Sunday, July 23, at 10:00 am: “More Than Stardust: Spiritual Insights from the Hindu Traditions,” led by Patton Burchett, Guest Worship Leader
The diverse Hindu religion traditions of South Asia offer a great wealth of spiritual insights, many of which echo or complement the perspectives of Unitarian Universalism. How can the Hindu traditions inform and enrich our own spiritualities? How might Hindu perspectives challenge or surprise us to see the world, and to approach our lives, differently? Join us Sunday as Patton Burchett, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at William & Mary, weaves through the Vedas, the Upanishads, and Indian devotional (bhakti) poetry and songs to question the dogmas of both science and religion and to awaken our sense of wonder in search of a fuller spiritual perspective.
Patton Burchett is an Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at William & Mary, and a WUU member. He earned his PhD in South Asian Religions from Columbia University (2012), and is the author of A Genealogy of Devotion: Bhakti, Tantra, Yoga, and Sufism in North India (2019). His scholarly interests and expertise range from Hindu and Sufi devotional and yogic traditions of the Indian subcontinent, to ecology and spirituality, to the interrelations of magic, science, and religion in the modern period, East and West. He sees his vocation as the opening up of a spiritual perspective beyond reason and beyond belief, one transcending the narrowness of scientific materialisms and religious fundamentalisms.
Sunday, July 30, at 10:00 am: “It’s a Process,” led by Rev. Kimberley Debus, Guest Worship Leader
They (whoever ‘they’ are) say that the only constant is change. In this service, we’ll explore what that means from a theological and spiritual perspective, and how this way of understanding calls us to our work in the world.
Rev. Kimberley Debus is a community minister based in Takoma Park, Maryland, inspiring an artful and art-filled faith. She consults with congregations and religious professionals throughout the denomination. She is joyfully affiliated with the Unitarian Church of Lincoln, Nebraska, and has previously served at the Church of the Larger Fellowship as well as congregations on Long Island and Key West.