UUFSMA: “Superpowers of Books”

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Online Service

“Superpowers of Books”

Speaker: Daniela Elena Franco

Sunday, September 5, 2021
10:30 am

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

Password: 294513

By Joseph Plummer

UUFSMA Board Secretary

Like a river’s source, this week’s UUFSMA Guest Speaker Daniela Elena Franco knows that a steady flow of books is needed to whet the imaginations of children and provide the fluency of reading that enables young minds to flourish. During Sunday’s online service, she will talk about her work as Director of the non-profit organization, Libros Para Todos, and the transformative power of reading. She notes that books foster three superpowers that stand out for her – empathy, comfort, and changemaking.

Ms. Franco is a Mexican American who grew up in a bi-cultural, bi-lingual home in the states of Washington, California, and Wisconsin. Now she lives with her own family in Atotonilco.  Known to many in the Fellowship, she has attended UUFSMA services for the past nine years. For a few years, her two daughters Aisha and Siena Lopez, now nine and ten years old, were the youngest UU attendees. “They learned to crawl during UU services,” she says.

Daniela earned a master’s degree in International Policy Studies focused on International Human Rights from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and a master’s degree in business administration at the Querétaro campus of the Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey. Bringing this background to Libros Para Todos (LPT), she guides the organization’s mission of spreading a love of reading to thousands of children in San Miguel, Dolores Hidalgo, and more than a dozen rural communities where hundreds of children also live.

To inspire young readers in all these communities, LPT implements widescale reading campaigns and brings published authors to visit elementary and middle schools. The highly regarded nonprofit also organizes summer camps featuring creative writing and art for children, offers workshops for teachers and parents, and lends mini-mobile libraries to rural communities and community centers. Valuing fertile young minds, LPT inspires a steady stream of books.

To participate in our online Sunday Service, visit the Fellowship’s website at www.uufsma.org and click on the Zoom Service button displayed 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 income to support nonprofit organizations that provide health, educational, and environmental services for underserved communities in the San Miguel region. Please support this work by clicking on the website home page Donate button. Now more than ever, your support is essential.

Due to the coronavirus, UUFSMA has suspended in-person Sunday services and other gatherings. A growing collection of previous online services can be found on the UUFSMA’s YouTube channel. Go to https://www.youtube.com/ and enter UUFSMA in the search box. The UU Fellowship welcomes people of all ages, races, religions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Our fellowship was born in 1987 when a small group of expatriate religious liberals came together to meet as Unitarian Universalists in San Miguel de Allende. The fellowship has been active and thriving ever since. Every UU church has it’s own flavor, and we are no exception. We are a combination of expats and visitors, each actively engaged and contributing to this wonderful Mexican community we love. Because there is a coming, going, and returning aspect, our spiritual community is extremely fluid.  There is a magic in San Miguel which draws us in and binds us together—both as members of the church and of the larger community. Our programming is led by visiting ministers, community leaders, and church members, so the variety is lively. We have opportunities to meet as UU’s each week at discussion groups, breakfasts, luncheons, and in various other ways. Depending on the season, attendance fluctuates between 40 and 140. Our primary focus is on funding social action within the surrounding community. We love good music, good discussion, good food, and having visitors. We invite you to join us any Sunday morning.

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