THIS SUNDAY, March 17, 2019: Mar. 17th – Osatra/Equinox Service led by Katie Evans. Coffee and fellowship at 10:30 am, service at 11:00 am. Reminder: We are in the midst of our annual pledge drive. Pledge forms will be available at fellowship during the next three Sundays.
WHY I PLEDGE by Susan Westenbarger
There are many reasons I pledge to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Athens, but let me focus on this one right now: “Different Beliefs, Shared Values”
A couple of Sundays ago we heard from a panel of members and friends of different faith traditions (paganism, Zen Buddhism, pantheism.) I learned so much from the words and wisdom shared by these speakers. It was a beautiful, living representation of our 4th Principle: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning. We all have stories to tell about our journeys and how we came to be who and where we are right now. We may believe all sorts of things and follow diverse spiritual paths,
But our UU Principles give us a shared set of values–a foundation upon which to build our Fellowship and our lives and our relationships within the world at large. This valuable gift deserves to be honored with all the Time, Talent, and Treasure that we can muster.
Please join me in pledging a portion of your financial resources to UUFA so that we can continue to grow and share our values in spite of (no! because of) our different beliefs.
UUFA SPECIAL BOARD MEETING: Sunday March 17th, 10am Purpose of the special meeting: To prepare for the UUFA annual meeting.
OUR CHILDREN’S PROGRAM – This Sunday our children will make plans for the resurrection of an old annual tradition of the Fellowship: the Annual Easter Egg Hunt. We already have two volunteer “Easter Bunnies” willing to hide the eggs. Yes, we’re planning to hide REAL EGGS on Easter Sunday. Nothing plastic, please. Also, one of these Sundays in advance of Mother’s Day, the children will plant something special for their mothers, but shhh! It’s a secret.
UUFA ANNUAL MEETING: All members please mark your calendars for our annual meeting on Sunday, April 14th. Details TBA.
CHOIR is canceled this week due to spring break. Choir will resume on Tuesday, March 19th.
JOIN OTHER UUFA MEMBERS on March 20-21st for MEASURING RACIAL EQUALITY: A GROUNDWATER APPROACH. Sponsored by Athens Foundation the ore information below in the flyer below. Join with community stakeholders and civic leaders for a workshop and deep dive training led by the Racial Equity Institute of Greensboro, NC. The intensive presentation on historical, institutional and systemic racism challenge deeply-held assumptions and reveal—with sobering clarity—the devastating impacts of persistent racial inequality on our nation’s most marginalized populations. REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Visit http://bit.ly/reiathens to register and for more information. On March 20th, there will be a free three hour workshop held at Ohio University.A deep dive training will be offered on March 21st at Stuarts Opera House. The cost is $50 and lunch is included. Measuring Racial Equity: A Groundwater Approach is supported by the Athens County Foundation, Athens City Schools, City of Athens, OhioHealth, Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Thank you to Susan W. for bringing this event to our attention. See PDF far below for details.
UUFA & The Community Food Initiative. At the UUFA Board meeting this past Sunday, the Board voted to write a letter of support for a grant that UU Susie Huser wrote seeking funds for the Community Food Initiatives (CFI) here in Athens from the UUA’s Fund for a Just Society. The grant, if awarded, will fund efforts to mobilize people to work for food justice, create food access maps, teach food advocacy skills, and more.
Susie moved to Athens this past summer from Durham, North Carolina, where she attended a UU congregation. UUFA hopes to lend its support to her efforts not just by writing our letter of support, but possibly in other ways, too.
The UUFA already supports the Community Food Initiatives in Athens by donating food from our garden at the CFI’s Donation Station at the Athens Farmers Market. When you read the following information about CFI from the grant proposal, you’ll see that lots of CFI’s work matches our UU Principles:
“Community Food Initiatives (CFI) is a 26 year-old organization building community resilience in Appalachian Ohio through working for a thriving, just, and sustainable food system that ensures everyone in the community has access to truly healthy, regionally grown/produced food. Our mission — to foster communities where access to truly health food is equitable and just — stems directly from this vision, and from the firm belief that community resilience is possible only with a food system that is both just and sustainable. We also believe that to be truly healthy, food must be holistically good: good for the people it’s feeding, good for the environment, and good for the economy. Our values include culture and community, education and empowerment, justice, and collaboration; from this emphasis on an equitably empowered population it’s clear we consider the people who live here as one of this region’s greatest assets. At the same time, our work to support people through access to holistically good food means that we also must value our natural environment, and we believe in the potential for a thriving, sustainable food system to strengthen an economy.”
WEEKLY GREEN TIP: The Earth Justice Network of environmental committees from various Athens area churches is encouraging us to publish a weekly green tip in our “Greensheet” newsletter. Here’s our third green tip, this time from https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/green-tips:
“Older showerheads can use 3 gallons per minute or more. New, efficient models use 2 gallons per minute or less. A family of four using low-flow showerheads instead of full-flow models can save about 20,000 gallons of water per year.”
TIME TO BECOME A MEMBER? If you’ve been thinking it might be time to deepen your relationship with UUFA, please plan to sit with our minister, Rev. Don Rollins during our next Sunday potluck on April 14th. He’s planning to welcome newcomers at our potluck Sundays. You can contact him via: donaldlrollins@gmail.com or 740-988-7834
FUTURE SUNDAYS:
Brian Richards
Mar. 24th – It’s More Complicated Than That, service led by UUFA President Brian Richards – In this conversation we’ll explore cognitive shortcuts and common tactics we all (intentionally and unintentionally) use to create othering, tribalization, and dehumanization. The purpose is 1) to expand our hearts, and 2) to enhance our ability to engage in meaningful dialogue around disagreements.
Mar. 31st – Longtime Southeast Ohio Legal Services Attorney and First Unitarian Church of Marietta member Robin Bozian will speak with us.
April 7th – Athens County Commissioner Chris Chmiel will speak with us.
April 14th – Rev. Don Rollins & Monthly Potluck & OUR ANNUAL MEETING
April 21st – Music Sunday with the UUFA Choir and Easter Egg Hunt! To volunteer, contact Megan or Wenda.
April 28th – Beltane/May Day Service led by Katie Evans
May 5th – Athens Mayor Steve Patterson will speak with us.
August 11th – Susan Westenbarger will speak with us.
HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR THE GREENSHEET Please email items to wendasheard@yahoo.com and put “Greensheet” in the subject line. New ideas, new columns, announcements, artwork, photographs, biographies, joys, sorrows, birthdays, anniversaries, and whatnot all welcome for possible inclusion in the Greensheet. Deadline for each week: Midnight Monday. Thanks!
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