AE Lunchitarians

This is a recurring virtual meeting every Wednesday from noon - 1:30 PM.

Thoreau Lunchitarians discuss books, or other matters arising

Check your email for topic details and the Zoom link!

Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!

AE Lunchitarians

This is a recurring virtual meeting every Wednesday from noon - 1:30 PM.

Thoreau Lunchitarians discuss books, or other matters arising

Check your email for topic details and the Zoom link!

Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!

AE Lunchitarians

This is a recurring virtual meeting every Wednesday from noon - 1:30 PM.

Thoreau Lunchitarians discuss books, or other matters arising

Check your email for topic details and the Zoom link!

Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!

Books are selected by the members of the Women’s Book Club

Reoccurring monthly on the First Monday, starting at 1:00 PM; we meet in members’ homes.

Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!

AE Lunchitarians

This is a recurring virtual meeting every Wednesday from noon - 1:30 PM.

Thoreau Lunchitarians discuss books, or other matters arising

Check your email for topic details and the Zoom link!

Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!

For the Love of Music - Quarterly Gathering

Please join James Westfall and Doug Kohn for a new Thoreau Group, “For the Love of Music”. Topics will vary and are endless. Our first gathering covered Musical Nostalgia (Do you tend to most love the songs of your youth?). The last 10 minutes are for wrap-up and picking the following meetings’ topic. 

Meet in the Clark Cabin or via Zoom. 

Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!

November 24    Thoreau’s Annual Bread Communion

Join us this Sunday for our traditional Bread Communion.  You are invited to bring bread or a baked good that reflects your family traditions or heritage. After a brief explanation about each baked offering, we will break bread together and enjoy a feast that represents our diverse community. This is a fun service for everyone (especially since it ends in eating all the foods presented).  There will be no RE for kids this Sunday as they will stay in the service.

Join us in-person for our weekly gathering.

Interested in joining this service in person? Get in Touch!

November 24     “Food Insecurity”

September was Hunger Action Month, and October 16 was World Food Day. We’ll look at the recent uptick in food insecurity—defined as uncertainty about a family's next meal—and watch short videos on the situation in the world, Texas, and Houston, where it affects 16% of the population—777,000 people. Ron Masters will lead this discussion about the problem of food insecurity in our community.

Adult Discussion Group will be meeting in person @ 9:45 AM in Thoreau’s Clark Cabin except on the third Sunday of each month when we will meet in the Sanctuary @ 11 AM.

The AC and HEPA filter will be running to keep Clark Cabin & the Sanctuary as safe as possible.

For those that prefer: We will provide ZOOM via the OWL system when we meet in the cabin & our Moderator Tamara will recognize your hand up and add you to the queue.

Thoreauvians and friends will be notified each week (tuucannounce@groups.io) of our ADG topic, time and zoom login.
Please keep an eye out for our notices.

Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!

AE Lunchitarians

This is a recurring virtual meeting every Wednesday from noon - 1:30 PM.

Thoreau Lunchitarians discuss books, or other matters arising

Check your email for topic details and the Zoom link!

Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!

November 17  “Indigenous Peoples and Their Heritage ”

Gloria Lake will talk about her own Indigenous Peoples heritage.

Join us in-person in Thoreau’s Sanctuary or via Zoom for our discussion service.

On one Sunday a month, our Adult Discussion Group coordinates the speaker for our weekly gathering.

During ADG Sunday Service, Religious Education is offered for children 5 and over, and a nursery is available.

You are invited to join us for light snacks after ADG.

Interested in joining this service in person? Get in Touch!

AE Lunchitarians

This is a recurring virtual meeting every Wednesday from noon - 1:30 PM.

Thoreau Lunchitarians discuss books, or other matters arising

Check your email for topic details and the Zoom link!

Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!

November 10   "A Hindu walked into a UU Church"

Hinduism and Unitarianism met two hundred years ago when Ralph Waldo Emerson, a pillar of our religion, was introduced to a beloved scripture of the Hindus called the “Bhagwat Gita.”

Emerson’s writings reflect his regard for the Gita. He introduced the book to his protégé, Henry David Thoreau. 

