Jamestown, N.Y. – For 2023, the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom documented 4,240 unique book titles targeted for censorship – a 65% surge from 2022 –  as well as 1,247 demands to censor library books, materials, and resources. 

On Sunday, June 16 Lakewood Memorial Library Executive Director Shannon Taylor will address “Silencing Stories: Resisting Censorship in Libraries,” 10:30 a.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown (UUCJ). 

Taylor’s message will be a discussion of the rise of book challenges in recent years and why librarians are fighting against them. Why are books being challenged, and who is initiating the challenges? What can we do to support the freedom to read and to access information? 

After working at the Lakewood Memorial Library for two years, Taylor was named executive director in late 2019. She has a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of South Florida and a master of public administration from SUNY Brockport. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature and writing from Indiana University Southeast. 

Everyone is welcome in person at 1255 Prendergast Avenue in Jamestown or online. To join virtually, use the link at UUJamestown.org/calendar. 

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. – Like last year during Jamestown’s Memorial Day Parade, the Unitarian Church is giving away books to all ages on Monday morning, May 27, 2024.

With this year’s parade route on Lakeview Avenue, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown (UUCJ) is moving the giveaway from their Prendergast Avenue location to Christ First United Methodist Church near Lakeview Cemetery, the parade’s destination. Adults and children who are watching or participating in the parade are invited to stop by, choose a book to take home, and have a snack.

Inspired by research showing that growing up with more books in their home increases a child’s lifetime success, the UUCJ Social Justice Committee makes books available to children in the Jamestown community by giving them away for free. 

The church has “adopted” Fletcher Elementary School’s kindergarten classes, providing each student with books three times during the school year. On Halloween, children are welcomed into the building by costumed parishioners for a Halloween Read and Treat where they can choose a book, receive a treat, and do some simple crafts. 

The two book boxes in front of the church at 1255 Prendergast Avenue are filled with books; one is for adults and one for children. Anyone is welcome to take books of their choice any time.

Jamestown, N.Y. – Now returned to Chautauqua County after a long career as a United Methodist minister, Rev. Lauren Turner has been studying developments in artificial intelligence for the past decade. He uses it daily to produce graphics and sound. 

Turner says, “Artificial Intelligence has been making the headlines this year. Many believe it will have an impact on the economy, jobs, and politics as great or even greater than the internet.  Some compare the coming Age of AI to the Industrial Revolution. Some, including many of those who know it best, feel it poses a threat to humanity as great as nuclear weapons.” 

At the May 19, 2024, 10:30 a.m. service of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown, Turner will speak on “Artificial Intelligence: Blessing or Threat?” He will try to discover what is hype and what is reality, and how this will affect all of us. 

Everyone is invited to the potluck that follows during which Turner will give a demonstration of how AI graphics programs work. “I may ask people to describe a scene and then tell me a famous painter whose style they like and in 15 seconds we could have a new masterpiece,” he says.

Early in his career, Turner worked in jails and prisons with inmates. Over the last few decades he has studied neuroscience extensively. He taught audio recording classes at Jamestown Community College and still writes music. In his spare time, he likes to write novels. This year Turner plans to make videos to preserve Democracy in the United States.

Participation can be in person at 1255 Prendergast Avenue in Jamestown or online. To join virtually, use the link at UUJamestown.org/calendar. 

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​Jamestown, N.Y. – Rev. Lauren Turner returns to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown (UUCJ) on Sunday, March 24. 

At the 10:30 a.m. service, he will speak on “Hearts and Minds.”

Turner observes that, “Thoughts come from our minds and feelings come from our hearts, right?  But doesn't the heart actually pump blood?  Where do feelings really come from? Neuroscience provides some surprising answers that relate to morality as well.  Modern science meets ancient wisdom in our message this week.”


“The Story of Jack” is the video Story For All Ages Turner created that will be part of the service.

Now retired after 46 years working as a United Methodist minister, early in Turner’s career he worked in jails and prisons with inmates. Over the last few decades he has studied neuroscience extensively. He taught audio recording classes at Jamestown Community College and still writes music. In his spare time, he likes to write novels. This year Turner plans to make videos to preserve Democracy in the United States.

Chuck Brininger is the service leader, and Julie Anderson is pianist.

Participation can be in person at 1255 Prendergast Avenue in Jamestown or online. To join virtually, use the link at UUJamestown.org/calendar. 

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. – When Reni Bob gives the message to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown (UUCJ) on Sunday, March 17, she will talk about “The Article 2 Bylaws Revisions and Their Discontents.”

Bob will address the question: How should a Beloved Community deal with dissent?

Having recently celebrated her 95th birthday, Bob can still recall fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe with her family in 1936, after which they lived in several towns and cities in the United States. With an AA in Zoology from George Washington University, she finished college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology. While a lab technician at French Hospital in Manhattan, she met and married Murray Bob; they moved to Jamestown in 1963.  

Bob’s community activities have included board memberships and officer positions in organizations including The Fortnightly, the original board of the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, the Jamestown Concert Association, and UUCJ. Among her hobbies are swimming, cross country skiing, reading, cooking, and painting; she’s won prizes for her paintings at Chautauqua Institution and Fleischer Art Academy in Philadelphia and had them accepted at the Jamestown Art Scape 2023. She has three children and five grandchildren, ranging in age from 32 to 2. 

Pianist Julie Anderson provides the music for the service, and all are welcome to the potluck that follows.

Participation can be in person at 1255 Prendergast Avenue in Jamestown or online. To join virtually, use the link at UUJamestown.org/calendar. 

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. – In celebration of Women’s History Month, congregant Kristin Chambers will present “Women are Changing the Narrative” at the Sunday, March 10 service of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown (UUCJ). 

