Update on the Beam Colors

Results are in! We will be painting our beams a Neutral/Beige Color. Please click here to read more about this decision in this letter from Rev. Jaimie.

A Big Thank You!

The Board would like to say thank you to all the folks who helped to remodel the women's restroom in the RE wing. The work is now complete and the results are amazing. The following people donated labor, supplies, and cash for the effort:

• Melodie Brier - financing (about $800), design, procurement, electrical, tile, painting, decor team leadership
• Brad Korb - plumbing (including $50 in parts), carpentry, electrical, procurement
• Howard Williams - demolition, carpentry, concrete, tile, caulking (including caulk)
• Paul Weiland - demolition, carpentry, electrical
• Wayne Schroer - demolition, carpentry, leadership
• Brittany Schroer - painting
• LaDawn Edwards - painting

The donations allowed the project to be completed with no impact on the Property Committee's budget.

Below is one before picture that shows the rust on the divider between the stalls as an example of the previous shape of the restroom. This picture is followed by after pictures showing the incredible results.

Thank you to everyone involved for putting your time, talents, and money in making our building more beautiful!

This Week in CYRE

This year’s overarching frame is The Practices of Our Faith. We’re using this frame to focus on how Unitarian Universalism is a lived faith that inspires us to act, live, and love our values out in the world. Or, to put it another way, we’re diving into our long-loved commitment to “deeds, not creeds.” Our frame of practices is also a way for us to connect to our UUA’s new core value of love, with each of our monthly themes being framed as a practice that helps us embody love in our daily lives. With all this in mind, this September we explore the practice of invitation.

In this week's session, we explore the excitement of inviting reconnection into our lives. It’s all about the joy that comes from being reunited with our friends and church community after a long summer away.

Join Us for First Friday

First Fridays are back! As always, this event is a chance for our kids to hang out and socialize and as an added bonus, parents won't have to cook dinner. There is no agenda other than eating food and having fun with our friends! Feel free to bring a friend, relative, or neighbor!

UUCH Fellowship Hall

9/6/2024 5pm-8pm

Scarecrow Trail at Huntsville Botanical Garden

You are invited to join us at the Huntsville Botanical Garden Saturday, September 7th at noon to eat lunch and tour the Scarecrow Trail, the Butterfly House and other garden highlights. You can brown bag it or buy a light lunch at the cafe in the admissions building.

Lynda Lamitie will be driving a 6-person electric golf cart to assist those with mobility issues. The cart reservation begins at 1pm with additional rides available at 2 and 3pm if required.

For more information about the garden or trail, see https://hsvbg.org.

Money will not be a barrier to Fellowship activities at UUCH. If you need assistance, please contact Rev. Jaimie at minister@UUCH.org

Please sign up here so we know how many to expect, and please note if you’d like to ride on the golf cart.

Contact Melodie Brier or Lynda Lamitie if you have any questions.

Potluck This Sunday, September 8th

The Hospitality Committee would like to remind members and friends that our monthly Potluck Lunch will be held this Sunday, September 8th, after our “Blending of the Waters” service. In October we will return to our usual monthly First Sunday Potluck.

Elders Luncheon

Rev. Jaimie and the Hospitality Committee are hosting a luncheon for UUCH Elders on Wednesday September 18th from 11:30-1pm in Fellowship Hall. Anyone who self identifies as an elder is welcome. There will be soup, salad, bread, and a few treats to enjoy. This is a time to get to know each other more deeply and have fun together. Please RSVP to Minister@uuch.org.

Poverty, by America

Check out the ARE table to see the homework we did. The task was to find companies in our area that go above and beyond to better their employees lives with benefits of financial value or family friendly policies.

Soul Matters

Please go to the Adult RE section of bulletin board in Fellowship Hall to check out this opportunity that we offer or click on link here.

Technology Survey

The Technology Committee has created a survey to better understand the congregation's experiences and what people are interested in seeing from us going forward! We would appreciate your response by October 6th so technology can review and talk about it! You can find the survey here.

