In Person & Live Stream

Join Matthew Cressler and Mary Ellen Giess on a reflection on why we choose to wake up and come to church on (most) Sundays when the majority of liberal millennials either stay home or take their kids to travel soccer. As religious studies professionals, as religious people, and as parents—we pose an essential question to our UU community: How can we, as UUs, become the kind of progressive religious home that can authentically serve young families navigating the tension between intellectual honesty and spiritual nourishment, between individual choice and communal commitment? This is ultimately a sermon about hope—about the possibility that intentional religious community, rooted in justice and love, remains not just relevant but essential for raising young people who can help heal our broken world.

Bios:
Matthew J. Cressler, Ph.D. is a writer, independent scholar, and chief of staff of the Corporation for Public Interest Technology. He is the author of Authentically Black and Truly Catholic: The Rise of Black Catholicism in the Great Migrations and creator of Bad Catholics, Good Trouble, the educational webcomic series.

Mary Ellen Giess is Chief Program Officer at Interfaith America, a national nonprofit engaging religious diversity for the common good. In her professional role, Mary Ellen has led collaborations with the White House, multi-year research partnerships, and written articles for the Washington Post, Inside Higher Ed, and the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Together, Matt and Mary Ellen are members of Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Bethesda, Maryland. Mary Ellen was raised in the Unitarian Congregation in West Chester and the two were married in this church in 2010. They are raising three kiddos (13, 11, and 8) and love to cook and play games as a family.