The Newsletter  November 2018   
           
Our theme this month in worship and religious education is Memory

Please register your children for Religious Education by clicking  
Registration is very important even if your young person attends Religious Education only sporadically.
 
 Martha Filipic is now signing up volunteers to act as greeters and coffee hour hosts for November through January. You can volunteer just once or as many times as you like. If you're not certain what's involved, just ask for a copy of the guidelines. It's an easy way for anyone to help keep NUUC a welcoming place. See Martha after service or contact her at marthafilipic@gmail.com or 740-368-1629.

Adult Enrichment News
 
 
NUUC's Women's Group had a "Harvest Dinner" at Marty Keith's house and finished their discussion of Kate Walbert's novel, A Short History of Women. Because November and December tend to be busy months, particularly around their meeting time (fourth Thursdays), the group will not convene again until January. In the meantime, members will think about topics and activities they would like to explore next.
The Second Monday Morning Covenant Group (10:00-noon) plans to continue "Eulogizing One Another, and Ourselves" on November 12. Participants, please try to create "living pictures" of members of the group. You might share kind stories and accomplishments, careers, hobbies...wonderful traits! Upcoming: December 10-"The Power of Myth"; January 14-"Boundaries and Care-Giving."
As for Brown Books, meeting at noon on third Tuesdays (this month-November 20), the next book "up" is Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf.
Finally, plans still are developing for a Game Night in Fellowship Hall, December 7. Members and friends of NUUC (established and new) can gather to share desserts, talk, play games, and become better acquainted.




Stove Donation for Kitchen

We now have a "new" stove in the church kitchen thanks to a generous donation by Rick and Becky Gentry. Their recent house move resulted in them not needing their stove and they offered it to NUUC. The stove replaces the old W. T. Grant stove that was at least 43 years old. Due to that stove's great age, we could no longer get re-placement parts. We give a big thank you to Rick and Becky for providing a much bet-ter, more modern stove for our use.

HOLIDAY FAMILY 2018

This year we will again be adopting the women in the Horizon Prison Initiative program at the Ohio Reformatory for Women (ORW) for our holiday giving.  The December holidays are a particularly difficult time to be separated from their families and the women are especially grateful for the compassion and generosity of our congregation. NUUC will be providing a delicious dinner for the women on December 30 as well as materials for programming (books, markers, dry erase boards, planners, etc.).  Contact Pam Patsch at pgp723@aol.com if you are interested in donating items or providing cookies for the dinner.  You can also donate to the Loose Change Offering in November or December and make a check donation to NUUC with Horizon Holiday Family in the memo line.    If you would like to learn more about the Horizon women, ask Pam Patsch or one of the Outside Sister volunteers from NUUC (Lynn Foreman, Bonnie Beardsley, Lyn Savidge and Susan Ritchie).  
Join us for Homemade Soup after service on Nov. 11 and help feed the hungry



Empty Bowls:  On Sunday November 11th we will be hosting Empty Bowls again this year following Sunday's service. Join us for a soup lunch after church. People desiring to can make a small donation towards lunch, the proceeds of which go to help feed the hungry; your donation also gives you a ceramic bowl made by local children. There is a sign up sheet in Fellowship Hall if you would like to help by setting up, cleaning up, serving soup, or providing some homemade soup.  All proceeds go to the Mid Ohio Food Bank.  Empty Bowls is organized by Columbus Parks and Rec.  Any questions contact Tracy Steinbrenner at tracystein@att.net
  
Join UUA President in Cleveland
Join Susan Frederick-Gray & UUs and Organizers in Cleveland Nov. 3-4 to Get Out The Vote & Pass Issue 1! Ohio UUs from across the state are invited to join Unitarian Universalist Asocciation President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, UUJO & the Ohio Organizing Collaborative in Cleveland Nov. 3-4 for a weekend of canvassing and GOTV! We will have 3 shifts that people can sign up for. The Lighthouse in Cleveland, a community center, will serve as the organizing hub. We will hear from Rev. Frederick, get orientation & training, go out in multi-racial canvassing teams and give people rides to the polls. We will be building justice and solidarity. You can sign up to help and hear Frederick-Gray's inspiring video about why getting Issue 1 passed is so important for our faith at at https://www.uua.org/justice/blog/2018-electoral-justice-yes-issue-1-ohio.

 

Social Justice News

 
UUJO ANNUAL ASSEMBLY - A New Way: Building a Moral Democracy, Saturday Nov. 17, 2018, Methodist Theological School in Ohio, Delaware OH: UUJO's Annual Assembly will feature the Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis as well as a number of workshops on topics such as immigration and sanctuary, anti-racism, economic justice and more. Keynote: "A Prophetic Voice for the Poor: Building a Movement to End Poverty" with Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis. She has spent the last two decades with grassroots, community-led, anti-poverty organizations working to build the movement to end poverty. Rev. Dr. Theoharis is Co-Chair of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival with the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, Co-Director of the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice, and Coordinator of the Poverty Initiative. Register at https://www.uujo.org/.

