News from UUCH

Calendar of Events

October 12, 2023

Vol. 23 Issue 42

COVID Policy as of 10/25/2022

In This Issue

-COVID Policy

-Upcoming Service

-Nursery Care

-Rev. Jaimie's Highlights

-CYRE News

-Liz Hurley Run

-ARE

-Sanctuary Survey

-Children Books

-Fall Auction

-Circle of Candles

-Calendar of Events

-Little Food Pantry

-Donate Online or

by Text

-Submit to the Newsletter

-Minister Info

-UUCH Board Members

-Church Info

Quick Links...

CLF Daily Compass

UUCH Calendar

UUCH Website

Unitarian Univ ersalist Association

UUA Braver/Wiser

UUA Southern Region

Upcoming Service

De Colores: Getting In Good Trouble

Ryan Gonzales

10:45 a.m., Sunday, October 15, 2023

Culture can impact us in unexpected ways. Looking at our world through different perspectives can help us see what is truly important and impactful. We are joined on this last day of Hispanic Heritage Month by our Office Administrator, Ryan Gonzales, to speak on his journey of embracing his Mexican Culture and how that is tied with impacting our community by Making Good Trouble.

Originally from Houston, Texas, Ryan is our office administrator. He stepped down from a position in the corporate world to focus on impacting the Huntsville community. Ryan is also a baker and the Kitchen Manager at L'Etoile Patisserie. When not at the church office, Ryan spends his time with his wife of 5 years, Sarah Coleman-Gonzales, and their 2 dogs and 2 cats. He is a man of many passions, including cooking, choral music, fantasy and sci-fi novels, board games, TTRPGs, LEGO (check out a few of the sets he has in his office), and most of all spending time with friends and family

Worship Zoom Link

This Sunday Events Following Service

Coffee Hour

Fellowship Hall

Choir News

Fall has arrived, but the choir is looking ahead! Soon we'll begin working on music for Solstice and Christmas Eve. If you were considering giving choir a try, now would be a great time. No experience needed, just come and sing!

Choir will rehearse this Sunday at 12:10am.

Nursery Care

Nursery care will be available during the service

from 10:30-12:15.

Little ones can be signed in and out upon arrival and departure in the RE wing.

Letter from Rev. Jaimie

Dear UUCH,

When I candidated to become your minister, we talked about how this congregation needed to reflect on and rewrite or renew our Mission and Vision Statements. View our current Statements here. As we start year 4 together, after the time of pandemic lock down, enormous shifts in staffing, and the work of regathering as a multiplatform community, it is finally time to focus on Mission and Vision!

Here is how the process will go:

This Fall there will be three in person workshops and 1 virtual workshop on Sundays after church. Each will be the same, so no need to attend more than one, and they will give us time to learn, reflect, talk in small groups and offer feedback. (Childcare will be available for all In-person workshops)

Once we have done that information gathering, a small group of leaders will do the writing and wordsmithing work in order to create a solid draft.

Then we will wrestle with our draft all spring. We will reflect on it in worship, community life, and in more formal feedback sessions.

At the end of this good work, a final proposal will be brought to the congregation to be approved at the Congregational Meeting in June.

I will be there to answer questions along the way, but for now, please mark your calendars and plan to attend one of the 3 Mission Vision Workshops this fall.

Sunday, October 29th, 12:30–2:00 p.m.

Sunday, November 12th, 12:30–2:00 p.m. ONLINE

Sunday, November 19th, 12:30–2:00 p.m.

If you can please RSVP here, but either way I hope you attend one of these sessions!

CYRE News

Pre-K – Fifth

Our younger kids will continue learning about this month’s theme, Heritage, while focusing on the LGBTQIA+ community and their contributions to society. Though frequently underrepresented in historical narratives, the LGBTQIA+ community has always existed and been monumental in shaping and building progress the world over. By acknowledging this truth, we hope our children can learn the value of each life and the chance to be recognized and seen.

Sixth – 12^th Grade

This week our YoUUth will learn how UUism draws upon, and is inspired by, sacred, secular, and scientific understandings that help us make meaning and live into our values. We will explore the gift of being rooted in science and reason and how this gives us the gifts of – wonder, gratitude, and curiosity.

Upcoming Events:

10/28 – Trunk or Treat 5PM – 8PM

Our Trunk or Treat event was published by Rocket City Mom! Check it out here!

**Donations/Loans Needed**

The CYRE Committee is hosting a Trunk or Treat this year and we need your help! We are looking for Halloween decorations, inflatables, and outside games (cornhole, etc) from anyone who would be willing to loan these items for the event. Also, if you are interested we could use donations of small items that could be handed out for prizes. Please contact Kristen Warrington at dre@uuch.org if interested.

Save the Date - Liz Hurley Ribbon Run on Saturday, October 21

Please make your plans now to join the UUCH Fellowship Committee at the 2023 Liz Hurley Ribbon Run to support breast cancer research.

Join the Huntsville UUters at the 20th Liz Hurley Ribbon Run on Saturday, October 21. Click here to join our team. If you don't have an RunSignUp account, you will be asked to create one.

Money will never be a barrier to participating in Fellowship at UUCH. If you need financial assistance to participate, please contact Rev. Jaimie at minister@uuch.org.

We look forward to seeing you! Contact Sarah Rody at sarahsrody28@gmail.com or Steve Rittenberg at srittenberg@gmail.com if you have questions.

