Jamestown, N.Y. – “Collective Trust - The Relationship of the People to Their Government” is the subject of Jamestown Community College’s Frank Corapi at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown’s (UUCJ) 10:30 a.m. virtual service on Sunday, September 26, 2021.

The trust of the people is vital for a healthy representative democracy. Corapi will trace the evolution of trust in government over the past several decades to its current state. 
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The current level of mistrust between the people of the United States and their representative government seems to be reaching a critical mass and could create too great an eventual distance between the people and those they elect to represent their interests. Assertions will be made as to the limits of governmental trust, the role of individual political office holders, bureaucracy and future directions to build back trust. 

Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote seven Principles, which are held as strong values and moral guides. This message reflects the sixth Principle: “The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all.” 

Corapi is Associate Professor/Coordinator of the  Psychology Department and  Director of the Social Sciences Division at Jamestown Community College. Prior to joining the JCC’s faculty in 2002, he was an instructor in psychology at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania. He has also worked as a clinical program director with a variety of behavioral health treatment programs for Stairways Behavioral Health in Erie, Pa., and was in private practice for 10 years, specializing in couples therapy. He has an M.S. in counseling psychology from Gannon University as well as much post-master's work.

Because of COVID-19 concerns, UUCJ Sunday services are remaining virtual instead of returning to 1255 Prendergast Avenue. Anyone is welcome to participate by emailing UUJamestown@gmail.com to receive a Zoom link for the 10:30 a.m. service. The link is available on the website at UUJamestown.org/calendar.
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The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown is a progressive, liberal religious community serving the southern tier of Western New York and Warren County, Pa. The UUCJ’s mission is to promote and provide a community where diverse people of all ages may explore the meaning of existence, give expression to liberal religious values, and work for a just, sustainable society.

​Jamestown, N.Y. –  Retired Jamestown Community College sociology professor Dr. Jeffrey Victor will discuss “The Psychological Origins of Moral Conscience” at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown’s (UUCJ) 10:30 a.m. virtual service on Sunday, September 19.

Victor will explore the question “How can parents cultivate a moral conscience in their children?,” pointing out that if we know the psychological origins of moral conscience in normal adults, we can cultivate it better in our children.

He will acquire some insight by looking at extreme examples of helping behavior: how ordinary people act under extraordinary circumstances. He will present three true stories, one of which happened in Jamestown to Unitarians.

Victor taught at Jamestown Community College for 52 years. In 1988, he received the New York State University’s Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence. He has been an invited speaker at conferences in France, Scotland, and the Netherlands and appeared on national television programs including Larry King Live, The Maury Povich Show, and The View.

Victor has been a member of the UUCJ since 1966. He received a Ph.D. in Sociology from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1974 and has published two books, nine chapters in edited books, and 32 articles in popular and scholarly magazines. His first book was a textbook for college courses in human sexuality. 

Victor’s book Satanic Panic: The Creation of a Contemporary Legend is a sociological research study of rumors and claims about secret criminal satanic cults and false accusations of such crimes. It received the H. L. Mencken Award from the Free Press Association for the best book of 1993 that deals with the protection of individual rights against abuses of power. His most recent publications are “The Social Consequences of Economic Inequality” (2019) and “The Social Forces behind Trump’s War on Science” (2018) in Free Inquiry, “Adventures in Search of Wild Gourmet Mushrooms” in Edible Western NY (June, 2019), and  “French Vegetables for the Fall Table” in Mother Earth Living (November, 2019).

Because of COVID-19 concerns, UUCJ Sunday services are remaining virtual instead of returning to 1255 Prendergast Avenue. Anyone is welcome to participate by emailing UUJamestown@gmail.com to receive a Zoom link for the 10:30 a.m. service. The link goes out on Saturday afternoon, but you can request to join until the start of the service on Sunday.
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The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown is a progressive, liberal religious community serving the southern tier of Western New York and Warren County, Pa. The UUCJ’s mission is to promote and provide a community where diverse people of all ages may explore the meaning of existence, give expression to liberal religious values, and work for a just, sustainable society.

​Jamestown, N.Y. – The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown (UUCJ) was looking forward to returning to in-person services this month. Unfortunately, the current local COVID-19 situation forced a reassessment.

According to UUCJ President Emily Garrick, “At a special meeting, the board voted to reopen in person only when 50 percent of the total population of people in Chautauqua and Warren Counties are fully vaccinated and the transmission rate in both counties is ‘Moderate’ or lower for two consecutive weeks according to the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker.” 

The congregation had planned to resume in-person services on Sunday, September 12, 2021, with member Anne Kenefic leading a Water In-Gathering at their 1255 Prendergast Avenue location. That 10:30 a.m. service will now be online. 

