April 29
"What is the Meaning of Life?"  That's an easy question, isn't it? Rev. Connie Grant speaking. 
Upcoming Services

Children's Circle - Grandmother Fish is an engaging story about the evolution of homo sapiens from Great-Great-Great Grandmother fish. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onmv77cA8xc  Guest:  Judith Hill (woodcarving)

Jedi Academy - Humanist Manifesto

TEMPUS FUGIT!
 
THE SERENDIPITY AUCTION
GRECO-ROMAN NIGHT
IS ALMOST HERE!!
 
BREAK OUT YOUR TOGAS
DUST OFF YOUR LATIN
GET READY FOR FOOD, FUN, FELLOWSHIP,
AND BIDDING ON MORE THAN 70 AUCTION ITEMS!
 
2018 AUCTION BOOKLET
 
THE BIG NIGHT IS
SATURDAY, APRIL 28
6:00 PM
(bring food items at 5:30 PM)
 
Donated auction items should be dropped off at UUFOM
during these times:
Friday, April 27, 7:30-9:00 PM
Saturday, April 28, Noon-2 PM

AND REMEMBER:
IF YOU DON’T VENI AND VIDI, YOU CAN’T VICI!

CARPE DIEM!

It’s time for our annual spring cleaning and meet-the-earth ritual of pulling weeds, removing brush, throwing away trash, cleaning up indoors, and making our UU Fellowship building and grounds look smashing. 

Please plan to come and work alongside your fellow UUs on Saturday, May 5.  We’ll start around 9 AM and work until we’re all tired and hungry, which is usually around 1pm.  We have inside jobs (cleaning & organizing) and outside jobs, repairs and some simple improvements to do, and a great need for dirt-to-your-elbows weeding.  Please bring yourselves, rakes, shovels, a dandelion digger, pruning shears, gloves, a hat, and anything else you think might be needed.  This is a great opportunity to get to know your fellow UUs!  Please contact Tim Wagner if you’d like to add something to the job list.
 

CHILDREN’S CIRCLE – LESSONS
MAY THEME - LIFE
Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

May 6  Aisha’s Moonlit Walk – This is a series of stories about a girl exploring the pagan seasonal holidays through the course of the year.  We will be reading from the story about spring.  https://www.amazon.com/Aishas-Moonlit-Walk-Stories-Celebrations/dp/1558964851

May 13 A Tree in the Ancient Forest – This story uses a Spirit Play CD story about the ecosystem around an ancient tree. https://dawnpub.com/our-books/tree-in-the-ancient-forest/
 
Please note that there have been changes to the story schedule due to the cancellation on April 15. 
 
Guest presenters in Children’s Circle include Tony Tienda (UV Artwork – 5th Source), Jon Cleland-Host (Fun with Science – 5th Source), Andrew Schulz (Earth-themed music – 6th Source --  cancelled due to ice storm, but kids still had fun in service!), Judith Hill (woodcarving – 6th Source), and Jessie Parham (gardening – 6th Source).  Thank you!

April 29 Humanist Manifesto
May 13 Circle of Trees

Jedi Academy and the Youth Group meet every other Sunday to allow full attendance of all its members.  Jedi Academy is a religious education program run during the service, and the youth group meets after the service for lunch and fun from 12-1PM.  At the next meeting on April 29 they will be going to the Animal Shelter. 
 

RE-Flection:  Called to Volunteer
We are coming to the close of the Religious Education program year.  We have spent a year reflecting on the gifts of Six Sources of religious inspiration that Unitarian Universalists have identified. These six are not all-inclusive of course, but they give a window into the breadth of Unitarian Universalist faith.  The six are areas that speak to many of us – that call us. 

A call is an interesting thing.  Ministers and other religious professionals often speak of their ministry as a calling.  Activists urge others to change the world with a call to action.  Children are told to find their calling – what are you drawn to do, to be? Where are your talents?  The expression has been used in both theistic religious ways – to express being called by God to do something, for instance.  It has secular usage to simply describe a powerful draw to action. We might talk about a need to act or being called by love and joy and hope.  I recently found myself in a conversation about the difference between a job and a calling.  Some jobs we do out of duty or necessity, but the jobs we find most meaningful are the once that call us – that we feel passionately driven to go beyond mere job duties.  A person who is called to heal works late into the night beyond their official hours.  A person who is called to create art might spend days absorbed in their work.  A minister or counselor might take calls late into the night, changing a life or two.

I think calling also applies to our church community – we are called to be part of this congregation, to help each other grow, to share our gifts with each other, young and old.  Volunteers have one of the most amazing callings.  Volunteering can be rewarding when you see the results achieved, but just as often, the rewards are unseen.  We do not know the difference we made in a moment spent talking with a child, sharing a story, or feasting together. Thank you to all of you who made religious education classes your calling this year.  Your dedication and commitment are what made this program a success.


Thank you!
Yours in the Spirit of UU,
Heather Cleland-Host

"Seeking Meaning - the Journey”
 
The Lifespan Religious Education Team is happy to offer preliminary information about our religious education program for next year.  After focusing on how we covenant to be with each other through the Seven Principles, and then on the Sources we draw on for inspiration and courage, we are turning toward the individual and community journey toward articulating our own faith: who am I? who are we? how do we connect to each other and the world? We will explore ways to create our own “credo” or statement of belief, and the ways that we as a congregation journey together and support each other in our paths.
 
For the Children’s Circle, we plan to use curricula with a focus on journeying or welcoming and with a focus on the formation of a loving, supportive community.  For the Middle School, we will be using the Lodestone program, which explores big questions such as life and death, Unitarian Universalist values, ethical money usage, and racial justice. We will also be creating a Coming of Age program for interested older middle schoolers.  Rev. Connie will be leading a Credo-building workshop for adults and older teens.

Over the next month, we will be sharing more with you and inviting you to share your ideas for this program. Looking forward to many wonderful conversations!