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Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington, Indiana
Congregation founded 1949 | LGBTQ Welcoming Congregation since 1995 | Green Sanctuary since 2007
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Seeking the Spirit | Building Community | Changing the World |
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Join us for online services
Livestreamed on Sunday mornings at 10:15 am
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Sunday, April 25, 2021
10:15 am Livestream
Redemption Sunday: Let the Sunshine In
Reverend Mary Ann Macklin
Reverend Dave Clements
Reverend Emily Manvel Leite
When it comes to our congregational livestreaming, sometimes technology giveth and sometimes technology taketh away. Join us for our April 25th virtual worship service when we will seek to redeem a few lost musical recordings from the past two Sundays as we engage in spiritual seeking, reflection, mystic crystal revelation and the mind’s true liberation….with a little help from our world famous (however you define "world") Car Choir. So Let the Sunshine In! Our Social Justice Moment will be presented by our Reproductive Justice Task Force.
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Sunday, May 2, 2021
10:15 am Livestream
Reverend Bill Breeden
Rev. Breeden indicates that the sermon title is TBA (watch for it in your April 30 Friday Update!) and that he is "very honored to once again be in the pulpit of this amazing congregation."
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Pledge Drive Encouragement
Please Join Our Supportive Crew!
Our new pledge total is $411,533.33 so we are about 2/3 of the way to our goal of $675,000 for pledges for 2021-22. Please be sure to make your pledge this week, so we can finish our budgeting for the coming year! Click here for the online pledge form. You can also text or call Church Administrator Carol Marks on her church mobile at 812-287-9615 and let her know your pledge amount, or send it to her in an email to admin (at) uubloomington.org.
Thank you!
Your Pledge Committee:
Rev. Dave Clements, Mary Boutain, Joan Caulton, Abby Gitlitz, Jackie Hall, Julia Lawson, Jason Michalek
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The Glorious Ray of Sunshine CD Available --
Order Online!
Bring the light and warmth of Spring and Summer into your homes with a brand new CD called "RAY OF SUNSHINE," 21 solo piano tracks recorded this winter in our sanctuary on our piano. These are beautiful selections played by our pianist Ray Fellman, from our services over the years. See the April 16 Update for a list of tracks.
For anyone who would like extra copies to give as gifts, we have additional copies of the CD, and they can be ordered (while supplies last) by clicking here. Choose "Ray of Sunshine CD" in the dropdown, and enter the total of $25 times the number of CDs you would like. (1 CD $25, 2 CDs $50, 3 CDs $75, 10 CDs $250, etc.) The extra $5 per CD is for postage and packaging. If you are not associated with our congregation, please email me your mailing address separately after completing the payment. We will mail you your CDs via the U.S. Postal Service.
If you already included the cost of the CD in your pledge for 21-22, and could not pick it up on April 18, we will be mailing you your copies, too.
Questions? Carol Marks, Church Administrator
admin (at) uubloomington.org 812-287-9615 (M-F 10-4)
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Early Bird Coffee Hour
Bring your coffee and join us at 9:15 am to relax with friends on Zoom before the service. Everyone is welcome! Click on this link to register for the early bird coffee hour and receive the Zoom link.
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Connect with our UU Community during Virtual Coffee Hour!
Everyone is welcome to join us after the worship service, until 12:30 pm, for engaging conversation in Virtual Coffee Hour.
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Our Building is Closed, but Our Hearts are Still Open.
To do our part to disrupt the spread of coronavirus and COVID-19 in our community, our building is likely to remain closed for some months to come. Our Board of Directors will review this decision at each monthly board meeting.
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Emily's Post
Dear Friends,
In the service this past Sunday, we shared The Beginning by Rachel Kann, an Earth Day invitation that bears repeating:
If you can find stillness,
The (lilac) will night-bloom in your direction
And the breeze
Will carry its sacred exhalation of perfume
Toward you.
Breathe.
The moon will cascade waves of radiance
Downward...
You will awaken.
All of existence
longs to be an offering.
eternity is a constant whisper
wishing to be listened to.
This is the beginning.
This is only the beginning.
Let it in.
As you experience your own connectedness to the Earth, the Green Sanctuary Task Force and I invite you to join in the dance of celebrating and caring for our beloved planet by joining an EcoChallenge--a set of activities that include enjoying the earth, learning new ways of caring for it, and experimenting with our ways of living, including food, home life, transportation, and even fashion. We have selected some activities to try out, but there are many more that you can select on your own.
It does involve creating an account (I know, one more password!), but allows us to share what we are learning and enjoying in real time in our UU community. So we really hope you'll sign up and join our team, which will run through Endangered Species Day on May 21.
