Rev. Cathleen Cox, Friday Night Worship

Becoming "A Faith for Our Time”:

Why Unitarian Universalism is Called to save the World and How We're Going to Do It!

Rev. Meghan Cefalu, Rev. Chris Bell, and Rev. Laurel Liefert, Worship Team

Rev. Peter Morales, new President of the UUA, calls Unitarian Universalism to becoming

"A Faith for Our Time."  What would that actually require of us?  There is a distinctive liberal religious vision, born of our core heritage, identity and values, that we are called now to name, claim and live into more deeply - not because we need to grow our faith, but because the world needs, now more than ever, what Unitarian Universalism  has to offer!

Rev. Stefan Jonasson, Saturday Morning Keynote Speaker

"Harvest the Power!"

Poetry manages to convey a universe of ideas in relatively few words. In challenging us to "gather the spirit" so that we might "harvest the power" of liberal religion, composer Jim Scott offers a succinct trio of qualities that offer to key to our success: hope, compassion and strength. What is our message of hope for the world? How do we show our compassion? And wherein lies our strength? If we can discern these three qualities, we will be well on the way to fulfilling the promise of Unitarian Universalism.

As Director for Large Congregations, Rev. Stefan Jonasson oversees the Unitarian Universalist Association’s initiatives to better serve congregations with more than 550 members, identifying appropriate resources and developing strategies to deliver them to large congregations in partnership with the Association. He brings to this work extensive training and experience in organizational development, personnel management, leadership training, church size dynamics, conflict management, and congregational growth and extension.

Stefan joined the staff of the Unitarian Universalist Association in 1991, while still a layperson, as District Executive for Western Canada. He has also served as an Extension Consultant in Prairie Star and Central Midwest districts. He assumed the large congregations portfolio in 1999.

During his years as an active UU volunteer, Stefan served as a district president (1984-88), district treasurer (1982-84), and a member of the Unitarian Universalist Denominational Grants Panel (1988-91). He was lay chaplain and ministerial assistant at the Unitarian Church of Winnipeg (1983-89) and chaplain of the Arborg Unitarian Church (1989-97). Upon completion of his theological training, he was ordained and installed as minister of the Arborg Unitarian Church in 1997.

Rev. Dr. Paul B. Rasor, Saturday Banquet Featured Presentation

"Ironic Provincialism or Engaged Multiculturalism?  

The Choice We Must Make"

Nearly two decades ago, Unitarian Universalists made a commitment to become a multiracial and multicultural religious movement. Yet we have made little progress toward fulfilling this vision, while the society around us has grown increasingly pluralistic and multicultural. In this presentation, Paul Rasor will examine the trends and explore some of the challenges we must address, the theological resources we can draw on, and the consequences for our movement if we fail to respond.  

Paul Rasor is Director of the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom and Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Virginia Wesleyan College. Paul has a wide-ranging background that includes religion, law and music.

Rasor holds a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) and Ph.D. in the study of religion from Harvard, as well as a law degree (J.D.) and a music degree (B. Mus.) from the University of Michigan. He is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister.

His professional career includes six years of law practice in New Mexico and three years of church ministry in Lexington, MA, near Boston. His academic career includes 14 years as a full-time law professor, as well as 9 years teaching in theology and religious studies at a range of institutions, including Andover Newton Theological School, Harvard Divinity School, and Pendle Hill Quaker Study Center. His teaching responsibilities at Virginia Wesleyan College include courses in constitutional law, religious freedom, and religious studies. He has received teaching awards from two universities.

Paul has published widely in both law and theology; his latest book is Faith Without Certainty: Liberal Theology in the 21^st Century, published in 2005 by Skinner House books in Boston. He is currently working on a book that examines the problem of religion in public debate from a liberal religious perspective, tentatively titled Reclaiming Prophetic Liberalism: Liberal Religion in the Public Square, and is editing a book entitled From Jamestown to Jefferson: The Evolution of Religious Freedom in Virginia, due from the University of Virginia Press in early 2011.

Paul has also been active in various forms of community service. He went to El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua several times during the war years of the 1980’s, doing both educational and human rights work. He is a classical and a jazz trombonist, and has played with several symphony orchestras as well as small jazz combos.

Rev. Greg Stewart, UU Society of San Francisco

Preacher’s Sons – The Movie

Saturday Night after Rev. Dr. Paul Rasor

This is the cinema veritè story of five irrepressible but troubled boys pulled from the train wreck of foster care and the two articulate men who are now their fathers, and their moving metamorphosis into a solid family unit. It is also a lively road picture, as liberal minister Greg Stewart leads his fledgling tribe from their Los Angeles home to spend 4 years living under siege in the conservative heartland.

Middle America is hostile territory to this unconventional family. Preacher's Sons invites you to accompany them on their trying journey and experience the courage and humor that enable them to meet the extraordinary challenges of everyday life.

· See the boys test their dad's parenting skills.

· Watch the daily grind wear on Greg and Stillman and their relationship of 25+ years.

· Follow with admiration and awe or perhaps shock and awe as Stillman and Greg struggle to create their own forever family.

No matter what you think about same-sex parenting, your assumptions will be challenged as you watch this compelling story unfold over the course of five years. The Stewarts are an unconventional family, with surprisingly conventional values. Their odyssey is intimate and moving; but it exists within a wider context of the national debate over same-sex marriage and adoption. This film presents a rich body of evidence that encourages thoughtful discussion of these hot-button topics.

Ian Kim, Director, Green-Collar Jobs Campaign, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights

Presented by the UU Legislative Ministry - CA

Sunday Morning Forum

"Climate Change & California – No Time to Step Back"

California’s groundbreaking legislation, the 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act (AB32), is facing a serious challenge. Oil interests and others are organizing to qualify a measure for the November ballot that would suspend AB32, claiming that it will exacerbate unemployment. How can UUs support moving California forward into a green economy and build public understanding of and support for AB32? Guest speaker, Ian Kim is the Director of the Green-Collar Jobs Campaign, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, and holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management. Presented by the UU Legislative Ministry, CA.

Rev. Douglas Kraft, Sunday Morning Worship

"Unitarian Universalist Spirituality"

with members of the PCD UU Ministers’ Association

Rev. Doug Kraft has been the Lead Minister of the UU Society of Sacramento since 2000.

To "harvest the power" we must first see our fears, be they about ourselves, the lives around us or the condition of the larger world. If we cannot see our fears clearly and gently, they will drive us. Once we do see, we are in a position to step out of the fear and choose love instead. Then we don't have to harvest the power. The power harvests us.