My Dear Ones,

• White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo (Chapters 10 & 11)--Our Congregational Read
• The Body Is Not An Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor
• Poldark 12-book series by Winston Graham
• Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin R. Banaji & Anthony G. Greenwald 

A MINUTE FOR MUSIC

In the Foreword of the teal hymnal Singing the Living Tradition, our past UUA President, Rev William Sinkford recalls the joy of seeing congregations spontaneously singing hymns like "Spirit of Life" and "Come, Come, Whoever You Are" without looking at the hymnal. He goes on to explain that "Singing in community...allows us to name the Holy, to give thanks, and commit ourselves to making justice through song. Singing helps our very 'heady' faith find its loving heart."

It is my hope that our congregation will continue to grow in confidence and the ability to raise our voices together in celebration and shared community. So to facilitate that- I would like to start a Sunday morning sing-along at 10:45 AM in the Sanctuary. Not only will this be a great "warm-up" before the worship service, it will help us learn some of the less-familiar songs in the teal hymnal. No need to sign up or commit- just show up! I look forward to singing with you at the front of the Sanctuary at 10:45 Sunday mornings!

-- Sara Davis,  Director of Music

TEEN TREK TO UU-UNO

Don't forget!

We NEED your help to provide funding for our teens and sponsors to attend the 2019 UU-UNO Spring Seminar! Miami Valley UU Fellowship teens will learn how to be global activists and gain practical leadership skills rooted in UU core principles/practices. (Oh, and they'll also have a blast with other UU teens!)

Here's the  link to our donation page through Faithify...the deadline is March 15th!

--Jerry Leggett, Director of Religious Education

LOOKING FOR YOUR 2018 CONTRIBUTION STATEMENT?

Due to the recent break-ins at the Fellowship that resulted in the loss of several pieces of office equipment (computers, printers, monitors, etc.), we have been unable to send out any Contribution Statements for Calendar Year 2018.

We do realize that this is important information many need in preparing their tax returns, and the good news is that by the time this newsletter is published we should be able to accomplish this necessary task.

If you would like to request your Contribution Statement for 2018, please contact our Fellowship Administrator, Jennie Freiberger, at  [email protected] or  937-436-3628 to do so. And thank you for your care & concern (and patience!) as we begin to get back to doing the business of the Fellowship!

--Jennie Freiberger, Fellowship Administrator

Membership at MVUUF is an opportunity to declare what you already know. This fellowship is your spiritual home, your community of friends, your challenge to action, your open forum for a free expression of your search for truth and your opportunity to live what you hold dear. If all or some of these things fit your niche at MVUUF and you are not a member already, we are presenting an opportunity for you to spring into action.

Rev. Kellie and I will be offering a JOINING SESSION on Saturday, March 30th from 10:00 AM-noon in the Founders' Room. You will receive basic information about UUism, the opportunities afforded to members, and the joys and responsibilities of sharing your time, talents and treasure as a member of the fellowship. Those wishing to become members will sign the Red Book during the worship service on Sunday, April 7th.

Spring into action! Trade in your friend name tag for a permanent wooden one that shows you are committed to this fellowship and its future. If you will need child care, please sign up at the greeter's table or email Diane Colvin, Membership Rep., at [email protected]. And plan to attend the JOINING SESSION on Saturday, March 30 from 10:00 AM-noon.

--Diane Colvin, Membership Representative

1. De-mystify the annual pledge drive
2. 100% participation in the annual pledge drive
3. 100% of our pledge goal (you know we had to include that one, hehe)

As a reminder, the Soul Matters Covenant Groups meet monthly from October through June. While Soul Matters offers a distinctive small group curriculum tied to the Sunday worship and religious education themes, its central goal is to foster circles of trust and deep listening. These groups allow you to go deep with each theme and with a small group of the fellowship's members and friends.

We have the following sessions this program year:
If you would like to join one of these groups, please email Rev. Kellie at  [email protected] with your 1st choice and 2nd choice of session. 

In the meantime, Kellie invites us all to enjoy the inspiration of March's small group packet on JOURNEY, whether we're enrolled in a covenant group or not.

