Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Greater Cumberland

February 1, 10:45 – Cantor Jessica Roskin
“Don’t Wait Too Long: The Importance of Time”

Each day is a unique moment in time. There’s so much we can do to make our days matter, to make each day holy. What are you waiting for?
Cantor Roskin is the sole spiritual leader of Congregation B’er Chayim in Cumberland. Prior to this, she was the cantor at the 700-family Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham, Alabama for twenty years, and was the sole spiritual leader in her last year there. She received her Bachelor’s degree in music and religious studies at Indiana University and received her Master of Sacred Music degree at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem and New York City in 1994, where she was ordained. In 2019 she received an honorary doctorate from her seminary for 25 years of service to the Jewish People.

February 8, 10:45 – Rev. Paul Britner
“Our Transcendentalist Heritage”

Our faith movement goes back at least 500 years, but the transition from a Christian sect to an open, diverse tradition occurred in a relatively short time period in the early-to-mid 1800s during the so-called transcendentalist era, which influenced not only religion but art, music, and literature as well.

February 15, 10:45 – Rev. Kent Stone
“Loving The Alien”

The sermon “Loving the Alien” was inspired by secular sources. In film inspiration came in a Netflix tv series called Resident Alien, as a resident alien is what I am, retired as a US citizen in Mexico. In literature inspiration came in Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein and his title from the Book of Exodus. “Alien” and “stranger” resonate for me now as I live in Mexico away from both the USA, where I was born, and away from Uruguay, where I grew up as a missionary kid. Now living abroad in a third country, Mexico, my duty is to behave in exile as the Jewish scripture requires of me. This sermon offers a third perspective from life as a guest in the land of Mexico’s current Jewish female president, Pres. Claudia Sheinbaum.

February 22, 10:45 – Brian Richmond
“The Peace of Wokefulness”

Based on a definition of “Wok” (“to have an awareness of systemic injustices and prejudices, especially those related to human and civil rights”), we will look at how to use that awareness to increase our love and compassion for our fellow human beings. Using reflections from his recent trip to Vietnam, some insights from Buddhism, and his experience as an openly gay man, Brian will offer some useful tools for us to help navigate our journey of life.