Wednesday, April 19 through Saturday, April 26!

2023 Auction Is Here!

First Unitarian's Biggest Fundraiser of the Year

In addition to pledges, First Unitarian relies on the spring fundraiser to cover the costs of our ministries and programs. Our goal is $15,000!

This year, we’re offering a curated list of items with a focus on gourmet meals, gift cards and certificates, and events. The auction will be entirely virtual this year starting  Wednesday, April 19 until Saturday, April 22 at 11:59 pm. 

We’ll be using Auctria.com again to host our auction this year. A special email was sent out, allowing you to register and view items. If you didn't receive this information or have trouble registering or navigating the website, please contact either Nathan Boone or Marlies Grogg. 

After the auction, we'll gather to celebrate with a night of Bingo, Barbeque, and Beer (aptly named the BBB) on Friday, May 12, 2023, 6:30 pm!

We will have fried chicken and baked chicken, coleslaw, macaroni salad and chips for the kids!  Beer, wine and ROOT BEER! Cookies and watermelon for dessert! Of course, we'll also have some great prizes for our bingo winners.

Adults: $25 (includes dinner and 3 bingo cards)

Children 12 and under: $12 (includes dinner and 3 bingo cards)

Here’s to making this another successful auction! Let’s finish the church year strong and we look forward to seeing you at the BBB Party!

April 30 - 11:00 am

Spread the word! On April 30, we will meet at Will Rogers Park INSTEAD of church!

April 30 is the OKC Memorial Marathon, which means that it will be extremely difficult to access our church building that day. So, we're moving off-site! We will gather in Will Rogers Park South Pavilion at our usual worship time. Please bring a folding chair or picnic blanket. We'll have some chairs for those who forget or are unable to bring one. You're also welcome to bring food to share picnic-style after the service. HERE is more information about the location for our special April 30 service.

Sunday, April 23 - 11:00 am

"Honoring Earth Day! - Droughts/Floods/Hurricanes/Forest Fires!"

Join us in person or watch on YouTube (not Zoom).

Climate change has arrived! What in the world can we do? 

Join the Sustainable Living Organization members  as we celebrate the gifts of the earth and hear about how YOU can be a part of the solution!

Service Leaders:  Members of the Sustainable Living Organization; Choir Director: Chukwuebuka (‘Ebuka) G. Ezeakacha; Music: Lee Agnew, Dianne Broyles, Fenton Rood and 1UC Choir; Technical Support: Tammy Epperson and Chris Gonzales

Upcoming Sunday Morning Services - 11:00 am

April

April 30 - "The Wonder of Nature"  [Note: this service will take place off-site, at Will Rogers Park, to avoid marathon traffic around the church]

May

May 7 - "Why Is the World So Beautiful: 100 Years of Flower Ceremony"

May 14 - Coming of Age

May 21 - Bridging

May 28- "Singing the Body Electric: On Spirit"

Sunday, April 23 - 10:00 am

Sunday Morning Meditation (In-Person)

Please join us for meditation practice in the Buddhist tradition (lower level, next to Corley Commons).

All are welcome; no meditation experience necessary!

For more information contact Lori Jervis.

Sunday, Sunday, April 23 - 10:00 am

Adult Ed in the Eddy Room

Each week there are two options for 10:00 am Adult Ed:

• Our meditation group that meets downstairs in the Corley Commons - Meditation Room
• Our main Forum like programming will take place in the Eddy Room every  Sunday at 10:00am (except the 3rd Sunday of the month it will be in Daniel Hall) and the topic will change each week. 

This Sunday - What are the benefits and the dangers of having difficult conversations? Are there specific actions we might take to lessen the chances for risks and  increase the possibilities for benefits. You are invited to come and discuss this important topic with us.

Coming Soon - Sunday, May 7 - 12:00 pm

Plant Sale!

Sunday, May 7, will be the Gardening Covenant Group’s annual plant sale on the front lawn after church. More information will be published later, but we wanted to make you aware that it will be coming. If you have plants to donate to the sale, please inform Barbara Gallivan, bgallivan@cox.net.

2023 Article II Idea Submission Form

At General Assembly (GA) 2023, Unitarian Universalists will take an initial vote on proposed changes to Article II of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Bylaws, which includes the current UUA purposes, principles, sources, and clauses on inclusion and freedom of belief. Please use this link to submit any suggested edits that you may have to the current draft of Article II Study Commission's proposal (there is a link to the proposed draft in the form): https://form.jotform.com/UUA/A2Ideas. Suggested edits must be submitted by Sunday, April 30th.

Seeking disabled contributors, authors, and storytellers!

We invite you to contribute your story of lived experience of disability in a UU congregation.

Nothing about Us without Us! That is the rallying cry of the Disability Rights Movement and one we intend to honor.

We are working with Skinner House to publish a book on the lived experience of disability in congregations. We are seeking authors, named or anonymous, who would be willing to share their authentic story. If chosen, these candidates will receive an honorarium. We want the book to have a strong intersectional framework, so we are looking for stories in which authors bring their whole selves. We welcome you to reflect on how your other identities are part of your experience as a disabled person in a UU community. This book is meant to give insight into how disabled people worship and experience life in their congregations; how disability impacts a person’s faith, spiritual identity, and showing up with your authentic self. It will show the gifts that disabled people can bring to their congregations. It is also a book on moving from the Disability Rights Movement to the Disability Justice Movement. Please let us know if you would be able to write your story or be interviewed.

