UU Services Have Cosmic Appeal

DANBURY — Are we made of stardust? Can the universe be trusted? What is our cosmic task? The public is invited to hear troubadours of the New Story, the Rev Michael Dowd and Connie Barlow, lead Sunday services and a workshop on October 3–4 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Danbury.

Rev Dowd is an “evolutionary evangelist” who has toured the country for the past two years with his spouse, Ms Barlow, a science educator and writer. Rev Dowd says that his passion “is telling the 14-billion-year story of the universe in ways that touch, move, and inspire people of all ages.”

Rev Dowd will lead Sunday Services on October 3, and both Rev Dowd and Ms Barlow will lead a Monday evening workshop October 4, all at Alumni Hall at Western Connecticut State University. The public is invited to attend the Sunday Services and the Monday evening workshop. There is no charge for admission to the workshop.

On October 3 at 9 am, an Intergenerational Service, “We Are Stardust! Science & Spirituality,” will bridge spirituality and science, fostering intimacy with the heavens to explain how the atoms that now compose living bodies were created in giant stars before the sun existed.

On October 3 at 11 am, an adult service, “Can the Universe Be Trusted?,” considers that perhaps the most important philosophical stance humans take is the degree to which they trust reality. Learn five ways to regard the universe, while contemplating whether your stance has been wary or trusting.

On October 4, from 7:30 to 9 pm, the public is invited to participate in an adult education workshop, “What is our Cosmic Task? Evolution’s Arrow,” about the revelations of mainstream science that show there is a direction to evolution that has major consequences for humanity.

The duo’s goal is to tell “The Great Story” — the 14-billion-year narrative of the cosmos: earth, life, and humanity, drawing upon the discoveries of the full range of sciences. Told in meaningful and dramatic ways, the Great Story becomes a collective sacred story, inspiring individuals from a wide range of religious and secular worldviews.

Until the spring of 2002, when they embarked on an itinerant ministry of teaching and preaching, Rev Dowd and Ms Barlow were members of the First Unitarian Society of Rockland County, N.Y. They embody the marriage of science and religion as husband and wife: Rev Dowd is a former United Church of Christ pastor, and Ms Barlow is an author of popular science books. They view themselves as emissaries of a worldwide ecumenical movement that draws from the wisdom of those on the growing edge of evolution and meaning.

Rev Dowd is the author of EarthSpirit: A Handbook for Nurturing an Ecological Christianity, 1991. Ms Barlow’s most recent book, The Ghosts of Evolution, was Amazon.com’s top recommended science book for several months in 2001. They have a website, www.thegreatstory.org.

 The 181-year-old Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Danbury (UUCD) recently broke ground on a $1.2 million dollar church building on Clapboard Ridge Road, just outside the center of Danbury. Construction will begin later this year, with occupancy by September 2005. The church, which had been based in Redding for 33 years, currently holds services at Alumni Hall at Western Connecticut State University.

The UUCD is a diverse religious community of 150 adult members and friends, and 50 children and youth. It draws members from the greater Danbury area and New York State.

In addition to two Sunday services, the UUCD offers religious education experiences for adults and youth throughout the year as well as special events that unite the church community. The church’s pastor, the Rev Linda Hansen, is a Newtown resident.

For more information on the Danbury congregation and on Unitarian Universalism, visit the church’s website at www.uudanbury.org or call Rev Hansen at 798-1994.