2024-2025 Seminar “Who Do We Choose to Be”
“Who Do We Choose to Be”, Sept 18- May 21, led by Rev. Manish Mishra-Marzetti
The world around us has changed dramatically over the past decade-plus. We have witnessed the spiraling impacts of climate devastation, increasingly deep divisions in the political-civic life of the United States, endemic and harmful social and economic injustices, climate and economic-based population migration, wars of greed and conquest, the rise of authoritarianism and anti-democratic trends, the threat and reality of genocide, the mass extinction of flora and fauna, and so on. In the midst of all these very real and competing needs – what are we to do…?? It can feel like anything that one of us can personally do is small compared to the massive needs of the time we are living in.
If you have felt this way, YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
Join Rev. Manish in a congregational year-long monthly seminar dedicated to creating community and reflection around the needs of our time. Inspired by Margaret J. Wheatley’s framing, we will explore together the question “Who Do We Choose to Be?” during this time of uncertainty and societal breakdown. What do we choose to build up, nurture, and dedicate ourselves to in the midst of all that is happening?
DATES/TIMINGS:
All sessions are on Wednesday evenings from 6:30pm-8:30pm (Eastern) on zoom.
(2024) Sept. 18; Oct. 16; Nov. 20; Dec. 18
(2025) Jan. 15; Feb. 19; Mar. 19; Apr. 16; and May 21.
The seminar is open to UUAA members and friends, as well as interested members of the wider community. Registered participants are encouraged to attend all zoom-based seminar sessions. Small and large group sharing will be a key element of this seminar experience. To encourage full and open participation, including the ability to learn and grow together, zoom sessions will not be recorded.
REGISTRATION FOR THIS SEMINAR IS NOW CLOSED.
REQUIRED TEXTS: A syllabus will be available for registered participants by the first meeting date (9/18). In advance of that, please purchase or develop a plan for borrowing the following books:
- Alam, Rumaan (2020). Leave the World Behind. Ecco Books. (approx. $11)
- de Oliveira, Vanessa Machado (2021). Hospicing Modernity: Facing Humanity’s Wrongs and the Implications for Social Activism. North Atlantic Books. (approx. $16)
- Wheatley, Margaret J. (2023). Who Do We Choose to Be? Facing Reality, Claiming Leadership, Restoring Sanity (2nd Edition). Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. (approx. $21)
- The Authoritarian Playbook. (2022, June). Protect Democracy. Available for free at: https://protectdemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/The-Authoritarian-Playbook-Updated.pdf
IMPORTANT, PLEASE NOTE: We will be using the 2nd Edition of Who Do We Choose to Be. It is significantly different than the 1st edition. Please be sure to obtain the 2023 2nd Edition of this book.
FINANCIAL NEED/ASSISTANCE: There is no charge for participating in this seminar, but if you need financial support in obtaining any of the required texts, please email Administrator Deb Markum (deb@uuaa.org). UUAA will do its best to support those who need such assistance.
FOR THE FIRST SEMINAR SESSION (9/18): Registered class participants are invited to complete reading the short novel Leave the World Behind (2020) in advance of the first seminar meeting on Sept. 18. The novel is the basis for a Netflix limited series (2023) of the same name. Please note: The novel, not the Netflix series, will be the basis for our seminar discussion and there are substantive differences between the two. If you are familiar with neither the novel or the Netflix series, please prioritize reading the novel.
If you are interested in the seminar, please register, and begin the reading expected for our 9/18 session.
ANY QUESTIONS? Questions can be directed to Rev. Manish at manish@uuaa.org. (Rev. Manish will respond on/after August 16, 2024, after his annual summer leave.) Inquiries regarding assistance in obtaining the required texts can be directed to Deb Markum (deb@uuaa.org) at any point in time.