OUR MISSION: TO WELCOME, CARE FOR, AND INSPIRE
|
|
Sunday Reflections on YouTube
It's easy! Just go to...
|
|
|
Sunday, March 29
Sunday Service Online: Baja 4, 10 am
Event Online: Fellowship Hour, 11 am
Sunday, April 5
Sunday Service Online: Baja 4, 10 am
Event Online: Fellowship Hour, 11 am
Every Sunday, the Baja 4 ministers post a Sunday Service video. The video is available for viewing on our YouTube page Sunday morning:
https://www.youtube.com/MVUUCongregation
. We recommend viewing it at 10 am and then joining our community for an online Fellowship Hour at 11 am!
Online Fellowship Hour:
Each Sunday at 11 am we will host an online Fellowship Hour. Grab your coffee or tea in your home and join us online for an hour of connection.
Click here at 11 am on Sunday, March 29 to join us:
https://uuma.zoom.us/j/724549348.
You can also join us by phone. Dial (253) 215-8782 and enter the Meeting ID# 724 549 348 when prompted.
|
|
News from the Ambiance Team
Your A-Team has been hard at work and we are happy to report that the Board has approved our recommendations for style and a basic color palette. We are calling the style
Sonoran
because we want to it to reflect the desert environment in which we live, while honoring those who stewarded this land before us, and being mindful of the Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism. Follow the link to see a summary of what has been approved and samples of the colors we will be using.
Our next steps include determining which color goes where, deciding on the exterior color of the building and the interior roof of the patio, determining what furnishings are needed, and developing a budget to present to the Board. We know that people may have items in their homes that they would like to donate and we are developing a form so that you can submit them to us for our consideration. We know that the budget will not cover everything we would like to incorporate into our design, so we will also develop a wish list of those items in the hope that some folks may be inspired to fund those items.
This is a really exciting time for the A-Team as the interior of the new church begins to take shape (there is something new to see every time I go there!) and see our ideas realized. Very soon the workers will begin painting the walls and we will have a much better idea of how it will look once it is finished. I am grateful to work with such a dedicated team: My co-table Elizabeth van Horn, Derek Contreras, Hanna Coy, and Laura McMeley. Thank you all for your energy and enthusiasm in this difficult time.
Click
HERE
to review the Ambiance Report
Deborah Roberts,
A-Team Co-Table
|
|
President’s Column
In only a couple of weeks, we have undergone a dramatic change of lifestyle, in hopes of averting the spread of the COVID 19 virus. Be assured that MVUU’s congregational life is still functioning and we are here for you in several ways.
With social distancing, the main tools are our computers and, oh yes, the phone! The warmth of a phone call or, for example, Face Time, Skype or Zoom visit, can help us all from feeling isolated. Pastoral Care will be here for you with an enlarged team, co-led by Betty Meikle and Rev. Samantha, so that we can check on each other and help with needs. For us all, call your friends in the congregation, get a cup of coffee and enjoy a “break” together! Make a date to catch up virtually!
All MVUU programs now meet online. The Board met online March 19, using Zoom, and accommodated several visitors. Zoom access involves receiving an email containing a link: click on the link and you are in!
The Baja 4 congregations will continue to produce an online Sunday service, MVUU will hold a virtual coffee hour online and you will have opportunities for song and hearing music both there and in Thursday evening choir rehearsals open to all with our new music director Shekela Wanyama. Many thanks go to Rev. Samantha for swift and organized preparation for all our online transitions.
It is time for us to begin the search for a new, settled minister. Christine Purcell, who leads training for UUA consultants, will create a virtual presentation for all of us, which would usually be presented by a visiting consultant. We will receive this sometime in April.
The next Board meeting will be April 16 at 5:30 p.m. online. We have moved the May meeting to Thursday, May 14, and our annual Congregational Meeting will be Sunday, May 17.
Meanwhile, let us stay connected!
Sending UU love to all,
Anne Tatum, MVUU Board President
|
|
Fellowship Friday: Join Rev. Sam for a Weekly Lunch Hour
S
tarting today at 12 pm!
Every Friday, March 27 - May 8, 12 pm - 1 pm, Rev. Sam will host a "drop-in" online lunch hour. Come for community, casual conversation, and connection -- and bring your lunch! Join her each week online in her Zoom Room by clicking below!
|
|
Tech Encouragement Sessions: With Ricky Tutaan and/or Rev. Samantha!
Join us and learn! Are you new to Zoom, Facebook and YouTube? What if you take a photo on your phone and want to share it with other people in our congregation or your family? Ricky and Rev. Sam want to help! Join us for one of our
three
Tech Encouragement sessions. We will help you learn and be more comfortable with the tools we are relying on to connect with one another.
Thursday, April 2, 6 pm - 7 pm
Wednesday, April 8, 12 pm - 1 pm
Saturday, April 18, 12 pm - 1 pm
|
|
Sunday Book Group - Cancelled
Sunday, Mar 29, 10 am
The Fountains is NOT available for the Book Group to meet at present. They have decided to restrict visitors out of caution about Covid-19. We are taking a poll of those on our e-mail list to decide on our next move.
Meanwhile, our new book is
Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe
by Brian Greene. We will begin discussing
this selection
at a time and place to be decided.
For more information contact
John Clark
at
alvinjclark@aol.com
.
|
|
Bookaholics Unanimous - Cancelled
Tuesday, Mar 31, 2 pm
The Bookaholics March Meeting has been canceled. We will resume from our homes on April 28. More information will follow in the next Newsletter.
The book we will be discussing is
The Bluest Eye
by Toni Morrison
.
If you are interested, new to the group and need directions to the meeting, contact
Anne Leonard
at
anne@alartworks.com
or call (520) 307-8045.
|
|
First Friday Hike - Cancelled
Friday, April 3
I
was hoping for one last hike in April, but, unfortunately Covid-19 necessitates that I cancel the hike. Hopefully, we will hike again in November.
Susan Calder
|
|
Pastoral Care
Life’s not always easy. Know that you are not alone.
|
|
|
Coffee Baristas Sign Up - Virtual
We have moved our Coffee Hour to an online experience! Join us for our Virtual Coffee Hour this Sunday!
Click here at 11 am on Sunday, March 29 to join us:
https://uuma.zoom.us/j/724549348.
You can also join us by phone. Dial (253) 215-8782 and enter the Meeting ID# 724 549 348 when prompted.
|
|
UU Service Committee Report
MVUU’s November/December 2019 UUSC Annual Membership Drive brought in a total of $1,080 to support womens’ projects around the world, including $225 earmarked for
Guest at Your Table
. Gratitude to those who donated so generously during the holiday season.
On Friday, March 13, 2020, an email arrived from UUSC, subject-lined:
Our Steadfast Commitment
. President and CEO, Mary Katherine Morn’s words drew me in: “In the midst of all we do not know, of all the routines upended, and of the fear that we face, we at UUSC send you this greeting of connection, compassion and commitment.” I felt stronger, more connected to the ongoing mission and vision of this important arm of the UUA.
Even as the word
pandemic
strikes a startling, somber chord that recalls histories of other worldwide viruses, I never thought I’d hear this word in my lifetime. Daily changes we must make in our lives now will also help
flatten the curve
of the virus for others.
Self-distancing
may become a time of rest and reflection that connects us virtually and spiritually with family and friends to practice increased empathy for those whose daily human rights go unrecognized, dismissed, or trampled upon.
In this time of extreme uncertainty, we have an opportunity to bolster support this spring by sending a donation that best fits you to the following address: UU Service Committee, 689 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139-3302,
ATTN: Compassion Support Project (COVID-19). Please Step Up!
Debbie Gessaman, Coordinator
|
|
March's Woven Basket Partner:
Interfaith Community Services
ICS has been helping people in need in the Tucson area achieve stable, healthy, and independent lives since 1985. These are the folks giving invaluable direct, every day services, one on one, to those in need.
Their services include:
- Supplying food through their food bank
- Financial assistance
- Assisting seniors and people with disabilities with mobile meals and rides to medical appointments
- Friendly visits and home repairs
- Helping people find employment
- Helping with tax filing -- and much, much more.
MVUU is a longtime supporter of its work and members of our congregation have volunteered their services to ICS. They need our help especially now. For the rest of March you can send a check to the MVUU office, or even donate online. Open the MVUU home page and click on donate. Your donation will be included in the check sent to ICS.
Beyond March you can donate to ICS directly by sending a check to their main office on the campus of Christ the King Episcopal Church located at 2820 W. Ina Rd., Tucson AZ 85741 OR you can pay by credit card. Call them at (520) 297-6049.
The ICS Food Banks are OPEN with modified procedures to protect the health of volunteers, staff and visitors. They will be using a drive through model of food distribution to limit person to person contact. If you send to send money the food bank can leverage the money to buy in quantities. They need more helpers, especially those in a low risk category. Many of their volunteers are elderly and should not be exposed to the virus.
Anne Leonard, JCC Chair
|
|
MVUU Photo Directory
For Login Directions & Information
|
|
This Newsletter is published via email every other Friday.
Let a Greeter know if you wish to receive it.
|
|
Dialing for Dollars!:
Text to Give
Number (520) 447- 4730
If you are inspired to give for any reason, text the amount (i.e. $25) and a descriptor (i.e.,
Donation
or
Mesquite Madness
or
Wooden Bowl
). The donation will go directly into our Breeze database.
|
|
Newsletter deadline: Mondays at 12 pm.
The next newsletter will be published
April 10
Submit articles
editor@mvuu.org
12 pm, Monday, April 6.
No Exceptions. Articles may not exceed 250 words.
Thank you.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
