All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church

For April 2008, the All Souls Program Council is delighted to choose Kim Convertino as the Volunteer of the Month.

Although Kim, her husband Mike, and their daughter Lexie have been members for less than a year; Kim has accomplished more than most of us do in years.

As a member of the Transition Team, Kim transcribes the notes for their meetings and serves as a coordinator on the Ushers Subcommittee.

She also serves on the Membership Committee and also serves as a Sunday greeter.

Most of us remember her eloquent talk about her personal spiritual journey, but many are not aware of her volunteer time in the office to help with the church newsletter, her time as a teacher for the Pre-K/K-1 RE class, or her weekend as a youth advisor driving High School youth to Houston for a district rally.

(Posted - 30 March 2008) 

Posted by Steve Caldwell at 12:00 PM | Permalink

The history of All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church and Fellowship is a story of repeatedly making the apparently impossible possible, of overcoming insurmountable odds. It should be told, so that everyone may share in the sense of continuity, growth, responsibility and accomplishment that those who have been part of our history feel keenly. Our present-day congregation has its roots in a romance and marriage in the late 1940s.

Our beginnings trace back to the marriage of a Jewish woman and a Methodist man. Each wished for a religion that would fill their spiritual needs yet was not imposed, as it were, by one on the other. On their honeymoon trip, this couple stopped at the American Unitarian Association office at 25 Beacon Street in Boston (present-day home of the Unitarian Universalist Association). Here, they picked up literature and information about Unitarianism. They brought this information back with them to Shreveport and--after some discussion with their friends--they then arranged a meeting with a Unitarian representative from Boston. This first meeting took place during 1948 in the Washington-Youree Hotel. After this first meeting, a handful of people began meeting in the home of the late Phillip Lieber, the father of the bride. By 1950, there was enough interest to create a Fellowship, formally affiliated with the American Unitarian Association. The church we know today as All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church was born.

Through the 1950s and 1960s, this liberal religious movement continued--some years with slight ups and some years with slight downs in interest, membership, and attendance. The congregation met in many diverse locations: the old Junior League House on Azalea Drive, the old playhouse at Centenary College, the Beck Building in downtown Shreveport, and--by 1956--the old B'Nai Zion Temple. At B'Nai Zion, we thought we had found a permanent home at last. However, this dream lasted for only six weeks. The old Temple building was sold to the Knights of Columbus. Then a house for our meetings and worship was found on 626 Jordan Street for the price of $100.00 a month. But this location was short-lived also. Phillip Lieber challenged us to raise any amount of money up to $7,500.00, and he would match our funds so we could buy our own land and eventually our own building. The congregation met this challenge and we were blessed with a location for our first building.

Our first building was formally dedicated on 27 January 1959 while we hosted a meeting of the ministers in the Southwest Unitarian Conference. The location of our first building was on Shreveport-Barksdale Highway (site of the present-day Video One video rental store). Our architectural design firm was Meleton and Massey. The young architects viewed our building as a challenge by making our money stretch along with supplying a building that combined the best of ecclesiastical tradition with modern design. They came up with the first A-frame church structure in Shreveport, and their design won an award from the Gulf States Architectural Honor Awards Competition.

For a while, we were content to enjoy our lay-led worship services and religious education for children and youth. Some of us wanted to transition from a lay-led fellowship to becoming a church with a full-time minister, but most felt that this was a dream for the distant future rather than a present-day goal. However, in 1973, we took this next step of congregational growth seriously. Searching for a minister took longer than we hoped and there were many unsuspected setbacks, but our habit of doing the impossible prevailed yet again. On 9 May 1975, the Rev. Burton Carley (currently the Senior Minister of the First Unitarian Church of Memphis, TN) was installed as our first minister at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church.

As the 1970s passed into the 1980s, the church continued to grow--not just in number of members but also in spiritual consciousness. In 1984, the Rev. Bart Gould replaced Rev. Carley. Our congregation experienced growing pains as we moved from our former Shreveport-Barksdale Highway location to our present location on Ellerbe Road. During this time, our membership rose above 300 members including people from all walks of life and religious backgrounds. In 1999, Rev. Gould resigned from his post as Senior Minister at All Souls and we resumed our lay-led status with a membership of roughly 200 members.

