Climate Justice Event

How, What & Why of Recycling in Black Mountain

April 6, 2025

After our Sunday service on April 6, 2025, Rechelle Ray will be giving a short presentation on the how, what and why of recycling in Black Mountain.

Rechelle has worked for the town for a little over two years as a Waste Reduction Specialist. A lot of her work is community outreach, as she helps organizations develop sustainable practices. She is happy to answer questions, and if you are wondering if you can recycle a certain item, bring it with you! Please plan to join us that day.

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IN THE SANCTUARY

Sunday, April 6, 2025

“The Power of Surrender”

Forrest Rivers

Surrendering our own egos to God (the Higher Power, Universe, Creator or whatever name we might wish to call the One that Is) can be incredibly difficult. And it can be especially so when we suddenly find ourselves in moments of profound suffering. But over time we discover through our own experiences with suffering, that surrender is our guiding light through all the pain, confusion and sadness that we encounter on our journeys. What is the meaning of true surrender? How can we more skillfully learn to surrender in the moment to what is? And where do we find God's grace in our surrender during moments of suffering? Forrest will address these questions through the lens of his own personal struggles and the wisdom traditions of both east and west.

Biography

Forrest is a meditation teacher, inspirational speaker and spiritual writer from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. He is the author of two books: The Hippie Revival and Collected Writings and Humanity’s Spiritual Rebirth: Lessons Lived and Learned from a Pandemic. When he isn’t teaching, writing or speaking he can be found hiking in the woods with his beloved dog Abbie.

Music: Sue Stone, piano

Can't make it? Live stream our service, or watch anytime at 

https://www.youtube.com/@uucsvproductions/streams

Religious Education

This week in R.E. Susan will lead students in a nature walk and& art project. 

Sunday, April 13, 2025

“Dignity (The First Principle)”

Rev. Michael J. S. Carter

The first of our 8 principles states that we, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalists Association, covenant to affirm and promote, “The inherent worth and dignity of every person.” Sounds wonderful right. I agree. People have said to me that for them this First Principle is also the most difficult of the principles to put into practice, especially in this new political climate.  Let’s unpack this first principle to see what it is that we are actually agreeing to covenant with and what it is we really are affirming as UUs.

What is a Sabbatical?

You may have heard that Rev. Carter will be “on sabbatical” from June 16 till his return to UUCSV on Homecoming Sunday, September 21, 2025. Many people are wondering what, exactly, is a sabbatical in this modern day and age? Does it have something to do with the Sabbath, medieval times, or do you have to be in academia to be granted one?

Well… not really. Did you know that many Fortune 500 companies and organizations offer their employees paid sabbaticals? The list is long and includes companies like Apple, McDonald’s, Bank of America and organizations such as AARP.

Sabbaticals can be seen as a trip to a Time Spa. They offer professionals time to retreat, relax, refresh, reprioritize and reevaluate. As Harvard Business Review states, “a sabbatical can be a transformative experience. Research suggests people come back rejuvenated, with a sharper sense of their priorities, a heightened awareness of their place in the world, and improved confidence, creativity and overall well-being.” The UUA offers a sabbatical of six months for every 5 years worked, and Rev. Carter has offered to help us out by taking his over the course of two years instead of all at once.

We wish Rev. Carter a wonderful sabbatical and we look forward to his return in September. We have some exciting guest ministers and speakers filling in, and it will be an opportune time for us to become acquainted with new topics and people. Stay tuned for more information.

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Membership Committee Update

Thank you to all members who participated in the photo campaign. Lots of fun was had by all ! An announcement will be made when the new directory will be ready to view in Servant Keeper. 

A special shout out to the membership team for making this a seamless event....especially our photographer Gracie Novacek and Raffle ticket Maven Rose Levering.

Rochelle Broome is the lucky winner of the $25.00 gift card to Louise's, congratulations Rochelle !

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Auction 2025 - Attention Food Lovers!

Volunteers are needed to help in providing food at the UUCSV auction on Saturday, May 5, 2025. Needed items are hors d'oeuvres, finger food, desserts and fruit.

Contact Dave or Alice Wells (828-768-9278, 828-768-9275, dmw8@psu.edu).

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Building & Grounds Committee Update

Many things are happening at the UU with Spring and Summer around the corner:

• We will have a sign-up table starting after Sunday Service on March 30, 2025, where you can sign up for the season’s mowing
• We have a spring clean-up day planned on Saturday, April 12, 2025, from 9 - 11 a.m. All are welcome to help as we collect and mulch leftover leaves from the fall, trim some bushes and trees, remove weeds, etc.

Also, please shout out a thank you to Walt and Bill, who built benches in the Gazebo in the Memorial Garden area. You will also see some stone walkways have been added, as well as a bird house. More to come…

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Women's Group @ UUCSV

Thursday, April 20, 2025

5:30 p.m.

The theme for the Women's Group meeting on Thursday, April 10, 2025 at 5:30 p.m. will be "The Next Chapter". We hope to see you there. Women and those that identify as women are welcome. 

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Contact Information:

Church office: (828) 669-8050

Michael Donnan:

Office Manager Hours: Tuesday & Thursday

8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Rev. Michael J. S. Carter:

(Monday - Thursday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.)

Rev. Carter is available for pastoral care in the church office or virtually via Zoom or Skype. Please email Rev. Michael J. S. Carter to schedule an appointment.

The deadline for submissions to The Current is Tuesday at 12:00 p.m., please send yours to admin@uusv.org. For more information and guidelines on submissions for our newsletters, website, online calendar, social media, Order of Service, and member news, please see our Publishing Guidelines.

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UUCSV

500 Montreat Road

Black Mountain, NC 28711