May we all enjoy trying something different for the new day,
the new way of living,
we hope to bring into the world together.
With love,
Emily
Reverend Emily Manvel Leite
Minister of Congregational Life and Religious Education
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Who Do We Choose to Be?
Over the past few weeks, I have been pondering the question “Who Do We (UUCB) Choose to be? Humans cannot live without meaning. The greater our sense of uncertainty, the more desperately we grasp for a handhold, a shred of something purposeful that reminds us of who we are and what we are meant to do.
What this last year has taught us is that we are in a liminal season; something that we know has ended, and we don’t know where we are headed. We have a desire to pursue something that matters, a shared common cause, a sense of rootedness to something enduring. What has become important is the relationships that we have built in this community. As we move forward as a community here at UUCB, we have the opportunity to actually choose who we will be. Let us honor our past and embrace our future and allow in the present what will emerge. The strength of our faith is in each of us. It is this community where meaning and purpose can be found and nurtured. In the weeks in months ahead, may all of you embrace this time and find comfort in knowing that you are not alone, and that this community here at UUCB stands as a beacon in the storms of life.
Sincerely,
Rev. Dave Clements
Interim Minister Consultant
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MAM Musing
This past Sunday we had a membership signing ceremony via Zoom in which I reminded new members that they are joining a congregation that is changing, because if organizations are not changing, they are stagnating. I added that change includes imperfection. “We are not a perfect organization. We are human. And sometimes we UUs stumble along the way.”
Recently we upgraded our church livestreaming service platform. This change resulted in some unforeseen tech-stymying glitches, causing some stumbling---visual buffering and audio-suffering the past two Sundays. So, here’s a story that got partially buffered out a few weeks ago during the April 11 service:
This past Friday afternoon, April 9, was the 19th anniversary of my mom’s death, so I decided to go play golf. My mom had enjoyed golf as a young woman, but never found time for it once she became mother and teacher. She’d always encouraged me to take up golfing, so a few years after she died, I did just that. And I love it. Thank you, Mom. Also, thanks to one of my key golf instructors, Reverend Bill Breeden.
Now on that Friday afternoon, I didn’t have time to walk 18 holes, so I played what I call Apostle Golf. I walked 12 holes of on a par three course. As I prepared to leave the course I remembered that Mary Magdalene, a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, was very likely was one of his disciples. A 13th. In fact, a Gospel of Mary exists that surprisingly (yes, sarcasm) didn’t make the cut to be part of the official biblical canon. In the final scene in the Gospel of Mary. Levi, who defends Mary and her teaching, tells snarky Peter, who apparently yearns to be big man on campus, "Surely the Savior knows her very well. That is why he loved her more than us.” A similar statement is found in the Gospel of Philip.
A great effort was made in the centuries after Jesus’s death to wipe out the importance of women leaders in his life. Example, there is no mention in the Bible of Mary Magdalene being a prostitute. None. It was the 6th century Pope Gregory the Great who fabricated the story of Mary as prostitute, a means of undermining her importance in Jesus’s life and Christianity. And then the false narratives and imagery began. Par for the Patriarchy.
On April the 9th, I went for a thirteenth hole on the golf course. Admittedly, my first two shots were not pretty but they landed me on the edge of the green, about 13 feet from the hole. Putter in hand, I said, “This one’s for you Mary of Magdalene.” Praise be, I sank that putt. Take that, Pope Gregory the Great! I just played Thirteen Apostle Golf.
As I returned the putter to my bag, I wondered if, in the great mystery of life and death, perhaps my mom and Babe Didrikson Zaharias were having a good chuckle.
Peace, Mary Ann
PS And soon: a woman President at IU!
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Children's Choir Song from April 18 -- Here's the Link!
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Religious Education
Here we are in April, where spring is unfolding, and yet the weather is unpredictable, and we are still in times that make planning ahead challenging. I spent some of my time away in March thinking about my practice of choosing a word to intentionally live into. This year, that word was balance. This seemed timely, as I find myself juggling working from home, supporting children who are learning remotely while also attempting to find time for myself, my marriage, and other adult responsibilities.
I am not alone. You are not alone in this time trying to do some or all of these things as well. I recognized I was becoming hard on myself and not always the most enjoyable person to live with. Fortunately, I have some lifelong teachers and friends who helped me to shift my frame of mind, and after some conversations and reflection, I changed my word to flow. I was surprised how freeing this process and change was for me. A mindset where I could feel the freedom to allow myself "go with the flow" when I could, rather than trying to fight against the current. The empowerment that I could name when it was too fast, and I felt overwhelmed, I could ask for help finding something more sustainable. And the wisdom to recognize when I needed to rest.