Safety Survey - 2024

The Safety Committee has created a survey to better understand safety interests and concerns to better serve the congregation. Due date is Sept. 16th. Please take a few minutes to fill out the survey at the link and feel free to request a hardcopy from Shalin or Trao. Take the survey here.

Grief Ceremony —Save the Date

The holidays are not all happy for everyone. Often the holidays are when we miss our loved ones the most. Wednesday evening November the 20th Rev. Jaimie will lead us in a grief ceremony. More details to come but mark your calendars. If the need to drive at night interferes with your ability to participate in this event, reach out to  care@uuch.org. We will work out a ride for you.

Ghosts Over the Boiler book discussion

Ghosts Over the Boiler is a unique book about a decades-old organization, Project Hope to

Abolish the Death Penalty, that was founded and operated by people facing capital punishment in Alabama. We were given a talk by the author, Katie Owens-Murphy, last February if this sounds familiar. Ghosts Over the Boiler is a curated collection of poetry, visual art, photographs, essays, creative writings, and other archival materials that have emerged from Alabama's death row. This group was founded at Holman Correctional Facility and has been operating autonomously since 1989 toward its mission to abolish the death penalty in Alabama and in the nation.

We will be discussing this book after the Sunday services in October and November (NOTE: this will be after choir practice). If you are interested in abolishing capital punishment, start reading this book now and plan on joining us for discussion this fall! See ARE table to sign up and more info for ordering book.

Habitat for Humanity Home Build

UUCH will be partnering with Habitat for Humanity of the River Valley this fall to build a house for a disadvantaged client. UUCH volunteers will be working alongside other volunteers to build a house from the ground up. This effort will require many volunteers over several weeks & weekends, so many volunteer opportunities will be available even if you have never worked on a house!

See the Habitat for Humanity website for more information: https://habitatrivervalley.org/

A Signup Genius will be set up once we know the build schedule.

If you have any questions or are interested in helping out, please email social.justice@uuch.org

Do You Know Your Voting Status?

Are you registered to vote? Is your voting registration address correct? If you are not sure (or maybe even if you are), you can check your voting status at this easy to use website:



1) go to https://myinfo.alabamavotes.gov/voterview

2) enter your name and date of birth

3) click the box for "I'm not a robot"

4) click "Look Up"

Your voting registration address and status, along with your polling location, will be shown. If you have any questions, you can call 1-800-274-8683.

Upcoming Social Justice Events

Your participation is needed! Below is a list of local social justice events sponsored by groups that UUCH and/or our members support.

• September 10th: UU the Vote Weekly Phonebank at 6 pm via Zoom (https://secure.everyaction.com/p/nTBqtsgyWEiRF6PNRSaZLw2?pn=2)
• September 11th: Absentee Voting Begins for General Election (https://www.sos.alabama.gov/alabama-votes)
• September 21st: Huntsville Green Team National Clean Up Day at 9 am (https://www.facebook.com/events/1184908615965865)
• September 22nd: Love Huntsville dinner for unhoused at 6 pm at the Slab (see Gail Williams)
• September 28th: National Publics Lands Day park improvement with Land Trust of North Alabama at 8:30am (https://landtrustnal.org/event/2024npld/)
• October 21st: Voter Registration Deadline for General Election (https://www.sos.alabama.gov/alabama-votes)

Here are some standing opportunities to get engaged with local organizations:

• First Stop:

1. Provide a meal for unhoused people (https://firststoporg.galaxydigital.com/)
2. Donate urgently needed items (https://firststop.org/category/needs-list/)
3. Other volunteer opportunities (https://firststop.org/ways-to-volunteer/)

• ShowerUp (showers for unhoused people): https://app.initlive.com/web-admin/app/#/join-party?k=aagp6mlprpk46k

For more information about a particular event or to list an event, please email social.justice@uuch.org.