UNSUNG HERO

At its February meeting, the Program Council was very pleased to choose...drum roll...our awesome MVUUF administrator, Jennie Freiberger! Jennie is known for her cheerful, friendly, approachable manner within the MVUUF community and also when representing  MVUUF to the outside world. In fact, she has been overheard speaking calmly and pleasantly with the occasional critical or difficult phone call from members of the public who are not happy with us. She is very thorough in record keeping, a great gift to us and to  future administrators.  She is a good steward of our financial resources, always on the watch for any wasteful use of utilities.  She has a knack for  taking our disparate submissions and weaving them into attractive and cohesive communications.  Perhaps, most notable is what one person said:  "it's one thing to have customers, co-workers, or employers, but congregants are really all three to staff members, and Jennie has navigated these sometimes challenging waters with patience and love!"

 

 

SAVE THE DATE FOR 

REV. KELLIE'S INSTALLATION SERVICE

Sunday, March 24th, 4-6:00 PM, at MVUUF

Later this month, our congregation will be marking an important milestone: celebrating the Installation of the Rev. Kellie C. Kelly as our Minister at Miami Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. We made the call for her to join us this past summer (which she accepted!), she joined us this past fall, and now near the end of winter (finally?) we will mark this very special occasion as our eyes look to the spring.

 

An Installation Service is a time for a Unitarian Universalist congregation to celebrate the joining of our community and the minister; I've heard someone say it's a wedding of sorts. We hope you will recognize parts of the service that relate to Rev. Kellie (and her fabulous self) and parts of the service that relate to our MVUUF community. We'll be sharing a moment in time to slow down, appreciate one another for the gifts we share, and the possibilities ahead for us as we grow         together.

 

Currently the former members of the Ministerial Search Committee are hard at work with Rev. Kellie planning this event. Out of town guests will be joining us as well to help us celebrate!

 

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me: [email protected] or 937-308-3266. I look forward to sharing more in the near future!

---Laura Vondenhuevel, Former Chair, Ministerial Search Committee  

"WE ALL CAN GIVE AND RECEIVE PASTORAL CARE" WORKSHOP

Saturday, April 20th, 10:00 AM-3:00 PM

Open to all MVUUF friends and members 14 years and older

Have you ever wondered what "pastoral care" is, especially within a Unitarian Universalist congregation where many congregants are humanist, atheist, or agnostic?

 

Rev. Kellie will lead an interactive workshop to help us learn the basics of pastoral care so that we can ask for it when we need it, offer it to fellow congregants in our small groups (whether choir or a social justice action team), and refer a congregant to Rev. Kellie and the pastoral associates if needed. Many of us are already offering each other pastoral care without even realizing it. Pastoral care is the companioning of another person while they handle a difficult situation or illness. It is deep listening and reflecting without fixing, advising, or judging. If you are interested in attending the workshop, please contact Rev. Kellie at [email protected].

CHILD DEDICATION SERVICE

Sunday, May 5th, during the 11:00 AM Service

We will hold our Child Dedication Service for children of all ages Sunday, May 5th. The congregation-wide child dedication is an important ritual for our children, our families, and our whole fellowship community. It allows us to bless the children and covenant with their families to support them on their journey as parents. For more information, please review the following UUA page.

 

The only requirement for our child dedication is that the child's parents are members (next Joining Session is Saturday, March 30th). If you would like your child(ren) to participate in the dedication, please contact Rev. Kellie to begin planning, at [email protected].

A HOT MINUTE FOR MONEY

Discussing money makes many of us uncomfortable. I think I have at least six different ways to personally be anxious about money that include everything from attitudes I learned from my parents to worries about having enough money in my old age. And those are just the uncomplicated ones.

This year's Stewardship Team (Rev. Kellie, Catherine Queener, Bill Ross, and I) would like to demystify MVUUF's finances and annual pledge campaign.

Here are a few facts to get us started:

• MVUUF is supported solely by its members. There is no outside support from other sources such as the Unitarian Universalist Association.
• Pledging is important because it enables us to take care of our committed staff and keep the lights on in our beautiful building. The majority of our annual budget goes to our staff and building (89%).
• The UUA offers suggestions for staffing based on church size and goals. This year's and next year's staffing budgets will allow us to serve the membership size we have now. If we would like membership growth, we will need to invest in more hours for our part-time staff members and therefore a larger staff budget.
• Although our building and grounds were last appraised at $1.2 million, our mortgage is only $300,000. This is because of the hard work of our ancestors who worked to purchase our two previous locations and the careful stewardship of our contemporary leaders.
• Everyone can give something. We value and need pledges of all sizes. We are stronger together.
• This year's pledge campaign is shooting for 100% participation.

