October 28, 2021
This Week
Worship
10/31/2021
Hooray for Halloween!
Rev. Joanna Fontaine Crawford
 
We complete our month’s theme of “Design Your Life” by lifting up an important part of living: FUN. Wear your costume and come ready to celebrate!


Join us for Worship at 9:30am in person or online: the link will be on the Live Oak homepage: www.liveoakuu.org

Join us for Fellowship Time immediately following the service (approx. 10:15/10:30): https://link.liveoakuu.org/FellowshipHour
Fix the Plate
The bonus Sunday this month is a bonus for Live Oak.
October 31st isn’t just a treat for our littlest Live Oakers—it’s a Halloween treat for our building, too. It’s the fifth Sunday of the month so all Share the Plate proceeds go to Fix the Plate—that is, to our Buildings and Grounds team to directly support the upkeep of LOUU’s physical space.

Go to the Donate link on the Live Oak website’s home page. Use the drop down menu to designate your donation for “Share the Plate”. In addition to those designated donations, half of all undesignated gifts this Sunday will go to the fund.
A Few Words from the Minister
The Spectacle of Halloween
What will be our 'disco'? Read more
A Few Words from the DLFD
(Director of Lifespan Faith Development)
Faith Development 10.25 to 10.31.21
Up this week...PARTY! Read more
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Special Notices
Stewardship Pledge Campaign 2022
Pledge Now! Last chance for Raffle entry!

The LOUU Stewardship Pledge Campaign 2022 is almost over! If you pledged last year you should have received an email with your pledge information.

Live Oak counts on annual pledges to create its budget for the coming year, and an annual pledge is also a requirement for active membership.

Thank you to all who have pledged. So far we have raised $94,000. We have a good start to the 2022 pledge campaign. We’re so excited to have received two matching pledge challenges for any new or increased pledges - up to $4500! Your new or increased pledge could be doubled! This Sunday, October 31st we’ll celebrate with an outdoor Stewardship Celebration and Raffle. Please join us for a Stewardship Cereal Brunch.

Midnight October 30 is the deadline to be entered in the Raffle.

Keep those pledges coming! Click here to submit your pledge.

If you have questions about Stewardship, email stewardship@liveoakuu.org.

In case you missed it, be sure to check out the videos of members:

Ray and Becky McPherson here

Joel and Stephani Bercu here

And The Jimenez family video here

We look forward to celebrating with you on Sunday, Oct. 31st!
Memorial Service for David "Hutt" Huttenmaier
There will be an outdoor memorial service this Sunday at 2 PM for Kathi Lunny‘s husband. Kathi would appreciate seeing her friends and community so please join if you can. Here is the memorial website where you can see additional information about Hutt.
Invitation to Chalice Circles
Interested in trying it out and seeing what it is about....read more
You are Invited
Please join the Environmental Awareness Group this evening at 6:30pm, Thursday, October 28th. Hear about our plan to plant a tree on the church grounds. We will review the suggestions made by members of things Live Oak can do to improve the planet.. Here is the meeting Zoom Link.
Help with the Holidays
Our Fresh Food Fridays partner – Hill Country Community Ministries (HCCM) is gathering a few special items for their holiday meal kit. Grab your green bag (or any bag) and pick up a few of the suggested items - canned corn, canned sweet potatoes, Jello, pudding, pie filling, canned peaches, cranberry sauce. The HCCM monthly needs list can be found here. Want a Live Oak Green Bag for HCCM Donations? You can pick one up on Sundays or at the church during office hours.
Invocation from Oct. 21 Leander City Council Meeting
Rev. Crawford was invited to give the invocation for the October 21 Leander City Council meeting. Here are her words:

"Spirit of Life, God of different understandings, which we call by many names, or no name, but who calls each of us ‘beloved,’ we lift up this prayer:
In a time when what is amplified so often are the voices of anger and discord
May our hearts be softened so that we may listen to one another with loving curiosity
May we have the courage to speak clearly about what we believe to be important
Trusting that others will do the same
Let us celebrate all of the different lived experiences that we bring into this room
And the rich diversity of this community whom we represent
May our fears be transformed into hope
May creativity and imagination be bountiful to respond to our challenges
May love be the guiding principle for our decisions
And foremost, may our knowledge that life is fragile and a gift fill us with gratitude
And may our gratitude take form in generosity to one another and the people we serve.

