I apologize for the delay in this week's Spiral-the WUU Staff was enjoying a holiday get together yesterday afternoon. I wanted to be sure to send out a quality version of The Spiral rather than rush to get an incomplete one out. Thank you for your understanding, Ellyn Stephens-WUU Program Assistant
9:15 am & 11:15 am
Rev. David Johnson
“The Thing With Feathers: What Are You Hoping For?”
Worship Associate: Tamra Elim-Durden
Humanity longs for saviors. Pacific Islanders believe that a great ship will arrive to transport the tribe into heaven. Muslims await the return of the revered Mahdi to herald the final days. Buddhists believe that Maitreya will deliver all beings from ignorance. Native Americans believe that the White Buffalo will signal a restoration of ancestral lands. For whom might Unitarian Universalists be longing – if anyone? How might we recognize such a person? I’ll offer some reflections on messianic hopes, long ago and today.
Share the Plate
The Share the Plate collection on December 6 will benefit the Avalon Center for Women and Children, serving our local community. Avalon provides shelter and support to those experiencing domestic violence and sexual assault. By offering tools for safety, self-sufficiency, and empowerment, Avalon works to break the cycle of abuse and helps create a positive future for its clients. Priscilla Caldwell will speak on Avalon at the 11:15 service on December 6. For more information on the Center, please visit www.avaloncenter.org. To contact Avalon for help in a domestic violence situation, contact Avalon at (757) 258-5051. If you would like to volunteer at Avalon, contact Priscilla Caldwell at the outreach center (757) 258-5022 If you cannot attend the service, contributions may be sent to the WUU office (check payable to WUU, with Avalon in the memo line,).
Sunday, December 6
9:15 am, Worship, Sanctuary
11:15 am, Worship, Sanctuary
4:00 pm, YRUU, Parker House
Monday, December 7
9:45 am, Gayle Henion Creative Arts Group, Fahs House
5:30 pm, CREW Meeting, Fahs House
7:00 pm, Buddhist Meditation, Sanctuary
7:00 pm, WALT Steering Committee Meeting, Fahs House
Tuesday, December 8
12:00 pm, Process Theology, Parker House
Topic-Human Experience; God as an Outgrowth of Human Experience
5:00 pm Stewardship Team Meeting, Fahs House
7:00 pm, Worship Team Meeting, Fahs House
Wednesday, December 9
6:00 pm, Finance Committee, Fahs House
6:15 pm, Adult Enrichment Class-Fables, Parker House
7:30 pm, Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary
Thursday, December 10
10:00 am, Meditation, Sanctuary
11:00 am, The Odyssey, Fahs House
7:00 pm, Covenant Group, Fahs House
7:00 pm, All Together, Sanctuary
Presenting Brian and Erin Holloway Palmer
Friday, December 11
6:00 pm, Yule Sing Potluck, Tree Trimming, and Fun!, Sanctuary
9:15 am & 11:15 am
Rev. David Johnson
“The Landscapes of Desire: Protect Me from What I Want!”
As part of this fall’s series of sermons highlighting Family Systems, we'll reflect on empathy, caring, and compassion. These are admirable virtues. Even so, might there be necessary limits, or signposts, which point toward those qualities of compassion that foster worth and dignity? T.S. Eliot wrote (in "Ash Wednesday"), "teach me to care and not to care." We'll unpack that phrase and consider its implications.
Sunday Worship Preview: December 06, 9:15 and 11:15 am
Humanity longs for saviors. For whom, or for what, might Unitarian Universalists be longing – if anyone, or anything? How might we recognize such a person or condition? I’ll offer some reflections on messianic hopes, long ago and today. Rev. Dave Johnson
“A Relational Vision: I Seem to Be a Verb”
An Introduction to Process / Relational Theology
Four Tuesdays: December 1, 8, 15, and 22, 2015
12:00 noon - 1:15 pm, Parker House conference room
We’re having so much fun with this class that I am adding a fourth session. Come join us on Tuesdays at 12 noon. Drop by the WUU office if you’d like a copy of the syllabus. Dates and topics:
Session Date Topics
1 Tue Dec 01 The Conventional World-View; A Relational Vision
2 Tue Dec 08 The Self; Human Experience; God as an Outgrowth of Human Experience
3 Tue Dec 15 God and the Experience of Evil and Power; Spirituality in a Global
Perspective
4 Tue Dec 22 So What? Implications for UUism Video Resource:
“A Relational Vision: John B. Cobb Jr.” (lectures and interviews), Center for Process
Studies, Claremont, CA, 8 parts, 3 videotapes).
OPTIONAL TEXT:
Christ, Carol P., She Who Changes: Re-Imagining the Divine in the World, 2003
“Roots and Wings: The Best of Who We Are”
All-Congregation Workshop: WUU Sanctuary
Saturday morning January 30, 2016; 9:15 am – 12:30 pm
Mark your calendars for this special event, arranged and led by the Transition Team. The December newsletter presents a preview. Further details will be in the January newsletter. Continental breakfast and snacks provided. We will arrange for child and nursery care, IF you sign up in the WUU office by Sunday January 10. The Transition Team: Rachel and Rebecca Delbos, Jane Ferguson, Fred Gilbertson, Linda Lane Hamilton, Dave Wilcox, Rev. Dave Johnson
Yule Sing, Friday December 11
6pm (set-up begins at 5:30), WUU Sanctuary
This annual event, sponsored by CREW and the Community and Social Justice Teams is a hit with all ages.