Thoreau took to heart the Gita’s message of doing one’s duty and went on to write his famous essay on “Civil Disobedience.” This essay was one of the inspirations for Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent campaign that freed India from British rule. Reverend Martin Luther King then brought Gandhi’s methods back to the USA in his struggle for civil rights. For two hundred years, the message of the Gita has bounced back and forth between the two countries as a peaceful means of attaining freedom.

In this talk, Dr. Kalia traces the 5000-year history of Hinduism and reflects on how some of its precepts might be food for thought for modern-day Unitarian Universalists. 

Join us in-person for our weekly gathering.

During in-person worship service, Religious Education is offered for children 5 and over, and a nursery is available. You are invited to join us for hospitality after the service.

Interested in joining this service in person? Get in Touch!

November 10   “Yes, we’re having a mass of immigration.  Now what do we do?”

John Veneruso will talk about Immigration: The U.S. needs it as our birth rate dramatically lags replacement.  People living in areas being made unlivable due to climate change need it. How should the U.S. decide who and how many to welcome? Do we as citizens of the United States have a responsibility to embrace a potentially sizeable number of immigrants? How should the U.S. help to integrate immigrants?  Should the immigrants be embraced as permanent citizens or kept as eternal temporary workers? What about healthcare, adult education, and other social services? How will our national and state housing policy need to change to ensure that the immigrants have adequate housing? 

Adult Discussion Group will be meeting in person @ 9:45 AM in Thoreau’s Clark Cabin except on the third Sunday of each month when we will meet in the Sanctuary @ 11 AM.

The AC and HEPA filter will be running to keep Clark Cabin & the Sanctuary as safe as possible.

For those that prefer: We will provide ZOOM via the OWL system when we meet in the cabin & our Moderator Tamara will recognize your hand up and add you to the queue.

Thoreauvians and friends will be notified each week (tuucannounce@groups.io) of our ADG topic, time and zoom login.
Please keep an eye out for our notices.

Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!

2nd Friday Discussion Group will meet on November 8th at Becks Prime:
1822 SH-6 S, Sugar Land, TX  77478.  
Near the Sugar Land Whole Foods.  
Here’s the menu: https://www.becksprime.com/menu/menu.pdf  

TOPIC: Choose Our Own Adventure!

Because we couldn’t conveniently discuss possible November topics during our October session at the Hanuman statue, we’ll do that at our November gathering.  What would YOU like to hear varying opinions about?  Big Questions? General wonderings? Or, for something completely different, maybe you’ve found some quirky quizzes we could have some fun with?

Please join us as we Choose Our Own Adventure!

Reoccurring monthly on the Second Friday.

Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!

AE Lunchitarians

This is a recurring virtual meeting every Wednesday from noon - 1:30 PM.

Thoreau Lunchitarians discuss books, or other matters arising

Check your email for topic details and the Zoom link!

Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!

Books are selected by the members of the Women’s Book Club

Reoccurring monthly on the First Monday, starting at 1:00 PM; we meet in members’ homes.

Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!

November 3 - "Faith Beyond Belief:  UU Optimism or Blessed Reassurance?"

Approaching yet another critical election day this week, how can we hold each other through whatever anxiety we may feel about uncertain outcomes?  Our Emeritus Minister Rev. Dan King shares some memories and reflections......

Join us in-person for our weekly gathering.

During in-person worship service, Religious Education is offered for children 5 and over, and a nursery is available. You are invited to join us for hospitality after the service.

Interested in joining this service in person? Get in Touch!

November 3     “The Election ” 

Jim Sheridan will lead this election discussion — Who do you think will win and why?  What happens next if Trump loses?  Or wins?  

Adult Discussion Group will be meeting in person @ 9:45 AM in Thoreau’s Clark Cabin except on the third Sunday of each month when we will meet in the Sanctuary @ 11 AM.

The AC and HEPA filter will be running to keep Clark Cabin & the Sanctuary as safe as possible.

For those that prefer: We will provide ZOOM via the OWL system when we meet in the cabin & our Moderator Tamara will recognize your hand up and add you to the queue.

Thoreauvians and friends will be notified each week (tuucannounce@groups.io) of our ADG topic, time and zoom login.
Please keep an eye out for our notices.

Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!

AE Lunchitarians

This is a recurring virtual meeting every Wednesday from noon - 1:30 PM.

Thoreau Lunchitarians discuss books, or other matters arising

Check your email for topic details and the Zoom link!

Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!

October 27 - "Near Death Experiences" by Julie Wilson

Near Death Experiences (NDE’s): What are near death experiences, or NDE’s, and what do we know about them? In the nearly fifty years since Raymond, Moody, MD, first coined the term in his groundbreaking 1975 book, Life After Life, there have been many important changes: research has expanded and is being done in universities as well as medical centers, elderly care and hospice facilities. Many accounts have emerged and have certain characteristics in common. While each account is unique to the experiencer, and not all present all the characteristics, the accounts share a remarkable universality, even across religious/spiritual systems and cultures. Please join us as speaker Julie Wilson takes on a deeper look at this fascinating phenomenon.

Join us in-person for our weekly gathering.

During in-person worship service, Religious Education is offered for children 5 and over, and a nursery is available. You are invited to join us for hospitality after the service.

Interested in joining this service in person? Get in Touch!

October 27:  9:45 am in Clark’s cabin

Speaker: Ron Masters - Gun violence.

At lunch with a dozen Ozzies, one asked me, “What’s wrong with you Yanks? Don’t you know we eliminated mass shootings with a mandatory buy-back program and prohibition of civilian ownership of fast-repeating firearms?” I said, “Whenever someone says ‘Nothing can be done’, we are reminded of the Australian success,” and proceeded to review some of the complexities and roadblocks in America. Finally one of them asked, “So, nothing can be done?” And I replied, “Well, … not nothing …”

We’ll review 3 videos, under 20min in total.

What everyone should know, and you probably do. It doesn’t mention that preventing criminals and suicidal people from obtaining guns is low on the national agenda.

Spoiler: Because State Legislators serve their constituents, and because many of your fellow citizens do not agree with you at all on the causes and especially the appropriate remedies.

Spoiler: Colt Grey, who begged for therapy and whose family contacted Apalachee authorities to warn them on the morning of the massacre, is an ordinary mass shooter.

Now that guns are the #1 cause of death for children and teens, isn’t it time to focus?

Adult Discussion Group will be meeting in person @ 9:45 AM in Thoreau’s Clark Cabin except on the third Sunday of each month when we will meet in the Sanctuary @ 11 AM.

The AC and HEPA filter will be running to keep Clark Cabin & the Sanctuary as safe as possible.

For those that prefer: We will provide ZOOM via the OWL system when we meet in the cabin & our Moderator Tamara will recognize your hand up and add you to the queue.

Thoreauvians and friends will be notified each week (tuucannounce@groups.io) of our ADG topic, time and zoom login.
Please keep an eye out for our notices.

Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!

AE Lunchitarians

This is a recurring virtual meeting every Wednesday from noon - 1:30 PM.

Thoreau Lunchitarians discuss books, or other matters arising

Check your email for topic details and the Zoom link!

Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!

October 20: Third Sunday - 11 am in the sanctuary

Speaker: Mary Anne Morris - Raptors!

Soar into the world of raptors with Wild Bird Adventures. This presentation, featuring LIVE BIRDS,  will highlight the importance of birds and their conservation in our local ecosystem. Discover why our region is one of the most important for hundreds of species of birds that migrate across the Western Hemisphere each year. Meet some of the amazing avian ambassadors from Wild Bird Adventures.

Mary Anne Morris is the Director of Wild Bird Adventures and has been teaching with live raptors for over 30 years. Trey Morris has been photographing wildlife and particularly Bald Eagles across this region for more than 3 decades. Together they bring Wild Bird Adventures to audiences young and old across Texas and beyond.

Note: This is a Family Program, so there will be no RE.  The front row is to be reserved for kids.

Join us in-person in Thoreau’s Sanctuary or via Zoom for our discussion service.

On one Sunday a month, our Adult Discussion Group coordinates the speaker for our weekly gathering.

You are invited to join us for light snacks after ADG..

Interested in joining this service in person? Get in Touch!

