Curriculum and Learning Resources

The Beacon Press Discussion Guides
Tom Hallock, Associate Publisher
Beacon Press, Boston, MA

Dear UU Faith Works Reader,

Beacon was in the spotlight at this year's General Assembly in Quebec and we are grateful for the support we received. In particular, we appreciated the resolution that urged "brother and sister UUs to each buy two books during 2002-03 and continue that spiritual practice thereafter." One way RE Directors can help their congregations support that resolution (and Beacon Press) is to encourage the use of Beacon books and their accompanying discussion guides.

The Beacon Press Discussion Guides for Unitarian Universalist Congregations were developed as a resource for adult religious education or adult discussion groups seeking to deepen their understanding of issues of concern to the UU movement. The program was created to help you:

• encourage reflection, dialogue and social action within your congregation;
• provide flexible, small-group activities that run for two to three sessions;
• enhance personal connections within your congregation;
• offer support materials for group leaders with all levels of experience; and
• share the richness of Beacon Press titles, past and present, with your faith community.

Eleven guides are now available on a range of topics including vocation, retirement, racial justice, same sex marriage, grief, disability and illness, and Unitarian Universalism. Among the more recent guides are:

• Kindred by Octavia Butler. Just published. Discussion Guide written by Jacqui James, Meg Riley, and Wendy Bivens. Told from the perspective of a twentieth century time-traveler, Kindred illuminates slavery's legacy and brings to life the dehumanizing spirit of a racially oppressive society (three sessions).
• What is Marriage For?: The Strange Social History of Our Most Intimate Institution by E.J. Graff. Participants are invited to explore various understandings of marriage, including past and current marriage laws and same-sex marriages (two sessions).
• Waist-High in the World: A Life Among the Nondisabled by Nancy Mairs. Through Mairs' work, and through our own reflections on disability, illness, human frailty and adaptability, we can come into a deeper encounter with the power of human compassion and relationship, the potential for human resilience and resourcefulness amid change within our own bodies and spiritual lives (three sessions).

Guides can be downloaded from the Beacon Press web site, at www.beacon.org. You may also order free copies from the UUA Bookstore when you purchase the corresponding Beacon Press books. (The Bookstore offers a 10% discount with orders of 5-9 copies of a single title, and 20% off 10 or more copies). Contact the UUA Bookstore, 25 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108, 1-800-215-9076 or www.uua.org/bookstore.

Please let us know how you like the guides and how they work for you. Your feedback about their content and suggestions for future titles will aid us in our commitment to meet the program needs of UU congregations.