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Door County Activities: Presidential Inaugural Event Slated at UU Fellowship

The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Door Co. (UUFDC), Ephraim, invites the community to participate January 17 in the Library of Congress’s Inauguration 2009 project “to collect audio and video recordings and/or texts of sermons or orations, delivered around the time of the inauguration of Barak Obama.” The non-partisan event will include readings and music celebrating democracy and hope from up to 20 individuals who will share their thoughts about the inauguration. Those presentations may be in the form of short personal essays, original poems or musical compositions. It will be part of a weekend observance of the presidential inauguration and celebration of Martin Luther King, Junior’s legacy at the UUFDC.

Saturday’s event organizer, the Reverend Cynthia B. Johnson, member of the UUFDC congregation, commented, “It is awe-inspiring to live in a country where a congregation would open itself to listening to 20 diverse speakers, free to speak what is in their hearts and minds, many or most of whom are not connected to UUFDC.”

Johnson added, “An important part of church and state issues is that in our country, religious gathering places are essential places for helping people explore their thoughts and beliefs about things like justice and hope. Congregations are appropriately concerned about government, the big ideas that are the foundation of government.”

The Reverend Joan Shiels will present a service entitled “The Audacity of Hope” with well-known Door County actor and vocalist Hervy Hodges the following day, January 18, at 10 am. Shiels said, “Occasionally America turns out to be every bit as good as its hype. It’s thrilling to be around to witness one of those moments. We celebrate the accomplishments of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Inauguration of Barack Obama.”

The weekend events will be recorded and sent to the Library of Congress to become part of their collection of oral history and spoken-word collections at the American Folklife Center that preserves American’s accounts of important cultural events.

Those interested in participating in the Inauguration 2009 program on January 17 from 1 – 3 pm are encouraged to pre-register with the Reverend Cynthia Johnson for one of the 20 four-minute segments at 920.839.9298 or [email protected].

The UU Fellowship is located at 10341 Hwy. 42, Ephraim. Visit http://www.uufdc.org for more information about the group.