VOTE #YESON1 FOR A HEALTHY, SAFE OHIO: This ballot measure was created for Ohioans by Ohioans. A vibrant, diverse and bipartisan coalition of nonprofits, faith groups, community activists, legal professionals, national policy experts, parents who lost children to addiction and people in recovery.This coalition joined forces to answer the question, "Can we improve community health and safety while reducing the prison population?" The answer: a resounding yes. The solution: Issue 1
Issue 1 -- which is a proposed amendment to Ohio's constitution -- reduces the number of people in state prison for low-level, nonviolent crimes and puts the money to better use by directing future savings to drug treatment and victim services. It does not change laws or funding for incarcerating people convicted of serious crimes such as murder, rape, and child molestation. Specifically, the amendment:
* Changes low-level nonviolent simple drug possession crimes from felonies to misdemeanors so people
convicted of these crimes are held accountable locally instead of in state prison.
* Requires graduated responses, like community service, when people on probation violate minor
   probation requirements, like missing a meeting with their probation officer, instead of sending these
   people to prison.
* Authorizes the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections to provide earned time credit
   incentives to people in prison to rehabilitate themselves to reduce repeat offending.
* Directs all prison cost savings generated from this Amendment - estimated to be at least tens of
   millions of dollars annually - to local drug treatment programs, especially for people suffering from
   addiction and cycling in and out of the justice system, and trauma recovery programs for victims of
   crime.
 
INTERFAITH ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OHIO (IACO) Annual Friends and Members Meeting: Sunday, November 4, 2018, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Hilliard Library, Meeting Room 1A, 4500 Hickory Chase Way, Hilliard 43206. Please join us for our annual meeting! You do not need to be a member to attend - anyone who is interested in the mission and activities of IACO is welcome. Held annually, this meeting is an opportunity to learn more about IACO and an opportunity for our friends and members to provide feedback and suggestions. Questions and RSVP to: office@iaco.org.

LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR, ADDRESSING POVERTY WITH OUR HEADS, HEARTS, AND HANDS - The Interfaith Association Of Central Ohio (IACO) and Habitat for Humanity - Mid-Ohio invite you to attend the 3rd Annual Interfaith Prayer Gathering and Potluck on Sunday, December 9, 2018  4:30-7:00 pm at St. Phillip Episcopal Church, 166 Woodland Avenue, Columbus, OH 43203. The interfaith prayer service begins at 4:30 and the potluck at 5:30. Bring a covered dish to share with ingredients listed on index card. NUUC is one of the co-sponsors for this event.   RSVP by December 7, 2018 to office@iaco.org. Please indicate number attending prayer service and if you are staying for potluck. This is a great opportunity to worship and break bread with people from other faiths.

INTERFAITH ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OHIO (IACO) Helping Central Ohio Homeless: Join representatives from other faith communities to help serve meals at the Van Buren Shelter, 595 Van Buren Drive, Columbus, 43223, from 5:30 PM (introduction and tour) to 7:45 PM on Sunday, November 25th. If you are interested in joining the other IACO members who are volunteering, please contact Gwyn Stetler at  gwyn.stetler@ymcacolumbus.org. This is a great opportunity to serve those in need AND to get to know people from other faith traditions. For more information, see the SAC bulletin board or ask Pam Patsch.
 
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: Support for Refugee and Immigrant Populations  at Schools with ESL programs - Earlier this year some 140 volunteers representing many of IACO's faith communities came to the Columbus Global Academy on Karl Road for an "Interfaith Day of Community Service" to "spruce up" this important school attended by youthful refugees and immigrants requiring "English as a Second Language" (ESL) training. In preparation for this event, a number of IACO volunteers shared lunches with some of the school's students to learn about their experience and their needs - a very satisfying experience! As a follow-up, IACO is working with Community Refugee and Immigration Services (CRIS) to begin a monthly lunch with students at the Mifflin High School (near Easton), which is a very diverse school - a "shelter site" for over 200 English Language learners. It has a high population of Somali, Arab, French/African, Bhutanese, and Nepali students. Our IACO community can provide a great service to many of these young people by providing:
  • Cultural familiarization in a small, safe group environment
  • Help with English knowledge in conversational situations
  • Exposure to Americans who are both native-born and formerly from other countries, but adapted and "integrated" into life in the U.S.
  • a relaxing pizza-fed informal environment, and,
  • possible additional communications (e-mails?) between monthly luncheons.
 
If you're interested in learning more and potentially participating in this very positive program (whether you are an IACO member or not), please contact IACO Social Justice Moderator at: mgreenmanoh@gmail.com
 
REPURPOSING PLASTIC BAGS: Sometimes we forget to bring our reusable bags to the store and end up with plastic bags. Now you can donate your plastic shopping bags to the women in the Horizon Prison Initiative program at the Ohio Reformatory for Women. The women
use the plastic bags to make sleeping mats for the homeless. You can leave your plastic bags in the designated container next to the office in Fellowship Hall.