UUFSMA: “Peace Corps: UU Principles in Action”

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Online Service

“Peace Corps: UU Principles in Action”
Speakers: Lee Knox, Anthony Silard, and William Dalsimer

Sunday, May 30, 2021
10:30 am

Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/414604040 

Password: 294513

By Joseph Plummer

UUF Secretary

The observance of Memorial Day in the United States commemorates those who sacrificed their lives as soldiers to make this world a better place. In this Sunday’s UUFSMA online service, three San Miguelenses will examine belief in a better world from the perspective of service in the Peace Corps. What does that experience teach a volunteer about human values and what matters most in life? How do Unitarian Universalist principles align with a decision to volunteer for two years of national service?

By executive order, President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961 and said, “We have in this country an immense reservoir of men and women – anxious to sacrifice energy and time to the cause of world peace and human progress.” In the past 60 years, 235,000 Peace Corps volunteers served in 141 countries around the world. Three-hundred and nine died during their service. Most believed they served the “cause of world peace and human progress.”

This Sunday’s presenters will express their belief that Memorial Day should honor all Americans who sacrifice their lives in national service to the ideal of fighting to “end all wars” or “advancing the cause of democracy,” whether in the armed forces or as civilians.

Ms. Lee Knox, a San Miguel resident since 2016, will reflect on life as a 47-year-old volunteer in a Transylvanian town on Romania’s southern edge of the Carpathian Mountains. Afterward she returned to Kansas City, Missouri, and worked as a producer for the local PBS station.

After volunteering in Kenya, Anthony Silard became an educator and coach of leadership development and training for CEOs, senior executives, small business owners, political leaders, and major nonprofits operating worldwide. He is author of “The Art of Living Free in the Digital Age.”

After Peace Corps service in the Ivory Coast, William Dalsimer studied at New York University’s School of Law and then as an attorney representing clients in family law, landlord-tenant and juvenile-delinquent proceedings, and public service unions. After the collapse of the World Trade Center near his office in lower Manhattan, he retired at the end of 2001.

To participate in this Sunday Service, visit the Fellowship’s website www.uufsma.org and click on the Zoom Service button on the home page. If requested, enter password: 294513. Sign-in from anywhere Sunday mornings between 10:15-10:25 am CST.

Through grants and awards, UUFSMA donates at least fifty percent of its budget to support nonprofit organizations that provide health, educational, and environmental services for underserved communities in the San Miguel region. Through the website home page Donate button, please support this work. Previous online services can be found on the UUFSMA’s YouTube channel. At https://www.youtube.com/ search for UUFSMA. The UU Fellowship welcomes people of all ages, races, religions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.