Peter Jeschofnig : Presenter, Lamar Allen: Service Associate

In 1964, at the age of twenty-one, Ajijic resident Peter Jeschofnig spent six months as a volunteer at Albert Schweitzer’s legendary hospital in Lambaréné, Gabon — one of the last people to know the great humanitarian personally before his death in 1965.

In this talk, Peter reflects on Schweitzer’s remarkable life: his parallel careers as theologian, philosopher, Bach scholar, and physician; his founding of the Lambaréné hospital; and the philosophy of “Reverence for Life” that guided everything he did. Drawing on personal memories of daily life at the hospital — caring for injured chimpanzees, attending Schweitzer’s evening table readings, and sharing private walks with the man himself — Peter offers an intimate portrait of a towering figure seen up close. The talk concludes with a reflection on why Schweitzer’s ideas feel more urgent today than ever, in an age of ecological crisis and the need for genuinely engaged lives.

Hosted by Bob Koches.
Are we transitioning from being a product of evolution to being its architect? Are we no longer waiting to see what nature does to us; are we deciding what we want to become. What will a future Human look like?

Presenter: Rev. Tim Boeve, Service Associate: Ted Fahy,
Musician: Wiley Beveridge

Two ways of being are available to us and we see both on display in today’s world of politics, daily living, and in nature. The Rev. Tim Boeve will speak to these two ways in his message, Pro Bono, Quid Pro Quo and Us. One of these ways is transactional, the other springs from grace. Both have their place, albeit one requires a return on an investment and the other predominantly feeds the human spirit in ways that benefit both the giver and our world’s needs, without expecting anything in return.

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Presenters: Frank Watson, D’Vorah Kelley, Bob Koches
Service Associate: Bob Craft

Each of us is on a spiritual journey. Each of us is following our own path through life. Join us Sunday, April 12 as three of our members of the Lake Chapala Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Riberas share their personal spiritual journey and how they ended up becoming UUs. Mary Doane will be the musician.

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Talk by Matt Alspaugh.
When the world seems more disordered than ever, when life seems more challenging, more difficult, when hope is hard to find, maybe we can tap into hope’s near neighbor, possibility. “Why not?” is the question we might explore as we open to what might be possible in our lives and in this current world.
We’ll also touch on the messages of possibility in the two great seasonal stories: the Jewish Passover week, and the Christian Easter week (and yes, they are interlinked). However we might approach these stories, as metaphor, theology, narrative or fiction, we’ll look for the thread of possibility that runs through them.

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Rev. Matt Alspaugh, Presenter, Michael Swords Service Leader, Wiley Beveridge, Music

When the world seems more disordered than ever, when life seems more challenging, more difficult, when hope is hard to find, maybe we can tap into hope’s near neighbor, possibility. “Why not?” is the question we might explore as we open to what might be possible in our lives and in this current world.
We’ll also touch on the messages of possibility in the two great seasonal stories: the Jewish Passover week, and the Christian Easter week (and yes, they are interlinked). However we might approach these stories, as metaphor, theology, narrative or fiction, we’ll look for the thread of possibility that runs through them.

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Rev. Matt Alspaugh, Presenter

When Unitarian minister Rev. Norbert Capek created the flower service that we continue today, he asked people to bring flowers of their own choosing from their own gardens or from a field or roadside. The diversity of the flowers was important, for it symbolized our diversity, and how we all can make a contribution with our diverse gifts. Please bring a flower, of any kind, to the service if you can; however, extras will be available.

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Hosted by Bob Koches
We'll delve into its remarkable advances, from curing genetic diseases to enhancing crops, while grappling with profound ethical questions like equity, consent, and the boundaries of human intervention. Grounded in Unitarian Universalist principles of justice and compassion, this discussion invites your insights on balancing innovation with our shared humanity.

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Presenters: Rev. D’Vorah Kelley and Joyce Kinnear
Musician: Wiley Beveridge
The Earth is forever turning, bringing us the seasons. Join us to celebrate the arrival of Spring through song, readings and meditation at this Spring Equinox. The equinoxes were seen as times of balance, beauty, and renewal. The spring equinox was associated with abundance and wholeness. For ancient peoples, these moments marked the transition between seasons and symbolized harmony between light and dark. Victor Hugo said that, “The equinox is nature’s truce, a momentary pause before spring unfolds its radiant tapestry.”

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Rev. Matt Alspaugh, presenter
Mike Blanco, service leader: Note, his mic is echoing badly. I could not remove it, sorry.

There’s a Zen story about a man asks the great master Ikkyu to write him a teaching of great wisdom. With his brush Ikkyu writes just the word, “Attention.” Dissatisfied, the man asks, “is that all?” Ikkyu writes again, “Attention Attention.” The man grouses, “that doesn’t seem profound at all!” So Ikkyu writes “Attention Attention Attention.” Finally, in frustration, the man demanded, “What does this word ‘attention’ mean?” Ikkyu’s reply was simple: “Attention means attention.”
What is this attention? It’s not just a zen thing. We’ll look into paying attention, how to do it, and why it is important for us and this fellowship.

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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.

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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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