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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.

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 fill out a pastoral care request form on our website: https://1uc.org/connect/pastor... or contact Rev. Diana or Susan Bishop (chair of the Befrienders).

Please contact Rev. Diana directly 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!

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 can be found in Breeze.

UPCOMING EVENTS

JANUARY 15TH: MARTIN LUTHER KING CELEBRATION: There will be a breakfast, followed by a Silent March to the Capital, and a parade/celebration.

JANUARY 20TH 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm: BOHEMIAN CAFÉ NIGHT! Mark your calendars now to join in a celebration of all the social justice teams to the musical entertainment by Ms Brown to You. Come join us for a night of dancing, eating, and having fun. There will be raffle prizes as well.

FROM OK POLICY INSTITUTE: OKC to Keep the Light on for Homeless - A Motel 6 east of Bricktown is set to become the first conversion to housing for the homeless using funding from the city’s MAPS 4 program. [The Oklahoman]

FROM FREEDOM OKLAHOMA - As the end of the year rapidly approaches, we reflect on the incredible strides we've made toward equality for all 2SLGBTQ+ Oklahomans. This Giving Tuesday, we extend our deepest appreciation to you for your unwavering support of Freedom Oklahoma's mission and the broader cause of inclusivity and acceptance in Oklahoma. Generous donations have been pivotal in our efforts to advocate for the rights of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, foster understanding, and build a more inclusive Oklahoma.

In the spirit of collaboration and collective impact, we would also like to highlight the invaluable work being done by organizations that we work closely with. These organizations share our commitment to fostering a more inclusive and equal society for all:

• SHRED THE STIGMA: SHRED the Stigma works to end overdose and other drug-related harm through realistic and achievable approaches to drug use, seeking to completely eliminate overdoses in and around the Oklahoma City metro area.
• TRUST WOMEN: Trust Women provides access to healthcare for those in need. Established first to provide abortion care, our services have expanded outside Kansas. Their clinic in Oklahoma provides gender-affirming care and low-barrier medication-assisted treatment for opioid use.
• Tulsa Intersectional Care Network: Tulsa Intersectional Care Network (TICN) is a project led BY Trans, Queer, Disabled, and BIPOC Tulsans FOR Trans, Queer, Disabled, and BIPOC Tulsans, implementing mutual aid and community care practices for our shared empowerment.

FROM OKLAHOMA WATCH - Aging Oklahomans are going to struggle to afford healthcare and housing. That’s not much different than the rest of the country, according to a report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

In Tulsa, 88% of people age 75 and older can’t afford in-home care. In Oklahoma City, 89% can’t afford it. With nursing homes struggling to stay afloat, in-home care has become increasingly important, even for ambulatory seniors who need help with cleaning, bathing and medications.

More than 40% of Americans 65 and older live alone, and among people older than 80, it’s 60%. In November, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data that showed Americans’ life expectancy increased by a year, meaning more older Americans are on the horizon and more will need services.

Since Baby Boomers had fewer children than previous generations, less familial care is available, furthering the need for paid help.

The Harvard study also warned that the ability to pay for care decreases with age, due to loss of income from retirement, reduced work or widowhood. In 2022, the median household income for adults age 80 and older was $37,100, as compared to $54,900 for those age 65–79 and $87,800 for those aged 50–64.

And they have mortgages. Forty-one percent of people 65-79 owe money on their homes, as do 31% of people older than 80, up from just 3% in 1989.

The Harvard study revealed that nearly 70% of older adults will need long-term care services. Medicare doesn't cover those services, and Medicaid often has long wait lists for at-home support, Samara Scheckler, a research associate, told Axios.

“The cost of daily assistance at home is out of reach for most," Scheckler said, "and so is assisted living, which bundles housing and care together."

Jennifer Molinsky is the project director for the Housing an Aging Society Program at Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. She wrote that the first baby boomers will reach age 80 within the decade and that by 2038 there will be 17.5 million households in their 80s and older, more than double the 8.1 million in 2018.

“These households will also constitute an increasingly larger share of all US households, doubling from 6 percent in 2018 to 12 percent in 2038,” Molinsky wrote. “As we note in our recent report, Housing America’s Older Adults 2019, the majority of these households will be made up of just a single person.”

