SUNDAY WORSHIP & FELLOWSHIP |
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Watch Virtual Worship Service On Demand!
10am: Live Religious Education Service on Zoom
11am: Live Community Coffee Hour on Zoom
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7pm: High School & Middle School Youth Group
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WHERE DOES THE BUILDING PROJECT STAND? By the time this newsletter is published, most if not all the new building’s doors and windows will be in place. The walls will have been painted. The Lift should be onsite and quite possibly installed if not operational. Much of the finishing work will be near completion, including fixtures, lights, switches, receptacles, and air grilles. Outside retaining walls have been completed, and exterior grading has reshaped our contours to permit a step-free slope from the building to Memorial Rock.
GREAT NEWS FINANCIALLY: the sum of everyone’s generous donations to date and pledges to be fulfilled means the Gap will be closed by June 2022, thus ensuring protection of the church’s future operating budget and permitting consideration of other high-priority, deferred capital improvements once the construction project wraps up in June 2021.
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SPIRITUL EXPLORATION FOR ADULTS &
LIVING OUR COVENANT WITH INTENTION
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WHAT'S NEXT WITH RACIAL EQUITY LEARNING? COMPLETE A SURVEY. We have a had a busy Fall and Winter with Racial Equity Learning, with over 70 members participating in Racial Equity Challenges and dozens joining in the Movie Discussion Group, the Caste Reading Group and the Racial Equity Office Hours. These opportunities have been sponsored by Spiritual Exploration for Adults (SEA) and Living Our Covenant with Intentions (LOCI). This learning together and community building is essential to creating the world we dream about. And, it doesn't end after one class or group. Often people are impatient with reading and talking, thinking that this ongoing, important work isn't really "doing something." Racism wasn't created in a day and it won't be challenged in a day or a year. Ongoing learning in community is the way we create cultural change and the way we equip ourselves for the rest of the work. If you haven't had an opportunity to join one the Challenges or other learning groups and would like to, groups will be starting in May and this summer. Below is a survey about what kinds of learning groups to offer next. We welcome your input. Comments, questions, or suggestions: please contact Marion Hirsch, here.
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HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: SHARE THE PLATE |
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Covid reminds us of the importance of a safe haven, and it hasn't stopped our church's mission to work with Habitat for Humanity to build safe, affordable homes. This year, we are supporting a Burmese refugee family in building their home at 302 Odie St., in a 26-home Habitat neighborhood in Hillsborough. Lay Da, Naw Gay, their 2-year-old son and Naw Gay’s mother came from a Thailand refugee camp. Lay Da works for Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools. They live with family in Mebane. Our church has a long history of working with Habitat and area churches. Since 1994, we’ve built 21 single-family homes; a duplex; and four townhouse blocks. Our Building Hope partnership of churches generally pays half the house costs and Habitat the other half. Families pay the Habitat part in zero-interest mortgages. Families work with us, so we provide them with “a hand up, NOT a handout.” To continue our church’s work with Habitat, please be generous in the April 18 Share the Plate.
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SHARE THE PLATE APPLICATIONS DEADLINE MAY 2! The Share the Plate (STP) Steering Committee is accepting applications for STP Sundays for July-Dec 2021. Our mission is to support the outreach ministry of our UU congregation by developing and coordinating Share the Plate Collections: designated Sunday morning collections that support specific causes or organizations, which reflect the passions of the congregation. Deadline: Sunday, MAY 2! Applicants MUST use appropriate and current application forms and submit as directed. NOTE: Applications are now on Google Docs and will be sent directly to the co-chairs. Questions? Contact Jill Baker, here, or Jane Provan, here.
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EARTH DAY/EARTH MONTH CELEBRATION AND ACTIONS IN APRIL Earth Day is not a single day. It is not even a single month. Nevertheless, April is a good time to educate ourselves about new developments and to get into good habits regarding actions we can take to mitigate the climate crisis. Look for Earth Day postings by Sunday, April 4, on the ECO webpage. There are a lot of exciting possibilities on the horizon for making an impact on the climate crisis now that the U. S. has rejoined the Paris Accord and with President Biden’s climate justice agenda.
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Showing Artwork on the wall during Virtual Services:
Steevie Jane Parks will be showing 5-7 paintings on the wall during virtual services from April 1,2021 through May of 2021 Steevie has been a church member since 2017 and is a member of the Arts Committee. She paints brightly colored abstracts designed to delight and stimulate the senses.
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SYLVAN HEIGHTS BIRD PARK, APRIL 17: Remarkably, Scotland Neck, NC, is home to an internationally important waterfowl conservation site. Sylvan Heights ( 235 five star Trip Advisor reviews) has been uniquely successful in breeding endangered waterfowl and wonderfully resourceful in presenting them in open access habitats where birds and unfeathered bipeds share open space. These are glorious creatures with most (the birds) still in full breeding plumage. Let’s meet there for a picnic brunch/lunch at 11:30 AM, then tour the park.
