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Just Peace Task Force
EMERGENCY RALLY FOR PEACE
Saturday, January 4 at 12:00 noon
at the Courthouse
The Just Peace Task Force asks you to join us in an emergency rally for peace tomorrow. Following the Trump administration's assassination at Baghdad airport of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, who led the powerful Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the United States is on the brink of war with Iran. The vigil will be Saturday, January 4th, at 12 noon on Courthouse Square, Bloomington, Indiana. It is one of hundreds of emergency rallies across the nation. Inclement weather will not stop us, and we hope it will not stop people from standing with us. Many lives are at stake, as well as the future of our nation, which has urgent needs without becoming embroiled in an unnecessary and destructive war.
--David Keppel, Just Peace Task Force
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Racism, Razor Wire, and Resistance
The Reverend Bill Breeden, Minister Emeritus
Reflections on two recent visits to the border metropolis of El Paso/Juarez. Our trips were made possible by the generosity of many folks in Bloomington and beyond. Our hearts were broken by the suffering of families seeking refuge at the doorstep of the richest country on Earth, but we are inspired by those who work for justice in the face of fascism, including persons serving in the Army at Fort Bliss.
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We welcome the Reverend Bill Breeden, our Minister Emeritus, as a guest in our pulpit this Sunday. Reverend Breeden grew up in the Nazarene Church in Southern Indiana, and discovered Unitarian Universalism when his children were teenagers, becoming fellowshipped as a Unitarian Universalist minister in the early 2000's. He served our congregation for over a decade and retired in 2014, at which time we also named him Minister Emeritus.
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This Week in Religious Education
This Sunday our preschool class will be meeting their January teachers and reconnecting with each other and their classroom. Our older children will be beginning their January Wintersession exploring our UU source of prophetic people through the words and deeds of people of color. This week they will be following in the footsteps of African Americans as they build, create art, and investigate outer space. Sixth-8th graders are encouraged to join in the exploration! High School Youth Group will begin again next Sunday, January 12th from 11-12:30pm.
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UU Singles Fellowship Group -- Sunday Singles Lunch
We meet in the Commons after the second service every Sunday to gather and decide where to go out to lunch. Please join us!
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UU Freethinkers meet at 12:45 pm, Room 208
The UU Freethinkers group will meet this Sunday at 12:45 pm in Room 208 for an open discussion of social, political, and theological/religious issues.
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Our Folks . . .
Our prayers and sympathy are with Maire Quilter and her family upon the passing of her husband Michael Melby on December 27. Maire is the step-daughter of Kathleen Sideli. A memorial service for Michael will be held here on Saturday, January 25 at 2:00 p.m.
Our thoughts of healing are also with Eric Paull and his family upon the passing on December 28 of his mother, Donna Louise Paull.
Congratulations and best wishes to Vickie Provine on her recent retirement.
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A Labyrinth, A Meditative Space (January 5-11)
As each New Year begins, we install a labyrinth in the sanctuary. For six days, it provides a meditative space for people of all ages. As Sharon Blackie writes, "... the beauty of the labyrinth is that it is not a maze.
There are no dead
ends and you cannot take a wrong path. Although the path may twist or wind back on itself, it leads always to the centre. And there, at the centre of the labyrinth, no matter how many times you have been there, you might discover new insights, uncover old wisdom or find new knowledge."
If this practice sounds appealing to you, we hope you will visit this week!
Sun, January 5: 2:00-4:00 p.m.*
Mon, January 7: 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Tues, January 8: 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Weds, January 9: 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Thurs, January 10: 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Fri, January 11: 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Sat, January 12: 9:00-10:30 a.m.
*We will be stacking the chairs after the second service on Sunday, January 5, to allow Rev. Leite to create the labyrinth.
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Extinction Rebellion (XR) Meeting Tuesday, January 7
ACT NOW!
January 7, 2020,
7:00 pm,
1626 South Olive
Our Green Sanctuary Task Force encourages you to participate! Extinction Rebellion (XR)-Bloomington will meet on Tuesday, January 7 at 7:00 p.m. (Jana and Stuart's house) to discuss the latest action and begin the planning for the next.
Get involved with either/both the activist push to force URGENT action on climate change, or with the Regenerative Culture aspect of Extinction Rebellion - rebuilding our democracy, regenerative agriculture, reforestation, and sustainable communities - to get us through the tough times ahead.
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Women's Alliance Will Meet January 9
The Women's Alliance will meet at 11:30 a.m. in Fellowship Hall on Thursday, January 9. Bring a brown bag lunch and enjoy a program by Steve Rolfe of the Monroe County History Center, concerning local connections with the American Civil War. Lunch at 11:30, program at 12:00 noon, business meeting at 12:45.
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UU Choir resumes January 9 at 7:00 p.m.
All are welcome
New singers welcome to start the new year by joining us in song. Very special music is coming up this semester!
If you need childcare to attend,
click this link
by January 6 to reserve it.
Questions? Contact Susan Swaney at
[email protected]
.
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Crafting with Grief and Resiliency:
Using Hobbies and Crafts in
the Healing Process After a Loss
Sunday, January 12, 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Presenters: Kathleen R. Gilbert, PhD, FT and
Rebecca J. Gilbert, PhD, CTRS
Come join us in the Library on Sunday, January 12, 1:00-3:00 p.m., to learn about the role that hobbies and crafts can play in the healing process that follows loss. Parents will be interested in learning about how creative leisure activities can provide their children with healthy continuing bonds with loved ones no longer present in their lives. Everyone is encouraged to come with examples of how crafts and hobbies have helped them deal with loss. Childcare provided, Room 108, if reserved by January 5.
Click here to reserve childcare.
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Drop-in Childcare on Wednesdays, 6-8 pm
On Wednesday evenings, from 6-8 pm in Room 108, our caring childcare staff are here to offer free drop-in childcare (as space allows). Parents must remain on site, on the building grounds or in the building. Please use the Courtyard Entrance. We hope to provide a moment for parents to breathe deeply, have a cup of tea with a friend, or sit in silence before running children to their next event. NOTE: This week on January 8, the labyrinth walk will be available in the meeting room for quiet meditation. For more information about childcare, please contact our childcare coordinator, Hannah Worton:
[email protected]
.
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Reverend McNeill Away
Reverend Scott McNeill will be away from the office for the next two weeks.
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For More Information
see the December 17
edition
of our newsletter, The Prologue. Past issues for quite awhile back can be found
here.
(Next Prologue deadline is Tuesday, December 17 at 10:00 am.)
Carol Marks has editorial responsibility for our congregation's publications.
If you are not already regularly receiving emails like this from us, you can subscribe by sending an email to
[email protected].
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Masthead photo by John Woodcock.
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