This annual celebration springs from a ceremony created in the 1980s. Many Unitarian Universalist congregations now hold a Water Communion once a year, often at the beginning of the new church year in September. 

Members bring to the service a small amount of water from a place that is meaningful to them. During the appointed time in the service, people one by one pour their water together into a large bowl. As the water is added, the person who brought it tells why this water is special to them. The combined water is symbolic of a shared faith coming from many different sources. Adaptations will be made for the virtual service. 

Anyone is welcome to participate by emailing UUJamestown@gmail.com to receive a Zoom link. The link goes out as part of “This Week at UUCJ” on Friday afternoon, but you can request to join until the start of the service on Sunday.

Kenefic was a Sister of Social Service for more than a decade. A graduate of California State University, Hayward, with a BA in Political Science, Religious Studies and Women’s Studies, she received her Doctor of the Law from the University of West Los Angeles. She practiced various types of law in California and taught various subjects at the Paralegal Studies Program at California State University, San Bernardino. 

After moving to Jamestown in 2008, Kenefic worked as a paralegal for the law offices of Arthur N. Bailey & Associates, Legal Aid of Chautauqua County, and Fessenden, Laumer & DeAngelo, PLLC, until retiring last year. She has been a UUCJ member since 2008 and was a board member for three years.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown is a progressive, liberal religious community serving the southern tier of Western New York and Warren County, Pa. The UUCJ’s mission is to support and celebrate each other, encourage spiritual and individual growth, and serve the wider community.

Jamestown, N.Y. - ​Member Anne Kenefic will address the 10:30 a.m. virtual Sunday service of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown (UUCJ) service on June 20.

This concludes Kenefic’s presentation on the book by Merlin Stone, When God Was a Woman, that she began at the May 23 service. It continues the reflection on the Goddess-centered life that existed for centuries prior to the rise of patriarchy. 

The talk describes the early history of Goddess relationship between Her, humanity and Mother Earth and how the rise of patriarchy tried to destroy this relationship. It will also cover the re-emergence of Goddess in today’s world.  

The message addresses the seventh principle that Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote: “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.”

Kenefic was a Sister of Social Service for more than a decade. A graduate of California State University, Hayward, with a BA in Political Science, Religious Studies and Women’s Studies, she received her Doctor of the Law from the University of West Los Angeles. She practiced various types of law in California and taught various subjects at the Paralegal Studies Program at California State University, San Bernardino. 

After moving to Jamestown in 2008, Kenefic worked as a paralegal for the law offices of Arthur N. Bailey & Associates, Legal Aid of Chautauqua County, and Fessenden, Laumer & DeAngelo, PLLC, until retiring last year. She has been a UUCJ member since 2008 and was a board member for three years.

Because of COVID-19 limitations, UUCJ Sunday services are currently virtual instead of at its 1255 Prendergast Avenue location. Anyone is welcome to participate by emailing UUJamestown@gmail.com to receive a Zoom link for the 10:30 a.m. service. The link goes out as part of “This Week at UUCJ” on Friday afternoon, but you can request to join until the start of the service on Sunday.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown is a progressive, liberal religious community serving the southern tier of Western New York and Warren County, Pa. The UUCJ’s mission is to promote and provide a community where diverse people of all ages may explore the meaning of existence, give expression to liberal religious values, and work for a just, sustainable society.

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​Jamestown, N.Y. – On Sunday, June 13, 2021, congregant Anne Kenefic will lead the 10:30 a.m. virtual service of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown (UUCJ) in a celebration of Flower Communion. 

This uniquely UU ceremony honors each person’s individuality, while also celebrating community. 

Normally, everyone in the congregation brings a flower and then goes home with a different flower. Because this is not an in-person gathering, each participant is asked to bring a living plant that represents someone in their life and to share what that person means to them.

The Flower Celebration, as Flower Communion is also called, was initiated in Prague on June 4, 1923, by Norbert Čapek, the founder of the Unitarian Church in Czechoslovakia. He saw the need to unite the diverse congregants of his church, from varying Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish backgrounds, without alienating those who had left these traditions. For this reason he honored the universal beauty of nature by having a communion of flowers instead of the Eucharist. 

The ritual was brought to the United States in 1940 by the Rev. Maja Čapek, Norbert’s wife, and was widely adopted by American Unitarian churches and their successor Unitarian Universalist congregations.

Celebrating the Flower Ceremony is an opportunity for UU congregations to express their commitment to the Sixth Principle they affirm and promote: The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all.

Kenefic was a Sister of Social Service for more than a decade. A graduate of California State University, Hayward, with a BA in Political Science, Religious Studies and Women’s Studies, she received her Doctor of the Law from the University of West Los Angeles. She practiced various types of law in California and taught various subjects at the Paralegal Studies Program at California State University, San Bernardino. 

