Unitarian Universalists in the Media

A frequently updated guide to stories about Unitarian Universalists from other sources around the web.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Media wraps up General Assembly, elections coverage

by Sonja L. Cohen

Media wraps up GA, elections coverage
Most of the General Assembly coverage was listed in the last blog post, but here are a few stragglers:

USA Today picked up the story that the UUA has elected its first Latino president, the Rev. Peter Morales. The Examiner also wrote about the elections. (USA Today - 7.2.09, 6.29.09)

See also: Morales decisively wins UUA presidency (uuworld.org - 6.29.09)

The Deseret News wrote about the General Assembly, focusing on the interfaith appeal of the annual meeting and on a peace and justice panel discussion. (Deseret News - Salt Lake City, UT 6.27.09)

The Salt Lake Tribune offers a list of “fast facts" about the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. (Salt Lake Tribune - UT 6.18.09)

KUTV mentioned a well-attended Friday evening event organized by the UUA in which GA attendees and the community gathered to support immigrants and protest a new Utah law that is supposed to crack down on illegal immigration. (KUTV - UT 6.26.09)

For more GA coverage visit the UUA's General Assembly page.

Also in the media:

Members of the UU Church of Akron, Ohio, participated in an interfaith ''Mitzvah Day'' of volunteer work and "good deeds." (Akron Beacon Journal - Akron, OH 6.28.09)

In honor of Pride Month, Adrian Hilliard, a UU writer for the Examiner, presents a Q&A with the Rev. Keith Kron, director of the UUA's Office of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Concerns. (Examiner.com - 6.29.09)

posted by Sonja L. Cohen at 4:18 PM

Monday, June 29, 2009

Local and national coverage of General Assembly

by Kenneth Sutton

Salt Lake Tribune

Salt Lake Tribune's coverage began before General Assembly and continued throughout GA, with reports not only about the meeting, but about both the UUA and local churches.

"Relationships define outgoing Unitarian Universalist president's tenure" (6.18.09)

Though he knew the pain felt by many Unitarian Universalists over the LDS Church's role in persuading California voters to reject gay marriage last fall, Sinkford saw a different way forward:

Through relationship.

"Changing the climate that's feeding hate crime" (6.19.09)
Laurel Hallman and Peter Morales, the two candidates for UUA president, wrote a joint op/ed essay:

We must learn to air our disagreements with respect, humility and reason. The alternative is more pain and heartbreak, and the sorrowful recognition that we have left our children a world even more intolerant than the one we inherited. We cannot allow that to be our legacy.

"Diversity is an article of faith for Utah gay-friendly church" (6.19.09)
Profile of the Rev. Sean Parker Dennison and the South Valley UU Society:

The Rev. Sean Parker Dennison knows how it feels to struggle to fit, to blend, to belong.

Now, Dennison greets a variety of people -- young and old, gay and straight, Anglo and non-Anglo -- to Sunday services at the South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society, a religious community that bills itself as "intentionally diverse."

"Protesters call for investigation of U.S. torture allegations" (6.25.09)
A locally-organized event drew GA attendees: "Human rights groups, attendees of a Unitarian Universalist conference, veterans, and curious citizens stopped by to support the cause."

"Interfaith rally points to spiritual side of immigration debate" (6.26.09)
The UUA organized a rally on immigration concerns: "'For us religious people, this is not merely a political or economic question,' said the Rev. Bill Sinkford, president of the UUA. 'For us it is profoundly a spiritual question.'"

"UUA elects Colorado pastor as president" (6.27.09)
The presidental election was reported promptly: "Unitarian Universalists from throughout the United States, meeting in Salt Lake City for their annual general assembly, elected a Colorado pastor to be their eighth president."

USA Today

The Standing on the Side of Love campaign was reported in USA Today "Unitarians say they're 'Standing on the Side of Love'" (6.22.09)

"Rather than hunkering down in the face of violence, (the Unitarians) have proclaimed a gospel of love and hope," said the Rev. William Sinkford, the outgoing UUA president, in an interview.

Standard-Examiner (Ogden, Utah)

"Public invited to Unitarian Universalist Association events / 'Witness for family values that value all families'" (6.25.09)

The Rev. Theresa Novak, pastor of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ogden, . . . said she's excited about the event coming to Utah.

"It is a chance to let people who are looking for a liberal faith to know more about us," she said.

"Unitarian Universalist General Assembly in SLC" (6.27.09)

The public is invited to offer their financial as well as their emotional support to Utah's bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgender community during worship services Sunday at the Unitarian Universalist Association's General Assembly, which has been taking place at the Salt Palace this week.

Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah)

The Deseret News also reported on the immigrants-rights rally. (6.26.09)

Denver Post

The Denver Post picked up the Salt Lake Tribune's coverage of Peter Morales's election. (6.27.09)

posted by Kenneth Sutton at 1:39 PM

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Red Sox church appearance, Oprah redux, and more

by Sonja L. Cohen

Forrest Church on learning to thrive under pressure
The Rev. Forrest Church takes lessons learned during his fight with cancer about thriving in hard times and applies them to the current economic crisis. "Perhaps it's high time to lift our eyes up from the stock ticker and grim headlines and remember how fragile life is and how precious each chance we have to learn and grow must therefore be." (Business Week - 6.12.09)

See also: Love and death (UU World - Summer 2008)

Universalist spaceman visits Bedford church
Former Red Sox pitcher Bill "Spaceman" Lee, a Universalist, delivered a "Sermon on the Mound" to a standing-room-only crowd at the UU First Parish Church in Bedford, Mass. The appearance also earned a mention in the Boston Globe's celebrity news section. (Lowell Sun - Lowell, MA 6.15.09 / Boston Globe – 6.17.09)

Oprah magazine's OWL story now online
Last week I told you that the July issue of Oprah's O magazine has a great featured article all about OWL (Our Whole Lives) Sexuality Education for Adults. The story is now available to read online. (Oprah.com - July 2009)

UUs respond to Obama's executive order, mark marriage equality anniversary
The Rev. Louise Green, minister of social justice at All Souls Church in Washington, D.C., is quoted in a story about responses to President Obama's executive order, which gives some benefits to domestic partners in the civilian federal workforce. (USA Today - 6.17.09)

Nearly 50 people gathered at the First UU Society of San Francisco for a bittersweet one-year anniversary celebration of California's first legal same-sex marriages. (Bay Area Reporter - San Francisco, CA 6.18.09)

See also: Mixed emotions on Calif. gay marriage anniversary (KMPH Fox 26 - Fresno, CA 6.17.09)

Also in the media:

Five years after the mysterious murder of Sharon Snow, a member of the UU Church of Greensboro, N.C., her partner has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder. (Winston-Salem Journal - Winston-Salem, NC 6.14.09)

The Rev. Steve Aschmann, minister of the UU Congregation of Erie. Pa., explains why the UU belief in "justice, equity, and compassion in all human relations" led his congregation to call for a moratorium on capital punishment. (GoErie.com - Erie, PA 6.13.09)

The UU Church of Columbia, Mo., honored congregants's animal companions at its 10th annual pet blessing service. (Columbia Missourian - Columbia, MO 6.15.09)

posted by Sonja L. Cohen at 2:06 PM

Friday, June 12, 2009

'O' magazine highlights UU sex-ed program, and more

by Sonja L. Cohen

OWL in Oprah magazine
Pick up the July issue of Oprah's O magazine (on shelves Monday) and you'll find that one of the articles featured on the cover is a great story all about OWL (Our Whole Lives) Sexuality Education for Adults. For those not familiar with it, OWL is a popular comprehensive sexuality-education program that the Unitarian Universalist Association published in collaboration with the United Church of Christ. (O - July 2009)

Humanitarian aid worker convicted on littering charge
On June 4, 27-year-old UU Walt Staton was convicted of littering by a federal court for leaving water jugs in Arizona's Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge—a crime that could result in up to a year in prison. Staton is part of the humanitarian aid group "No More Deaths," which offers supplies and aid to migrants trying to cross the desert. (Arizona Daily star - 6.4.09)

A fond farewell to Starr King statue
Not everyone was happy to see a statue of Ronald Reagan replace one of UU historical figure Thomas Starr King, which has stood in Washington's National Statuary Hall for 78 years. (OC Weekly - Santa Ana, CA 6.9.09)

A New York Times writer offered a farewell toast to the "worthy but obscure" Thomas Starr King in an opinion piece that recalls the accomplishments that first earned the Unitarian minister a place in the Statuary Hall. (New York Times - 6.5.09)

See also: Unitarian statue loses spot in U.S. Capitol (uuworld.org - 9.15.06 )

Also in the media:

Claire Barker writes about traveling as a volunteer with the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee to Guayaquil, Ecuador, where she is helping to ascertain what impact the city's private water and sanitation business is having on the Guayas River estuary. (Boston Globe - 6.3.09)

The Rev. Chris Buice, minister of the Tennessee Valley UU Church in Knoxville, reflects on how his congregation has changed and healed since the deadly shootings there one year ago. (The Wichita Eagle - Wichita, KS 6.7.09)

Read more about the Knoxville shootings. (uuworld.org)

The Deseret News reports that two major religious conventions are coming to Salt Lake City this month: the 48th annual UUA General Assembly and the 22nd International Conference of the Center for Studies on New Religions. (Deseret News - Salt Lake City, UT 6.5.09)

After seven years, the Rev. Meg Barnhouse (a uuworld.org columnist) is leaving the UU Church of Spartanburg, S.C., to serve as interim minister at the UU Congregation of Princeton, N.J. (Spartanburg Herald Journal - Spartanburg, SC 6.5.09)

The Rev. Erica Baron, consulting minister for the UU Fellowship of Bennington, Vt., writes about the blurry line between the sacred and secular aspects of our lives. (Bennington Banner - Bennington, VT 6.6.09)