Download this blog piece as a pdf HERE “Love is the power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values. We are accountable to one another for doing the work of living our shared values through the spiritual discipline of Love.” “Congregational freedom and the individual’s right of conscience are central to our Unitarian Universalist heritage. Congregations may establish statements of purpose, covenants, and bonds of union so long as they do not require that members adhere to a particular creed.” CURRENT UUA BYLAW PROPOSED CHANGES TO ARTICLE II OF CURRENT UUA  BYLAWS N ..read more

The theme for Women’s History Month 2024 is “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.” It recognizes women who work to eliminate bias and discrimination, and who strive for fairness and equality in institutions and social interactions. perhaps there is no better example of this than Sojourer Truth. Truth spoke at the Second Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio on May 29, 1851. She was not invited but attended anyway. She was not asked to speak but rose to advocate for all women’s rights, including women of color. Her “Ain’t I A Woman?” speech challenged the exclus ..read more

In January, over the Martin Luther King Jr holiday weekend, 24 members of our UUCA congregation joined 20 or so others from congregations across Ohio and beyond, to attend Jubilee III Anti-Racism Training – A Community Experience: Building Capacity to Dismantle Systemic Racism. Jubilee Training was developed by Paula Cole Jones and is presented by her and colleagues Dr. Leon Spencer and Lutricia Callair.  Jubilee has evolved over the last dozen or so years as UU’s work to embrace Beloved Community and live into our 8th Principle.  In 2020, UUCA adopted the 8th Principle. We covenant ..read more

By Erica Shadowsong December 13, 2023 “Outside, snow solidified itself into graceful forms. The peace of winter stars seemed permanent.”  —Toni Morrison, in Beloved When I became an adult, I decided to embrace as many holidays as I could. I soon learned that almost everything I love about Christmas came from European winter solstice traditions. I love evergreens and holly! I love the snow…from the warm comfort of being wrapped in a blanket by a window. Hot chocolate, multi-colored fairy lights, and medieval Christmas carols are all my favorite parts of this time of year. Yet a ..read more

Our generosity and willingness to act for social justice has made a name for the UUCA – the UU Church of Action. It’s a name we can all be proud of and one that reflects our spirit of trying to create a more just world. Our congregation’s numerous missions would not be possible without the physical UUCA building, UUCA staff and operations. Our generosity flows from our ability to sustain and maintain the Unitarian Universalist Church of Akron. As a new church year begins, a newly-formed stewardship committee is exploring ways to nurture a culture of generosity. The members are James Beuoy, Bay ..read more

The Blue Zones and Healthy Recipes For those who are not familiar with the Blue Zones they refer to specific regions around the world where people live significantly longer and healthier lives compared to the global average. These areas have drawn the attention of researchers and health experts due to their high concentrations of centenarians (people who live to 100 or older) and the relatively low rates of age-related diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer.  One common factor is that people who live in the Blue Zones regions all eat a plant-based ..read more

The UU Church of Akron, like most UU churches, is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Every June, UUs from congregations across the association gather at a conference called General Assembly (GA), where we conduct business of the association, explore the theological underpinnings of our faith, and lean fully into our mission. Every congregation in the association chooses delegates to attend and represent them at GA.  The number of delegates is based on the size of the congregation.  We, at UUCA, sent five delegates:  Sandy Auburn, Sarah Culver, Bay Gaillard, Shar ..read more

Everyone loves a good book for the Summer.  Here are some lists to peruse.  Recommendations from our Social Justice Ministries including some fiction and nonfiction, a link to recommendations from the UUA Book store, links to lists of Banned Books. (noted by *)  So much to choose from! Who knows, you might come across one we could do as a book club reading in the Fall!  UUA INSPIRIT BOOKSTORE New and forthcoming recommendations QUEER MINISTRY recommendations with links Radical Belonging by Lindo Bacon Excluded, by Julia Serano y’all means all by various authors (there is a ..read more

The Hunger Walk was started 14 years ago by our own Susan Davis, a long-time member of The Unitarian Universalist Church of Akron, along with Lela Brown of the Akron First Seventh Day Adventist Church. Together, as members of the Akron Area Interfaith Council, they decided to express their values of caring for our community and stamping out food insecurity in the Akron area by raising money for the Akron Canton Regional Food Bank. The UUCA continues to host this event each year which brings members of more than 18 faith organizations together for the good of our community. It is estimated that ..read more

From our Stewardship of the Earth Team What you’ve been waiting for, a long, long list of ways you can reduce your plastic use. You probably know some already, but I hope that many of these ideas are new and do-able. Just think of the pacific garbage patch whenever you feel tempted to buy water, get a to-go cup or buy liquid laundry detergent. This is a slightly edited version of the 50 Ways to Reduce Plastic found at: https://www.reefrelief.org/2013/01/51-ways-to-reduce-plastic-use-or-completely-eliminate-it/ Bring your own cloth bags to the grocery store (or any store!). Don’t buy beverages ..read more