The evening begins with a potluck supper followed by carol singing and trimming the WUU Christmas tree to make it ready to receive our donations of socks and underwear for FISH.
We actually make some of the decorations (environmentally friendly, of course), so there will be a craft table where young and old can create ornaments while we sing. Music will be provided by our own Dave Robbins, with backup from some members of the choir to help us sing our best, and word has it that Santa and Mrs. Claus are planning to make an appearance!
Please plan to bring a dish to share and join the fun! If you have questions, and if you can lend a hand, please contact Chris Faia, clfaia@cox.net or Carolyn Wilson, c2wilson@cox.net or call Ellyn or Austen at the WUU office: 757-220-6830.
The UU Fellowship in Newport News has invited the WUU comunity to their Breakfast With Santa event on December 5th from 9 AM until 11 AM. Admission is 10$ per adult and 5$ per child. There will be a photographer there to take professional photos of the children with Santa that will be available to purchase.
Santa and Mrs. Claus will be played by Mr. and Mrs. Harper. They are UUFP members who work for Busch Gardens during the holiday season as Mr. and Mrs. Claus, so they are the real deal and an absolute joy to watch.
We send thanks to Roger Baldwin for his generous donation and initiative to get a Phillips HeartStart Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) machine into our sanctuary building.
Come learn how to handle a heart related emergency with us! It will take place on Sunday, December 13 at 5pm in the WUU Sanctuary. The cost is $30 per person. Please RSVP to Austen at austen@wuu.org or (757) 220-6830 if you would like to attend. There is a class maximum of 12 students.
Every year we collect new socks and underwear for those in our community who are less fortunate than ourselves. FISH, our local food and clothing bank, will distribute them as needed. It seems socks and underwear for children ANDadults are items in short supply this time of year. Bring your wrapped or bagged donations to church on Sundays or other times and deposit them under the Christmas tree at the front of the Sanctuary. Let’s see if we can create a large pile of goodies!
27th Annual Martin Luther King Jr NAACP/ACT-SO Breakfast
2016 is on its way! Come join us at the 27th Annual Martin Luther King Jr., NAACP/ACT-SO Breakfast. This event will take place on Monday, January 18th (MLK Day), 8:30am, at the Williamsburg Lodge and Conference Center. WUU has purchased a table of 10 seats which are available to members. The cost is $40 for adults and $15 for students. This breakfast celebrates high school students from York, James City and Williamsburg for their academic excellence. Please contact Jessica O’Brien if you would like a ticket at sjchair@wuu.org. Once you’ve reserved your ticket with Jessica, make checks payable to WUU with ACT-SO in the memo line and send them to the office. Remember, we only have 10 spaces and almost half of them are gone already!
Food For FISH (Our local community food & clothing pantry)
This month we are suggesting:
Canned meats, vegetables and fruits for a holiday meal.
New and packaged socks and underwear for all ages and sizes.
The socks and underwear will be placed under the church tree and taken to FISH after Christmas.
Thank you all and peace to you.
WUU Youth ❤’s FISH
Each month we will ask you to bring a different food item for the families in Williamsburg who are in need. We will name a "food of the month" as a suggestion. The FISH wagon is by the front door of the sanctuary and there will be a green bucket there as well for you (the children and youth) to put your donations in! This month we collect socks and underwear for FISH, all new and packaged for all ages and sizes. We will place all items under our church tree and deliver to FISH after Christmas Please remember those less fortunate this holiday season.
Place items in the green bucket by the front door of the sanctuary and thank you!
Thanks so much to all who have contributed to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee's Refugee Crisis Relief Fund. A total of $1,540 in donations were received, and have been forwarded to UUSC. Rev. Dave Johnson
Tabernacle Band - Christmas 2015
...it is coming! We play December 20 at the 11:15 service. There is one rehearsal at 10:15. Contact Vicki Hall vichster.hall@gmail.com with any questions. The music is athttp://tabband.weebly.com/
Find your instrument, download the music and print. Let Vicki know if you have questions. Look forward to seeing you on the 20th!
New to UU Orientation
In order to become a member of WUU, potential members are required to attend two orientation sessions before officially joining WUU. Those transferring from other UU congregations are invited to participate so as to learn about us and make new friends.
The first class will be in Fahs House Sunday, January 10 from 12:45‐3:30pm and
the second session will be held in Fahs House on Sunday, January 31 from 12:40‐3:30pm. You
may register either at the Visitor Table or Here
Nature Camp
The John Clayton Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society is now considering candidates for scholarships for the Summer 2016 sessions of Nature Camp at Vesuvius, Virginia in the George Washington National Forest.
Nature Camp is a coeducational, academic camp that emphasizes education in natural history and environmental studies. It is intended for those seeking a science/nature experience. Campers attend class daily, maintain a notebook, complete written projects and participate in outdoor activities. Students currently in 5th -12th grades are eligible to apply. For more information about Nature Camp visit www.naturecamp.net.
