| First Unitarian Connection |
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| September 4 - September 11 |
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Note: When the newsletter is sent via email, the text may be truncated. To be sure you are seeing the entire newsletter, please click on the "view in browser" link near the top of the message or scroll to the bottom where it says [Message clipped] and click on: View entire message
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| Sundays at First Unitarian Church |
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Sunday, September 15, 11:00 am, Sanctuary
"First Unitarian OKC Through the Decades"
Join us in person or watch on YouTube.
Join us for Worship on Sunday, September 15th at 11:00am as we explore the history of First Unitarian Church OKC throughout the decades. Come hear stories about our church history from folks who lived it! What lessons does our church history have for our present times? We will have stories from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s! Our service will begin with a special teacher and student dedication, as it’s also the first week of our children and youth religious exploration classes for the church program year!
Participating in today’s service:
Service Leaders: Tim Atkins, DLRE; Worship Associate: Sundra Flansburg; Reflections: Barbara Gallivan, Lana Henson, David Moore, and Sue Scott; Choir Director: Chukwuebuka ('Ebuka) G. Ezeakacha; Accompanist: Steven Elkins Kennedy; Technical Support: Tammy Epperson and Ellisya Ravencroft
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Child Care and Nursery
The Childcare Rooms are open from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm each Sunday morning. (10:00 am to 11:00 am for childcare for any adult programming happening and 11:00 am to 12:30 pm for worship.)
Childcare will be taking place in the nursery and attached preschool room.
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Sunday, September 15, 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.
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Sunday, September 15 (immediately after the service) Daniel Hall
Coffee, Lemonade and Conversation
Join us after the service in Daniel Hall for coffee, lemonade and conversation.
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Fellowship Dinners
It is time to sign
up for a popular social activity, Fellowship Dinners! There will be four
or possibly five dinners, in November, January, February, March and possibly
April. You and your partner, if you have one, will be placed into a rotation
schedule where you will have dinner with three other couples or singles,
different people each month. If you are single your participation is
welcome. And if you can pair up with another single, that enhances the
experience.
The beauty of this
program is getting to know people of our church whom you may not know now in a
small-group setting. Some of us have participated for decades because we
enjoy it so much!
There are four
parts to each meal, and each month you will bring one of the components
This will also rotate, so that one month you will be the host, opening your
home and providing hors d'oeuvres and beverages. Next you will provide
the main dish. Another month you will bring a vegetable and dessert. The
fourth assignment is salad and bread.
Your home or dining
spot doesn’t need to be fancy; just do what is comfortable for you.
Please don’t let a concern about that deter you from signing up! Signup
begins now and will close on Oct. 8. To sign up or to ask questions,
please email Barbara Gallivan, bgallivan@cox.net,
405-209-7386. Soon there will also be a signup opportunity on Sundays
during coffee hour in Daniel Hall.
Let’s dine
together!
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| Adult Education Classes & Courses |
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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.
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| Religious Exploration at 1UC |
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Sunday RE!
Sunday, September 15 - First Week of Classes for the Program Year!
This Sunday is our first week of Sunday morning Religious Exploration classes for our Children and Youth! Everyone begins in the worship service this week, and after our Time for All Ages Teacher and Student Dedication, we will be sung off to our RE classes! Classes run until 12:30 pm, so enjoy a cup of coffee and conversation after worship before picking your kids up in their classrooms!
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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-1st) will explore them using stories, our elementary (2-5th) will explore them using legos and art, our middle schoolers (6th-8th) will explore them using Pixar cartoons and teambuilding activities, and our high schoolers (9-12th) will explore them using The Twilight Zone.
Every year we ask for an updated registration form – please register online at https://tinyurl.com/1UCRE2425
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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
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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!
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First Unitarian Cares!
If you (or someone you care about in our community) would like a caring card, a ride, a meal delivered to your home, a prayer, or a pastoral visit, please contact Susan Bishop (Chair of Befrienders).
Please contact Cathy Webster (President of the Board) or Sundra Flansburg (President Elect) if you need financial assistance. The Minister's Discretionary Fund is available for anyone who needs emergency financial support. In the past, the fund has been used to help cover rent, groceries, fuel, home repairs, medical costs and other needs. Allocations from this fund are completely confidential.
Requests for support from this fund have risen significantly. If you have financial capacity, please consider making a gift to the Minister's Discretionary Fund. Thank you!
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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 18th. 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 8th 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
UUSC News: News headlines routinely fail to convey the immense damages that U.S.-Mexico border restrictions cause families. For example, recent unjust asylum policies have resulted in thousands of children being deported back to Guatemala — a home many of them do not even remember.
Indigenous Peoples often suppress their identities while migrating to stay safe from danger, avoid harassment, and navigate legal systems in which their primary languages are not spoken. When children are deported back to rural Guatemalan communities, the culture shock is intense.
It’s one of the reasons why UUSC funds grassroots groups like Asociación Pop No'j to provide social, physical, educational, and legal support to children and their families. Their services help with reintegration to community life in Huehuetenango, including reintroducing returned children to their heritage languages and customs.
