• WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS WEEK IN CHILDREN AND YOUTH MINISTRY? In October, children are learning about CULTIVATING RELATIONSHIPS. This Sunday, we will focus on the skill of listening at our 9 AM Zoom worship and 10 AM in-person Religious Education. Neighboring Faiths and Eighth Grade OWL will meet on Sunday morning. High School Youth Group will meet on Sunday evening.For more information about our Religious Education Program, contact Marion Hirsch or Kat Good.

• VIRTUAL COFFEE HOUR CONTINUES! Please join Rachel Rose for the return to this important time of connection. We will be meeting here, via Zoom at 11:30 AM on Sunday. We will have an icebreaker, be assigned into random groups (it's fun!) and have a time of sharing and fellowship, followed by a closing reading. We hope to see you there!

• GUN "GIVE BACK" EVENT People in possession of unwanted guns will be able to safely get rid of them. The guns will be chopped on site and the metal scraps will be melted. Participants should: Make sure that the gun is not loaded. Ammunition cannot be taken. Place all guns in your trunk of your car. At the parking lot, release the trunk of your car to open it up. Do not exit your vehicle. This Gun Give Back event will be held on Saturday, October 9 at The Community Church of Chapel Hill from 2-3 PM.

• WOMENCIRCLE SOUP SWAP In SOUP SWAP, every player wins another player’s jar of homemade soup! STEP 1 (Oct 10, 3-4pm) is a Zoom meeting of all players (email Gail McKinley here by Oct 9 to sign up) who take turns describing the recipe they pledge to make, followed by random match-up of soups and winners - vegetarians separately. STEP 2 (Oct 24, 3-4 pm) is a socially distanced gathering in the church courtyard, during which each jar of soup is connected with its winner.

• BALANCE AND ACCURACY IN JOURNALISM RETURNS! Join us here, on Zoom at 7:30 PM Tuesday October 12, for an evening with journalist Patrick O’Neill, a long time peace activist who has, politely and with a sense of humor, been leading, organizing, writing, and protesting violent policies for decades. His insights include first hand observations about the prison industrial complex, drawn from his recent year-long sentence for Civil Disobedience at a protest against nuclear weapons. His release comes just before his evening with us.

• SPIRITUAL EXPLORATION FOR ADULTS: SPIRITUAL NATURALISM Members who plan to attend this class, please contact Ed Steffes directly in addition to registering, in order to receive an outline and reading material prior to the first session. The class begins on Tuesday, October 12 at 7 PM on Zoom. Additional sessions will be on Oct. 19, Oct. 26, Nov. 2 and Nov. 9. Contact Ed Steffes here.

• YOUR LEGACY CHECKLIST: AN INTRODUCTION. -- TUESDAYS 7 PM ON ZOOM, OCT 12 & 19 Led by Carolyn Holt, Ivy Brezina, and Nancy Mayer, Attorney at Law. As we get older, we all recognize the importance of having our affairs in order for our loved ones. Learn what documents are needed to complete this task. We will cover wills, advanced directives, and what needs to be done when death occurs. Upon registration, you will receive an electronic copy of Your Legacy Checklist. Completing the checklist is not a small amount of work, but you will feel fabulous when it’s done. Register here. Email Ivy Brezina here or call 415-663-8703.

• UU JUSTICE NC ACTION OF THE WEEK Any day now, the NC General Assembly will send their budget to the Governor's desk. Our faith calls us to join others across the state in telling Governor Cooper to Fight for Medicaid Expansion and the Leandro Plan in state budget negotiations. Take action here!

• RARE WOMEN We are women (mostly retired) who discuss the gifts, myths, and challenges of growing older. We are discussing Ashton Applewhite’s book, This Chair Rocks – A Manifesto Against Ageism, using this discussion guide. Bonnie Gilliom’s group, here will meet via Zoom Thursday, October 14 (10am-noon) and discuss Chapter 2. NEWCOMERS ARE WELCOME to join any of our three groups! Check our webpage, here for group meeting times and Zoom links. Contact us HERE to join our email list.

• OUTDOOR CONNECTIONS: FALL HIKE/PICNIC AT SEVEN MILE CREEK, SAT. 10/16 10 AM Lovely two-mile autumn walk along Seven Mile Creek and through mature hardwood forest, followed by a picnic at tables adjacent to parking. Bringing something to share is always nice. Sharing your enjoyment of fall is even nicer. RSVP here.

• NONFICTION BOOK DISCUSSION FOR OCTOBER On Saturday, October 16 from 10:30 AM to 12 PM, the Nonfiction Readers will discuss Empire of the Summer Moon by C. S. Gwynne. The book tells the story of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history, and its last greatest chief. Kari Andrade will be leading our discussion, which will be held via Zoom. New members and drop-ins are welcome. Contact the group here to ask questions, or to be placed on the distribution list for meeting information.

