On January 1, 2017 we will have one service at 11:15am. This service is going to be a bit different as it will be a Question & Answer session with our Interim Minister, Rev. Dave Johnson. To make this service go smoothly please submit all questions to our worship associate, John Hochella at jhochella@cox.net, no later than Friday, December 30.
9:00 pm
Christmas Eve Service
Rev. Dave Johnson, Interim Minister
Join us on for WUU’s traditional Christmas Eve celebration ‐‐ with special vocal and instrumental music, readings, legends from many lands, carols, and candles. There will be no nursery or child care, but children are warmly invited. As in previous years, the collection will be dedicated to the Minister’s Charitable Giving Fund to support special needs of individuals or local charitable organizations.
11:15 am-One Service Only
Christmas Day
Rev. Dave Johnson, Interim Minister
We will gather in the Sanctuary for a brief period of readings and personal sharing of Joys and Sorrows. Following the service all are invited to visit with WUU members and friends who are living alone.
Year-End Holidays: Office Closings and Staff Schedule
Thursday Dec 22 through Sunday January 1
The WUU offices will be closed on the following days for the Christmas/New Year holiday period:
Friday December 23 office closed
Monday December 26 office closed
Friday December 30 office closed
Our staff anticipates the following work and vacation schedules:
Interim Minister: In office through Dec 25; away Dec 26 to 31
Director of Religious Education: Out of the office from December 24-29.
Program Assistant: Monday, December 19-Thursday December 22 8am-1pm; Tuesday December 27 and Wednesday December 28 8am-1pm; Thursday, December 29 8am-noon.
Financial Assistant: In office Mondays, Thursdays, & Fridays through the end of the year from 10:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. except as noted above. (Subject to change – please call or email to confirm.)
11:15 am-One Service Only
“Question Box: What Matters?”
Rev. Dave Johnson, Interim Minister
For those who have awakened and recovered from New Year’s Eve festivities: Come join us at 11:15 a.m. on New Year’s Day (before NFL football resumes) for music and conversations. This will be your opportunity to bring your questions to our Interim Minister – on any topic which matters to you. Please submit all your questions in writing by December 30th to John Hochella, who will be our Worship Associate on January 01. He will review and group the questions so as to represent your range of interests and concerns. Our guest pianist will be Paulette Amory.
Our Membership book will be open for signing on January 1st and also January 8th. If you have completed Pathway to Membership sessions 1 and 2 or are transferring from another UU Congregation, we welcome you to come forward at the end of the service to sign our Membership Book, signifying your commitment to WUU.
Café conversations are opportunities for dialogue, information-sharing, and action-initiatives. Most often these are held following worship services, at locations to be announced. Three sets of café conversations are scheduled during January. Here’s a preview:
Experimental Sunday Programs, February 12 thru April 30
Conversation Times: Sunday January 08 at 10:30 am (after first service), and 12:30 pm (after second service)
How can we take advantage of our NEW SPACE?!! In what ways might we expand and complement our Sunday morning offerings? Come join in a Cafe Conversation after both services on Sunday, January 8th to talk about the future. The future is here!
Some questions to think about:
How might we create new entry points for newcomers on Sunday mornings, giving people a chance to dip their toes into the water?
How might we use our space to foster meaningful conversation with--and for--our community?
How might we create opportunities to connect with each other, as well as to reach out to newcomers, welcoming them into our midst, using ALL our available meeting spaces?
Our existing programs already are grouped into: First Hour (early service), Second Hour (main service and Religious Education), and Third Hour (classes, orientations for newcomers, team meetings). We may wish to retain this same format, with intentional breaks in between for greeting and connecting. We propose a period of thoughtful experimentation during the twelve-week period from February 12 through April 30 2017. During this time, we can experiment through programming activities: experiencing the flow of comings and goings, order and spontaneity, intimacy and togetherness. During May through August we will follow up with a process of evaluation. This effort is being coordinated by the TTG-2 Brainstorming Team: Seth Merritt, Austen Petersen, Dave Hamilton, Carolyn Wilson, Jessica O’Brien, Helen Hansen, Anne Stevens and Rev. Dave.
Proposed Revisions to WUU By-Laws
Conversation Times: Sunday January 08 (12:30 pm , after second service) and Sunday January 15 (10:30 am, after first service).
The Board will call a congregational meeting on Sunday January 29 to consider and vote on proposed revisions to the WUU By-Laws. These two café conversations are your opportunity to review and discuss the proposed revisions.
Mosaic Makers Dialogue: MLK’s Legacy and Our UU Principles
Conversation Time: Sunday January 15, 12:30 pm, after second service
Facilitator to be announced.
