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Newsletter - May 29, 2015
Welcome to the Amarillo Unitarian Universalist Fellowship!
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Congratulations!
 

Last Saturday while rain pounded the roof of the AUUF, Mark Baird and Crystal Cisewski became Mr. and Mrs. Mark Baird. David Green officiated and Mike and Kristy Fuller provided music.   We all wish Mark and Crystal a long and happy union.

Social Action Committee Recycling Caravan 

 

Janda Raker and Linda Cook will lead a caravan out to Four States Recycling at 4110 E. Amarillo Boulevard for those who are interested in checking out the facility and/or would like to take items out to be recycled. We'll meet in the parking lot of UU on Monday, June 8, at 3 p.m.

 

If you don't have a lot of material to recycle, you may want to ride with Janda or Linda, just to get familiar with the location and procedures so you can go on your own when you have a good collection of recyclables.  

 

Four States will take paper, plastics, and aluminum cans. Please sort them into white office paper, mixed paper (consisting of junk mail, magazines, catalogs, etc.), and plastics #1 separated from #2. Linda is checking to see if they accept light cardboard, and that info will be posted here as soon as it's available. 

 

Contact:  Yvonne Moore, Chair, Social Action Committee
Children's Religious Education Update
Our Children's Religious Education (CRE) program is divided into two groups by age. In CRE, which meets each Sunday at 11 AM, we challenge our children with interactive studies about religion and science.

During upcoming weeks, our elementary-age children will continue their study of homes, using the Creating Home curriculum from the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA).


Our younger children (up through pre-kindergarten) will be exploring ways to help the planet. We need your help; please bring clean, empty baby food jars to AUUF on May 31.

 

Contacts: Vicki Schoen and Sarah Brown

"The twentieth-century architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who designed a number of Unitarian church buildings, was once asked what he thought of organized religion. His response: 'Why organize it!'"                  --Rebecca Ann Parker, A House for Hope


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

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 M-W-F from 9 AM to noon.


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Sunday Worship - 9:30 and 11 AM
May 31, 2015
AUUF member Velma Cagel, and Terrie Campbell, Shelley McWilliams, and Chasity Downey speak on the work of  AmeriCorps-VISTA in the Texas Panhandle.
June 7, 2015
David Green and others will lead  Flower Communion, a traditional Unitarian Universalist observance at the start of summer. Adopted from Czech Unitarian churches and adopted by American congregations in the 1940s, flowers are brought by members to a central place in the worship space, and then redistributed. The service symbolizes our variety as unique and beautiful beings and acceptance of one another as a lovely bouquet.


June 14, 2015
David Green speaks on Taking a Stand for Science and Reason, discussing the "New Atheism" movement as described in the book of that title by Victor Stenger.
Upcoming Events:

Women's Covenant Group

Monday, June 1 - 6 PM

The Women's Covenant Group studies and discusses feminine spiritual and social topics, following the UU adult RE curriculum, Cakes for the Queen of Heaven-a woman-honoring curriculum by Rev. Shirley Ranck. For June 1 we examine " The First Turning: the Shift from Goddess to God." 


Click here
 for upcoming sessions and topics.


Contact: Keralee Clay
We Agnostics Alcoholics Anonymous 

Thursday, June 4 - 6 PM

The We Agnostics Alcoholics Anonymous group meets weekly on Thursdays at 6 PM, in Chandler Hall at the Amarillo Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. This AA group is for anyone with a desire to stop drinking or maintain sobriety, but particularly for those who are uncomfortable with AA meeting formats stressing particular religious beliefs.



 

 

Nothing Much Buddhist Group
Monday, June 8 - 7:30 PM 

The Nothing Much Buddhist Covenant Group meets for meditation, readings, and fellowship. Gatherings are facilitated by Rick Todd, and all are welcome!


 

Contact: Rick Todd


 


Panhandle Pride Meeting


 
Just a reminder that on May 30 at Furrbie's (on 6th across from Chase Tower) at 4 PM you are welcome to attend the planning meeting for Panhandle Pride. 

