UUFSMA: “Wanderers”

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Online Service
“Wanderers”
Speaker: Tania Márquez

Sunday, July 25, 2021
10:30 am

Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/414604040 

Password: 294513

By Joseph Plummer
UUFSMA Board Secretary

For this weekend’s UUFSMA online Sunday Service, Guest Minister the Reverend Tania Márquez draws her theme from the song “Cantares,” which was composed by the Spanish singer Joan Manuel Serrat. Drawing upon the poetry of the twentieth century poet Antonio Machado, “Cantares” reflects a tradition of contemplative thought made into song. It has become an evocative hymn for many Spanish speakers, echoing the experiences of loss, forced migration, exile, and love that inspired Machado’s poetry.

Rev. Márquez will explore two ideas that spring from its verses, impermanence and forging one’s own path. “Everything passes and everything remains,” she says, “but our human fate is to pass.” Her message centers on the fleetingness of humans being travelers through life. Drawing from Mexican philosophical thought, music, and poetry, she explores the inherent human quality of being wanderers.

Rev. Márquez is a fronteriza who has lived in the United States close to the border for over 25 years, where she experienced life as a Xicana, a Mexican American pressured to assimilate to Anglo culture. Originally from Jalisco, México, she grew up in Tijuana and then migrated to the U.S. after high school. The complexity of the border region and its liminal space between two cultures informs her ministry.

She believes in the healing power of community, ritual, and embodied spiritual practices. Her ministry incorporates cultural elements of her Mexican background as well as Latin American literature and education. She also discovers beauty in international cinema, good books, her teenage daughters, ocean vistas, and her many opportunities to inspire an awareness of community.

To participate in our online Sunday Service, visit the Fellowship’s website at www.uufsma.org and click on the Zoom Service button displayed on the home page. If requested, enter password: 294513. Sign-in from anywhere Sunday mornings between 10:15-10:25 am CST.

Through grants and awards, UUFSMA donates at least fifty percent of its budget to support nonprofit organizations that provide health, educational, and environmental services for underserved communities in the San Miguel region. Please support this work by clicking on the website home page Donate button. Now more than ever, your support is essential.

Due to the coronavirus, UUFSMA has suspended in-person Sunday services and other gatherings. A growing collection of previous online services can be found on the UUFSMA’s YouTube channel. Go to https://www.youtube.com/ and enter UUFSMA in the search box. The UU Fellowship welcomes people of all ages, races, religions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.