SPIRITUALITY IN RELIGION

Saturdays, September 17th to October 22nd  3:00-4:30 PM

This class will meet at First Unitarian Church of Honolulu in the Sanctuary

Carol Polcaver, facilitator

Register Here

The poem, The Blind Men and the Elephant  by John Godfrey Saxe describes our search for spiritual truth. The idea of what lives beyond human understanding is defined differently by the many different religions. Like the elephant the world of spirit is huge and how human beings experience it diverse but each view only represents one small way of looking at the vastness of these issues. This two hour seminar  will explore how  six different  religions answer life’s questions. Possible questions to explore:

Questions to be Explored

What can we mean by the word God?

Why does bad exist in the world?

Why is evil not always punished and goodness not always rewarded?

Do we control our destiny or is it all part of a plan already set out?

If there is a  Supreme Being what is its gender?

This class is a combination of lecture and discussion.  No previous knowledge necessary.  

About the facilitator:  Carol Polcovar, author, playwright, poet, teacher and Interfaith Minister is announcing a six week course: Spirituality in Religion.

There are many discreet religions in the world. Each religion and even the “anti-religion” of atheism seeks to define, understand, often to give image to the wonder of life. This seminar will explore how a few of these religions approach life’s spiritual mysteries and how each defines the source of their answers.  The goal of the seminar is not to look at the history or the theology of various religions but to identify the different roads to spirituality and connection to a wider vision of life that each offers and which path speaks most clearly to us individually.

Carol Polcovar was raised in New York City, and spent much of her childhood in Coney Island, a beach community filled with amusement parks in Brooklyn. She received a BA in History, an MA in Social  Studies  Education, an MFA in poetry at Brooklyn College where she studied with John Ashbery. She holds a ministerial degree from the New Seminary, an Interfaith Seminary in New York City and a certificate in Mediation. She served as a lay therapist for SOS for Women’s Rights and in private practice. She has taught English at Brooklyn College, Long Island University and Hawaii Pacific University.  Rev. Polcovar was the Founding Artistic DIrector of an International, Multidiscipline Arts Festival in NYC called the Fresh Fruit Festival, whose goal is to fight prejudice and homophobia through the arts. It is now completing its 20th season. Her involvement in the arts included playwrighting, directing and producing. Her plays have been seen in NY, Italy and Hawaii. Her docudrama about the first night of the Stonewall Rebellion has won several awards.

To sign up for this learning experience, use this Google form:  https://forms.gle/pGKsoefrf4NUnQLx9

 

Watch for these upcoming learning opportunities:

Who Are We To One Another  (WAWTOA):  This learning opportunity will lead participants on an exploration of how we form honest relationships and honest communication in the midst of all the transitions at the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu.  Watch for more details in late August or September.  

Pagan and Earth-Centered Voices in Unitarian Universalism.  This is a book study that is being organized by the National Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS).  This learning opportunity will provide participants with an introduction to Pagan and Earth-Centered traditions using the book written by Jerrie Kishpaugh Hildebrand and  Shirley Ann Ranck (Authors and Editors)