AE Lunchitarians

This is a recurring virtual meeting every Wednesday from noon - 1:30 PM.

Thoreau Lunchitarians discuss books, or other matters arising

Check your email for topic details and the Zoom link!

Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!

October 13  - "Forgiveness: When Resentment is a Part of the Process" by Amanda Trost, LPC

Amanda Trost, Licensed Professional Counselor, explores the complexities of forgiveness in trauma recovery, emphasizing that acknowledging and processing resentment is essential for healing. (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the holiest days of the year in Judaism, ended yesterday. This holy day centers around atonement and repentance.)

Join us in-person for our weekly gathering.

During in-person worship service, Religious Education is offered for children 5 and over, and a nursery is available. You are invited to join us for hospitality after the service.

Interested in joining this service in person? Get in Touch!

October 13: 9:45 am in Clark’s cabin

Speaker: Prof. Garna Christian - Leading Ladies

Claudia Sheinbaum was elected Mexico' first woman President this year and Kamala Harris is positioned to become the first woman President of the United States. They would serve at each nation's borders for at least four of the next six years. How do they match up on background, philosophy, and issues? What kind of relationship, if Harris wins, should we expect? 

Adult Discussion Group will be meeting in person @ 9:45 AM in Thoreau’s Clark Cabin except on the third Sunday of each month when we will meet in the Sanctuary @ 11 AM.

The AC and HEPA filter will be running to keep Clark Cabin & the Sanctuary as safe as possible.

For those that prefer: We will provide ZOOM via the OWL system when we meet in the cabin & our Moderator Tamara will recognize your hand up and add you to the queue.

Thoreauvians and friends will be notified each week (tuucannounce@groups.io) of our ADG topic, time and zoom login.
Please keep an eye out for our notices.

Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!

TOPIC: Tour of the new Statue of Union at the Hindu temple in Stafford

Reoccurring monthly on the Second Friday.

Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!

Please join us for the Men's monthly dinner group.

Recurring monthly on the Second Thursday, gathering at 6:30 PM.

Location: Live Oak Grill 12935 Dairy Ashford Rd, Sugar Land, TX 77478

Let us know to look out for you! Get in Touch.

AE Lunchitarians

This is a recurring virtual meeting every Wednesday from noon - 1:30 PM.

Thoreau Lunchitarians discuss books, or other matters arising

Check your email for topic details and the Zoom link!

Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!

This month’s selection is The Evolution of Annabel Craig: A Novel by Lisa Grunwald

A young Southern woman sets out on a journey of self-discovery as the infamous 1925 Scopes Trial tests her faith and her marriage in this moving novel from the author of Time After Time and The Irresistible Henry House.

“Lisa Grunwald is a national treasure. . . . An essential American story from a master craftsman.”—Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Left Undone

I had never questioned a miracle, witnessed a gunfight, or seen a dead body. . . . I had thought I knew exactly what I wanted and what I didn't. Before the summer was over, all that and much more would change.
 
Annabel Hayes—born, baptized, and orphaned in the sleepy conservative town of Dayton, Tennessee—is thrilled to find herself falling quickly and deeply in love with George Craig, a sophisticated attorney newly arrived from Knoxville. But before the end of their first year of marriage, their lives are beset by losses. The strain on their relationship is only intensified when John T. Scopes is arrested for teaching Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution at the local high school.

Foreshadowing today’s culture wars, the trial against Scopes is a spectacle unlike any the country has seen. William Jennings Bryan—a revered Southern politician—joins the prosecution, pitting himself and his faith against the renowned defense attorney Clarence Darrow. Journalists descend in a frenzy, thrusting the town and its citizens into the national spotlight. And when George joins the team defending Scopes, Annabel begins to question both her beliefs and her vows.

As the ongoing trial divides neighbor against neighbor, it also divides the Craigs in unexpected ways. But in the midst of these conflicts—one waged in an open courtroom, the other behind closed doors—Annabel will discover that the path to her own evolution begins with the courage to think for herself.

Happy reading! 

Books are selected by the members of the Women’s Book Club

Reoccurring monthly on the First Monday, starting at 1:00 PM; we meet in members’ homes.

Interested in joining this discussion? Get in Touch!