Emergence: The Futures We Can’t Yet Imagine

Emergence: The Futures We Can’t Yet Imagine
2025 Lawrence Lecture

How Do We Nurture Spiritual Exploration and Activation in the Face of Catastrophe?

We’re excited to announce, in partnership with Starr King School for the Ministry and the Visioning Multigenerational Futures Collective of the Pacific Western Region of the UUA, the 2025 Lawrence Lecture Conference “Emergence: The Futures We Can’t Yet Imagine,” with keynote speaker Ruha Benjamin, on April 18-19, 2025. The keynote address will be livestreamed.

 

The conference will start on Friday evening on April 18 with a sunset worship service and dinner. Saturday April 19 will continue with breakfast, followed by a presentation and dialogue with keynote speaker Ruha Benjamin. Lunch will feature a simple, delicious meal sourced from after-market foods gleaned from farms and specialty food stores (mostly). Afternoon workshops and a closing worship will weave it all together.

 

Registration options start at: $20 for dinner on Friday night; $45 for virtual attendance to the Saturday morning lecture only; sliding scale $95-$200 for in person attendance all day on Saturday; $30 discounted rate available for students, activists, non-profits, youth, and young adults.

 

“Emergence” is a transformative conference that seeks to answer the question: how do we nurture spiritual exploration and activation in the face of catastrophe? It is part of UUCB’s Lawrence Lecture Series, which aims to establish a public forum for inquiry into the nature and relevancy of religion (either institutionally, philosophically, or as an ethical force) in a world of accelerating technological and social change, as well as sharpening human crisis and conflicting social values.

 

Dr. Ruha Benjamin is an internationally recognized scholar and speaker whose work examines the relationship between innovation and inequity, knowledge and power, health and justice. She is also an award-winning author of “Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code” (2019), “Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want” (2022), and “Imagination: A Manifesto” (2024), among many other publications.

 

Location:
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley

Dates
April 18-19, 2025

Pricing:

Friday Night Dinner: $20

Saturday Full Day:
$95/minimum – $150/suggested – $200/Support 

Keynote Lecture Livestream or In Person (Saturday Morning Only): $45

Student/Activist/Non-Profit/Youth/Young Adult Rate: Pay What You Can: $30

This gathering is for those willing to be with the composting and develop our capacities to attend to what is dying. Come sit together at the precipice of the new worlds that need our dreams and our nurturance.

Register for the conference

Conference Overview

Liberal religious communities and public institutions are struggling with their adequacy and relevance to the needs of the times. What imagining makes remembrance, release, and renewal possible?  

We can not imagine new worlds without hospicing the crumbling structures around us. It is in attending to this death with dignity that we have the possibility of birthing new worlds with integrity. 

This gathering is for those willing to be with the composting and develop our capacities to attend to what is dying. Come sit together at the precipice of the new worlds that need our dreams and our nurturance.

Conference Schedule

  • Friday Night: Church du Soleil (sunset worship service) and Community Dinner (6PM-8PM) 
  • Saturday: Lecture and Workshops (9:30AM-4:30 PM) 
    • Breakfast (9AM-10AM)
    • Keynote Lecture and Dialogue with Dr. Ruha Benjamin (10AM-12PM)
    • Lunch and Live Music (12PM-1:30PM)
    • Workshops (1:30-3:30PM) 
    • Closing Worship: Weaving It Together (3:45-4:30PM)

Sponsored By:

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley (UUCB), Starr King School for the Ministry, and the Pacific Western Region of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

 

Click Here to Register

FAQs

I have dietary restrictions. Will dinner and lunch be able to accommodate them?

Dinner on Friday and Lunch on Saturday will have vegetarian and vegan options. We will do our best to be mindful of food options for those who are gluten-free, non-dairy, or have nut allergies, but we may not be able to accommodate all food needs of our attendees. If you have specific food needs, check back on this page closer to the event to see more information about the menu so you can determine whether or not it will be best to bring some of your own food. 

How accessible is the location? Can you make accommodations?

You can read accessibility information here.

We will do our best to accommodate any disability related needs in keeping with our value of inclusivity provided you can let us know at least two weeks in advance so that we can make arrangements. If we are unable to meet your accessibility needs we will be transparent in our communication with you. Please contact connections@uucb.org by April 5, 2025.

How COVID conscious is the event?

Hand sanitizer is available at the doors of the venue, and people are invited to mask according to their own needs and comfort.

Scholarship Requests

The registration form includes an option to pay what you can. There are costs associated with running an event like this, and we don’t want anyone not to attend for lack of financial resources.

Why are the workshops and Friday night event not hybrid?

The venue has streaming technology available for the large format presentation in the main meeting hall but not in the smaller rooms or the patio where the Friday night event and workshops will be held.

Will it be recorded? 

It will be available livestream only

Can you register and view it later? 

No

Can I pay for the recording? 

No

How do I get there?

You can view instructions and directions here.

Will there be childcare?

Friday evening is designed to be multi-generational. On Saturday children are welcome at the event but there is not childcare nor child-specific programming. Limited funds are available to support participants in arranging their own childcare. Please contact connections@uucb.org by April 5, 2025.

Can I pay in cash or check?  

We do not have a way to receive and process cash registrations. Checks can be made out to Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley and mailed to 1 Lawson Road Kensington, CA 94707. To ensure proper attribution, write Emergence Conference in the memo line.