Alec has been a practicing UU for 23 years, raised in a UU church chosen by his father, raised Quaker, and his mother, raised Jewish (though both Humanist in practice). Alec studied natural science at Creighton University, a Jesuit institution, and is now completing his Ph.D. at UC Riverside while serving as chair of the Worship Committee here at UUCR.
Service Video The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is once again destroying and ending lives of the people who live there, and so American citizens and politicians are once again turning their focus to this conflict. Much effort has been dedicated to determining who are the “bad” guys and who are the “good” guys, … Continue reading “Who’s Who in the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict,” by Alec Peck
Service Video UUism is built on many religious traditions which describe some specific theology, like the Judeo-Christian God or Buddhist Nirvana; However, most UUs do not find any specific representation of god to be very convincing, and many identify as atheist or agnostic. UUism instructs us to “heed the guidance of reason” in our spiritual … Continue reading “How would ‘god’ Manifest: A Rational Approach,” by Alec Peck
Service Video The daylight hours have been dwindling, and we are at the time of year where the night reaches its prominence. The earth swings around the sun and brings us with it into the new year. This is the season of Yule. Today, we celebrate this ancient, pagan tradition as an interconnected part of … Continue reading “Yuletide Celebration,” by Alec Peck
Service video Poetry is an act of human expression and emotional healing for both the writer and the reader. To make art is uniquely human; we transform the world through art, and we are transformed by it. Today, we share poetry which has changed and inspired us.
Service video We strive to build a world community of peace, love, and justice, where we each can grow into who we want to be and follow our dreams. Yet we are only as rich as the poorest of the poor, and this is a country which has built itself on leaving people behind. Let … Continue reading “Radical Love: We are in this Together,” by Alec Peck
Service video The Water Communion, also sometimes called Water Ceremony, was first used at a Unitarian Universalist (UU) worship service in the 1980s. Many UU congregations now hold a Water Communion once a year, often at the beginning of the new church year (September). Members bring to the service a small amount of water from … Continue reading “Ingathering (Water Communion),” by Alec Peck
Service Video The Atlanta Police Foundation, with local corporate donors, has proposed the construction of a $90 million militarized urban warfare training complex, deemed “Cop City,” in the heart of a predominantly Black neighborhood. Construction of the Cop City campus requires the destruction of 381 acres of land in the Weelaunee Forest, a sacred land … Continue reading “Rise Up to Stop Cop City,” by Alec Peck
Service video How do we define wealth? Does it consist in how much we are able to accumulate and possess? Or is wealth better measured by how much we feel we can afford to share? How does this translate into our participation in the UU community? If our connection to our liberal faith is to … Continue reading “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?,” by Rev. Gary Kowalski
Service video “Seize the day, for this moment will never come again.” This age-old wisdom is hard enough to internalize, and yet we must also seize this week, this year, this life. It is every person’s birthright to live with dignity in a life that fulfills them. Life on Earth is a miracle, and we … Continue reading “Living the Life We Want,” by Alec Peck
Service video We generally think of our personal choices as be either aesthetic or moral choices: Do I wear blue or green today? Do I donate my dollar to the children’s hospital or the homeless shelter? We think of the appeals to what is “good” morally and what is “good” artistically as being independent: A … Continue reading “Aesthetics and Morals: Making Poetic Principles,” by Alec Peck
