CAPITAL FUND Are you an IRA owner over age 70½ with an IRS required minimum distribution? If you make a transfer directly from your IRA or 401k to the church (it's called a Qualified Charitable Distribution - QCD), the transfer amount can count toward your RMD for the year while having zero net impact on your taxable income without itemizing deductions. Please consider giving to the Capital Fund this year. Contact Ivy Brezina 415-663-8703, Paige Smith 919-618-1748, or Cathy Cole 919-967-3422 to discuss how you can do this.

UNITARIAN HERITAGE TRIP to Transylvania at Easter  The trip is planned for  March 25-April 5, 2018.  Participants include members from our congregation and Eno River UU. If you are interested, please contact Ruth Gibson   at  regibson@uuma.org.  More information about the trip can be found here.

SANCTUARY MINISTRY NEWS The Sanctuary & Refugee Support Ministry is excited to share some developments within the sanctuary movement in the Triangle. Umstead Park UCC in Raleigh has voted (99+% in favor!) to become a Sanctuary Church and has welcomed Eliseo Jimenez into sanctuary. Six other congregations in Raleigh are actively supporting that church in these efforts. Locally, Church of the Reconciliation has voted to become a Sanctuary Church and is gearing up to be ready to host someone within the next several weeks. Volunteers from 7 other congregations including The Community Church have pledged to assist. If you are interested in volunteering you can find more information here.

SHARE THE PLATE THANKS Thank you for your donation to the Holiday Meals STP! Wow! Ninety-nine (99) families enjoyed a nutritious Thanksgiving meal because of the generous STP collection for Holiday Meals of $2,480.  Community Service Ministry and Inter-Faith Council thanks you for opening your heart and sharing your bounty with individuals, children and families in our community.  The Holiday Meals Share the Plate is a shining example of our congregation's generosity. As Winston Churchill said, "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."

ORGANIZING AGAINST RACISM TRAINING At the January 2018 congregational meeting, the Endowment Committee will recommend approval of a $4425.00 Endowment Fund Grant to provide Organizing Against Racism training for church leaders, youth and young adults in 2018. The grant will be led by Marion Hirsch in collaboration with the Youth Ministry Team and Rev Thom Belote. Training will be provided through the Racial Equity Institute with other participants and leaders from across our local community.  

EASIER-TO-USE NEWS The former nametag kiosk is now repurposed to be a rolling bulletin board during coffee hour.  The Community Service Ministry will have two sides and Peace and Justice the other two. You can sign to help cook or serve the IFC Dinners there. You can learn the latest news on other current service opportunities there. Take your coffee cup, walk on over, and find out what's going on.

HOMESTART SERVICE PROJECT Sincere thanks to all of you who donated personal care items, diapers and silverware for HomeStart women and children and helped fill the baskets and holiday bags with items.  You outdid yourselves with the largest collection to date!  We wish you could have seen the look of gratitude on the face of Rex Mercer, the director, who said the women who live there would be very appreciative of all the practical and thoughtful items in the baskets.  Thank you for your generosity!  - Joy Mermin and Kathy Putnam, Worship Ministry

SPIRAL OF LIGHT December 21 , Spiral of Light, 7-8:30 pm. Come participate in a beautiful ritual called the Spiral of Light, which symbolizes the return of the light. There will be a meditative lantern walk through the darkness, a sacred community fire, candles, warm drinks, and music. More info and registration here.  Eco-Institute at Pickards Mountain, 8519 Pickards Meadow Road, Chapel Hill. Submitted by ECO

FAIR COURTS We need fair and impartial judges in our courts. But legislators in Raleigh want to pass two laws in January 2018 that will: 1. Change voting districts so it's harder for Black and women judges to win re-election.  2. Phase out all judicial elections and let legislators appoint their friends as judges on family and traffic courts, criminal courts, and the N.C. Supreme Court.  Visit demnc.co/faircourts to learn more. Submitted by Ruth Gibson

ORANGE ORGANIZING AGAINST RACISM (OAR) is co-sponsoring the Racial Equity Institute's Groundwater Presentation on Sunday, January 7, 2:30-5:30pm at Kehillah Synagogue in Chapel Hill. The Groundwater Presentation uses a combination of personal stories and data to help participants understand the systemic and structural nature of racism in America. The presentation provides insight into the impact of institutional racism in every system in America, including education, criminal justice, health care, and housing. Cost is $15 (with scholarships available for those who need it), and child care will be provided. Registration will fill very quickly, so please register soon.

ACLU'S SAFEGUARDING CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS IN TRUMP ERA   David Cole, author and ACLU's National Legal Director, arrives after just appearing before U.S. Supreme Court to argue Masterpiece Cakeshop case involving rights of LGBTQ people and others to be free from discrimination. Copies of his most recent book, Engines of Liberty: The Power of Citizen Activists to Make Constitutional Law, available. 3-4:30 p.m. Friday, December 8, Flyleaf Books, 752 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., Chapel Hill.  Submitted by P&J

 

OPPORTUNITY TO HELP CHOOSING AND SHIPPING BOOKS TO NC PRISONERS  Come to Prison Books Collective that has sent free books to people on the inside in North Carolina and Alabama, and magazines around the country, since 2006. Volunteer workdays are 1 to 4 p.m, Sundays, 4312 Etta Rd, Durham. Directions and information: http://prisonbooks.info/get-involved/volunteer/. Contact: prisonbooks@gmail.com. Submitted by P&J Committee

MEDITATION Please join us in the sanctuary for silent meditation. We regularly meet on Tuesday evenings, 7:15 - 7:45 p.m.  For more information contact Delia Keefe.

LECTIO (SACRED READING) MEDITATION GROUP meets at noon every Friday in the Commons.  We use readings from poetry and the wisdom traditions of the world's religions as prompts for reflection and sharing.  No need to sign up ahead of time.  Please join us.