Sunday, September 8, 11:00 am, Sanctuary

"Ingathering and Water Ceremony” Celebrating the Beginning of the New Church Year!

Join us in person or watch on YouTube.

Once again, this service will feature a water ceremony. In this ceremony, everyone brings a small container of water that represents a journey (real or symbolic) they’ve taken over the summer. It might be water from a trip to the ocean, or from a favorite fishing hole. It might be rainwater collected after a storm, or water from a beloved pet’s bowl. We gather all these into one container, to symbolize the way we come together as individuals on our separate paths but form one community.

Please join us for this special day and don’t forget your water!

Participating in today’s service:

Service Leaders: Tim Atkins, DLRE, Cathy Webster, President, Sundra Flansburg, President Elect; Worship Associate: ;  Chalice Lighter:; Song Leader: Lana Henson; Music: 1UC Choir;  Accompanist:  Steven Elkins Kennedy; Technical Support: Tammy Epperson and Ellisya Ravencroft

Sunday, September 8, 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, September 8 (immediately after the service) Daniel Hall

Coffee, Lemonade and Conversation

Join us after the service in Daniel Hall for coffee, lemonade and conversation.

A Note from the President

We are most excited to "gather in" on Sunday! Don't forget to bring your water, be it sourced from near or far. My husband, Bill Dycus, and I will bring water from Florida and from Kansas, where our offspring now live.

As we re-energize ourselves for the new church year, it's a great time to tell someone about the 1UC so that they might learn more specifically about us.

This week, we'll be re-dedicating ourselves to this beloved community and next week about our history as a congregation.

Then on September 22nd, we'll welcome Consulting Minister Dave Messner into the pulpit for his first in-person Sunday with us.

Please also join me in celebrating our Congregational Administrator, Marlies Grogg, as she begins her twentieth -- twentieth! -- year with us. To honor her wishes, please feel free to thank her informally and individually in a way that you find fitting. I know I will!

In faith,

Cathy

Information for our Consulting Minister

Schedule a meeting directly: https://revdave.youcanbook.me/

Professional FB Profile - like/follow: https://www.facebook.com/revmessner

Visit his website:  messnerministry.com

You can email him directly at:  dhmessner@1uc.org 

2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month - 6:00 pm

Wednesday Night Meditation

Interested in meditation but can't quite make it on Sunday mornings? Or maybe you just want more meditation? We are adding a Wednesday night session to our schedule (6:00 pm - 7:00 pm) in the meditation room in the lower level (Corley Commons).

For more information contact Larry Little.

Thursday, September 5, 7:00 pm

UU Book Club

UU Book Club will be meeting on Thursday, September 5 at 7:00 pm.  We will be discussing "The Paris Architect" by Charles Belfoure.

Our book selections for the next few months are:

• October: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
• November and December: The Covenant of Water: Abraham Verghese
• January: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88051248829?pwd=dHhUZjJIenozazJ1K1pNNEVOWHhlUT09

Meeting ID: 880 5124 8829

Passcode: 398265

If you have question or need more details contact Steve Gryglewicz at stgryg@yahoo.com

Tuesday, September 19, 11:00 am

Alliance Luncheon & Program

Greetings! I hope everyone has had a relaxing summer and you've managed to "stay cool." Our first Alliance Meeting will be on September 10th. For our first meeting of the season we are bringing back the "Happy Half-Hour!" offering wine and an appetizer followed by a lasagna lunch. We will have a vegetarian option available. AND for our program we have a special treat: "The Artful Codgers" will be doing a short improv show. So, mark your calendars for September 10th; Happy Half-Hour at 11:00 am, Lunch at 11:30 am and the program at noon. If you have questions respond back to me, otherwise, I look forward to seeing you there. 

Lasagna Lunch: $10. (This includes $3 for our cleaning crew)

Maureen

Sunday for RE!

Sunday, September 8 - Ingathering Sunday!! All ages worship featuring our annual water communion. Save that water from your summer travels...or bring some water symbolic of them!

Sunday, September 15 - First Week of Classes for the Program Year!

2024-2025 RE Registration

This year all of our children and youth religious exploration classes will be exploring the new Article 2 values through different means. Our youngest (PreK-1^st) will explore them using stories, our elementary (2-5^th) will explore them using legos and art, our middle schoolers (6^th-8^th) will explore them using Pixar cartoons and teambuilding activities, and our high schoolers (9-12^th) will explore them using The Twilight Zone. 

Every year we ask for an updated registration form – please register online at https://tinyurl.com/1UCRE2425

RE Teaching 2024-2025

We need a total of sixteen folks to volunteer for the RE Program Year as a Sunday Morning RE Teacher! We believe it takes a village to raise a child. And we believe that by showing up for each other, we show that we care. The best way to change the future is to change the upcoming generation. Imagine Oklahoma with more and more Unitarian Universalists! Great RE teachers don’t need to be experts in their curriculum. 

Because connection matters more than the curriculum. Great RE teachers don’t need to be experts in Unitarian Universalism. Because we are a Religious Exploration program - we explore together; we don’t teach. Great RE teachers don’t need to have been a teacher before. Because all that matters to be a great RE teacher? You just have to care - you have to care about our children and youth. You have everything it takes to change the lives of our children and youth. 

Consider becoming a Sunday Morning Religious Exploration Teacher!  Contact Tim at tatkins@1uc.org to learn more or with any questions you might have!

