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Newsletter - February 17, 2017
Welcome to the Amarillo Unitarian Universalist Fellowship!
Table of Contents
Quick Links
7 UU Principles
Calendar
Rev. Addae's Recommended Books
Social Action Volunteer Opportunities
Sermon Library

Rev. Addae Kraba holds office hours in the Fellowship on Tuesday and Thursday each week from 10 AM to 2 PM, or by appointment if necessary. Home visits are made upon request.

Calendar


Youth Religious Education
Our Youth Religious Education program is divided into three groups by age. In YRE, which meets each Sunday at 11 AM , we challenge our children with interactive studies.  Youth Religious Education at the Amarillo Unitarian Universalist Fellowship will focus on teaching and practicing morals, values, and ethics for all ages. 
Our Nursery and Early Childhood classroom will be learning about UU principles through reading moral stories from around the world. 
 
Our Elementary classroom will be following the Tapestries of Faith curriculum Moral Tales, encompassing the values of forgiveness, generosity, courage, and acceptance.
 
Our Junior High and High School classroom will be discussing Tapestries of Faith curriculum Virtue Ethics, directed at making ethical decisions. This classroom will also pull from the Tapestries of Faith curriculum Amazing Grace, aimed at understanding right and wrong and making good decisions.
Youth RE has its own Facebook page with more specific topics and activities outlined.  See their page at AUUF Youth RE News.
 
Contact: Lydia Miller, Coordinator of YRE

2017-2018 Stewardship Pledge Drive
It's that time of year for us to pledge our financial support for the Fellowship. Each Sunday in February a member will present a stewardship moment  (3-4 minutes) on what the Fellowship means to her or him. Throughout the month the 2017-18 budget poster will be displayed, showing each week the total that has been pledged so far. The process of making your pledge couldn't be easier!  Just pick up a pledge card and fill it out and return it to the office. You also have the option of submitting an e-pledge online.  If we do not hear from you by March 4th, we will consider that your pledge will continue at the same amount as last year's. Take a moment to reflect on all the benefits of membership you enjoy throughout the year -potluck meals and fun nights and performing artists and engaging discussions and camaraderie with friends and emotional comforting and spiritual uplifting and community engagement and social action and open-hearted caring and intellectual stimulation, etc.  Someone said once that the quality of any experience is determined by the contribution we make to it, whether it is our time, talent, or tender.  This is the time for us to make our financial commitment, especially since we have such good prospects of installing a new settled minister this year.  We must all be good stewards! To avoid becoming a procrastinator, submit  your pledge NOW and feel righteous throughout this month and year.  Now that is a true bargain!

Black History Month and MLK Banquet
Saturday, February 25, 12:00 Noon 
at 707 S. Polk St. 
February is Black History Month. The NAACP will be celebrating the at the Dr. M. L  King, Jr., Black History Banquet on Saturday, February 25th. The luncheon will feature the speakers and music from the Martin Luther King Day program that was cancelled due to snow and ice. We hope that you will come help us celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. 

You can RSVP either by responding to this  email ( ataylor581@icloud.com) or calling either Sharon Anthony (806-382-8495) or Freda Powell (806-341-8280). The keynote speaker will be APD Chief Ed Drain. Tickets are $25; High School and College Students, $15; Middle School and Younger, $12; Reserved Tables for 8; $250. Park on the street or in the open lot across the street. 

Newsletter and Website Submissions
As always, we are eager to publish information regarding committees, boards, Adult RE, CRE, events, and services, but we need your help. The website and Facebook page can be updated daily, but the newsletter cannot. New information needs to be submitted (submissions@uuamarillo.org) by noon Wednesday if you want it to appear in the Friday morning newsletter. If you need an event placed on the website calendar, you may submit that request with description, image (or we can provide one), starting and approximate ending time, specific location, date (or dates for a recurring event), and name of contact person. Help us help you get your message out in a timely manner.

 

PLEASE, EVERYONE CAN MAKE ALL THESE COMMUNICATIONS MORE EFFECTIVE BY READING THEM EACH WEEK--ESPECIALLY THE WEBSITE AND NEWSLETTER!

In addition to the events described in this newsletter, you can find a complete listing by clicking on the   Calendar icon above.

Want more detail? Check both the News and the Events sections of our website, uuamarillo.org
Also on our website, you can learn more about our Fellowship and our faith, Unitarian Universalism.

All events are held at the Fellowship,
4901 Cornell St. , unless otherwise noted.

