August 27, 2021
Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington, Indiana
Music by Janiece Jaffe and Krista Detor Tonight in Switchyard Park
Meet us in Switchyard Park tonight, August 27, for two free concerts by Janiece Jaffe and Krista Detor, starting at 6 pm.  For all the details click here.
Join Us at Pridefest this Saturday, Aug 28!
Help out in our Pridefest booth on Saturday afternoon or evening. This is a great way to experience Pridefest. It's really easy too! Plus, it's outdoors! Sign up here, and see all the details. 
Questions? contact Ann LeDuc at connect(at)uubloomington.org
This Sunday's Service
Sunday, August 29, 2021
10:15 am Livestream
The Invitation
Reverend Mary Ann Macklin
Michele Grove, Interim Religious Education Consultant
You are invited….

How do you feel when you receive an invitation? Maybe the invitation is to a party or a sacred celebration or a union or some other special event. Do you feel honored? Do you feel that you could be a part of something really special?

On Sunday, August 29th, you are invited to be a part of a special worship celebration honoring the important role of lifelong learning in our Unitarian Universalist journey. Join Rev. Mary Ann Macklin, UUCB’s senior minister, and Dr. Michele Townsend Grove, UUCB’s new interim Religious Education consultant, as they explore the creative role of lifelong learning with this congregation and Unitarian Universalism. As always, this invitation comes with surprises, some possible laughter, and several ‘aha’ moments. Thank you for accepting this invitation. It will be good to worship with you!

Lastly, this invitation includes Raymond Sage, who played the role of Lumiere on Broadway, and who will sing “Be Our Guest” for the service.
Touching Ground: an Invitation
Have you missed being in our gathering space at church? This coming week, you are invited to sign up to visit the sanctuary, to re-connect with our physical space after a prolonged absence. Through our visits, we hope to create a shared sacred installation reflecting on our experiences so far, both as individuals and as a congregation, with Covid.

The installation will be divided into the following sections, to which you are invited to add words, art work, or artifacts that do not need to be returned:

  • Things from before Covid that we’re glad to let go and don’t want to return to.
  • Things from before Covid that we hope to do again someday.
  • Things started during Covid that we hope to let go of someday.
  • Things started during Covid that we hope to continue to do into the future.

You are invited to sign up as an Individual, Family, or Pod (no more than one family or a pod four people, whichever is greater) for a 30-minute time slot to come to the sanctuary, to reflect, perhaps to create art, and to add to the shared installation. Masks and social distancing are required. No more than two pods will be in the space at any given time. We hope to see you there! Click here to sign up.

Reverend Emily Manvel Leite, Minister of Story and Ritual
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Michele Grove Would Like to
Meet You!
Michele Grove, our interim Religious Education consultant, is in town and would like to meet you! You're invited to attend one or more of the following sessions, or email Michele to schedule an appointment: grove(at)uubloomington.org.
You're invited to two music events with Colleen Haas:
  • Instrument Making Workshop -- This Sunday, August 29, 1-3 pm 
Learn to make the Ganza [gahn-ZAH] - the cylinder shaker and mini Shekeres (shay-keh-RAY) the gourd shaker from Brazilian Maracatu Parade Traditions. Instructions for both simple and more complex versions will be available to accommodate all ages and skill levels. In person, in the Courtyard. Please register so we can ensure enough supplies, and so we can notify you of any changes to the plan! Click here to sign up, or email Stephanie, rea(at)uubloomington.org.
  • Rhythm Workshop -- Next Saturday, September 4, 1-2:30 pm
Come make music with us! Bring drums, or the instruments you make on the 29th, or use what we have on hand. All ages and skill levels welcome. In-person, outdoors -- stay tuned for exact location. Please register so we can notify you of any changes to the plan! Click here to sign up, or email Stephanie, rea(at)uubloomington.org.
Our Folks...
We mourn the unexpected death this week of Duane Schau, longtime well-loved member of our community. Our thoughts of sympathy and healing are with Natalia and their family and all their friends. An online celebration of life for Duane is planned for October 10 at 3:00 p.m., from our sanctuary.
NEST Update

The NEST (Next Steps in Transition) Working Group continues to work to ensure the safety of our congregation, staff, and ministers during the pandemic. We recognize that each congregant must weigh safety from Covid exposure with their spiritual need to gather in person. We believe the new UUA guidance (see below) takes a balanced view, and we have chosen to adopt them. Please read the complete update from NEST here. 

