Friday UU Update                        Friday, May 5, 2017
Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington, Indiana
 "Free Mom Hugs Tour" Coming to Spencer, Saturday, May 6
The first ever "Free Mom Hugs Tour" is stopping this Saturday at the Spencer Pride commUnity center, 46 E. Market St. From 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Distribution of countless "free mom hugs" to anyone interested in receiving one will take place.
The tour is meant to reassure the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community that they are loved, and to raise awareness of their dignity and worth, according to Spencer Pride.
Find a Treasure this Sunday at the Goods and Services Auction!
 The Annual Goods and Services Auction is this Sunday, May 7,  2-4 pm.    Here's the auction catalog listing all the fabulous items that will be available, and the talented Darrell Breeden will be our auctioneer again this year.
    A soup and salad lunch for $5 (drinks and dessert extra) will be available in the Fellowship Hall at  12:30, before the auction.  Hope to see you there!  No childcare for this event, but children are welcome to attend with their parents.
--Debbie Fish, Auction Chair 
Sunday, May 7, 2017   9:15 and 11:15 a.m. 
The Embodiment of Oppression
Dismantling White Supremacy Teach-in
Reverend Scott McNeill and Reverend Mary Ann Macklin
Guests:  Nyama McCarthy-Brown and Selene B Carter
     Embodiment is our theme of the month and this will be a unique Sunday as this is also an urgent time in our faith.  The Unitarian Universalist Association Board, the UU Ministers Association, and the Liberal  Religious Educators Association are all urging congregations to heed a call from Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism to hold a "Teach-In" on the painful reality of racial inequity in our country and our communities and congregations.  This Sunday, we will offer Part I of our Teach-In
on the issue of white supremacy and how we can dismantle it in our lives. Special guests will include dancers Nyama McCarthy-Brown and Selene B Carter, faculty members of the IU Department of Theater, Drama, and Contemporary Dance.  
       W e'll join more than 600 other UU congregations also doing a variation of this project. 
This Sunday in Religious Education: Embodiment
Our kids will be joining in our teach-in through their own activities this Sunday. Preschoolers will hear "Whoever You Are" (by Mem Fox) and wonder together about diversity.  K+ will be exploring the science behind skin tone and appreciating the variety of shades of skin in the world.  Curiosity Club will focus on the power of music and words to help in racial justice as they hear the story of  "We Shall Overcome" and engage about what is going on today.   YUUMS (7-8th grade) will play laser tag and sleep at the church on Friday night, no meeting on Sunday.  High School Youth group will attend the service and then meet for discussion and a taco bar.

Pledged Yet?
Here's the link: http://bit.ly/2q1PzgO
The Time is
Now More Than Ever
We are constructing the budget for the coming year
based on your pledges!
Committee and Task Force Chairs
2017 annual reports due
May 15
to admin@uubloomington.org
For reference, the 2016 report can be read HERE.
New to Unitarian Universalism?
Are you new to Unitarian Universalism? If so, then the First Steps class is for you! First Steps is a 40-minute class that provides a brief introduction to Unitarian Universalism and our congregation. This class is offered the first Sunday each month at 10:35 am and 12:35 pm in Room 112. Free childcare is available in Room 108. No registration is required, just come to room 112 after the service. If you have questions, please contact Ann LeDuc at connect@uubloomington.org. This Sunday's class will be facilitated by Orion Day, Young Adult and Campus Ministry Coordinator.
Our Folks...
Our thoughts of sympathy and healing are with Larry Ruich and his family, upon the recent passing of his mother.
Incarceration and Its Repercussions
Saturday, May 13 at 10:00 a.m.
      A Forum Hosted by the Hope for Prisoners Task Force
with special guests Antonio Jackson, Author, "On My Momma" and Founder of Big Boy's Moving Company  and Marilyn Dallas, Co-founder, Courage to Change Sober Living, and Director, New Leaf-New Life Transition Center.
      Our citizenry is 5% of the world's population, yet 25% of those imprisoned around the globe are held in US jails and prisons.  Thus we have been deemed the "Incarceration Nation." The forum will be held here in the Ralph and Annetta Fuchs Library, on the second floor. Please enter at the Portico Entrance on the north side. 
Congratulations to Reverend Macklin
Women Excel Luncheon Wednesday, May 24
       Congratulations to Reverend Mary Ann Macklin, who recently was honored with a Women Excel Bloomington 2017 award.  From Rev. McNeill:  Last week, the Bloomington Chamber of Commerce announced the 2017 recipients of the Women Excel in Bloomington awards, and our Senior Minister, the Reverend Mary Ann Macklin was one of the seven people selected. For all her work supporting our community in many ways, she will be honored on  May 24  at a luncheon featuring IU's Women's Basketball Coach Teri Moren. Tickets are available for purchase online ( http://web.chamberbloomington.org/events/Women-Excel-Bloomington-Awards-Luncheon-960/details ).
Dear Friends of the UU Bloomington Racial Justice Task Force
UU's own Gladys DeVane and Elizabeth Mitchell of Second Baptist Church are launching a campaign to save a national historic landmark--the African American church built in 1909 in West Baden, Indiana, for black residents who mostly worked at the French Lick Resort hotel. They are in the running for a $100K grant from USA Today, and your vote can help them be in the finalists--the top ten vote-getting projects will be judged for the grant.  Here's the link where you can vote:   
http://act.usatoday.com/submit-an-idea/#/gallery/60314351/ You can vote daily through  May 12th , and you only have to sign in the first time. Very simple.  More news will follow, but do save the date for another Juke Joint on  Saturday, June 17th ! -- Martha Foster, Racial Justice Task Force 
Final Acts: End-of-Life Scenarios and Conversation
Friday, May 12 at 6:30 p.m.
Actor and local favorite Diane Kondrat will take the stage again here in our Meeting Room in "Final Acts: End-of-Life Scenarios and Conversation," a one-hour show that portrays some of the complicated questions raised by end of life situations.   Donations at the door will benefit programming for end-of-life-issues.
Reverend McNeill's Installation Service is
Saturday, May 20 at 4:00!
It's a big deal! Details can be found Here and Here.  


Monty says: "PLEDGE NAAOOooooooooow!

For More Information see the  May 1 issue   of our newsletter, The Prologue.
Masthead photo by Linda Mjolsnes. 
Unitarian Universalist Church