If you wish to attend one or more of the courses below, please consult the Registration Directions<\/a> at the bottom of this page.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n We invite anyone who is interested in fostering development of adult courses to propose a course of their own. Contact any member of our committee, or read\u00a0Guidelines for ALE Instructors<\/a> where you will find our convenient online tool to propose courses.<\/p>\n You may also want to consider joining the ALE Committee. Contact our Kristin Worthington at dre@bruu.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n UU\u2019s agree to uphold the following principles to the best of their ability:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Banned Books Club<\/p>\n Open to readers of all ages. Second Session, Feb 26th: The Absolutely True Story of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie<\/p>\n REGISTER NOW!<\/a><\/p>\n The New UU program is for those who want to know more about who we are and what we believe. Current members of the BRUU congregation will share their experiences in various aspects of our faith and BRUU activities. Newcomers will have a chance to examine their own personal stories in the light of our Unitarian Universalist tradition and heritage.<\/p>\n Mondays via Zoom 6:30 pm \u2013 8:00 pm. Session 1: Theology and Worship Postponed until Fall but Registration Open, Dates for 6 classes – TBD<\/p>\n Photo description: Mass open grave, Nordhausen 1945. The German state sponsored and implemented systemic persecution and annihilation of Europe\u2019s Jewish population between 1933 and 1945 had its origins in domains inclusive of biomedical and racio-ethno justifications and political \u201clegalization\u201d. Approximately 65-70% of the Jewish population was annihilated, including about 90% of European Jewish children.<\/p>\n The biomedical justifications descended from longstanding beliefs in the pseudoscience of eugenics where people with psychiatric, developmental and\/or neurological impairments were viewed as genetic and economic burdens for society and threats to the purity of the Aryan \u201crace\u201d during a period of severe economic depravity and a worldwide economic depression. These beliefs were very prominent worldwide including in the USA. The consequences of the adherence to the eugenics or biological purity construct, resulted in programs of massive involuntary sterilization in Germany and Austria (after 1938), largely based upon similar programs in the USA, and subsequently mass murder, couched as \u201ceuthanasia,\u201d of those whose lives were deemed to have \u201cless value\u201d and thus burdens to society. The sterilization and murdering were interestingly coupled with an encouragement of selective breeding by those deemed to have the most desirable genetic pedigrees. Eugenics (Greek for \u201cpure birth) was thus a sentinel harbinger of tragic and terrible things to come.<\/p>\n The racio-ethnic justification was that Jews constituted a biologically inferior and damaged \u201crace\u201d of people whose inherent genetics made them also threats to the \u201cpure\u201d Aryan race. Racio-ethno persecution and segregation became widespread as the National Socialist Party gained increasing social and economic influence during the latter 1920s and early 1930s and then ramped up further after the Nazis gained political power in 1933. These segregation and exclusionary measures, largely styled on the Jim Crow laws so widespread across the American south, accelerated dramatically after the proclamation and implementation of the Nuremburg laws in 1935, resulting in legalistic political justification for persecution, segregation and displacement. The stage was thus set for the annihilation of Jews across Germany and the rest of Europe to varying extents, with most of the direct killing being done in Poland; i.e., The Holocaust.<\/p>\n This presentation will explore the underpinnings of the Holocaust in more depth, in order to enhance appreciation of the step-by-step iterative processes that led overtime to one of the most dramatic examples of systematic state-sponsored and implemented genocide in history. Some of these same underpinnings, actual manifestations of bigotry and hatred, are now festering and expanding across the United States, targeting many individuals and groups who are not Caucasian and\/or not Christian. The lessons of these underpinnings, and understanding the threats they pose, is becoming increasingly relevant for society and especially for free-thinking people today.<\/p>\n Postponed until Fall but Registration Open, Date TBD<\/p>\n The zoom presentation will be followed by a guided tour of the Holocaust Museum, the date and time to be determined once the museum opens for group tours.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Restarted at first verse on October 27th, but you can join anytime during the year.<\/strong><\/p>\n The Tao Te Ching, Ancient China’s book of wisdom will be presented for study and book discussion. Weekly throughout the year, we will use Dr. Wayne Dyer’s “Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life: Living The Wisdom Of The Tao.” Reading Dr. Dyer\u2019s book in advance will be helpful.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"Laptop](\"https:\/\/bruu.org\/test20221220\/wp-content\/uploads\/=religious-education\/Online-Laptop.png\")
<\/a>The ALE Committee publishes the Adult Life Enrichment catalog three times a year: fall, winter, and spring. The educational opportunities are coordinated and taught by volunteers.<\/p>\nThe Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism<\/h3>\n
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BRUU ALE Committee (ALEC)<\/h3>\n
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\nCourse Offerings<\/h2>\n
FREAD<\/strong>OM<\/h3>\n
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\nFirst Session, Jan 22nd: Lawn Boy by Jonathon Evison
\n– A vibrant coming of age story and commentary on class. “Mike Munoz is the Holden Caulfield for the new millennium…”<\/p>\nThe New UU<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nSession 2: Where do We Come From? Unitarian Universalist Roots
\nSession 3: How we Grow: Philosophy of Religious Education
\nSession 4: Social Justice Philosophy and Practice
\nSession 5: How are Decisions Made? Governance and Polity
\nSession 6: Membership<\/p>\nHow to Write a Memoir \u2013 Telling Stories on Yourself<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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<\/a>How can you make Winter\u2019s dark days seem brighter and livelier? By writing about your life \u2013 the events and people who have meant the most to you. Choose the legacy you want to leave with your children and grandchildren, tell them about the you from \u201cback when\u201d, the you who they don\u2019t know. They will consider every page a gift.
\nCome join BRUU\u2019s legacy writer circle. Angie and Kathy will share food-for-thought to get you going. like topic ideas to jog your memory and tips to make your writing colorful. You\u2019ll hardly notice the cold outside! Six classes.<\/p>\nUnderpinnings and \u201cJustifications\u201d for the Holocaust<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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<\/a>What happens when morality morphs\u2026<\/p>\n
\nPhoto credit: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Arnold Bauer Barach<\/p>\nONGOING CLASSES<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Discussion and Study of Lau-Tzu’s Tao Te Ching<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Around 500 BC, a wise man in China named Lao-tzu dictated 81 verses, called the Tao Te Ching or the Great Way, to offer advice and guidance on how to balance moral and spiritual rules to achieve the most common good. Translated into many languages, it has become very popular in addressing social issues in today\u2019s troubled world.<\/p>\nCourse Registration<\/h2>\n