Chambers sees the songs of today’s younger female singer/songwriters reflecting a seismic shift toward female empowerment. Through the lyrics of songs by Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Sara Bareilles and others, she will explore the changing landscape in which many remarkable young women of today are making history.

A former Chautauqua County resident, Chambers now lives in Hinsdale, N.Y., with her husband, Ed Miner. She was a professor of social work and spent many years as a youth and family counselor. In 2017, she retired from writing training programs in the social services for the Center for the Development of Human Services at Buffalo State College. Chambers is the vice president of the board of UUCJ, an active volunteer at the Olean Food Pantry, Health Care Access Coalition, and summer Veggie Wheels program. Her favorite thing is being a grandma of three.

A coffee hour follows the service. 

Participation in the 10:30 a.m. service can be in person at 1255 Prendergast Avenue in Jamestown or online. To join virtually, use the link at UUJamestown.org/calendar. 

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. – Two thousand six hundred years ago the Buddha (“Awakened One") told his students that a solution to fearfulness was to do metta (“Lovingkindness") practice to deepen our connections to others...even those we fear or hate. 

On Sunday, March 3 the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown’s (UUCJ) first Sunday virtual preacher, Rev. Alex Holt, will speak on “Finding Joy: Live Metta in this Chaotic World.” At the 10:30 a.m. hybrid service, he will explore how the practice can become ours as well.

During the Time for All Ages, Holt will talk about “The Monk and the Tigers: Finding Joy.” 

A video of the “Metta Sutra,” a  musical reading chanted by Buddhist monastics, precedes the sermon.

After growing up on a farm in rural Maine, Holt attended University of Southern Maine, Penn State and the University of California, Berkeley in his academic work. He has a Master of Divinity from Starr King School for the Ministry as well as an M.A. in Comparative Literature from Penn State. A long-term Buddhist student, Holt has focused on dharma work in addictions ministry. 

Holt is a retired Accredited Interim Minister with training through the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Interim Ministry Network. Last summer he completed four years as the interim minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Meadville, Pennsylvania. Before that, he was most recently interim minister in Seattle, Washington; Fort Worth, Texas; Bend, Oregon; and Clemson, South Carolina. 

Linda Hiers is service leader, and pianist Julie Anderson provides the music.

A coffee hour and congregational meeting follow the service. 

Participation can be in person at 1255 Prendergast Avenue in Jamestown or online. To join virtually, use the link at UUJamestown.org/calendar. 

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. – Rev. Alison Wohler speaks again at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown (UUCJ), this time virtually from her home in Columbus, Ohio 

The message for the 10:30 a.m. hybrid service on Sunday, February 25 is “Freethinking Mystics with Hands.”

Wohler says, “There have been, and will always be, many ways to describe our Unitarian Universalist faith tradition. In Tom Owen-Towle's book Freethinking Mystics with Hands: Exploring the Heart of Unitarian Universalism, I found the one that works for me.  I will explore Owen-Towle's perspective and that of others.”

In 2016, Wohler retired as Minister Emerita from the Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst, Massachusetts, and moved to Columbus to be near her daughter and parents. A summer resident of Chautauqua Institution, she is a member and 2024 treasurer of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Chautauqua.

Before becoming a Unitarian minister, Wohler was a working scientist and spent 19 years as an art gallery owner. She has a BS in Biology from Allegheny College and an MDiv from Andover Newton Theological School, now part of Yale Divinity School. Her scientific background has been a significant influence not only on her theology, but also on her philosophy of ministry, and what it means to be in religious community. She identifies as a Religious Naturalist and often brings science into her services. 

Bruce Anderson is service leader. A coffee hour follows.

Participation can be in person at 1255 Prendergast Avenue in Jamestown or online. To join virtually, use the link at UUJamestown.org/calendar. 

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. – The leader and speaker at the Sunday, February 18 service of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown (UUCJ) is Barbara Winner.

At the 10:30 a.m. hybrid service, Winner will address the question “What If?”

Winner notes that Jesus is traditionally viewed as a historical figure rather than a mythical figure. Most today are familiar with the story of Jesus as literally a man who was an incarnation of God, who suffered, died, and was resurrected to bring salvation to all mankind. She asks: What if the Jesus story was actually inherited from the Pagan Mysteries?

A former cult member, Winner has been an active member of the UUCJ for more than a decade.

Pianist Julie Anderson provides the music for the service. All are welcome to the potluck that follows. 

Participation can be in person at 1255 Prendergast Avenue in Jamestown or online. To join virtually, use the link at UUJamestown.org/calendar. 

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. – From New York City, where she is in her first year at Union Theological Seminary, Karishma Neva Gottfried will participate in the Sunday, February 11 hybrid service of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown (UUCJ).

At the 10:30 a.m. hybrid service Gottfried will speak on “Revelation Unsealed.”

Describing herself as having been on the path to ministry since she was sixteen, Gottfried says, “Unitarian Universalism (UU) today defines itself not by a shared belief in a singular Truth, but by the commitments we make as we accompany each other on our individual paths to truth and meaning.” 

All are invited to participate and learn more about what UU’s shared value that "revelation is unsealed" can mean today. 

Gottfried was raised in the UU Fellowship of Corvallis, Oregon. A recent graduate of Wellesley College in Massachusetts, she brings her love of Unitarian Universalism with her everywhere she goes. She most recently served as Campus Ministry Organizer for The Sanctuary Boston, and she runs the popular UU TikTok account @unitarianuniversalist.

Emily Garrick is service leader. Coffee hour and a forum follow the service. 

Participation can be in person at 1255 Prendergast Avenue in Jamestown or online. To join virtually, use the link at UUJamestown.org/calendar. 

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.