Oak Ridge Today

Free community meal Friday at Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The next Stone Soup Ministry free community meal is scheduled for Friday at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.

The menu includes homemade bean soup, cornbread, and cookies. Dine-in or take-out will be available from 5 to 6 p.m., a press release said.

The Stone Soup Ministry name is derived from the Stone Soup Fable, an old medieval tale in which a hungry stranger came upon a small village.

“Having no food, he put water and a few stones in a large pot to boil,” the press release said. “The villagers, who were suffering from a meager harvest, each contribute a bit of food, a carrot, a potato, etc. In the end, the stranger and the villagers sit down to the meal together. In modern times the story is usually told as a lesson in cooperation.”

The Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church is located at 1500 Oak Ridge Turnpike (traffic light number 11).

The Stone Soup Ministry meal is held the last Friday of every month at the same time in the Social Hall of the Church. For more information about the Oct. 26 meal, call the ORUUC office at (865) 483-6761.

UT professor discusses Arab Spring in Tuesday Lunch with the League

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Robert B. Cunningham

Robert B. Cunningham

A retired University of Tennessee professor who has taught in Syria and Jordan will discuss the Arab Spring and its impact on the Middle East and the United States during a Tuesday lecture in Oak Ridge.

The talk by Robert Cunningham, UT political science professor emeritus, starts at noon Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.

Cunningham’s research and teaching interests have focused on issues related to public administration and the politics of the Middle East. From 1959 to 1962, he taught at Aleppo College in Aleppo, Syria. He returned to the Middle East in 1986 through a faculty exchange program at Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan, and again in 1992 as a Fulbright Teacher and Scholar at Yarmouk University.

He has also conducted research in Marrakech, Morocco, and in Jordan.

Cunningham has a master’s degree and doctorate from Indiana University. He joined the UT faculty in 1972 and retired from full-time service at the end of the 2008-09 academic year.

[Read more…]

Watson discusses Kroger shopping center, Jackson Square on Tuesday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Mark Watson

Mark Watson

During a Tuesday afternoon speech, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson will discuss economic challenges, the proposed Kroger shopping center at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue, and the redevelopment of Jackson Square.

Watson’s speech is titled “The State of the City: Past Accomplishments; Future Vision.” It’s scheduled to begin at noon Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.

[Read more…]

Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalists agree to sell for Kroger development

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church

The congregation of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church voted overwhelmingly on Sunday to sell their building and 3.6 acres to the developers of a new Kroger shopping center.

Note: This story was last updated at 11:01 a.m. Oct. 1.

It was a difficult decision for many, but members of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church voted overwhelmingly on Sunday to sell their building and 3.6 acres to make way for a new Kroger development that could open in 2014.

There were 169 votes in favor of selling and 12 opposed. The vote to sell required a two-thirds majority, or 120 votes.

The sale price for the heavily used property—a serene, wooded tract in the heart of Oak Ridge—has not been publicly disclosed.

[Read more…]

Unitarian Universalist Church votes on whether to sell today

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church

Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church

Members of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church are scheduled to vote at 11:45 a.m. today on whether to sell their property to make way for a commercial development anchored by a Kroger Marketplace at the busy intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue.

The church, also used for many community functions such as League of Women Voters events and Rotary Club meetings, is located on 3.6 acres just east of that intersection. The land could become part of the $30 million, 22-acre Kroger development’s outparcel space.

[Read more…]

Unitarian church to consider moving for commercial development

Posted at
By 8 Comments

Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church

The congregation of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church will consider a commercial development company’s request to move.

A commercial development firm based in Georgia has asked members of a well-used Oak Ridge church if they would be willing to relocate, moving away from a busy intersection where a shopping center is planned.

The board of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church has agreed to have the congregation consider the offer, which was proposed by Blanchard and Calhoun of Augusta, Ga., minister Jake Morrill said Friday.

[Read more…]