Monthly Themes

This year the Mount Vernon Unitarian Church joins with other Unitarian Universalist churches in North America in a new worship and program event.  Using a three year cycle, we focus on one theme each month from September to May. On the fourth year the cycle will begin again.

View Rev. Kate Walker's reflections on current and earlier themes  HERE. 

MORE ON THEME-BASED PROGRAMMING
Our monthly theme is integrated into our religious community in multiple layers: 
Sunday Worship: On the first Sunday of each month, Rev. Kate Walker focuses the entire Sunday worship on the theme, and integrates elements of the theme into the other Sunday services that same month.  Worship lay leaders are invited to do the same.
Newsletter: There is a reflection on the theme in the Windmill with suggested readings for further personal study. 
Electronic Media: A twice-a-month email is sent to all church members for reflection.
Committees and Community Programs:  Suggested short readings are sent to all committee chairs and event leaders for use in opening meetings and events.
Small Group Ministry: Study sessions are given to facilitators for discussion and study.
Religious Education:  In addition to the Sunday story time, we’re looking at other ways to integrate the theme into religious education programs.

Themes at MVUC

Month	Year 1 (09/10)	Year 2 (10/11)	Year 3 (11/12)
September	Community	Life	Hospitality
October	Forgiveness	Death	Creation/ Creativity
November	Gratitude	Faith	Democracy
December	Hope	Joy	God
January	Justice	Commitment	Freedom
February	Love	Prayer/ Spiritual Practice	Evil
March	Wholeness	Generosity	Atonement/ Redemption
April	Transformation/ Resurrection	Liberation	Mercy
May	Transcendence	Vision	Peace

Why are we doing this?   
From the website of All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, OK:
"Mission: To engage and empower our congregations and members to think theologically and live their ministry and calling at home and in the wider world.
Vision: To provide North American Unitarian Universalist churches with a transformational approach to ministry that includes the entire congregation and equips their members with resources for living each day with faith, integrity and wisdom. Unitarian Universalists prepared with the language and religious understanding to play a substantial role as shapers of our country and its culture, and to engage in dialogue with people of other backgrounds regarding issues of faith, values, ethics and religion.”     The hope is to help our members explore in greater depth, core theological questions and concerns through story, metaphor and symbols, and then applying them to daily life. The expectation is for members to personally decide the level and depth they want to engage a particular theme. The themes offer all generations a common set of stories, ideas and topics to be in conversation about each month. The story each month is from multiple sources including the Bible, famous Unitarians and Universalists or from other world religions and cultures. This way members attain greater biblical literacy and are given the opportunity to develop a theology informed by many faiths that is rooted in Unitarian Universalism.                  

Why is this model important?  
Again, from All Souls in Tulsa, OK: “Offering a systematic approach to theological learning in churches gives people the resources for dealing with life's challenges prior to encountering particular challenges. It is often difficult to suddenly try to develop a spiritual life and an understanding of the most important concepts for living when one is in the midst of dealing with a major life crisis. For example, it is often when someone receives a terminal diagnosis that they begin to explore death and the meaning of life or when they have been betrayed that they begin to try to understand forgiveness. However, when a person has a basic understanding of major life issues prior to encountering them and also has an ongoing spiritual practice, this allows the person to move through life's travails with greater integrity, gracefulness and acceptance.  With a theme-based approach, people develop resources for living throughout their lives, and at times when they are not in the midst of a crisis. Therefore, they carry these religious resources with them and are able to draw on a well-established religious understanding and perspective as they deal with the vicissitudes of life.”

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