These are among the many exciting initiatives emerging. Each represents the work of many folks over a long time, and merits your enthusiastic attention and participation. Please attend as your time allows. Thanks so much.
Dedication Service - Sunday, February 5 at 4:00 pm in WUU Sanctuary
IMPORTANT: A Program Booklet is being planned for the February 5 Dedication Service. If you made a financial donation to the capital campaign for the new addition to the building, we want to include your name (not the amount) in the program booklet for this service. The WUU Office has the list of all contributors, so only contact the office if you have any objection to your name being included in the program booklet. Notify Ellyn Stephens at office@wuu.org or phone (757)220-6830. Please let us hear from you by January 3.
Time to reserve your seat on the Women’s March on D.C. bus.
Make out $55 per person checks to W.U.U. and write Women's March in the memo line.
We'll leave from W.U.U. at 6 AM on Saturday January 21st.
We'll have a "know your rights" training given by the ACLU sometime after 6pm in the second week of January. Please stay tuned for more information.
In order to involve as many folks as possible, we’ll have an ongoing sewing circle, a one time sign making party, and a brown bag lunch making party on Friday January 20th so that we can give the marchers nourishment.
We’ll make sashes similar to the ones suffragettes wore so we can easily identify our fellow WUU marchers, and we’ll each have little paper bracelets with the phone number of the ACLU on them.
Please dress in layers, wear comfortable walking shoes, and bring a water bottle.
Please also sign and return this permission form at your earliest convenience.
The space available for WUU meetings is changing. Because of this the Board has tasked the BOF to schedule meetings between January and June and to develop related procedures. To get details on the background of this decision and the action that may be required on your part, please read the item January newsletter. If you have any questions, please contact Dave Neiman at 258-8996 or dneiman236@cox.net.
Building a Vocal Community: The Power of Song in Community
January 27-28, 2017
6-9pm Friday and 9am-4pm Saturday (lunch provided)
William & Mary School of Education, Matoaka Woods Room
In this workshop, Dr. Ysaye Barnwell, a former long-time member of the renowned musical group Sweet Honey in the Rock, will lead participants in experiencing the musical traditions of Africa and the Diaspora (including chants, spirituals, ring shouts, and songs from the Civil Rights Movement), and exploring the power of music to bring communities together. No musical experience or talent needed; just a willingness to raise your voice and learn.
Sponsored by All Together, the Lemon Project, William & Mary Africana Studies Program, William & Mary Music Department, Williamsburg Unitarian Universalists, and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
NAACP ACT-SO MLK Breakfast Monday, January 16 8:30 am
Join your WUU friends at the 28th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. NAACP/ACT-SO Breakfast. We have a table with 10 places and we usually sell out. Tickets are $40 for adults and $15 for students. This is an event that celebrates the stellar academic achievement of our local minority students. It is sponsored by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and takes place at the Williamsburg Lodge at 8:30 am. Please contact Jessica O'Brien to reserve your seats at SJchair@wuu.org.
Food For FISH (Our local community food & clothing pantry)
FISH continues to ask for BEEF stew (it seems people really like beef and they don't get much of that) and holiday foods: mashed potatoes, gravy, cornbread stuffing, broth, green beans, yams, cranberries. thank you!
Please make sure packages are sealed and all "use by" dates are current. Thank you all!
A memorial service for Rollene Wells will be held at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Richmond on December 30, 2016, at 3:00 PM. The church is located at 1000 Blanton Avenue, Richmond, 23221
Please contact caringchair@wuu.org if you know of a member of the Congregation in need of support, or if you are in need of support.
Each year during the winter holiday season we ask for you to bring in new packages of socks and underwear (all sizes, ages, genders). These donations are collected in our red "FISH wagon" and placed underneath our Christmas tree. Right after the new year begins we take the much needed donations to FISH to be distributed to those in need. They are very grateful for our unique donation each year. Let's make this our biggest donation year yet!
If you still have a Guest At Your Table box with a donation in it please write a check for the amount of the donation and mail it to the address listed on the side of the GAYT box. Boxes that have been turned in have all been counted and a check has been distributed to the UUSC so that the funds will be matched.
Sunday Morning Teams
We are still looking to fill vacancies in our teams that help to make our Sunday's run smoothly. If you can volunteer to help pass out Orders of Service, help direct folks, or maybe even to help coordinate volunteers please contact Ellyn in the office at 757-220-6830 or office@wuu.org and she will match you up. We can't do it without you!
Building Our Future 2016-Construction
There has been a lot going on here on the WUU Campus. Click Here to see the latest photos.