• HABITAT FOR HUMANITY SHARE THE PLATE (STP) For more than 25 years, our church has worked with Habitat for Humanity to build safe, affordable homes for our neighbors in need. We contribute funds and work on construction with homeowners, who share costs. The Oct. 17 STP collection will continue our church's history: 23 single-family homes, a duplex and townhouses. Can't be here Oct. 17? Please send a donation to the church office, checks payable to Community Church of Chapel Hill UU; put Habitat STP in the memo line. Thank you.For more information, farinolakathleen@gmail.com, here or Dave Morgan, here.

• ECO:HUMAN PRAYER CHAIN FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE OCT 18, 2021 5PM IN RALEIGH In a lead up to the Glasgow UN Climate Conference, faith communities around the world will be holding vigils and prayers. In our area, the socially-distanced prayer chain on October 18 at 5 PM begins at the UU Fellowship of Raleigh (UUFR) and will extend along Wade Avenue. At 6 PM, local clergy will lead a short Outdoor Prayer Vigil for Climate Justice at UUFR. Parking: UUFR, 3313 Wade Avenue, and Community United Church of Christ, 814 Dixie Trail at Wade Avenue. Questions: contact ECO, here.

• THE FIVE BIG QUESTIONS -- THURSDAY 10/21, 10/28, 11/4, 11/11, 11/18 AT 7 PM A personal spiritual quest can be characterized by five questions: Who am I? How do I know what I know? Who or what is in charge? What is my purpose in life? What does my death mean? This is a wonderful class of exploration and discussion. By the end of the course each participant will have written her/his personal creed. This course will be held on Zoom. Register HERE. Contact Kristen Dunivant HERE.

• UU JUSTICE NC ANNUAL(ZOOM) GATHERING On Sunday, October 24 from 4 - 6 PM, through “The Power of Story” we will celebrate our work in 2021, reflecting on the part we each play in the story of UU Justice NC. Our keynote speaker will be Susan Leslie, who, in 30 years of working for justice at the UUA, has seen our denomination's justice work evolve. You can Register Here for this virtual event.

• DON'T MISS THE STP DEADLINE! OCT. 31! Do you have a worthy project within the church or beyond our walls in which you are involved? Local or international? Could they use some financial support? Think Share the Plate (STP)! We are accepting applications for STP Sundays Jan-June 2022! Learn all about us, review our guidelines, and access appropriate application forms HERE! Questions? Contact Jane Provan, here or Jill Baker, here.

• COMMUNITY SERVICE MINISTRY Containers for donations to the IFC Community Market have been set up in the Commons so that the collection of food and personal hygiene items can resume. What are needed most are toilet paper, baking mixes, snacks, cans of fruit, instant grits, and coffee. Church volunteers will take these donations to the IFC (Inter-faith Council for Social Services) pantry on Main Street in Carrboro.

• SANCTUARY FOR DIALOGUE (SfD) - HELP CHOOSE NEXT TOPIC SfD would love your help in planning our next dialogue. We are considering several topics related to COVID vaccines and will choose one based on interest. Take this brief survey to weigh in, and feel free to email us here with any questions. Take this brief survey.

• MAKE RESERVATIONS NOW! NEW SPACES NOW AVAILABLE Please request your dates & times in the virtual and physical spaces of our church for the summer & upcoming year. The form is always available here, on the homepage of the church website. Please use this form for all requests, including changes/cancellations; this helps Dana and Rachel track & meet our congregation's needs. Groups are meeting via Zoom and /or in person, and much of our campus is open. Here is our Building Use Policy, which we regularly update.

• SCAM ALERT Several members of the church received email from an address imitating Rev. Thom's, or those of other staff members. These messages ask people to purchase gift cards to give to people in the hospital, or something similar. These messages are a scam. If you receive them, please report them and delete them. If you have any concerns, please email Rev. Thom here. Please know that Rev. Thom and the staff of The Community Church will never send out email solicitations asking people to purchase gift cards.

• ART IN THE SANCTUARY From September through October, the art in the Sanctuary will be photographs by Maxine Okazaki. The show is titled, The Beauty of Nature: Birds and Butterflies. Maxine says "We often don’t notice Nature’s beauty because we’re too busy or we don’t bother to pay attention. When I go out to photograph Nature, I try to be mindful of whatever Nature reveals to me. Sometimes it’s a colorful butterfly or a bird actually sitting still to pose for me." Contact Maxine here.

• LECTIO MEDITATION GROUP We meet at 12 noon every Friday on Zoom. Using readings from poetry and the sacred traditions of world religions, we practice meditation through deep listening. If you’re interested in joining or would like more information, contact Barb Chapman here. (Please put LECTIO in the subject line of your email.) All are welcome!

• SUNDAY SERVICES FLOWER DONATIONS Would you like to donate flowers for The Community Church Sunday Services? Flowers can be shared to commemorate an anniversary, remember a loved one, or celebrate an important occasion. Please use this form to donate flowers to help make our Services more beautiful. Thank you!