Upcoming & Ongoing in Religious Education

Call for Class Proposals

Do you have an idea for a class you'd like to teach?  Or a request for a class, even if you don't want to teach it yourself? Please use this form to submit your proposal(s). Submissions may be made at any time, but those received by December 6 will be given priority for spring scheduling. Questions? Contact Stephanie Kimball, Director of Religious Education, kimball(at)uubloomington.org.

See our website for details about our current offerings! For more information on lifespan religious education, please also see the most recent issue of Education Matters, our monthly RE newsletter. 

UUA Bylaws Article II Feedback --

Deadline November 28

Please take some time to read and ponder the proposed revisions to Article II of the UUA Bylaws, and submit your feedback to the Article II Commission here by Wednesday, November 28. 

Article II is the section of the UUA bylaws that currently lists our Principles and Sources. The Article II Commission has been taking feedback for the last six weeks or so; based on responses they receive they'll make revisions and release a new draft in December. Read the draft proposal here, and learn more about the revision process here. We will gather in January to discuss the proposal -- watch The Prologue for details!

Guest at Your Table: Pick up a donation box this Sunday, to be collected December 4

UUSC’s longest-established fundraising and educational program for congregations; an annual intergenerational program to raise support for and awareness about key human rights issues.

This year the UU Service Committee (UUSC) Guest at Your Table program is supporting four partner organizations, with a theme of Hope, Courage, and Action. To read about each one's story, pick up a pamphlet along with a donation box this Sunday! We will collect boxes as part of our Procession of Giving service on December 4.

UU Freethinkers meet Sunday, November 20

12:00 p.m. in Room 208 (and on Zoom)

The UU Freethinkers will meet this Sunday at noon in person in Room 208 at the church, with an option to join online via Zoom. Please contact Ann Watzel or Harold Ogren for the Zoom link.

Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner Here on November 24

For the first time since 2019, we will once again hold our Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner at 5:00 p.m. in Fellowship Hall on Thanksgiving Day, November 24. Sign up by November 20. Two ways to sign up:

1) On the paper sign up sheet in the Commons at church

2) On this handy dandy online sign-up: Thanksgiving Potluck Sign-Up

Please indicate how many people are in your party and what food (enough to serve 6-8 people) you will be bringing to share. The church will provide turkey. All are welcome! 

UU Book Club Reads Braiding Sweetgrass: Discussion Monday, December 5 on Zoom, 6:30 p.m.

Our current book is Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Join us for the discussion via Zoom on Dec. 5 at 6:30 p.m. We welcome new members! Join the group to receive reminder emails with the Zoom link.

Our Giving Tree is Underway!

This year, our Giving Tree is helping sustain the work of Head Start (offers early childhood support), Positive Link (serves people living with HIV), and Beacon (aids and empowers people experiencing poverty).

Please sign up here to provide a gift, and plan to pick up your tag on Sunday to attach to your gift—they will be by the Giving Tree in Fellowship Hall with your name on them. If you are unable to come on Sunday, indicate that in your signup comment, and we can mail your tag to you.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409054daeac2ca02-giving

If you picked up a tag and have not signed it out, please sign it out at the link ASAP!



All of the gifts will be collected on Sunday, December 4, during the service. If you need to make alternative arrangements for the delivery of your gift or have other questions, contact Reverend Emily (812-333-9822 or leite (at) uubloomington.org). Thank you for your generosity!

Fall 2022 Social Justice Grants Awarded

Each fall, the Social Justice Funds Committee seeks applications for grants that further the mission of the Bloomington Unitarian Universalist Church. Funds are available from interest earned on the Lundin Social Justice Endowment Fund. The UU Social Justice Funds Committee is happy to announce the following awards that are consistent with our UU mission:

• Habitat Task Force -- submitted by Barb Berggoetz: $930 to refurbish the ReStore’s parking lot by repainting the lines and directional arrows and to purchase a ladder for Habitat.
• Team First Book Monroe County -- submitted by Carolyn Emmert : $750 to award grants to schools and programs with low income children to purchase books for children to own and take home.
• Hope for Prisoners Task Force -- submitted by Debbie Fish: $1000 for Songs of a Caged Bird, an exhibition of visual, literary and performance art of several incarcerated men: UUCB members Phillip Stroud and David Runyon, and also the works of Birt Ford.
• Refugee & Immigration Support & Education Task Force -- submitted by Barb Backler: $558 for Meet the Fakherduin Family Party: A pizza party after church on Dec. 18 to meet the family that the Refugee & Immigration Support & Education task force has been assisting.

Time for Change Fundraiser Ends Sunday! 

The Hunger Task Force has encouraged us to collect our spare change during November for their fundraiser to help end hunger in Bloomington, and now's the time to collect the change. If you would like someone to pick up your change at your house, please contact Mary Blizzard at maryblizzard6(at)gmail.com. If you prefer, you may bring your change to the church on Sunday, November 20 and place it in the marked collection box on the Social Justice table, 9:30 a.m.-12:00 noon. Thank you to everyone who is participating!