Yes We Can
Reach 100!
Your Social Justice Committee asks that we bring non-perishable food and personal hygiene items for the food basket each Sunday, to be donated to the Huntsville Assistance Program (HAP). Collection Baskets are located in the Foyer and in the Fellowship Hall.
Our Goal: 100 Food Items per month!
So please check your pantry, and/or pick up an extra item on your next shopping trip.
Suggested donations: macaroni and cheese, pasta and sauce, dry beans and rice, boxes of cereal, bars of soap, canned meat, and peanut butter!
Also toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, sanitary napkins and tampons, shampoo and conditioner...you get the idea!
Thanks in advance!
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Join the UUkulele Fun Group!
Here's your chance to learn an instrument! Our UUkulele Fun Group meets every other Wednesday from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m. to enjoy ukulele playing. (Note: due to the Thanksgiving holiday, our next meeting will be November 30th.)
This group is for all levels of familiarity with the ukulele--from the "very beginner" to more "seasoned" players. We learn from each other, jam, share music, and simply enjoy this lively instrument. No prior experience necessary; this is an easy instrument to learn. All ages welcome.
So join the ukulele bug that is sweeping the country, and come make a little music with us. This group is sponsored by UUCH Adult RE. Contact Nancy Finley
finleyn@uah.edu
or Glen Clark
for further information.
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ATM: Awareness Through Movement
Please note: Our last class this year will be held this Saturday, November 19th, before we break for the holidays.
Awareness Through Movement® classes focus on gentle movement that can assist us in being more comfortable and pain-free in our everyday activities. Come learn how to use the core of your body to improve movement, balance, and chronic pain.
Everyone is welcome! Class is drop-in, no experience necessary, and is led by Sally Locklear. Wear comfortable, loose clothing, and bring a bath or beach towel to use as head support for comfort in side-lying.
ATM is held on Saturday mornings at 10:00 a.m., until November 19th. For more information, contact Adult RE chair Nancy Finley at Adult.RE@uuch.org. If you need childcare for this event, please contact Nancy at least a week before the event.
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Safe Space for Children and Youth
For the safety and enjoyment of our all-ages community, parents/guardians are asked to supervise children and youth in the church facility and grounds when they are not in their planned RE activity.
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Upcoming Services
Sunday, November 20th, 2016
"Welcome Table Bread Sharing Service"
The Reverend Alice Syltie and
Erin Reid, Religious Education Director
This Sunday we celebrate our Annual Bread Sharing Service, by breaking bread together and sharing stories of the origin of the bread we bring. This service is multi-generational, although nursery care will be available for babies and the very young. Bread is called the "staff of life," because it is a basic life-sustaining food. I think it safe to say that some form of bread exists in just about every culture. Perhaps your family inherited a tradition of a particular type of bread from your ancestors. Or maybe you enjoy bread from an ancestry you choose to claim.
This Sunday you are invited to bring a loaf of bread, preferably cut into bite-size pieces, to share with the congregation. Our favorite breads usually have a story. If the bread you bring has significance to your own family, or to your ethnic, cultural or religious heritage, you are invited to share that story during the service. If you bring bread that is gluten-free, vegan, etc., you may wish to label it for those who have special dietary considerations. Let us welcome one another to the table with story, song, and bread to share.
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This Sunday in Children and Youth
Religious Education
Children and youth are invited to participate in the all-ages Bread Sharing service in the sanctuary. RE groups will not be held.
Nursery care (ages 0-3) will be offered as usual.
For more information, contact Erin Reid, Director of Religious Education (DRE) at dre@uuch.org or Audrey Fox, CYRE Chair, at children.re@uuch.org )
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Join the UUCH Book Discussion
of This Year's UUA Common Read
Continues Sunday, Nov. 20th, 9-10:30 a.m.
The Reverend Dr. William Barber's "Moral Mondays" movement is growing nationwide. Learn more about its history and future in
The Third Reconstruction: Moral Mondays, Fusion Politics, and the Rise of a New Justice Movement. Rev. Barber and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove's book (Beacon, 2016) has been chosen as the 2016-17 Unitarian Universalist Common Read.
