Newsletter 8/20/26
Aug. 23 – Dr. Benjamin Thorne: ‘Angel is a Semaphore: Making Meaning in the Age of Doubt’
 Sunday Service, 3 P.M.: FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE 625 SOUTH ST., DAVIDSON Please visit our events calendar for more information. Mail: P.O. Box 991 Davidson, NC 28036 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO THE END OF THE NEWSLETTER Aug. 23 – Dr. Benjamin Thorne: ‘Angel is a Semaphore: Making Meaning in the Age of Doubt’ In his Ode on a Grecian Urn, the poet John Keats famously wrote “beauty is truth, truth beauty.” But what does this mean in an era increasingly defined by declining faith in science and professional expertise, and an embrace of conspiracy theories and alternative facts? What can be offered as a rebuttal? In this talk, poet and historian M. Benjamin Thorne will try to answer this question by looking at the nexus of spiritual faith, critical theory, and the literary arts: the word. And somehow tie all this in with an allusion to the J. Geils Band. How could he possibly make that work? Who knows! Will his premise go down in flames? Quite possibly, but it will still be a show! Benjamin Thorne is Associate Professor of Modern European History at Wingate University. This summer he spent a month traveling throughout India, including Kashmir, one of the most hotly contested regions on earth. His talk will touch on some of his observations from that trip.  Services can be viewed live at 3:10 p.m. Sundays, and later for replays, by clicking here to reach them on our website. Information on upcoming services can also be found on our Facebook page. Aug. 30 – Dr. Christopher Cameron: ‘African Americans and Unitarianism from the Civil War to World War I’ This lecture explores the significant but often overlooked role of African Americans in shaping American Unitarianism and religious liberalism from the Civil War through the early Twentieth Century. Focusing on figures including Frederick Douglass, Peter H. Clark, Maria Baldwin, Fannie Barrier Williams, and Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, it examines how Black intellectuals and activists found in Unitarianism and the Free Religious movement spaces for intellectual freedom, social reform, and challenges to racial and gender inequality. It also demonstrates that African Americans were not simply recipients of Unitarian ideas but active participants in debates over the meaning and future of liberal religion in the United States. Christopher Cameron is Professor of History at UNC Charlotte. He is the author of To Plead Our Own Cause: African Americans in Massachusetts and the Making of the Antislavery Movement and Black Freethinkers: A History of African American Secularism. He is also the co-editor of New Perspectives on the Black Intellectual Tradition and Race, Religion, and Black Lives Matter: Essays on a Moment and a Movement. His current book project, The Faith of the Future: African Americans and Unitarian Universalism, explores the intersection of race and liberal religion dating back to the mid-18th century and the varied ways that liberal theology has informed African American religion and politics in the 20th and 21st centuries.  I keep working to come up with superlatives for the Unitarians of Lake Norman. Last Sunday, I called you, all of you, people of action. What a tribute to learn 16 of us have volunteered at FeedNC. As Doug Wall has been heard to say, “This is work!” while working at the local food ministry. I never work the hardest, as the walking and carrying wear me out. My brother will tell you that, even as a kid, I “wore out” a lot quicker than others who were mowing grass, washing dishes or pulling weeds out of the front sidewalk. It may be laziness, but it felt to me like early onset fatigue. Who knows? From building dog fences to litter pickup to writing postcards and other activism to get out the vote this fall, we are an active congregation, but — read this carefully — we could not do any of it were we not gathering on Sunday afternoons. Or, in the case of Laura Daily, not gathering. Laura has been absent for several Sundays and I sent her a note on Aug 16 to make sure we had not hurt her feelings in some unintended way. Her response was glowing. She called the Unitarians of Lake Norman “a wonderful group,” and Jim Price sang her praises as he updated us on a friend who still needs us to hold him close as he deals with illness. My stepson, Aaron, is still struggling with a diagnosis of asbestos poisoning. Thanks to all of you who are holding him close in your hearts. Jane Pope has a friend who needs healing energy. George Bame wore a sign in solidarity with the crew of USS Abraham Lincoln. It will still be a while before that ship can head home from more than seven months at sea and many staggering problems.  .  