UUFSMA: “Return to your Best Self”

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Online Service

“Return to your Best Self”

Speaker: Judith Jenya

Sunday, September 27, 2020

10:30 am

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

Password: 294513

By Joseph Plummer

UUF Secretary

With the Jewish High Holidays nearing the end of the ten days which Rosh Hashanah inaugurates and Yom Kippur is closes, Judith Jenya, Sunday’s UUFSMA Zoom Service guest speaker, will focus on her awe for the mysteries of life and death that the two events inscribe in Jewish tradition.

Three days for opening the Jewish New Year, as Rosh Hashanah is also known, and a two-day-long Day of Atonement, better known as Yom Kippur, to end these Days of Awe may sound like a grand stretch of social celebration. Jenya notes that is only partially true. Jewish tradition commends this period as one of necessary introspection for every person who participates. The purpose of these celebrations is to “return to your best self”.

“We reflect on our own lives,” she says, “what we have done or not done, who we have helped, and who we have hurt. Then we seek ways to turn in a new direction.” Starting the Jewish New Year thus requires taking stock of one’s recent past and adjusting the course ahead as needed. Jenya believes these themes are especially relevant this year amid a pandemic, historic social unrest, and racial reckoning.

Where do each of us stand? What have we done or failed to do to make ourselves and the world better? Or did we miss our aim? Can we again live in love and truth? Will we be recognized for kindness and forgiveness? Will we accept responsibly new concerns for everyone’s health when helping our neighbor?

Such questions motivate both Judaism and Unitarian Universalism, and Sunday’s speaker comes well prepared to address them. Judith Jenya is a member of the UU Fellowship and the Jewish community of San Miguel. She holds a Juris Doctor degree, a Master of Social Work, and a Master of Fine Arts in Teaching. An attorney, psychotherapist, and educator, she was named International Humanist of the Year in 2002, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for work as founder-director of Global Children’s Organization and programs for children in the war-torn Balkans and Northern Ireland. She lives with her husband Mark Johaningsmeier in San Miguel, writes poetry, paints, and is active in community work.

The service will also offer live piano music, sounds of the sacred shofar, and a magnificent performance of “Kol Nidrei.”

To participate, 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 between 10:15-10:25 am.

UUFSMA donates at least fifty percent of its budget to support nonprofit organizations that provide 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. The UU Fellowship welcomes people of all ages, races, religions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.