We hope that this message is viewed far and wide and realize that we may need additional permissions. If you are under 18, or sharing with someone under 18, we welcome your story! AND we ask that you let us know, so we may obtain the proper permissions.

To view or share this message online, visit  here!

A rough draft of your submission is due on May 15, 2023.

Rev. Barbara Meyers

Shelly Rohe

Please send your submission to uudisabilitybook@gmail.com

Thank you!

Barbara Meyers

June 5th through June 9th

SAVE THE DATE for Chalice Camp!

Every year in early June, we host a week long day camp called "Chalice Camp" that's been going for almost fifty years.

The dates for this years Chalice Camp will be June 5 through June 9! Mark your calendars!

Tuesday, April 25 - 11:00 am

Tuesday Ad Education Discussion Group

Debbie Allen will facilitate next Tuesday's discussion: "The fantastically weird world of photosynthetic sea slugs" with Michael Middlebrooks.

https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_middlebrooks_the_fantastically_weird_world_of_photosynthetic_sea_slugs/comments

Watch the video and then join us for a discussion.

Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us05web.zoom.us/j/84716016586?pwd=V2gxL01lN0F3b2NZK3oxZE1NUktxUT09

Meeting ID: 847 1601 6586
Passcode: 88PKWP

If you would like to lead the discussion on a future Tuesday, please let Ron Wasson wassonr@sbcglobal.net know if you'd like to present.

Saturdays at 10:00 am -- May 6, 13, 27, and June 10

No Yoga Class This Week

I am going on a short, restorative retreat this weekend. Remaining classes this church year are scheduled for May 6, 13, and 27, and June 10, all at 10:00 am. Classes are offered in person in Daniel Hall or you can join via Zoom. All classes are Kripalu-style, integrating breathwork, meditation, and highly personalized movement and poses, with modifications and options for all bodies and experience levels. I hope to see you at an upcoming class! - Rev. Diana

Current Safety Level: Masks Are Encouraged

Masks are optional at all church events but are always welcome and encouraged.

• If you choose not to wear a mask, it is especially important that you do not attend services or events if you have any symptoms typical of COVID, flu, or RSV. Please stay home and join us online.
• Please continue to wash your hands frequently. And please be sure to throw away used tissues. Don't leave them in the pews.
• No one should ever be pressured into removing their mask. Please honor everyone's choice.
• If you haven't yet had your latest COVID booster please get it now!
  

Social Justice News!

We are seeing an unprecedented number of bills and actions taken against women and transgendered men and women in our state. Social Justice Council’s teams have worked hard this year and if you are interested and want to work towards equity and justice, please contact the facilitator for that team. Many hands make the work lighter, easier, and maybe even faster! They are:

VOICE: Maureen Harvey

Racial Justice: Rebecca Schaller

Radical Welcoming: Lynn Ann Wagner

Change for Change: Deborah Shinn & Anne Murray

Reproductive Justice: Laura Lochner & Susan Bishop

2023 Oklahoma Summer Policy Institute Applications are Now Open

OK Policy’s Oklahoma Summer Policy Institute (SPI) brings together highly-qualified college students for an exciting and stimulating four-day learning experience that will help inform about Oklahoma’s policy landscape and provide tools and resources to create change in our state. [Learn More & Apply]

If you are interested in becoming involved in social justice programs and activities, please contact Susan Bishop at (405) 623-4017 or sdbishop50@gmail.com

March Change for Change

For the month of April our Change for Change recipient is the is OKC Beautiful Garden Support Program/OKC Harvest (school gardens at Cleveland Elementary/Wilson Elementary/Bodine Elementary).

Their Mission: Is to bring environmental science to life through a school garden! To do this they involve students in the preparation of garden soil, planting, growing and eating healthy foods. Our educators provide curriculum tied to state standards.

Ideally, we would all be able to grow some or all of our own food, which would be nourished by compost from our own table. However, not everyone has an adequate yard, the knowledge to grow a garden, or the time to work in it. Every time I listen to You Bet Your Garden on NPR, I want to plant seeds and watch them, water if needed, and especially harvest. Then I remember how little I like kneeling on my arthritic knees and getting dirt under my nails, especially in blazing sun.

Last week, I ran over a few suggestions of how we can do some individual mitigation on our own. On Sunday, Mordekai will give a short presentation about Fertile Ground, which operates a composting facility in Oklahoma City. This cooperative collects food waste from customers who do not have gardens. Lee & I had a lovely vegetable garden one year, which we shared with our neighbors, but later moved to a place with poor soil. We tried raised beds in our current home, but they never worked well.

Food waste, if left in the regular trash, will become methane and be a bigger problem. However, I have no garden needing compost. Fertile Ground delivers and picks up a five gallon bucket of food scraps from our house, once a week. They give me a five gallon bucket of compost, free. I can buy more from them at a low price. That is enough for our little container garden. Recently, we added glass recycling, which Fertile Ground also does, for a slight fee. It feels good to do something positive.

Have a happy Earth Day and may your garden thrive! If you have a suggestion for the Green Minute, please send it to me at lacorderagnew@cox.net.

Sunday, April 23, 9:00 am - Eddy room

1UC VOICE- House Meeting Scheduled

Join us for our next VOICE 1UC meeting on Sunday, April 23rd, at 9:00 am in the Eddy Room.  For more information contact Maureen Harvey at mharvey5@cox.net.