E-Octagram
February 09, 2018
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Week at a Glance UUC Sunday Service What's Happening at UUC
Serve UUC Committees Adult Religious Enrichment UUC and Beyond
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UUC WEEK AT A GLANCE
February 10, Saturday, Campus Cleanup - 8:30 am
In preparation for the opening of our new facilities, we are calling all volunteers to join us in a campus wide clean up! Bring snacks. Coffee will be provided.
February 11, Sunday
Open Issues:
9:30-10:20 am, Patio Room
Jacqueline Nye Reyes. “How to engage others in justice movements”
Jacqueline is a Senior Organizer with FAST (Faith and Action for Strength Together). Her focus is the long-haul, to hold public officials accountable for fair policies and practices to treat everyone equally. Ms. Reyes holds a B.A. in political science, international studies and economics from the University of Miami.
Sunday Service
: 10:30-11:45 am, Octagon
Service Leader, Christine Ducady, DRE, "Why Are YOUU?"
February 13, Tuesday - 7:00-9:00 pm, Maxwell Library
Climate Change: How Bad Is It and What Can We Do? Final Session
UUC Teaching Facilitator: Dale Potter
Session 1:
A presentation and discussion based on the latest U.S. Global Research Program's Fourth National Climate Assessment titled Climate Science Special Report and other recent scientific findings.
Session 2:
A presentation and discussions on the limitations of individual efforts and the need for collective efforts to address the social and economic changes that will be required to address the climate crisis.
Sign up sheets will be at Sunday service or call 727-531-7704
February 14, Wednesday: EXHALE! 6:00-6:45 pm
From 6-6:45 in the Octagon. Hold the second Wednesday of each month open for some quiet moments of mindfulness and connection.
February 15, Thursday: 7:00 pm UUC's VAGINA MONOLOGUES GROUP
is performing at the
Gulfport Library atrium
Admittance is free.
February 20 and 27, and March 13 and 27, 7:00 to 8:30 pm, Patio Rm.
Faithful Communication
UUC Teaching Facilitators: Irene Ratner,
Lore Eargle,
Ray Williamson, Sally Ott, and Randy Munroe.
This course will help us understand and apply our UUC Covenant of Right Relations in our everyday lives. We will gain communications skills that we can use not only at UUC but at home and work. There will be role playing and should be fun as well as introspective.
Meets: in the Patio Room Feb. 13 and 27, and March 13 and 27
Sign up sheets will be at Sunday service or call 727-531-7704
February 18, Sunday
Open Issues: 9:30-10:20 am, Patio Room
Barbara Rhode, LMFT. “Red Tent Project in the Pinellas County Jail”
Barbara, a local activist, is the founder of the “Red Tent Project,” a non-profit that provides a safe space for women to come together to create marketable art, while gaining insight into themselves & their relationships through instruction, mentoring and friendship. We are fortunate to have her at Open Issues to describe her work and answer our questions.
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UUC’s Annual Pledge Drive is coming in March!
What is the Annual Pledge Drive?
Our Pledge Drive is the financial key to meeting UUC’s annual operating needs - keeping the lights on, paying staff, and supporting programs such as Music, Ministry, Religious Education, and Social Justice. It is called by many other names as well: Canvass, Stewardship, and Annual Fund. This year the Annual Pledge Drive will be March 4 - April 8, 2018.
How does the Annual Pledge Drive work?
All members and friends of UUC are asked to make a financial pledge for the coming fiscal year. Pledge forms are mailed the last week of February. Pledge forms are also available in the Narthex or at the social hour each Sunday in March, or may be downloaded from this site (link to pledge form)
What is new this year?
Members of the Pledge Drive Committee will be visiting all committees, covenant groups, the music program and other small group ministries to personally solicit your support. Members of these groups will have one-to- one conversations. Some members of the congregation will be invited to neighborhood pledge parties in the month of March.
Questions?
Contact Co-Chairs of Annual Pledge Drive --
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Meet with Rev. Patrice Curtis
If you would like to meet with Rev. Patrice contact the office at 727-531-7704. If you wish to contact her, please call
(510) 852-9304.
Rev. Patrice is going to Katmandu, Nepal for ICUU meeting.
She will share her journey on her NEW Facebook page,
RevPatrice Curtis
. (RevPatrice is one word.)
Click here
to find me, then send me a Friend Request.
To Reach Her
: Contact the Church at 727-531-7704 and leave a message or speak to the Front Desk Volunteer and we will relay the message to her.
Time Difference
: Please note that she is 10 hours, 45 minutes ahead of Eastern Standard Time.
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This Sunday
February 11th, 2018
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Service
Sunday at 10:30
Service Leader:
DRE Christine Ducady
"Why Are YOUU?"
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Pastoral Care Associates
UUC has a strong team of lay Pastoral Associates who offer confidential, emotional support and spiritual companionship to fellow church members. You can access pastoral care by contacting Rev. Patrice Curtis at 727-531-7704 ext. 5 or
[email protected]
.
Please note that emails sent to the front office are not confidential; emails to Rev. Patrice are.
This week’s pastoral care associate is
Susan Hegner
and he is
available at
727-531-7704 ext. 5.
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Open Issues
9:30-10:20 am
Patio Room
Jacqueline Nye Reyes. “How to engage others in justice movements”
Jacqueline is a Senior Organizer with FAST (Faith and Action for Strength Together). Her focus is the long-haul, to hold public officials accountable for fair policies and practices to treat everyone equally. Ms. Reyes holds a B.A. in political science, international studies and economics from the University of Miami.
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Flowers for Sunday Services
If you would like to supply the flowers for an upcoming Sunday service in honor of a special event or person in your life, please email
Laura Daniel
at
[email protected]
. She will help you coordinate your contribution.
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Share the Plate - February 11, 2018 The Asian Rural Institute
Founded in 1973 by Rev. Dr. Toshihiro Takami the aim of the program is to invite and train local grassroots leaders to more effectively serve in their communities as they work for the poor, the hungry, and the marginalized. Participants, with the exception of Japanese participants, attend under full scholarships because they come from extremely poor communities and cannot pay for travel and training.
Each year the ARI brings together about 30 leaders to participate in the Rural Leaders Training Program. They come from some of the most isolated, deprived, war-torn and desperate places on Earth. . They come because they are motivated by a dream to serve their people; a dream of learning to build a better life with enough food, a strong, healthy family, a supportive community, and a voice in determining their own future. The training focuses on sustainable agriculture through integrated organic farming techniques, community building, and servant leadership. Community based, hands-on learning is emphasized in all areas. Working together they grow and share their own food. At the heart of the program is the concept of ‘Foodlife' – a term designed to recognize and value the interdependency between life and the food that sustains all life. Upon completion of the training participants return to their home countries to put their learning into action. Make the dream come true and donate to this exceptional program. For more information go to
http://www.ari-edu.org/en/about-us/
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Front Desk Volunteer Needed
For the first and occasional fifth Wednesday of each month. Hours are from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Come and be part of the Office Team.
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Become a Sunday 'Snack Manager'
The snack after Sunday service is managed by a group called "the Sunday Snack Managers." It would be ideal if we had four people to do this, then each person can be on duty once every four weeks. It does not preclude attending service. Currently we are down to two people so we are looking for two more. All that this requires is someone responsible, reliable and personable who doesn't need to know a thing about cooking, baking or food prep! This is a pleasant and low impact way in which you can contribute to the volunteer activities at UUC. Please email Carol
[email protected]
or call her at
727-447-3299
if you are interested. Thank you!
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Campus Cleanup
Come One Come All!
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Saturday, February 10th
& Saturday, March 17th
at 8:30 am
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In preparation for the opening of our new facilities,
we are calling all volunteers to join us in a campus wide clean up! Bring snacks. Coffee will be provided.
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Adult Spiritual and Religious Development Programs Winter-Spring 2018. Get signed up now!
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{Click
HERE
to sign up for any of the following classes}
Faithful Communication
UUC Teaching Facilitators: Irene Ratner, Lore Eargle, Ray Williamson, Sally Ott, and Randy Munroe.
This course will help us understand and apply our UUC Covenant of Right Relations in our everyday lives. We will gain communications skills that we can use not only at UUC but at home and work. There will be role playing and should be fun as well as introspective.
Meets: in the Patio Room Feb. 20 and 27, and March 13 and 27, 7-8:30 pm
Fantasy Land v. Reality
UUC Teaching Facilitator: Mark Brandt
Mark will lead what will surely be a spirited conversation about how America's historical roots make it
UN
surprising that we now grapple with "Fake Facts". This discussion will be based on the book, Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History by Kurt Andersen.
Meets: Maxwell Library, February 28, 7-8:30 pm
Reflections on "A Good Death" and "An Auspicious Rebirth
UUC Teaching Facilitator: Frank Tedesco, M.A. and PhD. in Buddhist Studies
We will reflect on the notion that we are "spiritual beings"
having a physical experience on earth, perhaps not for the first
or last time. What is the nature of the "spirit of life" that UUs
appeal to in song? let's share your ideas,questions and experiences with
human & animal consciousness and inter-species communication. What of the bardos or intermediate states between lives? Do near-death experiences teach us anything about metempsychosis? We will discuss advance care planning, life review and reconciliation to prepare ourselves and our loved ones for the inevitable transformation we call death. Dying needn't be a surprise. Is it really the end? Or not? Our conversations will be supplemented with videos, Youtube TED talks, etc. as inspired.
Meets: in the Patio Room, April 3,10,17, 4:30-6:30 pm
This I Believe...
UUC Facilitator: Rev. Patrice Curtis
This program has been a popular way for people to write and share core values that guide their daily lives or illuminate some important aspect of living. As Unitarian Universalists, this naturally fits our religious value that we are all on “a personal search for meaning.” The class will guide participants as they focus on their values and beliefs. At “graduation” participants can choose to deliver their essay to the rest of the group. This will be a wonderful way to get to know your deeper self, and to connect at a deeper level with fellow participants. (Note: There is a bit of reflective homework to be sent between classes, and it is only fair to others that you commit to attending all sessions.) Limit: 12
Meets: April 17, 24, May 1, 15, 22, 6:30-8:30
Sign up sheets will be available in the Narthex
and the Social Hall starting Sunday December 17th
or
{Click
HERE
to sign up for any of the following classes}
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Readers Forum
Fridays, 10:30 am, Chorale Rm.
February, 2nd:
Finishing
The Letter
February, 9th & 16th:
The Alice Network
by Kate Quinn
March 9th & 16th:
Fantasyland
by Kurt Andersen
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Next Exhale
Wed., February 14th
A Gathering for Sitting and Moving Mindfulness.
From 6-6:45 in the Octagon. Hold the second Wednesday of each month open for some quiet moments of mindfulness and connection.
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UUC's VAGINA MONOLOGUES GROUP is performing at the Gulfport Library atrium on Thursday, February 15th at 7:00 pm
This presentation is sponsored by the Circle of Friends of the Gulfport Library so there is no charge for tickets. The UUC VMG Group is donating the sponsorship funds to the church.
This Obie award-winning whirlwind tour of a forbidden zone brings together a wildly divergent gathering of women’s voices, including a six-year old girl, a septuagenarian, a vagina workshop participant, a dominatrix, a transgender woman, and a feminist happy to find a man who “liked to look at it.” As the Associated Press describes the evening, “Ensler breaks taboos by talking, talking, and talking some more – stripping fear and shame from what she celebrates here. It makes for quite a party.”
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UUC Committee Meetings and Events
Please get your meeting information to
[email protected]
NO LATER than one week before the next E-Octagram (publishes on Thursdays). If there are
changes,
they must get to the above email NO LATER than the Wednesday before publishing. Thank you.
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2018 Winter/ Spring Schedule
SAVE THE DATES
Rally
-
February 26,
7 PM
Skycrest United Methodist Church
2045 Drew Street, Clearwater 33765
Limited parking so try to car pool
Nehemiah Action
March 19th
7PM Tropicana Field
1 Tropicana Drive, St.Petersburg
Bus will be leaving from the UUC parking lot
Bring at least 3 people with you
Celebration-
April 30,2018 7PM
Place to be announced at a later date.
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Property Committee Campus Cleanup,
Saturday, February 10th & March 17th, 8:30 am-12:00 pm
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Important Legislation Needs Your Support
We have only one month to work on getting POLST through the legislative session. What I neglected to mention is that the House and Senate bills also call for the creation of a statewide electronic registry for advance directives so that wherever you are when the need arises, your wishes can be accessed. That would also be a very positive step for Florida. If these bills are to pass this session, it’s going to take work, so I’ll be sending you emails quite often. Each bill has to go through three committees, so we have to get the chair of the committee to put the bill on the agenda, then the committee votes on the bill. After it passes all three committees, it goes to the floor. We may not have much notice about when the committee hearing will be. We’ll do what we can. Here’s the first task.
"I am writing to ask you to schedule HB 1339 (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) as soon as possible in the Health Quality Subcommittee.
Many of us have dealt with caring for loved ones at the end of life and know how important it is to make sure end-of-life documents are as clear as possible. POLST would be more powerful than a living will because it is ordered by a physician in consultation with the patient, thus giving health care facilities and providers clear authority for following patient wishes. This legislation would also include a much-needed registration for the collection of advance directives, so that information could be accessed wherever the patient was when medical care was needed.
Other states have successfully instituted these services. Here in Florida, where we have so many elderly residents, it is especially important. This legislation stands to save a lot of patients and their families undue angst and suffering in the final days of life.
I look forward to tracking this legislation online during this 2018 Session and thank you in advance for doing all you can to move HB 1339 along"
.
And Another Letter...
We want to move the bill in the Florida Senate. Here is the link:
#
Please send letters to the chair and co-chair.
"I am writing to ask you to schedule SB 474 (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) as soon as possible in the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services.
Many of us have dealt with caring for loved ones at the end of life and know how important it is to make sure end-of-life documents are as clear as possible. POLST would be more powerful than a living will because it is ordered by a physician in consultation with the patient, thus giving health care facilities and providers clear authority for following patient wishes. This legislation would also include a much-needed registration for the collection of advance directives, so that information could be accessed wherever the patient was when medical care was needed.
Other states have successfully instituted these services. Here in Florida, where we have so many elderly residents, it is especially important. This legislation stands to save a lot of patients and their families undue angst and suffering in the final days of life.
I look forward to tracking this legislation online during this 2018 Session and thank you in advance for doing all you can to move SB 474 along."
Thank you for your support and help,
Marcia
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FOOTNOTES FROM THE LIBRARY:
WANTED!
Books, CD's or other material that have had an impact on your Spiritual/Intellectual Journey!
Please let us know what they are because they might also be available to others.
Contact:
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The Library is also expanding a shelf featuring UUC authors, but we need some help. The section is located just below the Unitarian Universalism section. Please stop by and see if your favorite UUC author is there, and more importantly, if you have copies of these UUC works, consider donating them to the Library.
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2018 United Faiths Walk of Peace Postponed to April 29th
Now we can all march again with people of all faiths at the
2018 United Faiths Walk of Peace on Sunday, April 29th
. Join over 15 different faith groups (UUC is a sponsor) on the 2 mile walk around Dunedin, stopping at several venues for reflections on peace led by a variety of faith leaders. Meet at Pioneer Park ,
400 Main Street, Dunedin
at 2 PM and march behind the UUC banner. Wear your
UUC, Standing on the Side of Love, or the 2018 United Faiths
tee shirt. For more information:
UUC is represented on the Walk of Peace Tee shirt and we have several size large left.
If you would like one come to the SJ Table after services on Sunday.
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