Helen Borland and Jay Kiskel represented Atlanta congregations (UU Congregation of Atlanta, Northwest UU Congregation) when they attended a weekend workshop on Oct 4 -5, 2014 sponsored by the UUA Southern Region. Held at the Sumatanga Camp and Conference Center in Gallant, AL, the workshop offered sessions on Stewardship and Faith Development in Film.
The Stewardship workshop lead by Rev. Susan Smith provided in-depth information on how to organize stewardship campaigns through handouts, a power point presentation and plenty of interactive discussion. Rev. Smith’s response to each participant’s questions was based on her knowledge about the size, age and make-up of each congregation. Ruth Vann Lillian from the UU Congregation of Birmingham commented, “I’ve had quite a bit of training; been to a lot workshops on finance and stewardship and I thought I knew all there was to know. I was delighted and encouraged to discover that our UUA staff had a great more to teach us. I learned a lot this weekend.”
The Faith Development in Film, led by Connie Goodbread, offered an opportunity to observe, reflect and discuss stages of faith development in contemporary TV programs, major motion pictures and short films. Sarah Osborne from Neshoba UU Church provided an entertaining and engaging youth activity program.
The youth program reinforced our 7th principle, respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. The children learned about animal habitats by creating animal murals and sculptures of animals in their natural environment. In the Birds of a Feather session, the youth learned bird calls, how birds eat, and let the youth try to eat with their “beaks” instead of their hands. A nature walk and learning the dance of honeybees added to the unique and memorable experience.
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