 Unitarian Universalists were electrified at General Assembly 2016 by Rev. Barber's call for building and sustaining a movement for justice for all people. The Common Read selection committee believes that now is a moment for Unitarian Universalists to answer that call.
The Third Reconstruction offers helpful, practical guidance for engaging with justice movements born in response to local experiences of larger injustices. Drawing on the prophetic traditions of the Jewish and Christian scriptures, while making room for other sources of truth, the book challenges us to ground our justice work in moral dissent, even when there is no reasonable expectation of political success, and to do the hard work of coalition building in a society that is fractured and polarized.
There are copies of the book available for lending in the Fellowship Hall. Everyone is welcome to attend
. You do not have to have read the book, or attended last Sunday's group, to enjoy this lively discussion--Join us! Please contact facilitators Shiela Burrows
shiela.burrows@att.net, or Brad Korb
bradkorb@mindspring.com for more information.
If childcare is needed please contact Nancy Finley
finleyn@uah.edu at least a week in advance.
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 Sign Up NOW to Help!
Alabama Hispanic Association
and UUCH Christmas Dinner
Saturday, December 10th,
11:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.
We need your help to bring Christmas cheer to local Hispanic families in need! Alabama Hispanic Association (AHA) reaches out to these families to provide a Christmas gift to children, and UUCH provides a nice Christmas dinner.
How can you help? In the upcoming weeks, sign up to bring a dish on the poster in the Fellowship Hall or watch for a Sign-Up Genius list via e-mail. You can also sign up to work a shift at the dinner. Childcare will be available, or children are welcome to help out at the dinner.
Another way to get involved is to make a donation for gifts for the teenagers in the AHA families. This Sunday, November 20th, we will again collect donations in the offering baskets during the church service. You can place cash in an envelope labeled "AHA" or write "AHA" on the memo line of your check. You can also give your donation to Gail Williams or Tonia Betts. The UUCH Youth Group uses these donations to buy gifts for the older kids and teenagers that AHA does not have covered.
If you have any used coats, clothing, blankets, or other items you would like to donate to the families, please bring them to the Fellowship Hall by December 8th.
This is a great heart-warming holiday event--please be a part of it!
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Social Justice Meets Nov. 27th!
Your Social Justice Committee will meet Sunday, November 27th at 9:30 a.m. in the RE wing.
Come help us set up for the Children and Youth RE Meal Pack activity. And share any thoughts on social justice projects for the spring! We'll have bagels. If you need childcare, please let Tonia know at (256) 882-9891. Everyone is welcome!
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All-Church Movie Night!
The Muppet
Christmas Carol
Join ALL AGES for a screening of
The Muppet Christmas Carol on Saturday, December 3rd. We will gather at the church at
6:15 p.m. with snacks and treats; show time is
6:30 p.m. Bring themed refreshments or your favorite movie snacks to share.
This event is sponsored by the Children and Youth RE program. All are invited! Contact RE Chair Audrey Fox for more information at children.re@uuch.org.
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 Soul Circles
Small Group Ministry has, in various forms, been a part of our congregation's Ministry for roughly the past ten years. This year we are bringing small groups into the Soul Matters shared thematic ministry alongside our Worship and Religious Education ministries. I am honored to help lead this transition as a part of a final project for my studies at Meadville Lombard Theological Seminary.
Our "Soul Circles" will meet monthly. Each month, prior to meeting, group members will receive preparatory information designed to help them engage more deeply with the monthly theme we are experiencing in our congregational worship. Group members covenant with one another to practice deep listening, speaking from both the heart and the head as they share their soul-journeys through living into the monthly themes. Monthly meetings are scheduled to last no more than two hours.
If you would like to join a Soul Circle, please contact me at johncz711@comcast.net and let me know which of the following times you can be available:
- Sunday Afternoons (after Sunday Worship or Potluck);
- Sunday Evenings;
- Wednesday Afternoons;
- Wednesday Evenings.