In the name of all that is sacred and true, we say, Amen and blessed be."

Live Oak Seniors' Coffee Hour
Join Rev. Joanna for Coffee hour on the 1st & 3rd Thursdays at 10:30am. November's discussion topics:
  • November 4 - Mystical Experiences
  • November 18 - Food & Nostalgia
The Zoom link will be on the What's Happening page.

Going Up!
We will be proceeding with our Capital Fund project to build an elevator to make our second floor finally accessible to everyone in our congregation! After some consternation about the increased costs over the original estimate, the capital fund committee and board of trustees both voted in favor of proceeding with the project. Wayne McCullough is working with our fantastic architect, Gary Shaw, on getting revised bids from two good contractors. We'll share project updates throughout the estimated 6 month timeline.
CT Goss, President
New VP
Joel Bercu has graciously accepted the appointment to Vice President of the Board of Trustees for the remainder of Amy Dark's term (she resigned when moving out of state). The board voted to appoint Joel to the vacated position in accordance with the bylaws during the October regular meeting.
CT Goss, President
Goblins and ghosts needed for greeting at Sunday Halloween service
If you would like to show off your creative Halloween costume at our Halloween Sunday service, please consider being a greeter. Contact Donna.w.durbin@gmail.com, if interested.
Updated COVID guidelines
The health and safety of the Live Oak congregation and employees are of utmost priority.
We at Live Oak are continuing to follow the staging approach for COVID as per Austin Public Health guidelines. Currently Austin Public Health is as a Stage 3 (yellow) for COVID-19. This means that while outside, masking is optional for vaccinated people. We still recommend masking for unvaccinated individuals even outdoors. While indoors, we recommend masking when in groups (>2) or in the common areas despite vaccination status. We will continue to Live Stream on YouTube services for those that cannot attend in person. Thank you for understanding and helping us get through this pandemic safely. Live Oak Covid Policy

“Justice Work” Can Make a Difference
The State Legislature actually voted against an amendment that could jail Texans for months or years even though they had not been found guilty of any crime. It was not that the legislators suddenly experienced enlightenment to the foundation of the legal system’s “presumption of innocence.” It is because citizens took action! Join an email group to receive updates on Live Oak’s Social Justice Ministry?
LiveOakUU.org Pages to Visit:
Worship Service & Fellowship Hour: http://www.liveoakuu.org/
Community Outreach & Social Justice: http://www.liveoakuu.org/justice/
In the Community
WildEarth Climate Action Friday Film Series is BACK!!
The WildEarth Climate Action Team offers a series of documentaries focusing on the World-wide Water Crisis and some of the solutions that are being applied or explored. Starting October 1, then every other Friday, four evenings of film viewing and discussion will be hosted. Following are the dates and films; details on the films and Zoom links for each will be provided in the next few weeks.
Double Feature
Tomorrow, Friday October 29 at 7 pm
 
The Last Drop:  This 2021 National Geographic film explores the growing water scarcity crisis in the U.S., especially in the Colorado River watershed. Hosted by California marine social ecologist Shannon Switzer Swanson, who examines challenges and solutions for the region, and actor Adrian Grenier, who is coached to drastically reduce his water use at home. (Grenier recently quit Hollywood to move to a farm near Bastrop.)
The World's Water Crisis: This short film by Netflix with Vox Media Studios probes the world’s water crisis, examining issues causing shortages that threaten major global cities with “Day Zero”--meaning, running out of water in the next few decades. Discusses issues including how water is mismanaged, how investors are buying up water sources worldwide, and how shortages can lead to conflict. 
The deadline for the weekly e-newsletter and the Sunday announcements is midnight on Tuesday. The submission form can be found here
If you have any questions or comments about this Newsletter please email: editor@liveoakuu.org