Service Associate: Priscilla Taylor

Dr. Robert Waldinger is Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Director of the Lifespan Research Foundation, and Director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He is author of ‘The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Study on Happiness’. This service will feature a Ted Talk in which he will share the lessons learned from 8 decades of research about what makes a good life, a happy life.

Presenters: Trudy Crippen, Mardele Harland, Fred Harland
Service Associate: Lynn Cleek

Which came first, 20 years ago, being a Unitarian Universalist fellowship or being a community? This service is the story of what happened when a small group of UU’s in a small town in Mexico met to share a vision.

Six people met in February of 2006, and came out of that meeting with a clear decision and direction. Their purpose, their mission, was to form a Unitarian Universalist spiritual fellowship based on their shared experience of what that meant.

Trudy Crippen and Mardele and Fred Harland were three of the founders who will share their journey, beginning in the early years, and touching on milestones along the way, as well as their hopes for the future. Others who were there in that first year will also be recognized.

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Intelligentization (a new term) refers to the increasing integration of advanced AI and intelligent systems into human society, reshaping how we think, decide, and connect. For our February UU humanist discussion , it raises profound ethical questions about preserving human agency and values like empathy and justice amid AI-driven efficiencies, forcing us to explore whether technology enhances or erodes our shared humanity.
Moderated by Bob Koches

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Presenters: Wiley Beveridge, D’Vorah Kelley

In this Taizé style service, we offer an opportunity to breathe together, sing together, and contemplate the place of silence in our very busy, full lives. Taizé is an invitation to an exit from the routine busyness of life, to then enter a contemplative space.

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Rev. Matt Alspaugh, Presenter, Dee Dee Camhi, Service Associate

What attracts so many of us Unitarian Universalism in the first place, and why we stay, is that the UU tradition allow a wide latitude for spiritual belief and practice, and the tradition encourages wide and deep spiritual exploration. How did we come to value freedom of belief so dearly? What are the limits to belief?

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Rev. Matt Alspaugh, Presenter
Rev. Mary Doane, Service Associate (via Zoom)

The Buddhist teacher Pema Chodron says, “The truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart.… The healing comes from letting there be room for
all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.” In these times, especially, being resilient means weathering things falling apart, while still getting through, keeping it together, staying whole. It can even mean becoming stronger – this is the idea of anti-fragility. We’ll explore what being truly resilient looks like, not just individually, but how we might be resilient as a community, a culture, or even a species among species.

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Kessler syndrome describes a cascading chain reaction of collisions in low Earth orbit caused by the growing density of space debris from defunct satellites and rocket parts. Once initiated, these impacts generate exponentially more fragments, which then collide with other objects, potentially rendering orbits unusable for future launches and satellite operations. For a humanist discussion, this scenario underscores ethical imperatives for global cooperation on space sustainability, preventing a tragedy of the commons that could trap humanity on Earth.
Moderated by Bob Koches

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Presenter: Greg Custer
Service Associate: D'Vorah Kelley

The 99-year life of one remarkable woman has left a lasting legacy Lakeside. Moving to Ajijic in 1943 at age 49 Ms. James lived another 50 years in the village, creating businesses and philanthropic enterprises that still resonate with Mexican and expat community members. James had a remarkable career before landing in Ajijic as a renowned adventure travel writer. Her subsequent life here is equally remarkable.

Greg Custer has lived in Ajijic since 2015 and has worked in international tourism marketing for over 40 years. He currently serves of the Lake Chapala Society board and operates weekly Walking Tours of Ajijic.

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Presenter: Rev. Matt Alspaugh
Service Associate: Lamar Allen

One of the Unitarian Universalist Association’s shared values is summarized as: “Transformation: We adapt to the changing world.” We’ll talk briefly about the theological meaning of this willingness to adapt, and what it means for our own spiritual growth. We’ll also talk about how transformation is happening, or could happen, in LCUUF.
As part of the service, we recognize our newest members of the congregation – a transformation in itself.

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Kriss Gang

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Unitarians and Universalists have traditionally led the charge for social change resisting unjust, cruel and morally reprehensible social norms like slavery, war, denial of human rights, minority oppression and religious zealotry. This Sunday´s service will highlight Unitarian Universalist “Resistance” since the two denominations merged in 1961, focusing on our role in the civil rights movement, Viet Nam war protests, Immigration reform, marriage equality, economic justice, climate change and most recently the Black Lives Movement.

