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Newsletter - October 23, 2015
Welcome to the Amarillo Unitarian Universalist Fellowship!
Table of Contents
Quick Links
7 UU Principles
Calendar
Men's Brotherhood
Sermon Library
Calendar


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.


The older children
will be focusing on the following topics during upcoming weeks: 

October 25:Revolution and Rebellion - From the American Revolution to the War of the
Rebellion
November 1: The real meaning of Halloween (or) BOOOOOOOO!
November 8: The true story of Sasquatch (or) Bigfoot stepped on my foot!

The nursery group will be focusing on the following topics during upcoming weeks:

October 25:
The Moon Belongs to Everyone 
(Chinese Moon Festival)
November 1: Samhain/Halloween/Seasons
November 8: Autumn Brings Changes to our Earth
 
Lesson plans are subject to change, but this is the plan.

Contact: Wes Phillips and Sarah Brown
Harvest the Power
Two remaining sessions
Saturdays, October 24 & 31, 9 AM - 12 PM (NOON)
Although we are always developing leaders, October is Amarillo Unitarian Universalist's month of intentional leadership development. We do this by employing the Association of Congregations' Tapestry of Faith's program for leadership,   Harvest the Power. This program was created not only for those who have accepted a leadership role in our congregation, but to provide intentional faith development that can be modeled in our congregation. We also encourage participation by those who are interested in learning more about Unitarian Universalism and might want in the future to take a leadership role. All adults are welcome to participate. Teens should inquire.
 
It is not necessary to have attended last year's training to attend this year. We invite you to attend all four Saturdays and have scheduled the sessions so you can come in the morning - 9 a.m. to noon - and have the rest of the day for your usual Saturday activities. However, we do not require that you attend all sessions.
  
Oct. 24 - Integrity. Learning to live in a chronically anxious society with imagination and creativity rather than reactivity. Being spiritually and personally grounded. Healthy coping strategies to connect more fully with ourselves and each other. Led by Sharon Brewer, Keralee Clay, and David Green.
 
Oct. 31 - Imagination and Creativity. Inclusivity brings in more voices. More voices bring more ideas and greater creativity. Learning to listen. Asking the right questions. Mattering and marginality. Led by Larry Campbell, Bruce Fielder, and Mary Kay Wells.
 
Leadership development committee is Larry Campbell, Nina Stein, and Donna Moseley. Please contact us with your questions.
 
Contact:  Nina Stein at  ninas@suddenlink.net 
or (806)674 - 6598
"Worship and spiritual practices at best give artful shape to the capacities of the human soul-
its capacity to give sanctuary to both the animating Spirit and to other lives. All our living, from earliest childhood, is a process of experiencing, interpreting, and acting in the world. And we humans are communal from beginning to end-interactive, social, embedded in culture and history.
Religion, most comprehensively defined, is about re-presenting to world to us in an interpretive way that will enhance human living.
No wonder there is no human culture without art and ritual to teach souls how to sing and feel and hold hope amid all the cacophony that we are born into."  

-- John Buehrens and Rebecca Parker, A House for Hope, p. 156.
In the Community
Amarillo Opera
presents
Little Red Riding Hood by Seymour Barab
October 29-31, 2015   7:30 PM
Fibonacci Building 3306 SW 6th Street

Once upon a time, in a land of golden fields where the breeze always blew, there was a collection of artists who banded together to tell a cautionary tale. The tale of Little Red and her nemesis, the wolf, has been shared with generations of children for more than ten centuries. You likely know the story of Little Red's trek to Grandma's house where she encounters a cunning wolf but you likely haven't experienced it performed so eloquently and in song. The trio of performers will transport you to a land far, far away in the span of only an hour. All ages need a ticket and tickets are available from
panhandletickets.com for $20 each.

 
Chris Jordan: Running the Numbers 
at Amarillo Museum of Art
October 23 - January 3, 2016
 

Artist Talk with Chris Jordan
October 23 at 7 PM

Chris Jordan is a Seattle-based artist whose work combines statistics with photography. The ongoing series, Running the Numbers, brings awareness to the growing strain placed on the environment by consumer culture. Through intricately detailed images made up of thousands of smaller photographs, Jordan is able to show a visual representation or portrait of mass consumption.

Chris Jordan found inspiration in George Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, 1884, which is reproduced in this large, mural-sized image composed of thousands of smaller photographs of aluminum cans.

Museum hours: Tuesday-Friday / 10 AM - 5 PM; Saturday and Sunday, 1 PM - 5 PM


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 
Tuesday- Friday from 9 AM to noon.


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Sunday Worship - 9:30 and 11 AM
October 23, 2015
Guest speaker Dr. Zuriash Ferraresi speaks on Communing with Passed Loved Ones on Halloween. Members and guests are invited to bring photos of deceased loved ones for an altar of memorials.

November 1, 2015
David Green speaks on Forgiving, discussing what it means to forgive and to be forgiven. 
November 8, 2015
David Green
speaks on One Way, discussing the claim of absolute exclusivity made by some religions. 
Upcoming Events:
Adult Religious Education
 
Please join us at 10 AM each Sunday for a lively discussion of these topics.
  