If you are unsure how to reach any of the individuals named as contacts, please email the
AUUF office or call our Office Administrator, April Myers, at 806.355.9351 and leave a message. She will return your call during her office hours, which are Tuesday - Friday from 9 AM to noon.

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Sunday Worship - 9:30 & 11 AM

February 19, 2017
Katharyn Wiegand  speaks on the Amarillo Area Foundation which awarded $400,000 to high school graduates in 2016.  As Aristotle said, "To give away money is an easy matter, and in any man's power.  But to decide to whom to give it, and how large and when, and for what purpose and how, is neither in every man's power nor an easy matter."  

February 26, 2017   
Shanna Peeples 
speaks on The State of Education:
What I Learned as National Teacher of the Year.
 
March 5, 2017
Rev. Addae Ama Kraba speaks on Unappeased Yearnings.  Sometimes the longings for fame and fortune can be quenched, but other yearnings stem from a place of nostalgia and will always remain unappeased.
Upcoming Events:
Adult Religious Education
Please join us at 10 AM each Sunday .  All are welcome.  No advance reading is necessary and no test will be given.
 
We continue the series on Archaeology: An Introduction to the World's Greatest Sites.
 
Feb. 19:  The Uluburun Shipwreck
Feb. 26:  The Dead Sea Scrolls
Mar. 5:  The Myth of Masada?
Mar. 12: Megiddo: Excavating Armageddon
Mar. 19: The Canaanite Palace at Tel Kabri
Mar. 26: Petra, Palmyra, and Ebla

Contact: James Doores

Alternative Medicine Monthly Seminar

Tuesday, February 21  -- 7 PM
(Every Third Tuesday)
Open to the Public-Free Admission    
 
This month's seminar topic is Thermography --  a safe, noninvasive tool utilizing your body's temperature reaction for assessment of your body's health resulting in treatments of symptoms at a very early stage.   
Focusing on alternative health and wellness, this monthly seminar is led by Rolf Habersang, MD, Medical Director of the ICAM Institute of Amarillo, and Pia Habersang, EdD, CNS, MSN, APRN of the Pediatric Wellness Center of Amarillo. 
 
            ICAM Seminar Information :   Visit Website or  806.468.4616  
 

Yoga with Maggie Taylor

Each Monday and Wednesday, 5:30 PM
Maggie Taylor has practiced yoga for seventeen years and has taught classes for two.  Bring your mat and join the others in the hour-long class. There is a fee of $8 per person per session. Learn more about the class and Maggie HERE .  

Men's Brotherhood
Wednesday,  February 22   6:30 PM   AUUF
Every 4th Wednesday of each month the Men's Brotherhood meets from 6:30-8:00 PM in Chandler Hall.  This covenant group provides men a private place for discussing feelings, for developing the trust to share without judgment in a confidential and safe environment, for permitting open discussion of concerns and receipt of the collective wisdom of others who have dealt with similar problems, and for finding ways to use new insights to improve one's everyday life.

 
Contact: Rick Todd

Women's Simply Salad & Soup Fellowship
Wednesday, February 22   6:30 PM
Our women's group meets every 2nd and 4th Wednesday for good food and great conversation.  The meetings on 2nd Wednesdays are at the Fellowship-potluck style.  On the 4th Wednesdays, the women meet at a different restaurant each month.

 
Contact: Ann Benedetti        

FAITHIFY Opportunities


FAITHIFY is a crowdfunding site where passionate people INSPIRE, UNITE, and FUND Unitarian Universalist ministries.
FAITHIFY's purpose is to:
  • Inspire a culture of innovation that extends the reach of UU values
  • Lower the walls between existing congregations
  • Ignite ministries in new venues, formats, and communities
  • Bridge geographic and generational borders using 21st century technologies
  • Help passionate individuals invest directly in ministries that excite them
  • Help ministry innovators reach a passionate public
We envision a people with renewed faith and a Unitarian Universalism that is more connected, relevant, and vibrant.
Since the launch of FAILTHIFY in June 2014, FAITHIFY users have pledged over $770,000 to 193 campaigns for Unitarian Universalist ministries. FAITHIFY has created a new form of crowdfunding, connecting over 3,050 funding partners across the country and around the world. The new website has been crafted to reflect our community's needs and advances in crowdfunding technology.   For more information about current programs being funded or about the process to create funding for a program,   CLICK HERE.
 