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
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Racial Justice Team Book Club
Your Racial Justice Team will be hosting a book club. We have done this occasionally over time. Our upcoming book is "Waking Up White and Finding Myself in the Story of Race" by Debby Irving. Rev. Sue recommended it to us. We have 9 people signed up so far.
We will meet in person in Eddy Room the first Saturday of the month: November 2, December 7, January 4 and February 1 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm.
The book is available through Half Priced Books, etc. I will try to explore ordering them in bulk through the book store once we have a number.
Text or call Becky Tallent at 405.882.8095 or email beckyktallent@gmail.com.
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Monday, September 16, 7:00 pm
Transforming Hearts Collective Webinars
This month, our beloved Transforming Hearts Collective is having 2 webinars on UUs defending trans lives, one for those in hostile areas like ours and one for those in protected areas. The one for us is Monday, September 16th at 7:00 pm, we hope to see many of you there.
Here is the sign-up link: https://www.transformingheartscollective.org/people-of-faith-defend-trans-lives
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| How to Contact the Consulting Minister |
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Note: Most meetings continue to meet via Zoom but some groups may elect to meet in the building. Please contact the meeting organizer directly if you are uncertain of the location.
- Sunday Morning Meditation – Every Sunday at 10:00 am, Meditation Room - Corley Commons (contact Lori Jervis for information - see article above)
- Tuesday Adult Ed: Tuesday Discussion Group - Every Tuesday, 11:00 am (contact Ron Wasson for information)
- Bell Choir Rehearsal – Every Wednesday, 5:45 pm, Sanctuary (contact LaDonna Hunt for information)
- Wednesday Night Meditation - 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month, 6:00 pm, Meditation Room - Corley Commons (contact Larry Little for information)
- Choir Rehearsal – Every Wednesday, 7:00 pm, Sanctuary (contact 'Ebuka Ezeakacha for information)
- CPR Training – Saturday, September 14, 9:30 am, Daniel Hall (contact Larry Little or Tammy Epperson for information)
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Teacher Training – Saturday, September 14, 11:15 am, Daniel Hall (contact Tim Atkins for information)
- SLO - Sunday, September 15, 10:00 am, Eddy Room (contact Tempie Nichols Rood for information)
- Healthy Lifestyles – Monday, September 16, 7:00 pm (contact Lu Ann Faulkner-Schneider for information)
- Finance Working Group – Tuesday, September 17, 6:30 pm (contact Ron Wasson for information)
- Gardening Covenant Group – Tuesday, September 17, 7:00 pm (contact Barbara Gallivan for information)
- BRUU – Wednesday, September 18, 7:00 pm (contact John Schneider for information)
- Exploring Spirituality – Friday, September 20, 7:00 pm (contact Lu Ann Faulkner-Schneider for information)
- Auction Item "Cookie Decorating" - Saturday, September 21, 12:30 pm, Daniel Hall (contact Lu Ann Faulkner-Schneider for information)
- Ordination Team Meeting - Sunday, September 22, 12:15 pm, Eddy Room (contact Sundra Flansburg for information)
- Fiber Connections - Saturday, September 28, 10:0 am, Eddy Room (contact Paula Geisinger for information)
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If you have a newsletter article you would like to submit please email your article to mgrogg@1uc.org no later than Tuesday (the day before the newsletter goes out) by 5:00 pm.
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In order to save printing and mailing costs and to conserve natural resources, the Annual Report will not be mailed by default to all congregants. Instead, it is available online. Please contact Marlies Grogg (mgrogg@1uc.org) if you would like to receive a hard copy of the Annual Report.
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Did you know that you can access all church policies and procedures as well as Board meeting minutes on our new website? Just go to 1uc.org, and click on the "members" link in the upper right-hand corner (just to the left of the Facebook and other social media icons). This will open a page that says "Protected: Members." The password is @600NW13thSt [Note: the password is case-sensitive; do not put in additional punctuation or spaces.]
From here, click on "church documents." All official policies and procedures can be found in the "policies" folder. The bylaws and Board of Trustees meeting minutes are in the "governance" folder. Please disregard the "website SOPs" folder, which is for administrative use only.
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CHURCH STAFF
Consulting Minister - Rev. David H. Messner
Director of Lifespan Religious Exploration - Tim Atkins
Choir Director - Chukwuebuka ('Ebuka) G. Ezeakacha
Accompanist - Steven Elkins Kennedy
Congregational Administrator - Marlies Grogg
BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2024-2025
President of the Congregation – Cathy Webster
President Elect – Sundra Flansburg
Immediate Past President – Marcia Woodward
Clerk – Doug Vincent
Treasurer – Ron Wasson
Cortney Custer Lorriana Lee-Knapp Ann Meeks Carrie Moore Mariliee Peryam Maired Todd
Committee on Ministry
Suzanne Broadbent Liz Pillar-Little John Schneider Tom Peryam Derrick Wagner
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