I share this with you friends so that this month, as we explore the theme of becoming and start to feel the excitement and busyness that spring can bring, we also remember to be kind and tender with ourselves and one another.
-Adrienne
Adrienne Summerlot, Director of Religious Education dre (at) uubloomington.org
Photo below by Adrienne Summerlot - Spring Mill, near Mitchell, Indiana
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Our Sunshine Pledge Drive for 2021-22 Progresses!
We are using our new database to receive your pledge commitment amounts for 2021-22! Here is the link to the online pledge form, https://bit.ly/Sunshine2122. After pledging online, you will receive a thank you email that will contain a link so that if you like, you can set up a payment on your pledge payments to begin anytime, including after the start of the fiscal year on July 1st. The site is very clean and intuitive, and we think navigating it should be a breeze. (There are also other ways for you to make your pledge, if you’d rather email or call us or send us a pledge card in the mail. Questions? Please contact Church Administrator Carol Marks at admin (at) uubloomington.org or 812-287-9615.
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8th Principle Commitment:
Where Do We Go from Here?
Many of you are participating in the church-wide read of the book “CASTE: The Origins of Our Discontents" by Isabel Wilkerson. We will be finishing our reading in a few weeks. Hopefully reading this book has been a good experience for you. Many of you are wondering where can we go next? What can we do as a congregation? How can we respond to what we have learned from reading CASTE? We want you to be aware of what our next steps are and invite you to join with us.
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Come to our churchwide meeting on Sunday, May 2nd on Zoom at 11:30 (more information will be coming in the next few weeks).
- Participate in our 21-day Racial Justice Challenge which will begin in May.
- Be thinking of opportunities and projects that the congregation could get involved with.
Stay tuned for more information.
Ruth Aydt and Martha Oakley, Racial Justice Task Force co-chairs
Reverend Dave Clements
Reverend Emily Manvel Leite
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Becoming Your Best Self: Sat, April 24, 10:30a-12:30p
With metaphor, a vision board, and shared stories, we will create your vision for you Best Self. Then, we will set your Best Self in motion by deciding actions/dreams/goals that align with that inner voice of wisdom that we all have. You know the one? The one that embraces Inner Child. The one that creates, doesn’t doubt, and moves boldly forward. Join UU Member Suzanne Fodor for a fun, creative session on Designing Your Best Self. This free workshop is sponsored by the Leadership Cultivation Committee. Click this link to register.
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IT'S ALMOST AUCTION TIME!
Our Annual Online Goods and Services Auction
Starts on Sunday, April 25
Auction Runs April 25-May 2
Thank you to so many who have submitted items, events and dinner experiences for our annual online goods and services auction. The bidding starts on Sunday, April 25th and runs through May 2nd. The catalog is online already and you can start "shopping" now:
Debbie Fish schoolofdfish (at) gmail.com,
Ann LeDuc connect (at) uubloomington.org,
Sarah Kopper Kopper.sarah (at) gmail.com
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UU Online Book Club Reads
"Uncanny Valley" by Anna Wiener
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Committee and Task Force Leaders:
Annual Reports Due May 15
Each year we invite our committee and task force leaders to submit a report of their activiies in the past year. This document (available online) will be published in time for the Annual Congregational Meeting on Sunday, June 13 at 4:00 p.m. (on Zoom).
Committee leaders should send their annual reports (100-200 words is a nice length) to office (at) uubloomington.org by May 15. Social Justice Task Force leaders should send their reports to Social Justice Circle leader Jackie Hall at jmhall (at) indiana.edu by May 15. Jackie will compile the Social Justice reports and forward them to the office. We know it's been an unusual year, but we would still like to hear from you! If you would like to read past Annual Reports to our congregation, click here. --Carol Marks
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Online Adult Grief Group for COVID-19-related Losses
IU Health is offering an online monthly grief support group for adults who have experienced the death of a loved one as a result of COVID-19 complications. This group will be co-facilitated by a palliative care social worker and a hospice social worker. To register contact Shannon at spower(at)iuhealth.org or 765.421.1022 with your availability. Once they have enough interest, they will start the group.
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Visit with the Connections Coordinator Fridays at 3:30
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What's On the Church Administrator's Mind?
The online pledge form we are using for our Sunshine Pledge Drive for 2021-22 interfaces with our new database, Planning Center. Please use it to send us your pledge amount today, if you have not pledged already.
The Goods and Services Auction starts April 25 and runs through May 2.
Annual Reports are due May 15.