We, the congregation of All Souls, covenant to create a sanctuary where we can explore, express, and fulfill our spiritual lives. We value our diversity, knowing that each of us perceives and responds differently to the reality that many of us call God. We open ourselves to any source that inspires us to intellectual, emotional, and spiritual growth. We see doubt and trust as virtues in our open-ended search for religious truth. We cherish our spiritual freedom to feel, to risk, to choose, and to think. We uphold the right and responsibility of each of our members to determine their own beliefs and to live them with conviction. We seek to unite heart and head, science and spirituality, humanity and nature in our search for truth and meaning. We share a common sense of responsibility for our church family where we freely commit our time, talents, and treasure. Having benefited from the sacrifices of those who went before us, we gladly convenant to provide a home for this and future generations who follow the path of liberal religion.

We are committed to putting our values to work in the world. We feel called to this mission by personal conviction and compassion. We may follow paths set by spiritual guides from all traditions. We are sustained in our endeavor by our personal visions, our mutual support for one another, and the source of all that is good, true, and beautiful which many of us call God. In our dealings with others, we seek to lead by example. We respect the dignity and worth of all people. We welcome diverse viewpoints. We encourage a free and open search for truth. We use and advocate nonviolent means of conflict resolution. We nurture, educate, and empower others. We acknowledge our responsibility for the interconnected web of being which sustains our lives. We commit our time, talents, and treasures to make peace, harmony and justice on Earth a reality for all people.

In August 2004, our newly called interim minister, Rev. Angeline Theisen, arrived and we continued our spiritual journey with the companionship of an ordained minister and to assist us in preparing the way for a settled minister.  Rev. Theisen departed from All Souls in July 2005 when we called Rev. Lyn Oglesby to be our settled minister in August 2005.  In January 2008, Rev. Oglesby departed All Souls and we resumed our lay-led status with Chaplain Barbara Jarrell serving as our worship leader.


Please come join us at All Souls to be a part of these changes and to make the future happen at All Souls.

(Adapted by Stephen R. Caldwell from the Forward, Food for All Souls, a Cookbook by the Members of All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church)

(Posted - 28 March 2008)

Posted by Steve Caldwell at 12:30 AM | Permalink

Posted by Steve Caldwell at 12:00 PM | Permalink

Answers to questions you might have before your first visit to All Souls can be found here ...

1.  What should my children and I wear to this church?
Wear what you will be comfortable wearing.  Members of our congregation wear a variety of styles of clothing, running the gamut from traditional "Sunday best" to shorts and sandals, and everything in between.  Children should dress in something that is comfortable for play, as our Religious Education classes may often include active games, outdoor activities and a certain amount of "creative messiness."

2.  What programming is available for my children on Sunday morning?
Our children and youth join all of us at the 11:00 AM worship service, where children and youth stay with their parents and guardians for the first 15 or 20 minutes and then go to their Religious Education classes for the duration of the service.  Our children and youth join us during the first part of the 11:00 AM service to remind us that we are a totally intergenerational religious community.

Religious Education classes are available for Preschool (beginning at age 3) through High School.  Nursery care for infants and toddlers under age 3 is available from 11:00 AM till 12:30 PM.  On selected Sundays (see our church calendar for details), our children and youth remain for the entire 11:00 AM service for a completely intergenerational worship.

We are flexible with children making the transition from nursery to preschool, realizing that some young three year olds and even older two year olds are more than ready, while some three year olds need a little more time to adjust. We work with children and their parents at the child's own pace. See question #3 for additional information.

3.  If my child isn't ready to leave me, can my child stay with me in the service?
Yes, absolutely!  We only ask that you be mindful of your child's attention span and ability to respect this time and space as set aside for worship. Our Director of Religious Education and our Religious Education teachers are also willing to work with you on helping your child integrate into Religious Education activities, always taking your child's cues and moving at your child's pace.

4.  Are people of all races welcome in this congregation?
Yes, resoundingly!  In our worship, in our religious education programming, in the causes we support, and in all aspects of congregational life; we strive to respect and affirm racial diversity and acceptance. We always welcome suggestions for making our congregation and our denomination more racially inclusive.

5.  Are bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender people welcome in this congregation?
Yes, wholeheartedly!  They are a vital part of our congregational life.  Knowing that church should be a safe and supportive spiritual haven for all who attend, and also knowing that for many bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgender people, their past church experience has been anything but that, we strive to be a sanctuary of love and acceptance.

