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JANUARY 2017
Monthly Bulletin
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Whoever you are, whomever you love,
However you express your identity;
Whatever your situation in life,
Whatever your experience of the holy,
Your presence here is a gift.
Whether you are filled with sadness,
Overflowing with joy,
Needing to be alone with yourself,
Or eager to engage with others,
You have a place here.
All are welcome here.
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WORSHIP
Services are Sundays
9:15 and 11:15am
Contemplative Worship on Wednesdays
11:45am on the outdoor labyrinth or in the Sanctuary
Theme for January:
A PEOPLE OF PROPHECY
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January Sermons
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January 1:
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Prophetic Vision - past, present, and future
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January 8:
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The Prophetic Life |
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January 15:
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The Price of Prophecy |
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January 22:
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The Prophetic Role
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January 29:
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The Making of a People of Prophecy |
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Questions for Contemplation in January
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As always, don't treat these questions like "homework" or a list that needs to be covered in its entirety. Instead, simply pick the one question that speaks to you most and let it lead you where you need to go. The goal of these questions is not to help you analyze what Prophecy
means in the abstract, but to figure out what being a part of a community of
Prophecy means for you and your daily living. So, which question is calling to you? Which one contains "your work"?
Click HERE for questions listing
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Words of Wikstrom
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What does it mean to be "a people of prophecy?" That's the question we're looking at this month -- what it means to say that Unitarian Universalists are "a people of prophecy," that our movement is a "community of prophecy," that you and I are part of a people of prophecy.
Most of us probably have an image that comes to mind when we think of "prophecy." It may be the stereotype of a Biblical prophet -- someone wandering in the desert, hair disheveled, really scratchy clothing, crying out (God's) judgement on some kind of sinful behavior (whether political or personal). "A voice crying in the wilderness," as it were. Perhaps it's a fortune teller, a soothsayer ... "the prophets foretold." Nostradamus, of check-out line tabloid fame, or poor, poor Cassandra, blind of sight but blessed with clear vision of the future (and condemned to have no one ever believe her).
Either way, it's apparently not easy to be a prophet. In the Christian scriptures Jesus is remembered as saying, "A prophet is not without honor, except within [their] own country." Universalist preacher Clinton Lee Scott said:
"Always it is easier to pay homage to prophets than to heed the direction of their vision. It is easier to blindly venerate the saints than to learn the human quality of their sainthood. ... Grandchildren of those who stoned the prophet sometimes gather up stones to build the prophet's monument." (You can find this at #565 in our hymnal.)
Continue reading
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A Thought About Stewardship
By Rev. Wik
In November, shortly after the election, I wrote
a piece on my blog
about one way of responding to the events leading up to, and which will most certainly follow on, the election of Donald Trump. A great many organizations -- well-known and well-respected organizations, as well as more recent "start-ups" -- have stepped up their requests for donations to help them do their work. Many of us have been responding to these requests. And this is good -- these organizations are doing important work. In my post, though, I passed on something that a colleague, Julica Hermann DelaFuente, had posted on her Facebook page (written by someone I do not know, Mateo Guadalupe):
"[T]he thing is, there are already brilliantly strategic, robust, multi-pronged efforts being led by those most impacted by this regime of white supremacy. People of color, especially black women & queer folks, have been leading the fight to dismantle racism and white supremacy ALL ALONG. This s**t might be new to you, my blue state comrades, but this has been the lived reality for a lot of people for a long long time.
Please reconsider where you are placing your coins and energy right now. POCs already have the solutions and the strategies to win liberation. FUND THEM. INVEST IN THEM.
Give money to
Black Lives Matter
. Give money to black & brown lead resistance in red states, like
Southerners On New Ground
and
SisterSong
. Give money to latinxs leading the fight against deportations like
Trans Queer Pueblo
and
Not1MoreDeportation
. Fund platforms for black brilliance & critical thought like
BYP100
and
Echoing Ida.
Support a radical funder like
Third Wave Fund.
This is a time for you to LISTEN to people of color, FOLLOW our lead, and INVEST in our liberation.
If you are considering where your financial contributions might best serve the needs of this time, please consider one of these organizations. Supporting the organization is, in and of itself, contributing to the cause."
