UUFA Announcements for December 11, 2017

Good Afternoon UUFA Members and Friends,

Many thanks to Amber May and her committee for a very successful Winter Breakaway this past Saturday evening.  Thanks to everyone who came out to the event and most of all for your generous support of UUFA.

Here is what’s happening this week at UUFA:

 Tuesday,  December 12th- Choir practice – – 7-8pm – all voices welcome !

Sunday, December 17th – 11:00 am , coffee/tea beginning at 10:30 . Annual Yule Celebration –  Join us as we enter into the season of Yule (Winter Solstice) . We will celebrate this ancient mid-winter tradition by decorating the evergreen tree !  This Sundays service will be facilitated by Katie Evans.

On-Going UUFA Announcements:

Adult discussion groups to form:  Brian Richards is interested in forming adult discussion groups in a flexible, after work style format.  These would be opportunities for discussions about a variety of issues.  Please see Brian if interested.
Children’s RE Update:

Dear Parents of UUFA Children:

Please arrive 15 minutes early next Sunday, December 17th, so the children can rehearse the song they’ll be singing with the choir. 

The song, you ask? We spent three weeks practicing it with various groups of children who showed up on Sunday. Please encourage your children to sing along with his video to refresh their memories of the simple song, Singing by Candlelight:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7twhq-onmM0

In other news, I’m happy to report that Brian Richards and Natalie Barman and I have committed to serving on our newly reconstituted Religious Education Committee, and we would love others to join us. What does “newly reconstituted” mean? Well, at the UUFA Board Meeting yesterday we discussed how our “all parents are part of the RE committee” hasn’t been working too well. We realized that we need a group of UUFA members to commit to working on the committee, rather than simply hoping people show up to our meetings. 

Please let me (Wenda) know if you would like to join us on the committee. Please note that whether or not you officially join the committee, you are welcome to attend any and all meetings of the committee.

Lastly, did someone leave a  child’s red vest at the Fellowship?  If so it’s  hanging on the coatrack upstairs in the fellowship. 

Sincerely, 

Wenda
Guest at Your Table – annual UUSC fundraiser is in motion. Several members have taken boxes for collecting funds during the holidays. Proceeds will benefit the work of the UUSC.  Boxes will be collected  Sunday Dec. 17th. For questions or to obtain a box see Barb Harrison. For more information on the work of the UUSC please visit their website at:  https://www.uusc.org/

Social Action Leader/Chair Needed – Do you have an interest in organizing for social justice/action ?  Have a spare few hours per month to coordinate these activities for UUFA?  We are still seeking a chair person to head up our social action efforts for the year. We’ve committed to addressing food insecurity this year and are doing a great job with the monthly collection for Athens Food Panty, the collection box in the entry way as well as the lbs. of donated fresh vegetables to CFI’s donation station.  Please see Pat Gordon if interested !

Nominating Committee News –  As you think of your New Year’s resolutions, please be thinking of serving either on the UUFA Nominating Committee, or on the UUFA Board for 2017-2018. Please contact our President Elect, Wenda Sheard, at 740-818-1845 if you are interested. Here’s the scoop, directly from our by-laws:

“At least two months prior to any election of officers, the Executive Committee shall appoint a Nominating Committee. The duties of the nominating committee shall be to determine, under the advice of the Recorder, what elected offices will be going vacant at the end of the current fiscal year, to solicit nominations from voting UUFA members, and to present the resulting slate to the Executive Committee at least thirty (30) days prior to the election. The Nominating Committee shall consisting of no fewer than three (3) voting members of the UUFA, including the President-Elect, one elected official with a year of term remaining, and one member of the congregation who is not currently serving in any elected position. Members of the Nominating Committee shall not be nominated to any elected position.”

What’s Happening in the Athens Community? 

Mt. Zion Historic Baptist Church on Carpenter St. in Athens is in need of financial support .  They have reached out to the Athens faith community to ask for help in financially supporting an immediate need for roofing and structural repairs to their physical church before winter sets in.  If you can support please contact them by following their website link here:  http://www.mtzionathens.org/home.html

Handel’s Messiah Sing – Athens Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd – Dec. 15 – 6:00 pm- 64 University Terrace, will hold optional rehearsals Nov. 28 and Dec. 5 for anyone interesting in participating in a sing-along concert of Handel’s “Messiah,” to be held at the church on Dec. 15 at 6 p.m. The rehearsals will be held in Ohio University’s School of Music, Glidden Hall, Room 561, from 7 to 8 p.m. both evenings. Participants should arrive by 6:45.

Emergence ; The Sacred Feminine Dances Once More – Coming in February 2018 !- Saturday, February, 17, 2018 –7:00 pm Sunday, February 18, 2018 – 2:00 pm Arts West 132 W. State St, Athens, OH .  Follow one woman’s journey away from the cultural messages that happiness is achieved outside herself through materials things, consuming and through other people. Trapped by feelings of doubt, inadequacy and helplessness, the woman is forced to go within herself to seek solitude and reconnect with her sacredness. She receives many lessons and bears witness to others, both women and men struggling with their personal journeys. The lessons received help her dance her own dance and stand in her own power. If interested in being a part of this performance please contact Megan Cameron at: megancameronmusic@yahoo.com or if interested in dancing contact Missy Whaley at  mwdances@gmail.comUUFA is a co-sponsor of this event and will provide our fellowship hall as a practice space ! 

If you have an items that you’d like to have appear in the weekly Greensheet please contact Barb Harrison at:  recorder@uuathens.org