Please join us for Rev. Kellie's kick-off sermon Sunday, March 17 and look for information on our upcoming Café Conversations. This is the place we've been waiting for!

--Ann Snively, Stewardship Team member

WOMEN'S GROUP

Sunday Mornings, 9:30 AM, Class Room #5 at MVUUF

This group, open to everyone who identifies as female, meets every Sunday morning, 9:30 AM, in class room #5 at MVUUF. The group discusses issues that affect women, and participants agree to confidentiality. In the event that the group would be cancelled (weather, illness, etc.) notifications can be received through the Yahoo Group MVUUF Women's Group. Please consider joining us!

FRAGRANCE-FREE FELLOWSHIP

Remember, due to allergies, asthma, and other sensitivities of our members & friends, we ask that you please refrain from wearing scent at MVUUF (perfume, aftershave, scented hair products, lotions, etc.).

Thank you for helping us to be a safe as well as welcoming congregation!

FAIR TRADE COFFEE SALES

You can order fair trade coffee after the Sunday Worship Service at MVUUF! Orders are placed on the first Sunday of the month (this month that's March 3rd!), and then your order should be ready to be picked up on the third Sunday of the month (this month that's  March 17th!).

There are many varieties and bean grinds to choose from...some are even organic! For more information, feel free to contact Lynn Buffington at [email protected] or 937-657-0426.

LOST & FOUND AT MVUUF

Did you know we have a lost & found box at the Fellowship? It's located in the Office area, on the floor under the long table holding all the plants! 

If you think you may have lost something while at MVUUF, it's the FIRST place you'll want to look!

This is the final Second Friday Night Movie sponsored by the Anti-Racism Team, so make sure you don't miss it!

Please be sure to join us for the movie  BlackkKlansman (which recently won an Academy Award for it's Director, Spike Lee!) followed by a brief discussion afterwards.

And check out the movie's  trailer!

ST. VINCENT DE PAUL LUNCH

Saturday, March 9th, 10:45 AM, 

120 West Apple Street, Dayton

Please join us on Saturday, March 9th, in providing  our long-standing second Saturday lunch for women and families staying at the St. Vincent de Paul Shelter.   

Our needs this month include: hearty chili, fixings of shredded cheese,  vegetable dishes (any dish made with fresh vegetables such as green beans, vegetable medley, carrots & celery sticks, - potato salad has been popular), green salads, fresh fruit/fruit salads, 100% orange juice and 1% milk.   We need several donations of most items, with each donation serving 15-20 people. Please bring all items---heated if    applicable---to 120 West Apple Street (the St. Vincent de Paul Gateway Shelter) by 10:45 am. 

 

You can sign up for food donations and/or serving on the clipboard in the Gathering Space, or you can contact Lynn Buffington at 937-657-0426 (call or text) or [email protected]. You can also check on what is needed at SignUp Genius.  

 

St. Vincent's was still very full in February with about 120 in house,  but a few folks took advantage of the sunny, dry weather on February 9th, to go elsewhere.  We fed 89, with 57 in the women's group at 11:00 AM and 32 in the family group at noon.   Thanks to the many who served  (in the photo below) and/or provided food!  

 

If you would like more information regarding volunteering, please take one of the info flyers near the sign up sheet in the Social Action area in the Gathering Space.

 

YRE'S FARM-RAISING FUNDRAISER! 

Friday, March 1st thru Monday, March 18th

  Attention gardeners, and food growing enthusiasts!

TRANSGENDER ALLY GROUP

Monday, March 25th 7-9:00 PM

Our newly-formed Transgender Ally Group will be meeting this month on Monday, March 25th from 7-9:00 PM (4th Monday evening each month). This group is a supportive place where cisgender congregants can work on reducing and eliminating their own internalized transphobia and heterosexism without harming our transgender siblings. We'll be starting a new UU program to support transgender folks inside and outside of our congregations.

 

Questions, concerns, or suggestions? Please email Rev. Kellie at  [email protected] .

 

 

DAYTIME BOOK CLUB

Wednesday, March 20th, 10:30 AM, in the Library

The next meeting of this well-read group is scheduled for Wednesday, March 20th, 10:30 AM in the Library at MVUUF; ALL are welcome to attend! 

The group will be discussing The Overstory  by Richard Powers.

And plan to join them next month when they'll be discussing  My Brilliant Friend: Neapolitan Novels, Book One by Elena Ferrante  on Wednesday, April 17th!