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African American Teaching Fellows
by Greta Dershimer
African American Teaching Fellows (AATF)
exists to recruit, support, develop and retain highly qualified African-American teachers to work in our public schools. After considerable listening, research, and consultation with local school officials and regional educational leaders, AATF was founded in 2004 by a diverse community group that included members of TJMC. The organization is governed by a Board of volunteers from area churches, school divisions, and businesses, and has received on-going financial underwriting from individuals, local foundations, churches, community organizations, and the annual John Baker Legacy dinner.
TJMC has been a strong supporter of AATF since its inception. Many TJMC members make annual individual donations to AATF, and TJMC has held Social Action Collections for AATF for more than eight years. For the last two years we have provided almost enough to support one Fellow for a full year.
AATF provides Fellows with money for tuition, fees, and books in the form of a forgivable loan. Fellows commit to apply to teach in local schools and then teach here for as many years as they received financial support from AATF. When that contract is fulfilled, their AATF loan is forgiven, and they are counted as "AATF Alumni." Some Fellows have taught locally for many years and then moved on to other districts. There are currently at least 19 Fellows teaching throughout Virginia, five in Charlottesville City schools and eight in Albemarle County.
AATF Fellows and Alumni Attending the John Baker Legacy Dinner, October, 2016
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Thank You from PACEM
To our friends at Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church-Unitarian Universalist:
Thank you for once again hosting PACEM's men's shelter in our 13th winter of helping people who are homeless in our area. We want you to know how truly blessed this community is to have congregations like yours to help in our mission to provide shelter for our neighbors in need. We greatly appreciate your willingness to prepare and serve dinner, to work with partner congregations, and for all the TV, desserts, and hospitality you provided for the guests in a warm, welcoming, and compassionate environment each night.
In addition to shelter, TJMC-UU also provides generous financial support to PACEM. Your financial help supports the cost of PACEM's shelter staff in your church. The graciousness of the entire PACEM Family makes it possible for us to remain open throughout the winter.
Thank you for hosting PACEM's men's shelter again this year, for the hands of all your volunteers, the graciousness of opening your doors, and your willingness to work with other congregations in our community to address the immediate needs of our neighbors.
We look forward to when you host the women February 11-17.
Sincerely,
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PACEM: Hosting the Ladies February 11 to 18, 2017
by Elizabeth Breeden
We will be hosting the homeless women of PACEM from February 11th to 18th. The sign up sheets for you to provide food, host the dinner, spend the night with the ladies or help set up/clean up will be in the Social Hall after every service in January and the first week of February. We usually experience that we engage nearly 100 volunteers to provide this warm hospitality. The Central Virginia Islamic Society are our partners for this hosting.
In 2003, Charlottesville clergy and homeless advocates created PACEM after members of the Downtown Ministerial Alliance shared the experience of showing up for work in the morning and regularly finding homeless neighbors sleeping in the doorways. TJACH's 2004 Homeless Census supported the experience of the downtown clergy. Dozens of individuals were living in the streets, in the woods, in their cars, in abandoned buildings, behind garbage dumpsters, or around churches in the middle of winter. With a pressing need for shelter, the Downtown Ministerial Alliance and TJACH (
Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless) joined together. They gave their grassroots initiative the name PACEM
(P
eople And Congregations Engaged in Ministry).
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"The World Art Exhibit" art show organized by a volunteer at the International Rescue Committee,
features thirty-three drawings created by refugees from eight countries. All of the work expresses aspects of refugees' lives in their home countries. The artists live, study, and work in the Charlottesville area. More information: Diana Cole Connolly at 434-979-7772 x 114 or [email protected]. Questions: Elizabeth [email protected]
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With AmazonSmile, you can select Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church as your charity of choice so a portion of every purchase you make goes to supporting the work we do in our community. Please spread the word to your friends, family, and everyone who shops online.
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The TJMC-UU Monthly Bulletin is a digital publication of articles/essays that is published on or around the first of each month. Submissions should be saved as a Microsoft Word file including a title and by line, and emailed to
[email protected] by the
third Friday of the preceding month. Holidays may affect submission deadlines.
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