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Unitarian Universalist

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Don’t Miss the Backpack Blessing with Rev. Pippin Sunday, August 7!

UUFA will be holding a backpack blessing on Sunday, August 7th at 10:30 AM. All students are welcome to bring their backpacks to be blessed at an intergenerational service with Rev. Pippin.

Blessing of the Backpacks

More Unitarian Universalist congregations are holding backpack blessings at the beginning of the school and congregational year: each child (and an invited friend, sometimes!) brings their school backpack to worship on the appointed day, and the congregation “blesses” the children and their backpacks. In some congregations, children also receive a small token (like a special talisman) to clip to their backpack.

In the words of Carolyn C. Brown,* backpack blessings embody two important messages to children:

  1. They realize that they and their lives are important to the church. They see themselves as significant members of the congregation.
  2. They hear that God (or the Source of Love) is with them at school and that their church cares about what happens there. God and church are not “off to the side” or just a Sunday thing.

 

*Carolyn Brown is a Certified Christian Educator in the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA).

From https://www.uua.org/worship/holidays/blessing-backpacks

Happenings in a List!

For details on many of these, check out “This Month & Beyond” (either on the left of these page or here).

Please make sure you are on Realm/Connect, so you will receive updates and reminders of your groups’ meetings and events directly to your inbox and have easy access to zoom links for virtual happenings.

October 

  •   5  First Sunday Forum:  Challenging Times for Our National Parks
  •   5 Abundance Table 
  •   5 From the UU Georgia Legislative Action Network (LAN):  Free Advocacy Training In Person at UUCA  
  •   6 Deadline to Register to Vote for the November 4 General/Special Election
  • 11 UUA Day of Observance (National Coming Out Day)
  • 12 Singing Meditation
  • 12 Book Talks
  • 14 Second Lookers
  • 17 Justice Partner event:  Athens Immigrant Rights Coalition (AIRC) monthly meeting, 5:30 to 7 p.m., Oconee St. United Methodist Church (OSUMC)
  • 18 No Kings National Day of Mobilization
  • 19 Forum (the UU GA Legislative Action Network) 
  • 22 Five-Senses (give or take) Nature Walk 10 a.m.
  • 25 Justice Partner event:  Athens Immigrant Rights Coalition (AIRC) Education-Immigration Lawyers Education Forum, UUFA, 10 to 11:30 a.m.
  • 26 UUFA Fall Festival 11:30 am
  • 26 UUA Day of Observance (Intersex Awareness Day)
  • 31 UUFA Coven Craft Group, 5:30 p.m.

November

  •  1 Justice Partner (AADM) Event
  •  1 Voces y versos Performance, 7-9 p.m.
  •  2 End of Daylight Saving Time
  •  2 Singing Meditation
  •  4 Special Statewide Election
  •  9 Guest at Your Table (through December 31)
  •  9 Start of Family Promise Week (partnering with Holy Cross Lutheran Church)
  •  9 Book Talks
  • 11 Second Lookers
  • 15 AADM–UUFA Justice Partner–Black Business Expo
  • 15-16 UU GA LAN (Legislative Action Network) Third Annual Conference 
  • 16 Third Sunday Forum:  Exploring the ACC Jail
  • 20 UUA Welcoming Day of Observation (TDOR)
  • 21  Justice Partner event:  Athens Immigrant Rights Coalition (AIRC) Me
  • 30 UUFA Justice Action Collaborative

December

  •   9 Second Lookers
  • 14 Book Talks

January

  • 13 Second Lookers
  • 19 MLK Day Parade (3 p.m., Washington & Hull)

February 

  • 10 Second Lookers

Looking for regular meetings? Join groups in Realm/Connect and check the summary on this page to the left.  Don’t know about Realm yet? Contact Meredyth at members at uuathensga.org to learn more.  

Rather see this as a calendar grid?  Visit uuathensga.org/calendar.