Unitarian Universalists in the Media

A frequently updated guide to stories about Unitarian Universalists from other sources around the web.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Church tragedies, banned Christmas trees, and more

by Sonja L. Cohen

Church mourns members killed in murder/suicide
Members of the UUs of Clearwater, Fla., mourned the loss of five of their own, the victims of a murder/suicide. On December 14, member Oliver Bernsdorff apparently killed his ex-wife, Jennifer Davis, her partner, Andrea Pisanello, and his two children, Olivia and Magnus. He later shot himself. (Tampa Tribune - Tampa, FL 12.16.07)

See also: Shooter warned people he would kill his family (Tampa Bay's 10 - St. Petersburg, FL 12.14.07)

Members of burned temple find refuge at UU church
Members of the Temple Ahavat Achim, whose building burned down last weekend, have found a temporary home at the Independent Christian Church, UU in Gloucester, Mass. The fire started in an adjacent apartment building, which was also destroyed, killing one resident. (Boston Globe - 12.16.07)

See also:
Temple finds temporary home in historic church (Gloucester Daily Times - MA 12.15.07)

Lost temple remembered (Boston Herald - 12.16.07)

Temple destroyed but congregation's 'heart is untouched' (Gloucester Daily Times - MA 12.17.07)

Members of burned temple put community first (Boston Globe - 12.20.07)

Fire department says church's live Christmas trees must go
Members of South Church UU in Portsmouth, N.H., were dismayed when the local fire department told them two Christmas trees in their sanctuary violated fire codes and needed to be removed. The article includes a new hymn to the tune of Comfort and Joy (in the sidebar) by the Rev. Roberta Finkelstein and "her elves" with lyrics such as: "We've had two trees since who knows when / And no one's raised a brow. / What's caused our friends the fire men / To up and have a cow?" (Portsmouth Herald News - Portsmouth, NH 12.18.07)

Also in the media:

The Rev. Hank Peirce, minister of the UU Church of Medford, Mass., has challenged his congregants to cut their holiday gift budget in half from last year's and give the difference to charity. (Wickedlocal.com - Medford, MA 12.18.07)

The South Valley Unitarian church is hosting a homeless family as part of Salt Lake City's Family Promise church shelter program. (Deseret News - Salt Lake City, UT 12.20.07)

An article about innovative faith-based sex-ed programs compares the Our Whole Lives (OWL) comprehensive sexuality education program, produced by the UUA and the United Church of Christ, with the Catholic-based abstinence curriculum A Promise to Keep. (Indianapolis Star - 12.16.07)

The UUA will be closed next week, but the UUs in the Media blog will return Thursday, January 3. Happy holidays!

posted by Sonja L. Cohen at 4:18 PM

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