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Kriss Gang, Presenter, Deb Gang, Service Leader

Unitarians and Universalists have traditionally led the charge for social change resisting unjust, cruel and morally reprehensible social norms like slavery, war, denial of human rights, minority oppression and religious zealotry. This Sunday´s service will highlight Unitarian Universalist “Resistance” since the two denominations merged in 1961, focusing on our role in the civil rights movement, Viet Nam war protests, Immigration reform, marriage equality, economic justice, climate change and most recently the Black Lives Movement.

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Presenter: Rev. Matt Alspaugh, Service Associate: Rev. D’Vorah Kelley, Musician: Rev. Mary Doane

As we come to the end of the year, we’re invited to reflect on all we’ve carried through this year, frustrations, losses, disappointments, as well as remembering but not clinging to the good things that happened along the way. By thoughtfully letting go, we create space for future possibilities of the coming year.
This service will include a burning bowl ritual, for letting go of things that need to go, perhaps painful memories, perhaps confining future expectations, to make that space for new beginnings.

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Presenter: Heidi MacLennen, Service Associate: Bob Koches
Musician: Rev. Mary Doane

Welcome to our Holiday Service Dec 21st, full of Joy , tradition, and music. Lots of Music. Heidi will share stories from the many places she has lived and the associated traditions from each place. At the end of the service everyone is invited into the garden for Stollen and hot apple cider. So stay and enjoy the fellowship!

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Presenter: Rev. Matt Alspaugh, Service Associate: Michael Swords,
Musician: Cesar Castro

December is a time of darkness, even here in Mexico. The winter solstice reminds us to wait, for the dark times will turn around. The Christian Advent season invites us to wait, to hope, to prepare. But what if hope feels naive, or impossible, given the state of the world? This Sunday, we explore the difference between wishing for hope and the spiritual discipline of practicing hope in dark times. Can we cultivate hope when it’s needed the most?

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Presenter: Priscilla Taylor, Service Associate: Ted Fahy
Priscilla Taylor, retired Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, will present her talk, “We Are All Just Walking Each Other Home” during the December 7th gathering of the Lake Chapala Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

Ram Dass, originally Richard Alpert and Harvard professor, is said to have made this statement during one of his lectures during a lifetime devoted to bringing Eastern Spirituality to Western audiences. Priscilla will explore what it is about this simple phrase that has made it so compelling to so many, and how a slight mis remembrance of the actual quote has made its message a more profound tool for her personally.

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Presenters: Revs. Wayne Arnason and Kathleen Rolenz, Service Associate: Hyacinthe Miller.
When Rev. Kathleen retired from full time parish ministry in June of this year, she and Rev. Wayne asked themselves: “what does life look like now?” That conversation stimulated more questions, such as: “How do I spend the time I have–and on what–and does it add meaning and purpose to our days?” These are religious and spiritual questions for all of us, at any age or stage of life. Come explore them with us!

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The humanist discussion group will explore the intersection of biocentrism, quantum physics, and consciousness, emphasizing rigorous scientific inquiry. We will examine how emerging scientific theories challenge traditional views of reality and life’s centrality; the scientific principles underlying biocentrism, and how life and consciousness are integral to understanding the universe.
Led by Bob Koches

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Presenter: Rev. Matt Alspaugh, Service Associate: Lynn Cleek
It appears that the idea of representative democracy is in trouble, as voters in numerous countries have chosen to elect authoritarian leaders who are shifting those countries away from democracy. So maybe it’s time to take a long view about how democracy might be fixed, and one idea is to move away from representative democracy, or at least diminish the power of representatives. We’ll explore one idea, ‘sortition’ where representatives are randomly chosen, much like juries are in much of the world. Could random choice even work? Could it yield outcomes better than what we’re seeing with elected representatives? How might this jibe with our 5th principle, “The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large?” We’ll reflect on this idea, and democracy in general.

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Presenter: Rev. D’Vorah Kelley, Service Associate: Sandy Wallin
We all know the deep human longing for connection. We long to belong. We long to be seen, understood, and embraced for who we are. And we long for those bonds that give our lives meaning, depth, and purpose. But what does it mean to truly belong? Is it just about having a place to sit, or is it about something more?
Join us as we look at two of our UU Values, and see how they work together to make our fellowship a Place to Belong, a place where YOU belong.

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