All Souls UU Church

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This Sunday

Sermon: Saying Goodbye

The Rev. Christine Robinson

It has been a significant year for All Souls, and I am proud to have been a part of both the triumphs and the difficulties. Now it’s time to say goodbye and farewell…a task that returns to us over and over in our lives. We’ll talk about the year, the church, the task of “goodbying”, and…we’ll say goodbye. I am looking forward to one last trip to your lovely city and seeing you one last time.

This is an in-person service, but those who wish to watch on Zoom can do so by clicking HERE

We offer in-person religious education every week . The children will begin in the service and recess to a program of orientation of UU Principles values through play.

From Christine

As you bring on Beth Elliot to share the ministry with Roger next year, you also take on a new challenge and a new status as a congregation…you are about to join the ranks of Teaching Congregations, and I know you’ll love it.

Beth’s original plan for this year was to do her ministerial internship, and normally, that can’t be combined with “a real job.” But the UUA has, as you have noticed, a serious minister shortage, and is eager to get new ministers out into the field, so they are streamlining processes and bending rules to that end. Beth’s work with you will, therefore, count as her internship, and you will be, besides her employer and her “people”, also her Teaching Church. You’ll soon form an “Intern Committee” to meet with her regularly and help guide her learning. (interested? Contact Justin Lincoln). But each and every one of you is now a teacher, not so much in the sense of imparting knowledge, but in the sense of creating an environment that assists learning. We all know what that is; encouraging, welcoming, forgiving of novice mistakes and generally healthy. I know you can be that kind of a congregation!

An intern also needs a supervisor; an experienced colleague with knowledge of the teaching congregation and a particular credential, one that Roger, for all his experience in ministry, does not happen to have. Therefore, another rule has been bent, and Roger and I will supervise Beth together.

Usually, as you know, ministers who serve a congregation have to go away and stay gone until a congregation bonds with its new minister, and that was my plan, too. But, well, we live in interesting times, don’t we? My work with Beth and Roger will be behind the scenes and invisible to you, so it will be as if I’d left. We didn’t want my presence at the edge of your life next year to be a secret, though, so here is the full disclosure. For myself, supervising interns (Beth will be my 9th ), has been a very rich part of my ministry and one I had not thought to ever do again. I couldn’t be more pleased!

I hope you will take pride in your new status as a Teaching Church and that you’ll be proud, this time next year, to send Beth off into ministry with the experience and depth of a good internship.

Parents of 9-12 year olds!

High Plains Unitarian Church wants to host an OWL class for 9-12 year olds. This acclaimed sex education curriculum offers age appropriate and UU values oriented sex education for persons of all ages: this is one of the important modules. High Plains needs a few more kids to make a class. If you are interested, please be in touch with Jen: jenkeating91@gmail.com

Hi! My name is Jay Thomas, and I am the new ASUUC Music Director!

I’ve lived in Pueblo for nearly two years. I grew up in Dayton, OH (where my family belonged

to a Unitarian church and I was a member of LRY) and spent nearly all of my adult

life in Northeast Wisconsin. I earned a Bachelor of Music degree in 1979, Music Certification in Choral and General Music in 1998, and a Masters of Science in Curriculum and Instruction in 2007, all while attending the University of

Wisconsin-Oshkosh. So, suffice to say, I’m a musician and a teacher.

I taught choir and/or general music at the elementary and middle school levels for 15 years and was choral director at a 2-year UW campus for five. I was music director for the Oneida Nation summer music camp for three seasons and provided piano and voice lessons there as well. I’ve maintained a private music studio for over 20 years. And I was the Music Director at the Fox Valley UU Fellowship in Appleton, WI for 9 wonderful years. I am looking forward to creating music and memories at All Souls!

Green Sanctuary

Our next Meeting is on Tuesday, Aug. 2nd at 6:30 PM Mountain time in person in the Garden/or Great Hall at ASUUC or on Zoom. We will continue to discuss our next steps and plan for our next work.

Green Sanctuary Tips:

"According to research done by the Federal Transit Administration in conjunction with the EPA, transportation accounts for 29% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. The study also found that public transit reduces emissions by up to 76% per passenger mile than single-occupant vehicles."

Although we may not yet be able to use all electric vehicles (EV) for personal use because of the lack of charging infrastructure, there are several public transit solution strategies. Many cities are transitioning to zero-emission EV buses. Another alternate fuel with lower emissions is compressed natural gas. In support of this solution we should have "pedestrian-friendly designs" that make public transit junctions "equally accessible by walking, biking, or driving". Increasing accessibility will improve the likelihood of using these options. Other possible uses of EVs would be postal mail trucks and some law enforcement applications like city park patrols.