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WOMENCIRCLE SPONSORS TRIP TO THE NC BOTANTICAL GARDEN Hey Women! Come with WomenCircle to explore the NC Botanical Garden (NCBG) in Chapel Hill on Wednesday, April 21. Join us at 10am for a tour with Garden Guides. NCBG is a conservation garden specializing in native plants. We will see the latest spring flowers. What better way to emerge from our year of hibernation and revisit our local beauty? Quoting their website: "NCBG . . .is much more than a display garden. It is a robust ecosystem where people can discover the natural world, experience its healing and restorative power, and understand why conservation is imperative to our quality of life. Year-round native plant gardening makes for a unique and beautiful landscape."
Bring a bag lunch so we can eat together after the tour. Cost is $5 per person and is limited to 18 people. RSVP below or call 919-260-0344.
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NONFICTION BOOK DISCUSSION FOR APRIL On Saturday, April 17 from 10:30 to 12:00, the Nonfiction Readers will discuss On Tyranny: 20 Lessons from the 20th Century, by Timothy Snyder. The author is a Yale historian specializing in the history of Central & Eastern Europe and the Holocaust. In this 2017 NY Times bestseller, the author posits that the US might learn from Europe’s experience of Nazism, fascism and communism and offers a guide for surviving and resisting America’s turn toward authoritarianism. Joy Blevins will be leading our discussion. The Readers meet on the third Saturday of each month. New members and drop-ins are welcome. Contact the group to ask questions, or to be placed on the distribution list for meeting information.
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As Rare Women, we build relationships in small groups by sharing our lives and the gifts, myths, and challenges of growing older. Interested newcomers (not just elders) are welcome and are encouraged to join any of three existing groups. All groups meet at least twice a month via Zoom. New members are welcomed. On Thursday, April 1, Bonnie Gilliom’s group, here, (10am-noon every Thursday) will continue sharing experiences and lessons learned during ages 20-29. Here are questions to consider for each decade. Susan Blanchard’s group, here, (1:30-3:30pm every Thursday) will share years 30-39 that same day. Joann Haggerty’s group, here, (2-4pm on the 1st and 3rd Monday) will discuss ages 30-39 on April 8. The Zoom links and list of topics and meeting dates for each of the three groups through June 2021 can be found here, on the Rare Women’s webpage.
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SPIRITUAL EXPLORATION FOR ADULTS |
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SEA CLASS: THE ACTIVE SOUL: POETRY AS SURVIVAL
Leader: Cheryl Wilder
May 5, 12, 19, 26
7-8:30 pm
Zoom
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “There is no greater value than that of the active souls.” As Unitarian Universalists, we are a group of active souls—doers who make the world a better place for all. In his book, Poetry as Survival, Gregory Orr explores the active soul of the lyric poet. Traversing between her inner mysteries and her exterior self, the lyric poet actively takes hold of her emotional life rather than passively endures it. Grief, love, awe, despair—writing a personal lyric is an exploration of our deepest emotions as well as outer circumstances, such as violence, loss of a loved one, or poverty.
Explore your active soul through poem-making. We will read and discuss lyric poems. We will write our own poems, participate in a writing workshop, and have a class poetry reading. No experience necessary.
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2021 FALL AUCTION – SAVE THE DATE! The 2021 Fall Auction will take place on Saturday, October 23. Mark your calendars NOW! We are hoping to have an in-person component for this event, the largest annual FUNdraiser for our church outside of the pledge campaign that supports the operating fund. Details for the 2021 Fall Auction will follow as new guidelines for gathering evolve. Last year’s online bidding option was a huge success, and will definitely be a part of this year’s auction too. It is never too early to plan your 2021 donations, including dinners and other safe in-person events. Oh, the fun we will have! In the meantime, enjoy the items, services, and events that were bought and sold during the 2020 Fall Auction, which contributed over $4000 to help to Close the Gap in funding the new spaces that we will be enjoying soon.
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HOUSING OPTIONS AS WE AGE |
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HOUSING OPTIONS AS WE AGE Members and friends of The Community Church are invited to join our discussions about housing options and challenges as we age. Some members of the group are looking at these issues from their own perspective whereas others are interested in learning about options and challenges that their parents are facing. We meet via Zoom on second Wednesdays, here and fourth Wednesdays, here from 1:30-3:30pm. On April 14, Jennifer Albright will talk about family care homes, i. e. assisted living in a residential setting. Jennifer owned and operated a family care home and has over 10 years of experience in elder care. On April 28, Lisa Gwyther, a social worker with Duke Dementia Family Support Group, will present a talk entitled, “Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias: What’s Hard and What Helps?” Meeting topics and resources can be found here. |
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MAY NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE BY APRIL 15
If you would like to learn more about the Community Church of Chapel Hill, please contact Rachel Rose, our Director of Membership & Communications: (919)289-9694,or email Rachel here.
Whether you are new, or a longtime attendee, and whatever your beliefs or background, we welcome you to our community of friendship and ideals.
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106 Purefoy Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
919-942-2050
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