Fundraiser for a Starr King seminarian 

Saturday, March 4    6 PM     AUUF
An Amarillo student at Starr-King Seminary needs help. Linda Jackson will be hosting a fundraising chili supper for Eli Poore and her partner, Kerri, to help them meet emergency expenses. The supper will be held at AUUF on Saturday, March 4, at 6:00 PM. 
 
Needed : Homemade chili and help with set-up and cleaning afterwards. Several kinds of chili may make the event fun, like a best chili contest!  Linda will make cornbread and salad for the meal. There is not a fixed price, but any amount of donation will be happily accepted.
 
Eli graduated from Redbud Academy, a private Amarillo school, in 1998. She is in her second semester at Starr King and doing well with her job and studies. Unfortunately her partner, Kerri, has lost her job. Eli is a brilliant woman with excellent possibilities as a UU minister.
 
Please call, email, or message Linda if you want to help with what could be a fun late winter gathering.   

Just Saying
"I came to understand myself as separate from all those around me [in southeast coastal Texas].  It was like living a parallel existence, observing the Christian world from the mezzanine of life's theater, never feeling completely part of it.  My family was surrounded by Bible-thumping, well-meaning people who had absolutely no interest in our religious identity or our heritage.  It was unthinkable that I could be Jewish and simultaneously a part of a religious community of diverse people.
 
"I had learned to be as suspicious of Christians in Texas as my ancestors must have been, living hundreds of years ago in the shtetls of Eastern Europe.  I had been subjected to the harsh side of Christianity.  I knew they blamed my people for killing their G-d.  But over time I learned about the centrality of love and forgiveness in much of the Christian tradition.  And I came to understand the central messages in other religious traditions.
 
"And then I discovered Unitarian Universalism-a faith community where I could be fully Jewish, but where I could be authentically cynical about t6he supernatural parts of the religion-G-d speaking through burning bushes and ordering Abraham to kill his son, for example-that I couldn't bring myself to believe.  It was a community of seekers that accepted me for who I am, no questions asked.  Nothing in my experience of being Unitarian Universalist has been greater than the personal joy of finding that such a community exited.
 
"I can throw my whole self into Christian, Hindu, Native American, and other religious rituals fully, without feeling like I am sacrificing or hiding my Jewish heritage.  Whether in my own congregation or at General Assembly, worshipping with UUs from around the country, I feel I can respectfully celebrate diverse religious traditions with little fear of misappropriating or, worse, feeling cynically hypocritical.  Unitarian Universalism gives me a unique vantage point from which I can maintain my own Jewish tradition and belief-or lack of belief-with integrity, while having a transcendent experience participating in another tradition's ritual."
 
            --Paul David Wadler, "Authentically Cynical" in Jewish Voices in Unitarian          Universalism, ed. Leah Hart-Landsberg and Marti Keller. Boston: Skinner House, 2014.

Heart to Heart
A Universal Flow
While the idea of trusting, the universe is popular amongst the New Age set, many people
don't really know what this means and often have difficulty doing so. This is partly because
the story of humankind is often presented as one about control and survival, rather than of  trust and collaboration with the universe. Yet, in reality, there needs to be a balance with both ideas in this life. There is much to be said about exerting control over our environment, because it is how the human species has survived. We created shelter to protect ourselves from the elements, hunted for animals and invented agriculture to feed ourselves. We also built social infrastructures for protection and created communities. This is how we survive.  However, it is also clear that there are many things that we cannot control, no matter how hard we try. 
 
It's important to take responsibility for the things in life that we can control or create, but at  some point, when have done all that we can, we must let go and allow the universe to take over.

This requires a trust that runs deeper than just expecting things to turn out the way we want them to. Sometimes they will, and sometimes they won't. However, with the guiding hand of the universe, life will unfold exactly the way it should. The controversial election of a man to the highest office of the land is one such case. Even his most ardent supporters are realizing just how limited his skill set is for running the country. However, the controversy has created a convergence of minds and spirits not only within this country, but has also has created an unprecedented global awareness unlike any other. There is always a universal flow of energy at work, and we are engaged in an ongoing relationship with a universe that responds to our thoughts and actions. However, we have to allow ourselves to admit that an idea is not
manifesting itself with the outcome that we desired, the universe will present other options that  provide a greater yield when we relax and flow with it. 

From my Heart to Yours,
Rev. Addae Ama Kraba

Amarillo Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
4901 Cornell St.
Amarillo, TX  79109
806.355.9351

 

 

 

 uuamarillo.org