Annual Congregational Meeting is June 13 at 4:00 p.m. on Zoom.
All mail to the church should be sent to: UU Church, PO Box 1158, Nashville, Indiana 47448-1158.
I'm available for administrative questions at 812-287-9615 or admin (at) uubloomington.org, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Really!
--Carol Marks, Church Administrator
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Green Sanctuary Task Force - Spring Clothing Swap Returns
May 22
The Green Sanctuary Task Force encourages all of us to examine our habits of consumption. What do we buy? Where does it come from? What happens to it when we're finished with it? What impact does our consumption have on the earth and its inhabitants?
Renew your wardrobe while caring for the Earth at this spring's Swap at the Woodlawn Shelter in Bryan Park on Saturday, May 22 in the morning. More detailed information will be available in upcoming Prologues, including the exact hours. All participants are expected to wear masks and maintain appropriate physical distancing.
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Green Sanctuary Task Force
Earth Day Bird Walk April 24
In honor of Earth Day, join Eve Cusack on a casual, slow-paced bird walk through Winslow Woods at 9:00 AM on Saturday, April 24th. During the peak of spring migration, we are likely to see a mix of native woodpeckers, finches and sparrows along with migrating warblers, vireos and thrushes. Bring binoculars if you have them, and possibly a bird identification book if you like. Plan to spend the time being quiet, as birds do not appreciate human voices. Masks are required to participate. We will wrap up between 10:30 and 11, but you are welcome to leave earlier if necessary. The group size will be limited to 9 people. To join us, RSVP to Eve at eveloftmancusack (at ) gmail.com by Thursday, April 22.
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Celebrating Earth Day
"Getting to Net-Zero" Presentation April 27
In celebration of Earth Day, Earth Care Bloomington is pleased to sponsor “Getting to Net-Zero,” a presentation via Zoom by Rev. Dr. Patricia Tull, on Tuesday April 27th, 2021 at 7:30 PM. Rev. Tull uses her own home as an example.
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Reproductive Justice Task Force Encourages Donations to Hoosier Abortion Fund by April 30
The Reproductive Justice Task Force's annual campaign to raise money for the Hoosier Abortion Fund is underway! Women from all over Indiana apply for assistance from All Options Pregnancy Resource Center here in Bloomington. Help close the inequality gap in abortion care and donate today. Share our post on Facebook, ask friends and family to donate-- let's meet the challenge together. Follow the link to donate by April 30th! https://fund.nnaf.org/team/350371
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In Harmony with Habitat
Online Fundraiser Concert
May 22
Enjoy talented musicians from the comfort of your home on May 22 and help raise funds for sponsoring a Habitat for Humanity home in Bloomington. The UU Habitat Task Force is hosting a livestreamed, online concert with a group of talented performers from 7 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, May 22. The concert will be emceed from our sanctuary by Rev. Bill Breeden and UU Angela Lexmond, with most performances recorded and a live band. Artists will be Bloomington’s Jenn Cristy, who has performed her piano-driven rock nationally; King Bee and The Stingers, a well-known contemporary blues band; UU Sylvia McNair, two-time Grammy Award winning singer; classical pianist, composer and friend of UU Keaton Springfield; musicians Teddy Gonyea on piano and Ben Lopilato on bass; and the Radical Moderates, with David Sharp, Dan Lodge-Rigal and Pat McNaughton. Viewers will also hear about the need for decent, affordable housing from Habitat’s CEO Wendi Goodlett, a Habitat homeowner and a volunteer.
Barb Berggoetz, Habitat Task Force chairperson
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Community Connections
Our Faith in Action in the Community
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IU Health Bloomington Hospice Hosts
Camp Good Grief: Helping Young Hearts Heal
IU Health Bloomington Hospice is providing a two-day healing program for children ages 6-14 who have experienced the death of a loved one. Through art, music, and play, campers will connect with others experiencing loss, and learn postivie coping and how to preverve memories of loved ones. June 18 & 19 at Switchyard Park Pavilion. Registration deadline is May 15, campgoodgrief@iuhealth.org. More details here.
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Community Justice & Mediation Center
Virtual Fundraising for Eviction Prevention
April 21, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Please join CJAM for an important community conversation about the Housing and Eviction Prevention Project at their virtual fundraising event on April 21 at 6:30 p.m. Click here for information.