New UU Class Continues this Sunday (10/15/23) at 9 a.m.

Join us this coming Sunday morning (Oct 15) and again on Oct 22 for a chance to learn and share. If you missed last week’s class, you’re still welcome to attend the final two sessions.

Meet for coffee, juice and snacks at 9:00 a.m. in the Adult RE classroom located at the back of the Religious Education wing; discussion starts at 9:15. Pam Korb and Nancy Finley will facilitate. Handouts for any missed sessions will be available.

Childcare will be provided for each class.

Contact membership@uuch.org for further information.

Co-hosted by your Adult Religious Education and Membership committees

Submitted by Adult RE and Membership Committees

Paint a pumpkin for display at UUCH!

The Worship Arts Committee is inviting everyone to paint and decorate a pumpkin for a fall display in our sanctuary and around our campus! Find your own pumpkin of any size/shape/color, paint it with a fall or Halloween theme, and bring it to the Fellowship Hall.

. . . unless you are in our CYRE program. The Worship Arts & CYRE committees will provide pumpkins to be decorated for our CYRE kids.

Suggested parameters for church campus display:

We are discouraging decorating by puncturing the pumpkin in any way, so as to prevent rot.

You may take your pumpkin home with you at any time, especially after the service on October 29. After that, your pumpkin will be removed.

Please avoid clown faces, horror expressions, or gory details. Remember that we have a wide variety of sensitivities in our congregation; especially amongst our youngest kids. Church should always feel SAFE, so keep that in mind when decorating.

Inappropriate or rotting/molding pumpkins will be removed. Get creative!

Children’s Books Collection

Books for children of all ages are still being collected for donation to the Village of Promise, a local non-profit founded to address the needs of children and families in distressed, high-poverty neighborhoods. The Village of Promise provides programs for entire families in an effort to help break the cycle of poverty; it is particularly focused on improving children’s reading skills.

If you have children’s books that you no longer need and would like to donate them, please bring them to the Church and place them in the bin located in the Fellowship Hall.

Thank you so very much for your support!

Sponsored by the Social Justice Committee

Fall 2023 Auction

It's as easy as ABC! It’s ABC Auction Party time– Nov 11! Let’s raise funds for our church and have fun at the same time!

First, contribute an item, service, or party offering to the auction using our page in Auctria. If you have difficulty with the site, feel free to email the donation information to service.auction@uuch.org. Please include contact information, description, value, starting bid and a photo. UUCH link for Auctria: https://auctria.events/uuch

Optional step: Seek donations from your favorite local business! Just show them our letter available here. Hardcopy will also be available at the church.

Second step: Bidding! Online bidding begins Oct 28 and ends Nov 11. You do not have to be present at the ABCs Auction Party to win!

Third step: Party prep! If you are willing to assist, please email service.auction@uuch.org. Signup sheets will be available soon!

Final Step: Fall Fun Party time! Join us on Nov. 11 at 5:30 p.m. at UUCH for our annual fundraising auction. See the items for bid or raffle in person. Enjoy music, food, fellowship and friendly bidding to raise money for our beloved community.

Educational opportunities for caregivers

From time to time, I will be posting educational opportunities in our community.

Teri Thomas, ARE chair

Safety Tour of Church Building

The Safety Committee will have a safety tour of the building after service on 10/15. The goal is to inform and familiarize the congregation with our installed safety kits/devices and general building safety practices performed on the building which you can use at home, too.

The tour will happen ~15min after service, will start in the main lobby, and should take 20-30min.

Sponsored by the Safety Committee

Upcoming Events

Click the calendar to see all of our upcoming events!

Little Food Pantry

The food pantry is a huge success, being utilized by numerous people!

If you are able to pick a day to re-stock the pantry, please do so, using the Sign-Up Genius link below.

There are also baskets in the Fellowship Hall and Sanctuary entry foyer for food collection. The collected food will ultimately be used to fill the pantry on days not chosen on the sign-up genius.

Canned meats, soups, veggies, mac-and-cheese, bread, fruit, fresh veggies--all kinds of foods are welcome.

Thank you for being so generous. We are making a difference!

Sign-Up Genius

Submitted by the Social Justice Committee

Donate Online

via CDM+ Engage

Online:

Like our other online and mobile giving options, this option is through CDM+ Engage, is secure, and has a good option for "plate" donations as well as "pledge".

Donate

Submit to the Newsletter

Do you have news to include in the newsletter next week? Please submit your article to the newsletter through our request form no later than 10:00 am each Wednesday. Please make sure to complete a new request form each time you make a submission to the newsletter.

Minister

Rev. Jaimie Dingus

Office Hours:

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday by appointment.

Calendar: https://calendly.com/rev-jaimie-dingus

Email: minister@uuch.org

Make an Appointment with the Minister

UUCH 2023-24

Board Members

President:

Susan Coddington

Vice President:

Bryan Walls

Secretary:

Nancy Finley

Treasurer:

David Bollinger

Trustees:

Will Garrison

Darlene Patten

Cam Scales

Minister:

Rev. Jaimie Dingus

Do you have an agenda item for the Board?

The Board respectfully requests that all agenda items for the meeting be submitted to Board President Susan Coddington via email no later than one week prior to the meeting (i.e. the Tuesday before). The next board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 25th, 2023, at 6:30 pm.