Saturday, September 14, 9:30 am, Daniel Hall

Fire Department/CPR/AED/Choking Tranining

Please set aside Saturday morning, 14 September, 9:30am – 11:00 am, in Daniel Hall at First Unitarian Church, to attend Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)/Automated External Defibrillator (AED)/Choking Training provided by the Oklahoma City Fire Department as a public service. While certifications won’t be provided, you will learn everything you need to know about how to save someone’s life who is experiencing cardiac arrest or choking. And coffee and donuts will be provided. Everyone invited. See you there!

If you have any questions, contact Larry Little or Tammy Epperson from the Health & Safety Committee

News from Befrienders

Befrienders is ready to assist members of our church who are recovering from surgeries or illnesses by offering cards of well-wishes, meal trains, transportation to church or medical appointments and visitations.

Even though the work of our church relaxes during the summer while a minister is taking time for reflection and study, the work of Befrienders continues. We may not meet in person, but we continue to offer cards of well wishes, meals, transportation and visitations. Remember that Befrienders offers short term care to our congregants and friends of First Unitarian Church.

Our Befrienders team consists of:

Lana Henson and her team of well-wishers with cards

Kathy Nyswonger and her team of visitors

Patti Kate and her team of drivers ready to help with transportation

Ginny Boykin and her team ready to provide receptions for memorial services

At First UU, we are all Befrienders to and with each other because we care about you!

Change for Change

For the month of September our Change for Change partner is Casa of Oklahoma County. 

CASA stands for “Court Appointed Special Advocates” - CASA’s mission is to provide trained volunteers to be champions for the individualized best interests of children in foster care. Casa serves as a caring, consistent adult and provides a voice to a child during a highly traumatic time in their life. The goal is to find a safe, permanent home for the children/youth. Funds will be used to support program expenses related to recruiting, screening, training, and supervising CASA volunteers.

CHANGE FOR CHANGE needs your help. Did you know that anyone can suggest a worthy local non-profit in our community? Do you know how?

• Check out the 1uc.org website and click on the justice tab
• Then click on Community Partnerships and click on the application in green in the middle of the page.
• Submit the application to Deborah Shinn or Anne Murray, or leave it in the office Social Justice mailbox. Or you can email the completed application to them. They be found in Breeze.

WE APPRECIATE IT WHEN CONGREGANTS NOMINATE WORTHY COMMUNITY PARTNERS. THANK YOU!

NEWS FROM THE SOCIAL JUSTICE COUNCIL: The Council met in August to plan up-coming events for the church year. Mark your calendars now for our annual fund-raiser, Bohemian Café, which will be January 18^th. If you would like copies of our minutes, please contact Susan Bishop at sdbishop50@gmail.com. There is much on the horizon, lots of activism work needing to be done. Come see us at the Sept 8^th Fair and learn more.

NEWS FROM RACIAL JUSTICE: September is Hispanic Heritage month. The theme for 2024 is “Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together.” The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15.

NEWS FROM UU MINISTRY FOR EARTH: September 28-29, 2024 - UU Ministry for Earth is happy to be one of the primary organizers of the Climate Justice Revival. The Revival events will be held in your congregational setting. Gather your justice teams, problem solvers, and dreamers. The Revival planning team will provide everything needed: facilitation toolkits, training, music, projects, coordinated justice action focused on the election and climate justice, and more. No matter your congregation’s size or resources, you can join and together we will enter a new era of climate action. Let's go—appoint two volunteer facilitators who will be trained to participate. Registration fee goes from $50 to $100 on July 1, 2024. (Scholarships available.) Register: https://www.uuclimatejustice.org

NEWS FROM UUSC (Unitarian Universalist Service Committee) - Unrestricted press is essential for human rights to flourish. Yet, politicians and multinational corporations increasingly control much of the media landscape in Honduras, resulting in major gaps and unreliable reporting. Since 1980, Radio Progreso has been working to provide trustworthy community and international journalism. UUSC’s funding helps Radio Progreso inform the people of Honduras and Central America about “constructing a just, equitable, and sovereign society through reflection, investigation, and communication.”

NEWS FROM RADICAL WELCOMING - An important part of welcoming is raising our awareness of important events celebrated by the LGBTQ+ community. For September, those events include:

• September 18: National HIV/AIDS & Aging Awareness Day

• Week of September 23: Bisexual+ Awareness Week, culminates in Celebrate Bisexuality Day on September 23

• September 27: National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

NEWS FROM REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE: If you haven’t been listening to the news, you may not be aware of Project 2025, a conservative plan for America’s future. Where Project 2025 can't gut access to abortion and other kinds of reproductive care, they want to choke it out by compromising the safety, security, and privacy of pregnant people. It sounds like hyperbole, but it's all too true. The Project 2025 proposal lays out a future where federal funding would be withheld from states unless they reveal the private medical information of every patient who receives abortion care. And it goes further with denying access to contraceptive care, IVF treatments, pre-natal care for low-income women, especially affecting women of color. If this is not the America you

Tuesday, September 10

UUSC NEWS

Tuesday September 10
7:30pm ET - 6:30pm CT - 5:30pm MT - 4:30pm PT
RSVP ; Online via Zoom; 1 hour program

Andrea Miller is the Founding Board Member of the Center for Common Ground (CCG) and an inspirational, unwavering fighter for racial justice and voting rights. Reclaim our Vote, popular among UUs, is a CCG project.

Andrea will discuss plans during 2024 for getting out the vote (GOTV) in key states, both on the ground and remotely. We will learn more about postcarding, texting, phone banking, and other opportunities with CCG to support UU voter engagement efforts. Most of all, we will leave with a sense of commitment and enthusiasm for the work.