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Sleep Out on April 30
So Others Don't Have To
This is a fundraiser to help keep Friend's Place, Beacon's overnight shelter, open for another year. Friday, April 30 at 8:00 p.m. through Saturday, May at 8:00 a.m., they are asking folks to sleep out to raise funds and awareness for people experiencing homelessness. Get your friends and family to sponsor your sleep-out with a financial gift. To participate:
2. Contact friends and family to sponsor your sleepout
3. Sleep out (or on your living room floor!) on April 30
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Ways to Help
Shalom Community Center
If you would like to donate food to Shalom Community Center, click here for a list. Collection bins are on the north side of our building, near the Portico entrance. (Beacon is the parent organization for Shalom Community Center.)
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Beacon Winter Shelter Needs
From now until May 1, the windter shelter needs the following supplies:
- BOTTLED WATER
- HEALTHY SNACKS
- HEAVY DUTY TRASH BAGS
Thanks from the Homelessness Task Force.
(collection bin on the north side of the church building near the Portico entrance.)
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COVID-19 Vaccination News -
Vaccines for Age 16 and Older!
Vaccinations available for those age 16 and older!
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UU Freethinkers Meet Sunday, April 25, 12:45 pm
The UU Freethinkers bi-weekly meeting creates the opportunity for participants to raise questions and engage in open and non-structured discussion of issues of social, political, and theological/religious concern. Every other Sunday via Zoom at 12:45 p.m. To join, contact Harold Ogren or Ann Watzel.
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UU Humanist Forum Meets
Sunday, May 2, 12:45 pm
Every other Sunday at 12:45 p.m., our UU Humanists meet together online on Zoom for discussion. Email Ann Watzel or Harold Ogren if you would like to join the discussion.
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Shambhala Meditation Online on Mondays
Every Monday at noon online, or anytime it's easy, since there are saved sessions, you can join Sarah Flint in this 2500-year-old practice of cultivating peace and inner wisdom. Contact Sarah Flint to join the group in real time. On Facebook at UU Bloomington Meditation.
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Open Mind Zen Online
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Open Mind Zen with Frank Seisho Diaz is currently holding all meetings online. If you'd like to participate, visit openmindzenbloomington.org and reach out via their contact page for more information.
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Email SCAM Alert
Our ministers, staff, and board members or other members will never send you email asking you for any money besides your pledge payment! And never in the form of gift cards.
How to Recognize an Email Phishing Scam:
Is the email impersonating Rev. Macklin or another of our ministers? Are they asking you to purchase gift cards? Wait! Don't do it! We will never send you emails like that. To double check, look at the email address of the sender. Is it from an address at uubloomington.org? If not, that's the second good reason to delete it!
Office Hours, Calendar, Deadlines
Office hours: M-F, 10 am-4 pm (office closed at church, but staff working from home)
The Church Office can be reached via text or voicemail during office hours at 812-287-9615. Email: admin (at) uubloomington.org or office (at) uubloomington.org
The Prologue is published on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month. Next issue is May 4. Deadline is 10 am on date of publication, admin (at) uubloomington.org
Mailing Address
During the COVID emergency:
UU Church, PO Box 1158, Nashville, Indiana 47448-1158.
(Items mailed to 2120 N. Fee take 3-4 weeks on average to be forwarded by the Postal Service! So please use the PO Box!)
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Membership and Attendance
Membership: 574 certified members as of 2/1/2021;
575 current members.
Attendance
Attendance data is missing, due to recent changes made by our livestreaming service.
Non-Pledge Offering:
April 4: $478 April 11: $283
To make a contribution for the Non-Pledge Offering (Sunday Plate), or to make a payment towards your pledge or the Minister's Discretionary Fund, click on this link to get to our PayPal page: bit.ly/UUCBdonate
Total to be donated (25%) to Monroe County United Ministries (MCUM) Compass Early Learning Center and Self-Sufficiency Center: $190.25
Grocery Card Sales: (Bloomingfoods or Fresh Thyme) -- $0; Total income to UUCB: $0
Free Money from Kroger!
Fresh Thyme and Bloomingfoods
Grocery Cards Available by Mail
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Did you know that Kroger sends us over $1,600 each year? This is made possible by those of you who participate in Kroger's Community Rewards program. Register your Kroger Plus card online at this link. We received $432.88 from Kroger for the months January through March from this program.
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We are also still selling grocery cards for Bloomingfoods and Fresh Thyme. Click here to see what kind of cards and how many are available. Send your check to the church (UU Church, P. O. Box 1158, Nashville, Indiana 47448-1158) with a note to let us know the type and value of card(s) you want, and we will mail them to you. You do not need to send a SASE.
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Masthead photo by P. Y. Garcia, Jack in the Pulpit, April 2021 in Brown County, Indiana.
Photo below of Virginia Bluebells, also by P. Y. Garcia, April 2021.
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Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington, IN
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