University UU Society

November 4

"Gender Diversity in America Today"
Gina Duncan
The transgender community has continued to step out of the shadows and now is a vital part of today's diverse society in America. With the emergence of a visible transgender and gender non-conforming community has come resistance, discrimination, and alarmingly disproportionate violence. Interestingly, parts of our society have moved at different paces in embracing gender diversity causing friction in some areas such as law enforcement, health care and public policy. While gender has become more diverse, the societal reaction to varying gender identities has been met with mixed reviews.   Gina is the program manager of transgender inclusion for Equality Florida, the state's largest LGBTQ advocacy organization. After a 30-year senior management career in banking, Gina became an out transgender advocate for the LGBTQ community. Gina was elected President of the Central Florida LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce and ran for Orange County Commissioner in 2012. Gina is a national and internationally known educator and consultant on LGBTQ Diversity and Inclusion.

November 11

Veteran’s Day Service
UUUS Member Voices
Veteran’s Day, begun in 1919 as Armistice Day after WWI ended, pays tribute to all American veterans—living or dead—but especially gives thanks and honor to living veterans who served their country honorably during war or peacetime. Today, we acknowledge our own veterans and highlight other veterans that might sometimes be overlooked.

November 18

Religion, Spirituality, and the “Other”
Greg Cavenaugh
In the United States of the 21st century, few words are as immediately freighted with assumptions of partisanship, difference, and division than the word “religion.” People who frame themselves as “religious” often define themselves in opposition to what they regard as an increasingly amoral, secular U.S. society; meanwhile, people who describe themselves as “not religious” often describe religion as something akin to a cult lacking any social benefits. By comparison, people from both groups tend to respond more positively to the word “spiritual” and may even find ways to meet and talk with each other about their spiritual experiences. Using the concept of “a higher power” as understood in many addiction recovery programs, Dr. Cavenaugh explores how the ambiguity of “spirituality” may help build bridges between various groups that would otherwise be at odds over their religious differences.

November 25

UUUF Civil Rights Trip - Five Years Later
UUUF Youth Advisors
In 2013, four UUUF youth advisors, John Mowbray, Chris Reid, Joie Kohl, and John Amein, committed to planning and accompanying our youth on a Civil Rights tour thru Alabama and Georgia. Today, through historical footage, stories, and photos, we revisit the trip, the impact it had on their lives and on our youth, honor the people that put their lives on the line to obtain their basic rights due all American citizens and learn how the past can inform what we still need to do now.