JOIN US THIS WEEK ON ZOOM (link above)
(There is no in-person service this week)
The world felt fractured and Eric felt distant from it… and from everyone including himself. His life was forever changed when he arrived at The Mountain, an actual mountain, owned and operated by Unitarian Universalists in the lush green canopies, and smoky peaks of western North Carolina…
There’s a holy land for UU’s at Little Scaly Mountain, and there are also holy places between and within us all.
We will consider how contemporary “American” culture strives to keep us isolated, aka self-reliant, nuclear families, etc. and how we can interrogate and resist this pressure through regular grounding practices that acknowledge the sacred spaces that we own both individually and collectively.
For this worship we ask that folx bring a grounding object, item, or photo, comprised of multiple parts or segments (like a puzzle box, photo series, or a small collection of coins from a distant country, etc.) and a libation (drink) for a collective ritual that we will be doing together. Please come prepared.
And, if attendees forget, we’ll allocate time within the opening moments for all to sequester the needed items.
Eric Bliss is a native of Knoxville, TN, where he grew up attending both Westside Unitarian Universalist and Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Churches. He holds degrees in Marine Biology and in Education.
As a career educator, Eric has taught classes from Ecology – to Chemistry – to English as a Second Language. Eric has been active in UU leadership over the course of 35 years, beginning as a YRUU group leader, eventually becoming a youth mentor, coordinator, and adviser at such places as The Mountain, Ferry Beach, NCCJ’s Anytown, and at GA Youth Caucus. He was the Director of Religious Exploration at First Unitarian Society of Denver for six years and served as the Youth Chaplain, the Quuest Youth Camp Director, the LREDA Chair for the Mountain Desert District, and on the Fahs Collaborative Guiding Team. Currently, Eric is the Youth and Emerging Adult Ministry Specialist for the Pacific Western Region of the UUA.
Eric is a loving husband, and the father of three wonderful children whom he adores. In his spare time, he is an active soccer player and coach, thrives exploring the outdoors, traveling, nerding out with dice, skateboarding, and playing loud, post-punk music in dimly lit bars and all age venues.