On Sunday, April 26, the Rev. Clark Olsen will speak at the Boone Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 381 East King Street, during the 11 a.m. service. His talk is titled “In Selma 2015 – Looking at a Tipping Point in History.” Olsen will also be present for an informal discussion following lunch at 1:15 p.m. in the fellowship’s Founder’s House.
Rev. Olsen has served as a parish minister in three Unitarian Universalist congregations: Westboro, Massachusetts; Berkeley, California; and Morristown, New Jersey. He served for two years as vice president of program and planning for the Unitarian Universalist Association. His ministerial career has been enriched by also serving as a consultant in culture change, executive and team-building and strategic planning for numerous non-profit and for-profit organizations. This year, especially, he has been frequently asked to speak about his experiences in Selma, Alabama during the voting rights drive of 1965. He was a witness to the murder of a UU minister — an event which became a “tipping point” for passage of the voting rights law which eliminated poll taxes and literacy tests. His sermon will be the story of that experience. Mr. Olsen is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School and his sermon at the Boone Unitarian Universalist Fellowship will be the one he preached at Harvard’s Memorial Church just two weeks ago.
Boone Unitarian Universalist Fellowship has the honor of hosting Rev. Olsen, retired Unitarian Universalist minister now living in Asheville. Clark recently participated in the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and a celebration of the passage of the Voting Rights Act. He will describe his experiences in Selma, 50 years ago and today. The NY Times is among many newspapers that have interviewed Rev. Olsen.
In addition, at this week’s adult forum, two of the Boone Unitarian Universalist young people will share their stories of going to the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Selma march. Sydney Morrison and Fiona Marty traveled to Selma with a group of middle-schoolers from St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in March. They will share a few stories from their experience and then we will open it to others to share moments in their lives when they went outside of their comfort zone and learned something about themselves and the world.
Everyone is welcome to attend any or all of the three opportunities on April 26 or any Sunday. Boone Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is an active fellowship of around 100 members. We invite anyone to come visit with us and enjoy fellowship with people who do not subscribe to a rigid belief system and welcome people from a wide array of spiritual paths, including no spiritual path at all. Please explore our website BUUF.net and feel free to contact us if you would like additional information.
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