Important highlights: 

As the Covid situation changes, the NEST Working Group continuously works to stay abreast of the changes and reevaluate applicable safety protocols. If you have questions about the work of NEST, please email Jane McLeod at jmcleod(at)indiana.edu.
UU Children's Choir is Starting Up!
UU Children's Choir will start our year virtually, for safety. New and returning singers in grades K- 6 are always welcome, and we love to include our older youth a couple times a year as well! We contribute songs for several services per year, and the schedule is fluid depending on the needs and timing of the services. Currently, teaching videos and instructions for recording are provided for participating singers a few weeks prior to a song being "premiered" at a service. Our next singing opportunity is for Water Communion, which is soon! Please contact Jill Courtney at jillmcourtney(at)gmail.com to be added to the UU Children's Choir email list to get regular updates. 
UU Freethinkers Meet August 29, 12:45 pm
The UU Freethinkers will meet this Sunday at 12:45 pm via Zoom for an open discussion of social, political, and theological/religious issues. If you'd like to join us, please contact Ann Watzel for the link to the Zoom meetings and to be added to our email discussion list.
“Writing as a Spiritual Practice”
With Rev. Barbara Child
A Drop-in Group on Zoom
Tuesdays 1-2 p.m., September 7 through October 26
I invite you to come along on this journey of personal exploration through writing in community. You are welcome to attend any or all sessions. Click here for a full description of how the group works. You will need to register by clicking here to get the Zoom link. The same link will work for every session during the series.
Come to our SPLASH PARTY!
Saturday, September 4, 1:00 - 4:00 pm
Everyone is invited to come and celebrate the end of summer and the opportunity to be together here at church in the courtyard. This will be a fun event with activities for all age groups. Here are some of the planned activities:
Enormous Slip-n-Slide -- Water Balloon Toss -- Sponge Dodgeball -- Watercolor Painting
Social Distancing will be practiced and masks worn, when possible. If you are willing to DJ during the party or volunteer in other ways, contact Ann LeDuc, Connections Coordinator, at connect(at)uubloomington.org. For other questions, contact office(at)uubloomington.org.
Would you like to listen to our congregational read Caste as an audiobook?
The UUCB library has received a generous donation of Isabel Wilkerson's Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents on CDs. This is a set of 12 Compact Discs, read by Robin Miles. It is 14 ½ hours listening time. We are making this available even though the physical library is closed. The cataloged copy can be borrowed by contacting: Ginny Richey at ginnyrichey(at)yahoo.com or 812-955-8220. Arrangements will be made for you to pick it up and it will be checked out to you for a three-week loan period. If it is already checked out, a reservation will be made and you will be contacted when it is available.
Online Giving Link
We are inviting everyone to use our new Giving page for online contributions: uucb.churchcenter.com/giving   
You can use a major credit card there to make a non-pledge gift or a contribution towards your annual pledge, or both. This new Giving page is integrated with our new database, and is secure. If you have used our Paypal account in the past to arrange a recurring gift, that will continue to work just fine, but you can also use the new Giving page to arrange a recurring gift if you would like. Questions?
Carol Marks, Church Administrator, admin (at) uubloomington.org, 812-287-9615.
Invitation from Bethel AME Church:
Worship / BBQ & School Supplies Drive
We (and others) received an invitation from Bethel AME Church to join them this Sunday at Switchyard Park for worship and BBQ. Details are available here. If you are unable to attend due to Covid issues, we plan to gather with Bethel AME at a future date, and will keep you informed.

Bethel AME is also supporting Fairview Elementary School, located right across the street from their church, and inviting others to donate school supplies for their fill-a-backpack initiative.
  • Please consider donating supplies such as pencils, crayons, colored pencils, washable markers, spiral notebooks, drawing paper, 2-pocket folders, sandwich-size Ziploc bags, glue sticks, dry erase markers, child scissors, headphones for iPad use in class, handwipes, Kleenex, and hand sanitizer.
  • Leave your donations in the bin labeled “Bethel/Fairview” on the north side of the church near the portico entrance. Donations will be accepted through Sunday, September 5, and taken to Bethel by members of our Racial Justice Task Force.
Helping The Little Free Pantry and Beacon Shalom Center
The Little Free Pantry by Needmore Coffee needs donations of: peanut butter, canned meat, canned protein meals, canned fruit, Spam, pasta, pasta sauce, toothpaste, soap, deodorant, shampoo. You can place these items directly inside the Little Free Pantry on Pete Ellis Drive next to Needmore Coffee.
Beacon Shalom Center needs donations of: cereal, canned food, condiments, bottled water, protein drinks, instant coffee, pasta, hygiene products, socks, tea. These items can be dropped off in the bins on the north side of the church near the Portico entrance.
Vaccinations available for age 12 and older
People age 12 and older in Indiana are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. Visit this website or call 211: vaccine.coronavirus.in.gov
Masthead photo: "The Beauty of Okra" by Marcia Hart
Deadline for submissions to the Order of service and Friday UU Update
Thursday, 9:00 am, to office(at)uubloomington.org
Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington, Indiana
Mailing address during covid:
UU Church, PO Box 1158,
Nashville, Indiana 47448-1158 Church mobile phone: 812-287-9615