|
Sunday, July 20, 10:30am
Hotel Aldea or https://zoom.us/j/414604040/ Password: 294513
free
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Sunday Service
Speakers: Jurgen Ahlers
By Kate Greenaway,UUFSMA member
This Sunday, Jurgen Ahlers invites us to consider a provocative question: as traditional religion declines, what role—if any—can spiritual community still play in our lives and our world? Recent Pew Research shows a dramatic decline in religious participation, with only 20% of Americans regularly attending religious services. Religious institutions—once central to hospitals, schools, orphanages, and shelters—have largely been replaced by governments, NGOs, and secular philanthropies. At the same time, rigid doctrines and rising extremism—from white evangelical nationalism to ultra-conservative expressions of Islam—have surged.
As science provides answers to long-standing existential questions and modern comforts reduce our reliance on religious institutions, faith traditions are fading. Is religion dying? Is it already dead?
And yet, we live in a time of deep uncertainty: climate change, authoritarianism, nuclear threat, social isolation, and the rise of AI all press us to search again for meaning, courage, and connection.
This Sunday, the UUFSMA worship service will examine the decline of conventional religion and explore the potential of delving into the unknown. Together, we’ll reflect on how spiritual community can still offer a path toward hope, relevance, and a thriving future for all life on Earth.
Jurgen Ahlers is a valued member of our fellowship, a frequent service leader, and a passionate environmentalist. Born and raised in Hamburg, Germany, he brings both wisdom and warmth to everything he does. He holds degrees from Syracuse University and Princeton Theological Seminary and spent the early part of his career in academia and adult education before moving into corporate leadership, executive coaching, and hospitality training. As founding Director of Professional Development for Ritz-Carlton Hotels, he was the architect of their service culture. Jurgen later started his own consulting firm, working with multinational clients. He is the proud father of two sons and grandfather to seven.
Unitarian Universalism is a liberal faith centered on shared values for living. Our UU Fellowship welcomes people of all ages, races, religions, sexual orientations, and gender identities. We gather not around a belief in divinity, but around community, love, compassion, social justice, reverence for nature, and the spirituality of music within the interconnected web of existence.
The UUFSMA Social Justice Foundation supports local nonprofits that provide health, educational, environmental, and other services. Learn more at https://www.uufsma.org/foundation.html .
To participate in our online Sunday Service, visit www.uufsma.org and click on the Zoom Service button on the home page. If requested, enter password: 294513. Sign in from anywhere on Sunday mornings between 10:15-10:25 a.m. CST. Enjoy previous services at https://www.youtube.com/UUFSMA.
We meet at 10:30 a.m. at the Hotel Posada de la Aldea, Ancha de San Antonio 15, in San Miguel de Allende. Join us!
Link to current service description: www.uufsma.org/upcomingservice.html
|
|
