Opening Celebration

Annual Conference 2011 Archive

Friday, April 8, 2011
7:00 to 9:00 PM

Friday evening will begin with a multigenerational program featuring the banner parade,  a welcome from the District and the local hosts, and the keynote speaker.

After the Opening Celebration snacks will be served during a Social Hour and the hotel pool will be available.

Banner Parade

Remember to bring your church banner!

• We will hold our traditional Banner Parade on Friday evening. Please bring your congregation’s banner and pole for the parade!
• We will display your banner all day Saturday
• You may pick up your banner on Sunday morning before you leave the hotel.
• To learn more about creating a banner and pole, visit
  http://www.uua.org/documents/gaoffice/bannerspecs.pdf .

Welcome

Rev. Mark Stringer and members of our host congregation, the First Unitarian Church of Des Moines, will welcome us with a multimedia presentation in story and song of roles Des Moines UUs have played in social change for more than 133 years.  

Keynote Address: Telling Our Stories

The keynote address will be presented by the Rev. Dr. Brian Eslinger.

Telling Our Stories

Before there were religions, before there were politics, there were stories.  Human beings shape their lives and communities with the stories we tell. We’ll explore the unique story that is our Unitarian Universalist narrative and the larger human story that is part of all our lives.

Rev. Dr. Brian Eslinger

Brian Eslinger is a member of the Religious Studies Department Faculty at Iowa State University where he teaches classes in World Religions and Religions in America.  He also serves as adjunct faculty at the Unitarian Universalist Theological School, Meadville Lombard, where he teaches an intensive course on Story Telling, Folklore and the Oral Traditions.  For 13 years Brian was minister of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ames, Iowa where is now a minister emeritus.  He is also connected with the First Unitarian Church of Des Moines as a community minister. He is a graduate of United Theological Seminary in the Twin Cities and a former president of Prairie Star District.