesting from our perspective is that two individuals, Sidney Robins and Roy Wood Sellars, who played important roles in formalizing religious humanism within Unitarianism in the 1920’s and early 1930’s were closely associated with the congregation whose ministers had vigorously opposed the Western Radicals in the nineteenth century. . . . .

In the years following publication of the Humanist Manifesto our congregation was firmly anchored to a humanist base, although there continued to be tension between theists and non-theists.  Marley and his successors, Edward H. Redman, Erwin A. Gaede, Kenneth W. Phifer, and Gail R. Geisenhainer were all humanists, although Redman described himself as “a humanist with reservations.”   During the 1950’s Redman introduced our congregation to religious ideas and practices from around the world in an effort to reach beyond theism and humanism to a broader understanding of the many ways to be religious.

Many who joined our congregation during the 1960’s and ‘70’s had left other religions, rejecting religious creeds and ritual. During this turbulent period there was tension over politics and tension between theists and non-theists in our congregation as people wrestled with such questions as “Who are we?” and “What do we stand for?”. . . .