April's Share the Plate is going to the Minister's Discretionary Fund.
We always collect for the Minister's Discretionary Fund on Christmas Eve. Now, Christmas is coming early because we anticipate that with the current stay at home orders, more people may need a little help. This account is used to confidentially help members in need. Through this benevolence fund, we're able to give help to that member who just needs one month's rent to be paid so they can make it to their next payday, or help with groceries, or a medical bill. While we are all apart, let us continue to come together to support one another.
March Share the Plate total: $637.63
The SAFE Alliance
Love Notes Recipient for April -- LIVE OAK!
Every month, we recognize a group for all that they do and bring to the church. Past recipients included the Stewardship Team, our childcare workers, the Membership Team, and others.
For the month of April, the group we are recognizing is ... LIVE OAK!
Please write a love note to Live Oak, telling us what this church has meant in your life. Rev. Joanna will read them in the April 26 service. Send those love notes to: lovenotes@liveoakuu.org.
And we need art, too! Whether you are 4 years old or 94, we'd love it if you drew a picture depicting something about Live Oak, and sent it to that same email address. These will also be shared April 26.
The draft minutes for the March regular Policy Committee meeting can be found here.
HELP DISTRIBUTE FOOD TO OUR NEIGHBORS
Live Oak Church will be distributing food to our neighbors at Fresh Food Friday this week and need volunteers to help. Please note the new Hill Country Community Ministries (HCCM) process. * Friday, April 17th @ 8:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. in the Live Oak parking lot. This is when we distribute the food to our neighbors. Volunteers are needed to set up, direct people to the drive through area, collect client information, and place food in client's trunk. You do not need to remain the entire 2 & 1/2 hours.
HCCM has asked for 7 people to help. We are asking you to please let us know if you will be able to participate, so we know if we have enough or too many people.
HCCM Process for Friday You folks have done a drive-through distribution, so you're familiar. A couple changes have occurred:
Signage to help clients navigate the distribution will be available in English and in Spanish. Clients are instructed to stay in their vehicles, that we will be asking for several pieces of information (name, zip code, if they have visited a FFFA distribution before, number of people in household), and that food will be placed in their car trunk.
Volunteers are utilized in traffic direction, grocery handling, and information collection.
Clients drive up and are spoken to through the passenger window and information is gathered by a volunteer with a clipboard. Clients do NOT touch any form or paper and volunteers keep their protective distance.
Food is placed in client trunks by volunteers. As much as possible, volunteers open and close the trunk with clientele remaining in their vehicle for the entirety. Volunteers will not put it elsewhere in the car and do NOT directly hand food to clientele ever.
If a client cannot use their trunk or approaches on foot, they are re-directed to an alternate spot where volunteers can place the food away from the drive-through. Once the volunteer has placed food in this alternate spot, they step away while the client retrieves the product to put inside their vehicle themselves.
Policy Committee Meeting
The Policy Committee will be having a regular business meeting on Sunday, April 26 at 12:30 PM. The meeting is open to all members of the congregation. This will be an online meeting via Zoom. The link will be available on the What's Happening This Week page.
Sacred Art and Spiritual Writing Groups
Let's do art together!
Introducing Sacred Art and Spiritual Writing Groups! We will meet every 1st and 3rd Monday at 6pm to share our poetry, prose, memories, and short stories of uplifting and supportive themes with each other. I will offer an (optional) theme but any uplifting pieces of writing will always be welcome. Every 2nd and 4th Monday at 6 pm we will do Sacred Art together! Again, I will offer a theme such as sunlight, or strength in each other, but you can use the time to work on any art or craft while chatting with each other. Looking forward to seeing you! Check the What's Happening This Week page for the link.
Zen Meditation Group Meets on Zoom
Thursdays 7:00-8:30pm
The Zen Meditation Group is still meeting on Thursday nights. But now it's via Zoom. The session will include a check in, meditation, and reading with
discussion. Currently, they are reading, Falling Into Grace -- Insights on the End of Suffering by Adyashanti. The link is available on the What's Happening This Week page.
Tuesday Night Deep Dive
This regular 7:00pm Tuesday evening Zoom Deep Dive with Kiya is for those who need a deeper check-in and a supportive place to process. The link can be found on the What's Happening This Week page.
Ready for some party games over Zoom? NEW DAY & TIME
Many Jackbox Party games can be played over Zoom, so let's play some Murder Trivia Party 2! Join us
Mondays at
8:30pm for a Party Game Night. Watch out for more information on the Information and Events. The link will also be available on the What's Happening This Week.
Touch Group for Grown-ups
Touching is a human need--touching in, touching heartstrings, touching our funnybone. Losing our ability to touch others may be the hardest part of social distancing. So Rev. Betty is taking the Touch Group idea from our Unitarian Universalist youth and putting an adult twist on it. Our first meeting is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.on Monday, April 20th. So pour yourself a cup of tea or whatever your favorite beverage is, and join us.
We will talk about topics from the serious to the frivolous and about their effect on our lives. Please send an email with your email address to hskwarek@uuma.org, invitations will be sent later in the month.
Zoom!
We encourage you to connect with Zoom in various ways.
If you are planning a Zoom gathering for Live Oak members on your own Zoom account, please provide Diane with the date, time, link and title of the meeting. She will add it to the What's Happening page.
If you need a zoom meeting scheduled on the Live Oak account, send a request to Diane, and she will help you schedule it and provide the link.
What's Happening This Week
Enriching Connections has become an even more vital part of all that we do. We want to make it as easy for you to stay connected as possible. So we encourage you to add something to your morning routine. As you sip your coffee or tea, go to this link:
http://www.liveoakuu.org/whats-happening-this-week/
It will have the most up-to-date information about connection events. Be sure and save the link! We want to enrich connections, but we are also putting safeguards in place so that we can feel safer when we gather in this way. (But if you have a friend who might want to join, feel free to privately send them the link.)
Preparing to Get the Most Out of Sunday's Service
Get ready to worship in a completely new way! Read more
Do You Usually Drop Your Pledge Check in the Offertory Basket?
Here's how to submit payments in the time of Covid-19:
By mail:
Live Oak UU Church
3315 El Salido Pkwy
Cedar Park, TX 78613
Online:
Click the Donate button on the website or follow this
link
Have a great potential member? Concerned that someone is struggling to find their place? Contact the Membership Team and we can reach out. Email: membership@liveoakuu.org