Please indicate all of the days/times that could work for you, so that we can more smoothly match available group members with available facilitators.
I am excited and hopeful in anticipation of our soul-journeys together.
Blessings, John Czachurski
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Again, We Stand on the Side of Love
UUs joined with folks from all over the city last Sunday afternoon at Temple B'nai Shalom for an Interfaith gathering to symbolically Break Down the Walls that divide us. Pictured above, from left to right, in front: Theresa Miller, Rev Alice Syltie, Pam Korb, Denise Runnels, Nancy Finley, Becky Ellingwood. And in back: Emily Garrison, Will Garrison, Gail Williams, Sarah Korb, and Brian Walls. Many other UUs were there that day but not pictured!
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Your Board of Trustees has been deliberating on how best to make use of the proceeds from the sale of the Governors Drive property in the continuing transition to our new home. To that end, a "Next Steps Task Force" will be appointed to research available options and decide on the best process to gather the voice of the congregation (possibly dot-voting). We've already begun asking for input from the Council. If all goes well, we should be ready to present a subset of those options for the congregation's approval at our annual meeting in May. Stay tuned!
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 Care List
At our Circle of Candles on
Sunday, November 13th, candles were lit for:
Betsy Applegate, a candle of joy: "Bravo to UUCH and the Alabama Hispanic Association for partnering to host a Safe Space for a Solace circle. Twenty or so women and an equal number of children participated. UUs came forward with open hearts and literally upon a moment's notice to show their love and support, one on one. Frequent comments I heard were 'I'm so glad I came' and 'This reminds me why I am a UU.'"
Anonymous, a candle of sorrow: "Hallelujah,
Leonard Cohen! You've made the world a better and more loving place with your music and poems. Rest in peace."
Cheri Smith, a candle of thanks: "Thanks to everyone for the food and care from the Care Committee that I got this week. My daughter
Vicky is having a biopsy this week because they found another tumor on her thyroid. Wishing I could go to Mississippi to see her, but I can't drive now."
Nick Wilbourn, a candle of joy: "Thank you to
Rev. Alice and Betsy Applegate for hosting and facilitating a much needed evening of sharing and reflection on Thursday. I am so grateful to be part of a loving, encouraging, and like-minded community of people who share my vision of our world, and who understand the importance of community in difficult times."
John Jeter, a candle of sorrow: "for the passing this week of
Eleanor Hutchens, an outstanding educator in Huntsville and a special person, at the age of 97."
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UUCH 16-17 Board Members
President: Laurel Bollinger
Vice-President: Denise Runnels
Secretary: Ed Bernstein
Treasurer: Greg Howard
Trustees: Susan Coddington, Kathy Heath,
and Lynsie Lamitie
Do you have an Agenda Item for the Board?
The Board respectfully requests that all agenda items for the meeting be submitted to
Board President
Laurel Bollinger, no later than one week prior to the meeting, i.e. the Tuesday before.
You may leave a copy of your request in her Mailbox at the church office, or contact her at
President@uuch.org.
The next UUCH Board Meeting will be held
on Tuesday, December 27th, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. Thanks for your cooperation!
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From the Overlook is a publication of
The Unitarian Universalist Church,
3921 Broadmor Rd. Huntsville, AL 35810
Minister: The Reverend Alice Syltie
Board President: Laurel Bollinger
Editorial Board: Laurel Bollinger, Kathy Heath
Newsletter deadlines are each Monday at midnight!
Please send submissions to news collator Deedee Moore at uuch@uuch.org.
Admin. Office Hours: 10:00a.m. to 4:00p.m. Mon-Tue-Thu-Fri.
For Wednesday access, please call in advance.
Office phone: 256.534-0508, email:
uuch@uuch.org
.
Minister's email: Minister@uuch.org.
Website: www.uuch.org
Sunday Services are held 10:45 a.m. to 12:00 noon;
Children's Religious Education held concurrently.
Nursery available for age 3 years and under.
For further info on any event, call the church office:
256. 534-0508.
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