Oct. 25 - This week we will watch and discuss lecture 6 of Lawrence Principe's Science and Religion on Galileo's Trial.
Nov 1 - This week we will watch and discuss Father Koyerski's lecture 5 on Natural Law and Human Nature in Greek Ideas of Nature and Justice
 
Contact: John Gay
Schedule for Autumn Circle Dinners

What is a "Circle Dinner?" It's a small gathering at someone's home where we have an opportunity to get to know each other in a different setting by spending an evening together - eating, drinking, talking, enjoying. Sign-up sheets available at the Fellowship. Additional information is available
here.

Scheduled Dates & Hosts:
  • Saturday, October 24: Lee Shuwarger 
  • Sunday, November 8: Dick & Donna Moseley

Contact: Janda Raker at Ljraker@suddenlink.net or call (806)352-0589
Nothing Much Buddhist Covenant Group  
Monday, October 26 at 7:30 PM
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is a global spiritual leader, poet and peace activist, revered throughout the world for his powerful teachings and bestselling writings on mindfulness and peace. Hanh has published over 100 titles on meditation, mindfulness and Engaged Buddhism, as well as poems, children's stories, and commentaries on ancient Buddhist texts. More information about the Zen Master and the Plum Village Mindfulness Practice Centers is available here  .

The Nothing Much Buddhist Covenant Group has elected to read and discuss Thich Nhat Hanh's latest release, No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering. Pick up a copy and join our meditation on 2nd and 4th Mondays every month.

We will discuss Chapter 6: "Being Present with Strong Emotions" through the end of the book at our next meeting. October 26.   Be thinking about what book we want to read next.

Contact: Rick Todd
 Women's Simply Salad and Soup Fellowship 
Wednesday, October 28 - 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 

Men's Brotherhood
Wednesday, October 28 - 6:30 PM
Every 4th Wednesday of each month the Men's Brotherhood meets from 6:30-8 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.
 
The October meeting will draw lessons from David Green's book Mend: Being the Man She Needs as a springboard for discussing personal relationships, perspectives and communication.
 
Contact: Rick Todd

UUA Southern Fall Conference - Glen Rose, Texas
Fall Conference is scheduled for November 13 through 15 at Glen Lake Camp and Conference Center near Glen Rose, Texas. The theme for this conference is "Into the FUUture!" Let's all register before October 26 (for discount) to boldly go where no UU congregation has gone before to gain tools and resources for charging ahead into the coming year, the next 10 years, or the next 10 decades. There are five tracks each designed to help leaders effect real cultural change toward growing a vital, healthy, effective UU community that helps its members achieve our vision of a world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all. Click here  for more information. Contact Nina Stein to coordinate transportation and off site room sharing.
2nd Fellowship Game Night
Friday, November 20 - 6 PM 
Mark your calendar now-and join the fun and camaraderie with your fellow congregants and other friends. Delicious food, great conversation, and lighthearted fellowship-what more could you ask for?

Contact: 
Janda Raker
Read and Learn  
Venessa Rush Southern. Miles of Dream (2015).

A beloved Unitarian Universalist tradition dating back to the early 19th C., "meditation manuals," as they have been called since 1961, have offered reflections on how to live, worship, question, learn, grow, and deepen in spirit. Miles of Dream is the first book published under the InSpirit series title.

This collection of twenty-three brief meditations stirs up recollections of similar life experiences for readers from many walks of life. Their universal, human insights uplift and inspire.

Recommendation level
 
Texas Energy Freedom Tour


Sunday, October 24, 7-8 PM
at AUUF
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

WHAT : Presentation - "Texas Energy Freedom Tour: Market-Based Solution to Manage Climate Change Risk"
WHO : Peter Bryn, an engineer formerly with ExxonMobil now full-time CCL volunteer, and Larry Kremer, a PhD Chemist formerly with Baker Hughes and now a CCL volunteer

Texan volunteers with Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL) including Peter Bryn and Larry Kremer, are traveling Texas for the month of October to engage communities on a discussion on climate change risks and opportunities.

"The narrative has been that climate change policy will kill jobs and limit energy freedom. While that's certainly true of some regulatory approaches, it doesn't have to be. If done right, I and many other conservatives believe we can manage climate risks while making the market freer and improving energy choice. That's a win-win-win," says Bryn.
 
The Energy Freedom Tour is intended to engage citizens and leaders around the state in a productive discussion with their communities and members of Congress on this important issue. CCL volunteers will visit Amarillo on Sunday October 25 and speak at the Amarillo Unitarian Universalist Fellowship on how our changing climate has an impact on Texans and how we can move past partisanship to begin addressing the challenge.
 
"Congressman Thornberry represents one of the top natural gas producing districts in the country. It is also home to one of the largest populations of the cattle, which are particularly susceptible to increasing temperatures. These are just two reasons that make a discussion on smart climate policy key for his constituents," said Kremer.
                                               
Citizens' Climate Lobby is a grassroots advocacy organization with nearly 300 chapters across the U.S. that is generating political will to manage climate change risk. The group is working with both parties to create a carbon fee that returns all of the revenue to households, thereby not growing government while allowing the market to find the most cost-effective way to reduce emissions.
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!

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

 

 

 

 uuamarillo.org