1UC Recycles! Look for the blue bins lined with plastic bags throughout the church. Deposit your paper, cans, and plastic bottles. The kitchen and Daniel Hall have compost buckets that can take food waste including meat and even napkins! There is a separate blue bin for glass in the hallway west of Daniel Hall.

First Unitarian Covenant of Healthy Communication

“We need not think alike to love alike.” One of our Unitarian Universalist ancestors, Francis David, spoke those words more than 400 years ago to describe the foundation of our unity as a religious community. To this end, we, the people of the First Unitarian Church of Oklahoma City, agree to the following:

* I tell my own story and let others tell theirs.
* I use “I” statements when expressing my own views, always mindful that my thoughts, opinions, and experiences may not be shared by others
* I check the accuracy of my perceptions and assumptions.
* I avoid “awfulizing” negative experiences.
* I say what needs to be said to the one who needs to hear it.
Communicate directly with the person or group involved, instead of gossiping or speaking negatively about others in the wider community
* I devote at least as much energy to careful listening as to careful speaking.
Listen actively and seek to understand the perspectives and opinions of others
Be curious, appreciative, and informed about perspectives that differ from my own.
Recognize and honor the diversity of beliefs and spiritual paths within our community, including the words and ways people choose to express their spirituality
Honor the contributions and needs of those who have been historically marginalized in the larger world and in our congregation and seek growth in our ability to be welcoming.
* If something prompts anger in me, I report it honestly in a way that invites positive solutions.
Be forgiving and loving when I or others make mistakes
Apologize, when warranted, and seek to make amends
Call on congregational resources when help is needed
* I refrain from blaming and shaming.
Assume that others act with good intentions
Be respectful and kind in our words, tone, and body language
Use email, social media and other forms of electronic communication with respect, kindness, and special care.

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 Discussion Group – Every Tuesday, 11:00 am (contact Ron Wasson for information - see article above)
  

• Wednesday Night Meditation - Beginning January 3 - Every Wednesday, 6:00 pm, Meditation Room - Corley Commons (contact Larry Little for information)

• Bell Choir Rehearsal – Every Wednesday, 5:45 pm, Sanctuary (contact LaDonna Hunt for information)

• Choir Rehearsal – Every Wednesday, 7:00 pm, Sanctuary (contact 'Ebuka Ezeakacha for information)

• UU Book Club – Thursday, December 7, 7:00 pm (contact Steve Gryglewicz for information)
  

• John Yarbrough Memorial - Saturday, December 9, 2:00 pm, Sanctuary (reception following)

• 1UC Alliance Sweet & Savory Sale – Sunday, December 10, 12:00 pm, Daniel Hall (contact Maureen Harvey for information)

• Fiber Connections – Sunday, December 10, 12:15 pm, Meeting Room (contact Paula Geisinger for information)

• Blue Christmas – Sunday, December 10, 1:00 pm, Eddy Room (contact Rev. Diana for information)

• Winter Concert – Sunday, December 10, 4:00 pm, Sanctuary (contact Chukwuebuka ‘Ebuka’ Ezeakacha for information)

• HRWG – Tuesday, December 12, 6:30 pm (contact Scot Harvey for information)

• 1UC VOICE Watch Party – Tuesday, December 12, 6:30 pm, Daniel Hall (contact Maureen Harvey for information)

• Racial Justice Team – Wednesday, December 13, 11:00 am (contact Becky Tallent for information)

• Befrienders - Thursday, December 14, 12:00 pm (contact Susan Bishop for information)

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.

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.

CHURCH STAFF

Lead Minister - Rev. Diana K. Davies

Director of Lifespan Religious Exploration - Tim Atkins

Choir Director - Chukwuebuka ('Ebuka) G. Ezeakacha

Accompanist - Steven Elkins Kennedy

Office Administrator - Marlies Grogg

BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2023-2024

President of the Congregation – Marcia Woodward

President Elect – Cathy Webster

Immediate Past President – Marshal Gimpel

Clerk – Deborah Shinn

Treasurer – Ron Wasson

                Clare Auwarter               Emily Hildebrandt              Lorriana Lee-Knapp                          Larry Little                          Ann Meeks                            Doug Vincent

Committee on Ministry

                Rebecca Daniels                Lori Jervis                             Liz Pillar-Little                                                         Tom Peryam                 Derrick Wagner