The Board has broken up the revisions to our Bylaws into 14 parts to accommodate members who wanted that option. The revisions are posted on our website — click here to see the current version of the revisions and here to view a sample ballot. The called congregational meeting to approve the Bylaws will be Oct. 11. Members have until a Sept. 1 deadline to ask questions or make comments. There are two notable changes. The first breaks up our Bylaws vote from one vote to 14 distinct votes. The second is that the Board is no longer proposing a requirement for the Past President to serve another year on the Board. It is however asking approval to allow the Past President the option to attend Board meetings in the year after he or she leaves office, and if he or she does attend the meetings, to have full voting privileges. There are numerous irregularities in the current Bylaws. Only members can vote on Oct. 11. The Board encourages members to vote and approve our new Bylaws. — Jim Price, Vice President  It’s Time to Choose a Chalice Circle Each fall we offer our members and friends an opportunity to participate in a Chalice Circle. A Chalice Circle – a form of small-group ministry — is a group of six to nine people who meet monthly for 10 months, usually at someone’s home and, sometimes, virtually online. The purpose is to get to know each other well, as the group considers a variety of topics using a short reading and several questions to launch the discussion. Both the UUA and some individual congregations throughout the country have published a wealth of discussion outlines from which to choose. If a Chalice Circle is of interest to you, let us know before Aug. 31. Four are being offered: Thursday afternoons in Mooresville on the lake; a weekday morning Cornelius; and two others that are in the planning stage. Please choose the one that would be most convenient for you, and which you would be most likely to attend on a monthly basis from September through June. A commitment to regular attendance is important to the success of the group and to each participant’s experience. At this annual planning stage, we find that some people want to change to a new group – where they may get more deeply acquainted with a different group of people. Others prefer to stay with whatever group they are already in. We will do our best to accommodate both preferences. If you’re interested in any of the four meetings, or could attend only by Zoom, click on their names to email Marge Flowers or Natalie Heling with your preference and contact information. Sign-up forms with the leaders’ location and meeting time will also be available in the lobby during Sunday services through the rest of August.  Unitarians of Lake Norman have racked up some admirable volunteer hours by cooking, serving and cleaning at FeedNC, the Mooresville food nonprofit. Over the past year, since August 2025, our members and friends have logged 357.5 volunteer hours. Let’s give a big cheer to the 16 volunteers who have dedicated their time to this worthy cause! In order of their hours: coordinator Phil Sterner, 71.5 hours; Jim Arnold, 50; Linda Sterner, 39; George Bame, 36; Susan Cameron, 28; Doug Wall, 28; Pamela Englebert, 27; Pat Wall, 16; Bruce Henderson, 16; Rev. Pat, 14; Barbara Vitale, 8; and Grace Bouchoucha, Sue Cunningham, Tracy Grimm, Eddie Gunn and Kim Lucas,each with 4 hours.  What would it take for you to call your Senator’s office? To contact your local N.C. representative? They need to know their constituents’ feelings about changes to the voting process — can you encourage your representative to uphold Gov. Stein’s veto? Can you write to your U.S. Senators, Tillis and Budd, letting them know your opinion of a pending bill to allow military chaplains to deny help to those whose beliefs conflict with their own? You can find out how easy it is to speak your truth during UU Justice NC’s weekly Friday Action Hour, a Zoom gathering of justice-seeking friends where we take action together and nurture our spirits for the work ahead. It’s an opportunity to live our values. Information, phone numbers and suggested scripts for all actions are spelled out in the Google doc —click here to view it. Join us this Friday morning at 11 by clicking on this Zoom link. If Friday doesn’t work for you, please take a moment to look over the Google doc, updated every week to describe small actions you can take to support Unitarian values. Sign up for our Friday Action Hour weekly email by clicking here. Thanks!  UU Lake Norman’s Building Fund accepts donations to help ensure our future. For more information, please contact Alan Perkinson. FROM OUR TREASURERThanks to all who have pledged to keep our Fellowship strong. You can mail your pledge to: UU Lake Norman, P.O. Box 991, Davidson 28036. To set up easy online giving from our website, just click the “Pledge or Donate” tab at the top of the page. Join us? If you are not a member but would like more information on becoming a member, please contact Marjorie Flowers at admin@UULakeNorman.org.  UU Lake Norman Minister Rev. Pat Jobe 2026 Board of Trustees Greg Davis, President Jim Price, Vice President Jim Arnold, Past President Véronique Singerman, Secretary Karen Abrams & Linda Heydenburg, Co-Treasurers Gail Arnold, Trustee at Large We walk diverse paths to find meaning and purpose, but we are united by our belief in the inherent worth and dignity of all, and the obligation to express our faith through acts of justice and compassion. Join us as we create a diverse, spirit-curious, and justice-seeking community. Please send your newsletter items, suggestions or comments to news@uulakenorman.org. The deadline for each week’s newsletter is 5 p.m. Wednesday. Lake Norman UU Fellowship P O Box 991, Davidson 28036 www.uulakenorman.org Copyright © 2026 UU Fellowship of Lake Norman, All rights reserved. |