We hope UUFA members and friends will attend this Sunday March 20th 11am in person (vaxxed/masked required), or log in by Zoom shortly before 11am to hear our special guest this week. Please invite friends, too.
In 2016, HuffPost published an article about Taylor Sappington and Ed Mash, two members of Nelsonville City Council who remained friends despite their different votes for US president that year. Their friendship and commitment to working together for the people of Nelsonville served as a breath of fresh air to people around the country.
In 2018, The New York Times published an opinion piece featured Taylor Sappington as “exactly the kind of candidate his party should want in Ohio.” A former president endorsed Sappington that year in his unsuccessful bid for state legislature, a bid the The Washington Post mentioned in an 2019 article about emerging young politicians.
In 2020, shortly after Sappington won his bid for Nelsonville City Auditor, he discovered and reported felony thefts by the deputy auditor, who was sentenced to nearly five years in prison and ordered to pay over $213,000 in restitution.
Sappington, still young and inspiring, is now running for state auditor, but that’s not the reason we’ve invited him to speak with us this Sunday. We’ve invited him to speak about his experiences making democracy work in a nonpartisan fashion, and living out core values including of the UU principles of respecting the worth and dignity of every person, allowing people the right of conscience, and believing in the democratic process.
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Meeting ID: 823 6539 7153
UUFA MEMBERS:
The Executive Board is preparing for our 2022 Annual Meeting on April 10, following the service. We hope to see you there! We will be mailing a packet of materials to member households soon! We have a lot of big decisions to make together.
In the meantime, here is a link for members to the March board meeting minutes: https://uufa.elvanto.net/admin/files/file/?id=798e944b-96ea-458c-b575-60eaa5b4e9da. Members should have access to our Elvanto system; if you have trouble logging in, please contact Susan at suusanw.uu@gmail.com.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH: Are you a birder? We have a unique opportunity to practice our UU Seventh Principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. UUFA has been invited to sponsor the 2022 Birds in the Hills Festival, a birding weekend run by Rural Action in early May. Sponsorship includes one free registration for the event and an exhibit table where we can share info about UUism. Any member or friend of UUFA who is interested in participating in this event, please email suusanw.uu@gmail.com for more information!
SPECIAL REQUEST FROM DAUGHTER OF LONG-TIME UUFA MEMBER ELAINE MATHER:
I have a request for my friends and family. As my siblings and I are planning a memorial for our mother (May 14, 2022, to be held at UU Fellowship of Athens) we are planning on hanging 1000 origami paper cranes. Anyone that would like to help us create this tribute can send a crane or two to us or bring it to the memorial. I realize that not everyone has Aaron’s origami skills and patients, but any contribution will be appreciated. Please re acquaint yourselves with the story of the 1000 paper cranes and the journey for health and peace.
I hope everyone is warm, safe and loved.
Rachel
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ANTI-TRANS LEGISLATION ACROSS THE COUNTRY: WHAT CAN UUs DO?
Currently, there are approximately 150 anti-transgender bills moving through state legislatures across the country. From banning participation in sports, to so-called “bathroom bills,” to legislation that criminalizes providing life-saving gender affirming health care, these bills are deadly for trans and nonbinary people of all ages.
To those of you who are trans, non-binary, genderqueer, gender fabulous, and those of you with children, grandkids and other loved ones who are gender fabulous: we see you in your beauty and wholeness. We send you our love in these scary times. Our upcoming training may be exactly what you need, or you may have other ways you need to take care of yourself as you and your family face these attacks. Take care of yourself.
To our allies, and gender fabulous folks ready to take action: join Side With Love’s Rev. Michael Crumpler and Rev. Ashley Horan for a conversation on March 15th with our friends at the Trevor Project about this horrifying trend, and what we can do to Side With Love on behalf of our trans and nonbinary kin everywhere. This 101 level webinar will educate and inspire so we may side with love and publicly declare that trans lives are sacred.