We are also one of few denominations who formally recognize and celebrate same-sex unions, and who formally ordain non-celibate bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgender clergy. We take enormous pride in the fact that for more than 30 years, Unitarian Universalism has been an advocate of acceptance and justice for all.

6.  If I am Wiccan and my partner is Christian, will we both be accepted in your church?  Are interfaith/multifaith relationships accepted in your church?
Yes, unconditionally!  Many individuals in multi-faith relationships and families find our church an ideal place to be together and grow spiritually without forcing any one individual to give up a personal religious path.

We are a covenantal church rather than a creedal one.  Our members represent a wide variety of spiritual paths (Agnostics, Buddhists, Christians, Jews, Pagans, Humanists, Atheists, Wiccans, etc.) but we come together in community around a covenant or mutual agreement based on our Seven Principles to support others in their individual faith journeys.  We find our shared belief in how we treat one another and relate to each other in our congregational community.

7.  What goes on during the worship services?
As in many Unitarian Universalist congregations, our services vary in both content and character, and we often encourage newcomers to attend at least five or six services in order to experience fully the practice of worship at All Souls. Generally, however, the weekly format of our services is very similar to that of a liberal Protestant congregation.

We always light the chalice, the symbol of our faith, to begin the service, which includes a Unison Affirmation, various readings, hymns, prayer or meditation, and a central sermon or message -- delivered by our Chaplain Barbara Jarrell, a lay reader, or a guest speaker.

Readings come from various sources, including the Bible and the scriptures of other traditions, but may also include poetry, literature, philosophy, science, or even the morning newspaper, depending on the theme of the service. Hymns and special music selections are also likely to come from a variety of sources and styles.

8.  What will my child be learning in Religious Education classes?
Religious Education (commonly referred to as "RE") at All Souls is a combination of worship, classroom, social action and recreational experiences built around five major themes, or "Pillars":

• Unitarian Universalist Identity

• Jewish and Christian Heritage

• World Religions

• Peace, Social Justice and the Interdependent Web

• Personal Spiritual Growth

For more information about our Religious Education program for children and youth, please contact our Director of Religious Education, Susan Caldwell.

9.  Are you a Christian church?
The short answer is "Yes and No."

Yes, we are "Christian" in the sense that our faith is deeply rooted in the Christian tradition. We respect and honor that tradition as well as the Jewish tradition that gave birth to Christianity and continued its independent growth alongside Christianity. We celebrate its holidays and teach our children its stories. We attempt to follow Jesus' teachings and examples in how we interact with others both within our congregation and in the wider community.

No, we are not "Christian" in the sense that we would ask all prospective members to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior in order to achieve salvation. Our views on the concept of "salvation," even on the meaning of the word itself, are as numerous as our members, and we feel that our coming together in community enhances and enriches our individual faith journeys

Judaism and Christianity are just two of the many sources of our living tradition:

• Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;

• Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;

• Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;

• Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;

• Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.

• Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

We do have members who identify themselves as Christian, and even some who have had a personal conversion experience. They are here because they appreciate the accepting, inclusive, and justice-affirming attitudes of our church.

However, many of our members are not Christian. Although they may acknowledge the Christian history of our faith, Christian stories and symbols are no longer primary for them. They draw their personal faith from many sources: nature, intuition, other cultures, science, civil liberation movements, and so on.  We cherish the rich tapestry created through our shared vision and our personal spiritual journeys in our community where those who are Christian and non-Christian work together for the greater good.

10.  I want to know more about Unitarian Universalism?  Where can I learn more?

• "100 Questions that Non-Members Ask About Unitarian Universalism" (copyright 1994-2000, Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashua, NH)

• Unitarian Universalist Association (Denominational Web site)

• Southwest Unitarian Universalist Conference (Regional Denominational Body)

And you can always contact the All Souls Office by phone (318-868-3313) or by email if this "frequently asked question" resource doesn't answer your questions.  We are more than happy to help you.  Please contact us if you need any more information.

(Posted - 9 March 2008)

Posted by Steve Caldwell at 12:00 PM | Permalink

The All Souls Program Council proudly selects Debby Magill as our monthly honoree for her amazing aesthetic eye and decorating accomplishments.

Debbie regularly lends her skills to our services and celebrations -- most recently in arranging the poinsettias and candles for the Christmas season worship services, and in decorating the Social Hall for both Lyn's farewell reception and Barbara's welcome reception.

(Posted - 2 March 2008) 

Posted by Steve Caldwell at 09:30 PM | Permalink