After moving to Jamestown in 2008, Kenefic worked as a paralegal for the law offices of Arthur N. Bailey & Associates, Legal Aid of Chautauqua County, and Fessenden, Laumer & DeAngelo, PLLC, until retiring last year. She has been a UUCJ member since 2008 and was a board member for three years.

Because of COVID-19 limitations, UUCJ Sunday services are currently virtual instead of at its 1255 Prendergast Avenue location. Anyone is welcome to participate by emailing UUJamestown@gmail.com to receive a Zoom link for the 10:30 a.m. service. The link goes out as part of “This Week at UUCJ” on Friday afternoon, but you can request to join until the start of the service on Sunday.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown is a progressive, liberal religious community serving the southern tier of Western New York and Warren County, Pa. The UUCJ’s mission is to promote and provide a community where diverse people of all ages may explore the meaning of existence, give expression to liberal religious values, and work for a just, sustainable society.

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​Jamestown, N.Y. – On Sunday, May 30, 2021, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown (UUCJ) will take a look at the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic we have all experienced.

Member David Winner will address “15 Months of Fear and Joy” at the 10:30 a.m. virtual service. 

After looking at the history of the pandemic and its personal impact, Winner will give participants the opportunity to discuss how they have coped during the past 15 months. 

The questions raised could include: How did you feel when you first heard of the COVID-19 virus? Could you have imagined what we have all gone through? How has it changed you, for the better or for the worse? What did you do to keep yourself going during these difficult times?

Winner and his wife, Barbara, were longtime Florida residents, where he worked in construction and outdoors and was once an ordained minister in a fundamentalist religion. This fall will mark a decade that they have been part of the UUCJ after their move north. He served on the UUCJ board for six years and as president for four and a half years. 

Winner constructed the two book boxes, one for children and one for adults, in front of the church where people are welcome to take free books. He now chairs the Building and Grounds Committee and is a member of the Social Justice Committee’s Giving Garden Team whose produce will be donated to the Jamestown Mobile Market. Both Winners are part of the Jamestown Farmers Market.

Because of COVID-19 limitations, UUCJ Sunday services are currently virtual instead of at its 1255 Prendergast Avenue location. Anyone is welcome to participate by emailing UUJamestown@gmail.com to receive a Zoom link for the 10:30 a.m. service. The link goes out as part of “This Week at UUCJ” on Friday afternoon, but you can request to join until the start of the service on Sunday.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown is a progressive, liberal religious community serving the southern tier of Western New York and Warren County, Pa. The UUCJ’s mission is to promote and provide a community where diverse people of all ages may explore the meaning of existence, give expression to liberal religious values, and work for a just, sustainable society.

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​Jamestown, N.Y. – The message at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown (UUCJ) service on May 23 will be a reflection on the Goddess-centered life for centuries prior to the rise of patriarchy. 

Member Anne Kenefic will address the 10:30 a.m. virtual Sunday service. 

Kenefic’s subject, “When God Was a Woman,” is based on the book of the same name by Merlin Stone and various poems regarding contemporary worship of Goddess. Her talk will describe the early history of Goddess relationship between Her, humanity and Mother Earth and how the rise of patriarchy tried to destroy this relationship. It will also cover the re-emergence of Goddess in today’s world.  

The message addresses the seventh principle that Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote: “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.”

This talk is Part 1 of a two-part presentation. Kenefic will present the second part at the Sunday service on June 20. 

Kenefic was a Sister of Social Service for more than a decade. A graduate of California State University, Hayward, with a BA in Political Science, Religious Studies and Women’s Studies, she received her Doctor of the Law from the University of West Los Angeles. She practiced various types of law in California and taught various subjects at the Paralegal Studies Program at California State University, San Bernardino. 

After moving to Jamestown in 2008, Kenefic worked as a paralegal for the law offices of Arthur N. Bailey & Associates, Legal Aid of Chautauqua County, and Fessenden, Laumer & DeAngelo, PLLC, until retiring last year. She has been a UUCJ member since 2008 and was a board member for three years.

Because of COVID-19 limitations, UUCJ Sunday services are currently virtual instead of at its 1255 Prendergast Avenue location. Anyone is welcome to participate by emailing UUJamestown@gmail.com to receive a Zoom link for the 10:30 a.m. service. The link goes out as part of “This Week at UUCJ” on Friday afternoon, but you can request to join until the start of the service on Sunday.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown is a progressive, liberal religious community serving the southern tier of Western New York and Warren County, Pa. The UUCJ’s mission is to promote and provide a community where diverse people of all ages may explore the meaning of existence, give expression to liberal religious values, and work for a just, sustainable society.

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