Unitarian Society of Northampton, Florence MA

Adult Education

Adult Education Year in Review

The Adult Education program has sponsored or co-sponsored a variety of provocative learning opportunities for USNF members and friends during the past year. They included the following presentations:

Gender 101 Workshop -- On November 13, Tynan Power and guest Tobias Davis led an interactive workshop co-sponsored with the Big Ol’ Gay committee about gender, transgender and all the things we confuse with gender. This workshop helped participants understand what's similar and what's different about lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender, genderqueer, intersexed, and other identities-while also providing a deeper understanding of transgender experiences.

Voices from Tahrir Square: An inside look at Egypt’s Revolution -- On January 8, attorney Carol Gray shared her experiences, photos, and videos from Cairo’s Tahrir Square during the Egyptian Revolution. Carol has since become co-chair of our Social Justice committee.

Spiritual Reflection Workshop – In January and February, the Rev. Janet Bush led two groups of ten each in a series of workshops that encouraged participants to cultivate a stronger sense of awareness of and relationship with the sacred.

Keys to Happiness Workshop – The February and March, psychologist and USNF member David Junno led a fully-subscribed three-part workshop that asked the questions what does it mean to be happy, where do we find it, and is happiness enough to live a good life?

Early UU history -- On April 15, Yale Professor and fellow UU John Rogers spoke on the emergence of early Unitarianism (or what was at the time called anti-trinitarianism) in seventeenth-century Europe. Some of the questions John explored included Why did anyone care whether the Trinity existed, or whether Jesus were either God or merely an exalted man? Why, in the 17^th century, did every country in Europe, including Britain, make denial of the Trinity a capital offense? Why was early Unitarianism’s unique understanding of Christ’s crucifixion the most dangerous and heretical of all its beliefs?

We expect to expand our offering in the coming year. If you would like to help or have an idea for a session, please contact Rich West at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .