Upcoming Sunday Services on ZOOM
Make sure you have a Chalice available to light before the Service begins.
|
|
Services can be seen on Zoom every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Our Touchstones The theme for February is mercy.
February 21st:
Sunday Service with Rev. Wooden, Katie Seiferth, Marci Beaudoin, Beverly McCormick, and Barbara Face
Sermon: Keep Treading Water
Join our Service every week at this link: Zoom Worship Service
Find previous services here.
|
|
|
In the Meantime,
Back north, where I lived for all but four years before coming to Arizona, we know the ways of ice and snow. For example, it is not the cold but the thaw that is dangerous. As ice and snow melt, they move. What was solid a week ago is now liquid. Frigid water then carries blocks of ice with it, creating dams which in turn create floods.
We are beginning to thaw as a nation. The pandemic is changing as vaccinations increase and variants flourish. A new Administration and Congress are changing things as well. And at VUU we are beginning to think of when to resume in person activity, how that will happen, if it will be the same or different. Add in the search process and things that were frozen by circumstances are now beginning to melt and shift.
My job is to help you negotiate these slippery times. If the paths through the snow are now awash in slush, I help find and create new paths. One way to do that is to vary the patterns in place, tweak the familiar. Not because you are wrong and I am right, but because we only notice the possible when we are forced to look beyond the familiar. Let me give a few examples.
I have made slight changes to our Sunday Order of Worship. You may have seen extra slides telling you what is happening, and you may have noticed that a printed Order of Worship is not being posted. And I have heard both appreciation and criticism. This is exactly what should happen. When I change something it is to notice the response. That response is valuable information about what matters to whom. Remember the silly business book “Who Moved My Cheese?” That’s standard interim strategy. These tinkerings create new paths of thought, so you are not limited to the one that is now full of water and slush.
In the end, it is your choice of course. Nothing I do as interim minister is intended to be lasting. It is, however, intended to make you notice the habits and assumptions institutions always have (the cheese) by moving them. Your reactions, personal and communal, are what I intend, for this is the stuff that tells you about yourself. And the more of this you do, the better you will know who you are. And the better you know yourself the better you will be at choosing the sort of spiritual leader you need. And that I definitely intend to be lasting.
-FW-
|
|
Happenings Announcements
Want an announcement in Happenings? Fill this out.
Questions about Happenings email Happenings@vuu.org
|
|
|
Help Wanted
Can you help? VUU has as many needs while virtual as ever … in fact, perhaps more! All safely, socially distant, and many from home.
Thank you for how many of you have responded so far. We still have some positions to fill.
IHelp Coordinator – Organizer needed to coordinate communication between IHelp and VUU. Oversee volunteers handling specific functions (sheet cleaning, food contributions, etc.) From home – phone and email communication. Contact admin@vuu.org.
Membership Team – Members wanted to greet newcomers, connect members, facilitate Journey to Membership classes. Contact minister@vuu.org.
Caring and Concerns Coordinator – Organizer needed to coordinate neighborhood caring and concerns volunteers, set up meal-train, transportation and other help needed by members and friends. Contact deeannemcc@gmail.com.
|
|
Change is Good! - VUU Directory
We want to update the database before we send out a new directory for this year. If your information has changed please email the updates to office1@vuu.org. We appreciate the chance to correct your information before it is sent out. The Deadline is March 1st. Thanks!
|
|
Survey
VUU’s Environmental Action Team (EAT) is comprised of committees and special projects that focus on climate change issues. The Team would like to know what areas of environmental action are of most interest to you. Please complete the quick survey. This information will inform future educational, motivational, and social activities for the entire congregation. Your feedback is very important to us! Thank you.
|
|
FAITH FORMATION PROGRAMMING THIS WINTER
Registration link
 ELEMENTARY:
2yr olds - 5th graders, Sundays 1-2 pm: CartUUns, Unitarian Universalist values through the animated short films of Pixar and Disney.
Please note:
1) Monthly "take home" bags of supplies will be created for each participant. Please indicate (on registration) if you can pick up bags at VUU, help deliver, or need delivery.
MIDDLE SCHOOL: 6th-8th graders, Sundays 2-3pm : Crossing Paths, Exploring the World's Religions using a UU theological framework. Virtual visits will enable youth to experience our "neighboring faiths.”
Please note:
1) Classes will be recorded and uploaded as PRIVATE to the VUU YouTube channel. Families will receive an email with the link to view the videos.
|
|
|
Thirteen Connection Circles are meeting twice a month for small group connection. Groups are 5 -10 in size and meet at various times during the week. Please email deeannemcc@gmail.com to join a Connection Circle. Members, friends, and visitors are welcome – it’s a great way to meet new friends and develop deeper connections to some you already know.
|
|
Refugee Aid Gathering Donations for the IRC Phoenix WELCOME CENTER: You can help!
 Mid February, 2021 News from Refugee Aid:
The Welcome Center reports that the numbers of asylum seekers being dropped off by ICE is increasing steadily. Refugee Aid is going to pivot and begin assisting by packing travel food bags and toiletry bags for the asylum seekers. We will seek donations of travel food, and purchase travel food if needed. We have a decent supply of miniature toiletries but we will put out a call for those too. We need plastic grocery bags-we have decided to use those to save on our use of plastic ziplock bags.
So we need Snack food: ·
Soft granola bars ·
Apple sauce -kids squeezes ·
Tuna salad with crackers ·
Ritz type crackers with peanut butter ·
Cheese crackers ·
Trail mix –small bag
Miniature toiletries
Plastic grocery bags
Cash donations for purchasing travel food. Donations can be dropped off at Mary Jo’s, 6123 E. Harvard St Scottsdale, AZ (Come through patio gate, leave donations on table near door) or contact Barb Quijada (bflemingq@gmailcom) to arrange for pickup. MONETARY DONATIONS-Consider donating CASH for travel food purchases. Please send money if you are in a position to do so, and we will put it to work in aiding and assisting these families. Donate now to our Go Fund Me site at this link:http://gofundme.com/az-refugee-aid or mail a contribution to Refugee Aid-SWHF PO Box 1863 Scottsdale, AZ 85252.
|
|
EastVUU Meeting Thurs. Feb. 25 6:30-8:30pm
 Join us for An Evening of Poetry. Come share a favorite poem. You may read it or bring a YouTube clip. We encourage a variety of themes including humorous ones. This should be an entertaining meeting. See you there.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/739743734?pwd=MXZST25uRUMvbjUrK0hXVlJWa2VzUT09
Meeting ID: 739 743 734
Password: 920559
Save the date: EastVUU Meeting, Thurs. Mar. 11, 6:30-8:30pm. Please join us for an informative evening with Atty. Mary Miller, director of Refugee Aid. We will explore the changing needs of the asylum seekers at the border and in our community. All are welcome.
|
|
Green Sanctuary Garden Thurs. 8:00-9:30am
 News from VUU’s Green Sanctuary Garden
“Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.” -May Sarton
Please consider helping out with light maintenance at the garden. Our new Work Day hours are every Thursday, 8am - 9:30am and the third Saturday of every month, 8am - 10am. For more information, please contact Kat Karpinen (katkarpinen@gmail.com) or Denise McLeod (dns.mcleod@gmail.com).
|
|
Paz de Cristo
We are looking for volunteers to serve meals at Paz de Cristo. During this time of Covid, we need seven volunteers each month. All precautions are taken to ensure safety and social distancing. Want to sign up? Want more info? Thanks in advance! https://www.vuu.org/paz/
|
|
Food for Life and Planet
FLP Meeting (2/26): Love Letter to the Earth On Friday 2/26 at 10am, the Food for Life and the Planet committee will be discussing Thich Nhat Hanh’s Love Letter to the Earth.” Hanh, a Zen Master and peace activist, calls us to consider our “intimate relationship with the source of all life” and how “our personal happiness is intricately tied to the happiness of our planet.” We hope you can us for an inspirational discussion! For more information about the Food for Life and the Planet committee, please contact Denise McLeod at dns.mcleod@gmail.com.
ZOOM Information: FLP: Food for Life & Planet, Fridays 10:00 - 11:30 AM
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82566280722?pwd=U3ViaWU0bG5RaDFpMXo4WmxWVVpudz09
Meeting ID: 825 6628 0722
Passcode: FLP
|
|
 VUU is teaming up with Dayspring Methodist and Chandler Education Association to host a virtual HOUSE MEETING to reflect on and chart actions re pandemic issues facing Chandler families. (Ex: rental assistance, vaccination access, student mental health.) Contact Barb Quijada (bflemingq@gmail.com) for registration info.
|
|
 Our Dalai Lama and Friends virtual gathering meets every Sunday at 9 a.m. It be will on Zoom.
Here is the link.
Meeting ID: 388 347 383
Password: 347553
|
|
Social Distance...But Make it Social Justice
|
|
Multikulti: Removing Unconscious Debris From the Soil of the Soul
Still Time to Join!
Thursdays, Feb 4th - March 11th, 6:30-8pm
In our present Time of Tumult, Rev. Anthony Johnson offers a container and powerful methods for exploring the “Ism’s” of race, gender, class, religion and more, that challenge our culture, our communities, and our relationships. Six sessions of learning, unlearning, feeling and sharing about our differences; moving us toward creating change - in ourselves and the world around us.
This course is free to all our monthly sustaining donors. If you wish to join but aren't a donor, you can contribute a suggested donation of $10 per group meeting. There is also an opportunity to contribute to racial justice organizing at registration. If you aren't financially able to donate, join us anyway!
Register here.
DACA Clinic: Volunteers Needed
2nd and 4th Saturdays at First Church UCC Phoenix, 12-4 pm
DACA is back! and UUJAZ is proud to be partnering with Keep Phoenix Together to empower Dreamers by assisting them with their DACA application. This life-changing immigration policy was recently reinstated by court ruling, and your support can help give Dreamers the tools to apply for deferred deportation under DACA. Volunteers are needed at the Keep Phoenix Together clinic. Anyone who can spare a few hours on a Saturday afternoon can help, no special language or legal skills necessary.
Sign up to volunteer here.
Book GroUUp
3rd Fridays, 12-1:30 pm
What legacy will you leave your beloved: your children, grandchildren, congregation, community, and/or country about how you worked to dismantle systemic racism during your lifetime? What will you bequeath to your beloved? What is your hope for their future, for Beloved Community?
Join Rev. Tina Squire and Steve Kraynak on the third Friday of each month for a justice-centered book discussion from the perspective of our Unitarian Universalist values. Here we will use reading, conversation, and writing to answer these questions.
February 19, 2021: Discuss The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
March 19, 2021: Discuss Between The World And Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
April 16, 2021: Discuss BREATHE – A Letter To My Sons by Imani Perry
May 21, 2021: Read aloud our own letters we've written to our Beloved.
Register here.
Beloved Conversations: Spring 2021
Register on Feb 1st - Feb 26th, course begins March 16th
Beloved Conversations curriculum developers at Meadville Lombard Theological School have responded to the needs to learn how race and ethnicity shape our personal and collective lives and practices, in a virtual format. In 2020, 93 UUs from Arizona joined 1200 UUs in participating in the first half of Beloved Conversations: Within.
The first phase, Within focuses on the internal work that each of us needs to do as we engage in racial justice. This work is different for White folks and for Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) and will be done entirely in race-based caucuses. You do not need to have taken the Fall session to register for Spring: the two halves of Within can be taken in any order.
Within work will include individual Lessons, using videos, music, and readings, accompanied by reflection prompts and suggested conversations with Critical Friends chosen by the participants; bi-weekly small group conversations in a Learning Pod; and larger, monthly, facilitated Meaning-Making Sessions on Zoom. You can expect to spend 3-5 hours each week.
We hope you join us to embody racial justice as a spiritual practice, to heal the impact of racism on our lives, in order to get free together.
Register here.
Race Matters and the Supreme Court
Tuesday, March 9th, 5-6:30 pm AZ time, 7-8:30 pm Eastern
Tuesday, March 16th, 4-5:30 pm AZ time, 7-8:30 pm Eastern
Tuesday, March 23rd, 4-5:30 pm AZ time, 7-8:30 pm Eastern
As UUs, we recognize the existence of many realities and even more so, how those realities are interwoven. The connection between law and race is one of these ever-present truths. Join Political Science Professor Emeritus and UU, Howard Tolley, for three 90 minute sessions examining Supreme Court caselaw involving slavery, native American rights, racial discrimination, segregation, mass incarceration, the death penalty, affirmative action, rights of protesters, and qualified immunity for law enforcement personnel. In this course taught through UUJAZ and UUJO, Tolley considers the impact of race, political ideology, legal principles, and personal preference on the selection of Justices and the decisions they reach.
Register here.
Love & Justice: Abolition and Alternatives to Policing
Every first Wednesday, 6:30pm
UUs proclaim that no one is outside the circle of love, therefore, our goals are also abolitionist goals. Join UUJAZ team member Thoi every first Wednesday of the month in actively resisting the systems of policing and incarceration while building relationships and community with other passionate UUs in Arizona.
Register for our next meeting, March 3rd, here.
Trans Inclusion in Congregations from Transforming Hearts Collective
UUJAZ is thrilled to provide access to this online course on radical welcoming for all AZ UUs, thanks to a generous grant from the UU Funding panel. This course on transformational culture shift counts towards your annual Welcoming Congregation renewal. Contact us for your free login code (usually $125 per person) to explore this course at your own pace, or create a group at your congregation to take it together! If you’re interested in taking this course through UUJAZ, Janine Gelsinger is happy to schedule a time to facilitate. Contact her at uujaz.director@gmail.com.
The Hearth: A Sacred Space for BIPOC UUs
February 24th, 6:30 - 8:00 pm
Come sit by The Hearth and share your heart. In this space for Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (including Mixed/Multiracial or Transracially adopted folx), we will share, support, and learn together as we journey towards spiritual wholeness.
Register here.
|
|
|
|
|
