View as Webpage July 8, 2022

Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington, Indiana

Summer Worship Service Schedule Change Please note: June 19 through July 31 we will hold one Sunday service only at 10:15 a.m. Two services will resume on August 7.

This Sunday's Service

Sunday, July 10, 2022 10:15 a.m. Transitions and Perfection Reverend David Pyle (Guest in Our Pulpit) Reverend Emily Manvel Leite In Person and Livestream The UU MidAmerica Regional Lead, the Reverend David Pyle, will share with us the ways in which the conceptions of perfection that arise from the Unitarian side of our theology can make difficult the growth and change that is possible during transitional times, in our church, in our community, and in our selves. As we look towards our upcoming Interim Ministry, how can we prepare ourselves to make the most of this transitional time? This Sunday's Order of Service Watch the livestream on our website Watch the livestream on our Facebook page

Guidelines from NEST Current Sunday Worship Guidelines for In-person Attendees: We expect all who are able to be vaccinated. Masks are currently required. Coffee Hour will be held in the Courtyard this Sunday. Click here for guidelines about Religious Education for children 3-13 and other meetings in the building. Warmest regards, The NEST Working Group: Jane McLeod, Abby Gitlitz, Michele Grove, Stephanie Kimball, Judy Klein, Dan Lodge-Rigal, Sarah Sanchez, Melinda Swenson and Rev Bill Breeden

Investigation Continues Regarding Checks Stolen from our Mail in April, May, and June Please check your records to be sure you received a confirmation email from us showing that we received your contribution checks mailed to the church's street address during April, May, or June. Bloomington Police Department is investigating, and we have new information that these thefts probably took place several times, likely from our mailbox by the road. If you have questions about whether we received your check, you can check your pledge record online at uucb.churchcenter.com/profile (you may be prompted to log in if you are not already, then click on My Giving on your profile page) or you can call one of our administrative staff for assistance: Carol Marks 812-287-9615, Monica Overman 812-322-5546, or Mandy Skinner 812-340-9981. If you discover that your check was stolen, contact your bank right away to make a fraud report, and please also make a police report to Detective Rob Shrake at 812-349-3352. The case number to provide is B22-23565. As of July 8, we are having all church mail forwarded to our new PO Box, which is: Unitarian Universalist Church PO Box 8132 Bloomington, IN 47407   Please do not mail contribution checks to the street address, but to the new PO Box instead. We also encourage everyone who is comfortable doing so and has internet access to use our online giving page at uucb.churchcenter.com/giving, where you can make contributions with a credit or debit card (please use the drop-down menu to designate where your contribution should go.)

Beware Email Fraud Our ministers, staff, lay leaders, and board members will never send you email asking you for any money besides your pledge payment! This week scammers impersonating Rev. Macklin sent emails to some of our members in an attempt to steal money. Several ways this was suspicious: 1) Rev. Macklin has resigned from our staff and doesn't send us email anymore. 2) They misspelled her name in the fake gmail address they created. 3) It plain did not sound like her. 4) We will never send you emails like this. Delete emails like this. Never respond to them. Click on this link to find out how to report the attempted fraud:  https://www.usa.gov/stop-scams-frauds

UUCB Board members available after services Our Board members will be available in Fellowship Hall after Sunday services, to answer any questions folks may have.

We need you to keep the coffee flowing! Sign up here to volunteer We need additional volunteers to help with coffee and tea on Sunday mornings. Volunteers replenish supplies before coffee hour starts (about 11:15 a.m.), during coffee hour (11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.), and clean up afterwards (12:15-12:35 p.m.). Please note these updated coffee hour times due to our temporary switch to one worship service on Sundays. Questions? Contact Marlin Howard at howardm(at)indiana.edu.

Sign up to Greet on Sundays Click here to sign up! Whether you have been a Greeter in the past, or are looking for a new volunteer opportunity, you are invited to sign up and greet on Sunday mornings. Click here for a list of Greeter duties. Questions? Email connect(at)uubloomington.org.

Help keep our candles glowing! Flame Keeper volunteers are very important to ensuring our worship services run smoothly on Sunday mornings. They maintain the Joys and Sorrows candles and assist the ministers as needed. Read this list of responsibilities for more details.   All are welcome to join the Flame Keepers. Children under the age of 16 will be asked to serve with a parent or guardian. If you haven't been a Flame Keeper in the past, we will provide a short tutorial for you before you serve. Click here to SIGN UP as a Flame Keeper in June or July To join the Flame Keepers, but not sign up for a Sunday yet, click here: Flame Keepers Group

Adding Your Photo to the Church Directory With the recent and upcoming arrival of new staff and members, we are encouraging all to upload a profile photo to the UUCB online directory. This can be done by going to the "profile" section of Church Center (accessible by clicking HERE) and clicking on the circle with your initials in it. You will then be prompted to upload a picture from your computer. If you have any difficulties with this, or find this request particularly daunting, please don't hesitate to email a picture of yourself to connect(at)uubloomington.org and I will add it to your profile! More detailed instructions for the new directory will also be available in the near future.  ~With gratitude, Anabel Watson

Religious Education Updates

We're Hiring Childcare Providers Are you interested in joining our childcare team? Applicants should be prepared to work on 2-3 Sundays per month, from 8:30 am to 12:45 pm (current summer hours are 9:30 - 11:45 am through July 31). Additional hours during the week will vary. Rate of pay starts at $13/hour ($10/hr for applicants under 18). Please contact Stephanie if you are interested or have any questions, at kimball(at)uubloomington.org. Additional Religious Education updates can be found in the July issue of our newsletter.