Another supplement to greening transportation is citywide bike-share programs to reduce traffic congestion and make a positive impact on local businesses. The IRS does not currently recognize bike-shares as public transportation, so a change in this policy would give tax benefits and incentivize the use of this form of urban transportation.

Source: environment.co/green-transportation-solutions/

Building & Grounds Completed Projects for 2021-2022

Chimney Stabilization
Remove and replace playground fencing
Hardware u[grades and rekeying
Window safety re-glazing
Exterior lighting - Tejon, Dale, playground
Paint and repair Small Hall and restroom walls
Clean and paint minister's study and office
Seal ductwork
Finish RE repairs
Stair tower storage spaces
Purchased new battery powered snow blower
Purchased new battery powered mower
Add fencing to Tejon garden

B&G Team Members:

Jay Hatfield
Janice Black
Mike Brabec
Mark Nordstrom
Yolanda Reid
Kate Harrison
Becky Harrison
Gary Harrison

Please join the team, lots to do.

Gary Harrison, B&G Administrator

Art & Hobby Club

2nd & 4th Thursdays, 10am - 12pm, in the Small Hall. Enter from the parking lot. (Meeting: July 28, Aug 11)

Artists & Hobbyists, come join our group. This gathering is meant to be friendly, relaxed, fun, and of course... creative!! Bring in your favorite art or hobby supplies. For more info or to RSVP, e-mail Pam Brown.

All Souls & High Plains Folx!

You are invited toUU Conversations

at Bonforte Park Meet near the tennis court on Monroe

Tuesday August 9th at 5 pm

BYO Supper and Chair

Saturday August 13th at 19 am

BYO Chair

Let's get together and explore how we might collaborate. Choir? Social Actions? RE? Potlucks?

To learn about multisite ministries go to: uua.org/growth/multisite

For more info:

Karla Crescenta

banksthefire@gmail.com

Banned Books Alliance Circles

August 28, 1:30 pm to 3 pm

Sidewalk's End near East Library

For more info: banksthefire@gmail.com

Welcome Aboard!

Some souls? No, All Souls!

Roger Butts

The songs of Summer! Always the songs of Summer stick in our heads. We remember where we were when a certain song of Summer comes on the radio.

Maybe you were around in 1964 when the Drifters released Under the Board Walk. Maybe you can remember where you were that summer. What you were up to.

Or maybe your teenage years were filled with the singularly odd musical stylings of the B-52s. 1978. Rock Lobster. I was playing tennis at Lakelawn in the summer of 1978 in Galesburg, Illinois and just the

mere mention of that song’s name puts me right back there.

Maybe you are younger and Cardi B and Bad Bunny and J Balvin and their ear worm of a song, I Like It is your idea of a summer song.

Summer time makes me think of abundance, of wildflowers dancing all of those colors in places like Estes Park and Telluride.

The Summer Song is like that—rich and playful and dancy and full of joy.

What is your favorite summer song?

What is the playlist of your summer?

Summer is now almost winding down. Soon schools will start up again. Our church programming at All Souls will be in full bloom.

We will come into the Autumn of 2022 with a forward looking orientation. The settled minister search team is in full swing. Beth Elliot and I will be your new ministry team. As an intern in this new internship

site at All Souls, Beth is the very definition of forward-looking. We will help launch her career.

We have a new music director, leading our music department into the future: Jay Thomas, who brings a wealth of UU church experience.

We have Judie McMath in the office.

We will soon have a most exciting announcement about the future of the Religious Education program and the staff who will usher in our future, together.

All of this is made possible by your generosity and your abundant giving.

Summer is almost over. Take a listen to the music that sets your soul aflame. And let’s greet our newcomers with gratitude and excitement. The future beckons. Let’s answer the call. Whether your summer playlist includes Don Henley or Cardi B or Beach Boys or The Ramones (what’s up Rockaway Beach!), enjoy the last weeks of summer. Enjoy some music. And together, let’s face the future with abundance and enthusiasm.

See you in church, Roger

Deadline for submissions to this E-Letter is Wednesday at Noon. Please send submissions to Judie McMath

Office Hours: Sunday, July 30, 10 am to 12 pm

Tuesday, July 26 to Friday, July 29, 12 pm to 4 pm