Welcome!
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Lawton, Oklahoma is a diverse community of individuals with varying beliefs, philosophies, and lifestyles, each seeking his or her own path in life. Come join us, celebrate your own journey, and enjoy the fellowship of like-minded free-thinkers.
Join us Sunday mornings at 10:30 am at 701 SW B Avenue.
(Scroll down to see the list of speakers for the month.)
May at Lawton UU
Spring Picnic in the Wichita Wildlife Refuge
We will be having our spring picnic at the Wichitas, after service on Sunday, May 20. Bring along a dish to share, lawn chairs, an appetite and an appreciation for the great outdoors! We are tentatively planning on meeting at the Bolder picnic area. More information will be available at the church and in future email announcements and here on our website.
SPRING CLEANING THANK YOU
Saturday, April 21 several members met at the church for a spring cleaning. Thank you to everyone who took time out on their Saturday to help with the cleaning!
UPCOMING UUA EVENTS OF INTEREST
The Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations General Assembly will be held in Phoenix, AZ . The conference will be June 20-24, 2012. For more information go online at www.uua.org.
How Do You Join the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lawton?
We are all members of the web of life that includes more than the present; it includes the past and the future. The religious community is essential, for alone our vision is too narrow to see all that must be seen and our strength too limited to do all that must be done. When you join the Unitarian church you are not asked to agree to any creed or specific way of living your spiritual life. All you are asked to do is to grow toward your own greatest potential. You will be expected to offer what you can to the church, and to ask for what you need from other members, and from the congregation as a whole. Literally to join, you sign your name in the membership book. Ask Patsy Nixon to show you the membership book. Together we can widen our vision, renew our strength and enlarge our spirit. We would love to welcome you as a member of this congregation.
Patsy Nixon, Membership.
Speakers and Topics
Unitarian Universalist Church of Lawton – speaker list for April 2012
May 6 – Sam McMichael
Practical Wisdom
The inspiration for this sermon comes from a book of the same name by Barry Schwartz, who took his inspiration from Aristotle. Schwartz follows Aristotle's insistence that telos, or purpose, is essential for happiness and for success in any line of work. He then illustrates anecdotally how many trends in our current society militate against this sense of purpose.
Sam McMichael is a former teacher, a well known member of our congregation, a wonderful
story teller, philosopher and an active member of the local arts community.
May 13 - Bill Cunningham
Stewardship of the Environment
The talk will consist of two parts. Part One will provide a biblical exegesis of the Judeo-Christian scriptural basis for western culture’s view of humankind having “dominion” over the earth. Part Two will address how we see the earth, our world, and how we as God’s people respond to the gifts of God’s love. The talk will include a discussion of contemporary threats to our environment and every day practical steps that each of us can take for its protection.
Bill Cunningham and his wife Maryruth Prose are residents of the rural Meers community who live on Jimmy Creek, a natural spring-fed, clear water stream that provides watershed to Lake Lawtonka. He works as a Manufacturing Extension Agent covering 13 counties of southwest Oklahoma helping our manufacturers with their technical and business needs. His volunteer work includes leadership of a conservation group defending Jimmy Creek against developers intent on selling its source waters. He served as one of our region’s representatives in the two-year formation of the Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan. He serves as Chief of the Meers Volunteer Fire Department. He is a member of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Lawton.
May 20 – Charles Kolker
Intercultural Communication
What you don't know may hurt you. Understanding a culture should be common sense for anyone hoping to successfully communicate with a person from another part of the world, but it's surprising how many don't pay attention to this.
Charles Kolker, after practicing as a plaintiffs' trial lawyer for over 34 years in Illinois and Missouri, taught at Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China for 3 years, teaching among other subjects, Intercultural Communication.
May 27 - Anna Holloway
The nature of goodness
In America we tend to think that "God" is an Abrahamic (Judeo-Christian-Muslim) concept. Anna will explore a variety of concepts of deity and divinity, including agnostic and atheist ideas, as well as that over-arching idea of "godness" that runs through all these socio-cultural and theological ideas.
Anna Holloway is a graduate of Phillips Theological Seminary (M.Div. magna cum laud, 2002) who preaches at Unitarian Universalist congregations in Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas. She has also preached in Oklahoma congregations of the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
Adult Forum Topics:
Beginning our study of Islam. There will be 12 sessions. The DVD lecturer is John L. Esposito, Professor of Religion, International Affairs, and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. We watch the lectures, then have discussion.
May 6 - Islam Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
May 13 - The Five Pillars of Islam
May 20 - Muhammad-Prophet and Statesman
May 27 - God's Word: The Quranic Worldview
Popular Links
Lawton UU Discussion Group on Facebook
Our very own Facebook Discussion Group (click here). If you are new to the group, you’ll have to request to join by clicking on the request link.
Current Newsletter
Download a copy of our current newletter in PDF format (click here).