UU Humanists Meet July 10, 12:45 p.m. on Zoom The UU Humanist Forum will meet this Sunday at 12:45 p.m. via Zoom. Rich Janda will lead a discussion on "Demolition and promotion of emotions in politics and culture." If you'd like to join us, please contact Harold Ogren or Ann Watzel for the link to the Zoom meetings and to be added to our email discussion list.

UU Online Book Club Discusses Search: A Memoir with Recipes, Monday, July 11, 6:30 p.m. Search: A Memoir with Recipes by Michelle Huneven, will be discussed on Monday, July 11, at 6:30 p.m. To join the book discussions, sign up here. The UU Online Book Club usually meets the first Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom -- please note the July 11 date so as not to meet on July 4. Questions? Email connect(at)uubloomington.org.

Gladys DeVane Presents the Work of Frances Watkins Harper "Lest we Forget: The Life and Legacy of a Strong Black Woman" Wednesday, July 13, 7:30 pm at Beth Shalom Synagogue, 3750 E. 3rd Street Please join Dr. Gladys DeVane on Wednesday, July 13th at Beth Shalom Synagogue where she will facilitate a multimedia presentation and perform select works of Frances Watkins Harper (1825-1922), a woman who left her mark as a novelist, poet, activist, speaker, and teacher. For in-person attendance: Please register in advance here. Free Admission. Vaccination and masks required. Join from home: You can also watch via livestream.

From our Reproductive Justice Task Force

TOMORROW! Bans off Our Bodies Block Party Saturday, July 9, 1:00 pm Military Park at White River State Park in Indianapolis There will be a rideshare leaving the church parking lot at 11:45 a.m. on July 9 to carpool to this event.

Support Abortion Rights and Access through All-Options Pregnancy Resource Center The most effective way to support abortion rights and access is to donate to our local All-Options Pregnancy Resource Center. They administer the Hoosier Abortion Fund. To donate, choose the drop down menu option for 'Hoosier Abortion Fund' on this site: all-options.networkforgood.com

Opportunities to Get Involved Join the Reproductive Justice Task Force to receive newsletters and join our Zoom meetings, starting in August on 4th Mondays at 7 p.m. Donate to the Hoosier Abortion Fund. Email your legislators, especially to share personal stories. You can also contact Governor Eric Holcomb. Talk with family and friends; this empowers people to see how the issue affects them, spread the word, vote, and take action. Attend events to show support, who we are, and how committed we are. Get out the vote! Educate yourself about the issues and pass on what you learn to motivate others to vote as well. 

SHOW OFF YOUR CULINARY SKILLS AT THE BLOOMINGTON COMMUNITY KITCHEN Through the years, the Community Kitchen has been cranking out nutritious meals to anyone who’s hungry! And it’s one of the cleanest kitchens in town! The Hunger Task Force is now recruiting help to keep this valuable work going. Volunteers work in groups of two and there are two shifts available: 2nd Thursday and 4th Tuesday of every month, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Stools are available if needed. Once you sign up for a specific date, you have made a commitment - you are representing UUCB and the CK is counting on your presence to feed our hungry neighbors that day. Here is your link to sign up. You all know how important this work is, but do you realize that you are the power that makes this social justice work possible? THANK YOU FROM THE UU HUNGER TASK FORCE.

Homelessness Task Force: Volunteers Needed! Shalom Community Center and Wheeler Mission need volunteers! If you have the time, please consider signing up! Information on how to sign up for Shalom can be found HERE and for Wheeler Mission here: Women’s Shelter Volunteers and Men’s Shelter Volunteers. If you have any questions, contact Nathan Stonecipher at nstoneci(at)outlook.com or (812) 322 4958.

For additional information about how you can help our social justice task forces make a difference in our community, click here to read the most recent Prologue.

Covid-19 Booster Vaccines are now available The CDC has updated the COVID-19 booster eligibility guidance. For information on vaccine availability in Indiana, visit: coronavirus.in.gov/vaccine Households may receive four free Covid tests from the federal government. Order free Covid tests here: special.usps.com/testkits

Your Church Office Staff is Available Monday-Friday You can reach a member of the church administrative staff each weekday: Church Administrator Carol Marks, M-F, 10-4, 812-287-9615, admin(at)uubloomington.org Office Assistant Monica Overman, T, Th, 10-1, Friday 12:30-3:30, 812-322-5546, office(at)uubloomington.org Office Assistant Mandy Skinner, M, W, F, 10:30-1:30, 812-340-9981, office(at)uubloomington.org We are in the church office at the church occasionally. The land line at the church, 812-332-3695, is checked for messages often.

Masthead photo - Pumpkin Blossom from our photo archives.

Deadline for submissions to the Order of service and Friday UU Update Thursday, 9:00 am, to office(at)uubloomington.org

Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington, Indiana Mailing Address: PO Box 8132, Bloomington, Indiana 47407 Church mobile phone: 812-287-9615 www.uubloomington.org | facebook