 

Contact: Martha Baird and Yvonne Moore

Bring A Flower To Share On Flower Communion Sunday

 

Springtime brings us another Flower Communion Sunday on 

June 7-just a short time away. Please make plans to bring from your garden or neighborhood store a flower to add to the collective bouquet during the worship service that Sunday.

 

Fiction Book Preview

The UU book group meets June 23 to discuss Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather.

 

Cather's highly regarded historical novel unfolds the 19th century settlement of Santa Fe primarily through the perceptions of the town's most revered archbishop and his irrepressible sidekick as they struggle to establish the Catholic Church for a resistant people. Both the landscape and the social environment of New Mexico come fully alive in this classic American novel from 1927. 


 

Contact: Dick Moseley

Men's Fellowship Reassessed
The AUUF Men's Fellowship is our beloved community's longest existing covenant group. Like any longtime group, periodic assessment is needed to keep the group vital and members inspired.

 

Many discussions and conversations with longtime men's group members and prospective members have produced the unanimous opinion that we need to re-envision the group. Some ideas that have emerged include:

 

* Emphasize specific issues that affect men of all ages

* Serve AUUF better with regular, beneficial projects

* Engage new Fellowship members, especially our younger men

* Create a safe and confidential space for discussion

* Organize the group in a more structured way

 

To kick off the re-imagination of the group, our first focus will be the study of Mend: Being the Man She Needs by our very own minister, David Green. David's book is a meaningful and thoughtful way to begin our new beginning that will appeal to men of all ages. And, David will join us for our discussion of the book.

 

The form and emphasis the new Men's Fellowship takes will be set by consensus. If you would like to be part of this collective exploration of what it means to be a man, join us on June 24th in Chandler Hall to help build a vibrant and relevant Men's Fellowship.

 

Contact: Eric Berg 

Read and Learn

In this series, AUUF member Gary Biggers provides his personal summaries and recommendation ratings for books related to our faith.

 

John A. Buehrens. Universalists and Unitarians in America: A People's History: A People's History. (2011)

 

The author organizes his insightful examination of the history of Universalism and Unitarianism as well as the consolidation of the two through seven eras beginning in 1770 and ending in 2011. Buehrens accounts the many known and often uncelebrated contributors to the development of thinking and organization of the movement, making this book the most revealing documentation of the many people responsible for the church's many ups and downs in its history. The level of documentation is extensive!

 

 

Recommendation level

Martha's Home


At Martha's Home, whose mission is "to provide homeless women and their children with shelter and support while guiding them towards a lifestyle of self-sufficiency," two of the four residences are designated for mothers with children. Our Social Action committee has learned that no community agency or church group provides toiletries for these children - so AUUF is stepping up to the plate.

Please bring these items each and every time that you come to the Fellowship and place them in the clearly marked collection bin:

          1. Child-sized combs and/or brushes
          2. Child-sized tooth brushes
          3. Children's tooth paste
          4. Tear-free shampoo
          5. Hand washing gel
          6. Bath gel
          7. Baby lotion
          8. Talc-free powder (cornstarch- or rice-based)

Additional needs include: women's and children's seasonal clothing and shoes as well as wash cloths and towels.

 

Contact: Yvonne Moore

In the Community

Music in the Gardens  

Again this summer the Amarillo Botanical Gardens presents Music in the Gardens, featuring performances by mostly local artists on Thursday's at 7 PM beginning June 4. You may bring a picnic meal and lawn chairs and claim your spot early. Admission is $10 for non-members; $5 for members-but you need to have a membership card to present at the gate.   Should rain or heat threaten, the performance will move indoors. The June 4 performance is by Andy Chase.


Click here for more information 

 

 

High Noon on the Square

 

Center City presents FREE entertainment on the lawn at the Potter County Courthouse at 6th & Taylor at 12:00 noon each Wednesday in June and July. Lunch is available at $7.00 per person and provided by a variety of vendors, for June 3, The Big Texan is serving hamburgers. Performing is Andy Chase and the Dust Bowl Daredevils.

 

Click here for more information.

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

 

 

 

 uuamarillo.org