Nurture spirituality. Foster compassion. Engage in service.
January Theme: Justice



The justice conversation is gearing up at CUC! If you missed the sermon on Jan 4, please take a look at it. It's posted on The Liberal Pulpit in 4 parts. To go to Part 1, CLICK HERE (and at the bottom of each part, click the link to go to the subsequent part.)

Our Journey Groups this month, on the theme of Justice, will give you the chance to reflect on what justice does and could mean to you. See the monthly packet: CLICK HERE.

Then in February we're planning to take the conversation to the congregational level. The Social Action Planning Team is planning for a Congregational Meeting as part of the service on Sun Feb 8. We'll talk about what kind of approach to Social Action we'd like to have at C.U.C.

Practice of the Week: Cultivate Self-Acceptance

"Step One: Agree to be willing to try another way. Step Two: Once the willingness is established, identify ways in which your old responses are attempts to reduce suffering by avoiding certain internal experiences. Step Three: Identify ways in which these entrenched and automatic responses have the paradoxical effect of increasing suffering. READ MORE...

Saturday Zen: Sat Jan 10

Our lives are determined by our actions. Our actions are only occasionally determined by what we "think" is right. Much more is determined by the habits we cultivate. Zen practice and instruction is available at the Parsonage on Saturday mornings. 10:00 - 11:45a, . READ MORE...

Sat Jan 10: Film and Discussion: "Virunga." 3:00 - 5:30pm.

Rev. LoraKim Joyner will host this movie and discussion about the efforts to save the mountain gorilla in the Congo. READ MORE...

Sun Jan 18: Bird Walk

Rev. LoraKim Joyner leads this stroll around the CUC property, looking for and talking about birds and other wild life -- and reflecting the ways all of life enriches our own. Starts at 8:30am behind the Parsonage. (Note: The date is Jan 18 -- not Jan 25, as listed in the Communitarian.)

Yours in the faith we share,
-Meredith
Rev. Meredith Garmon
Minister
Worship Jan 11, 10:00: The Spirit Level           

Rev. Meredith Garmon

The income gap between the richest and everyone else has been spiraling upward. This is an economic issue. It's also a spiritual issue.


Sunday's Music. Piano music by Adam Kent. READ MORE...


 

10:00 - Prelude

10:10 - Inviting the Bell and Gathering Song

 



I hope you are staying warm. Don't worry; it's going to get up to a toasty thirty degrees by Sunday. The warmth of community will help us face the cold and the stresses of the week. We look forward to sharing and reflecting with you. Please see the following four (4) announcements:

1) This Sunday, January 11, K-4th grade children start in Fellowship Hall for Children's Worship. 5th-12th grade start in their classrooms.

2) RE Extraordinary Sunday, January 18 at 10am
A special Social Justice session for all ages.


The Justice RE Support Team is planning a special social justice project for RE on the Sunday of MLK weekend. This will be a great opportunity for children and youth to engage in the racial justice and equality issues facing our society.

If any parents would like to be a part of this and help the team, please let me know.

3) SHARE THE LOVE!

Sunday, January 25th

BRING A FRIEND TO CUC

UUs don't proselytize...
but we do share our sense of community, inclusiveness, and spiritual searching.

There will be an RE information table after the service and then a UU Roots meeting to introduce people to Unitarian Universalism. We will have a Kids' UU Roots gathering at the same time, with a fun CUC tour.

4) Stitching In Spirit - Sunday, Feb. 1 at 11:45 a.m.
A CUC Adult RE Workshop led by Community Minister Rev. Kelly Murphy Mason

For millennia, fiber arts and handicrafts have figured significantly in people's communal and spiritual lives. Come join affiliated minister and avid crocheter Kelly Murphy Mason in this exploration of what it might mean to our faith community to be "stitching in spirit."
Please feel free to bring with you any handicrafting projects you might have underway - or else just bring an open and inquiring mind. Everyone is welcome.


I look forward to seeing you all as the possibilities at CUC heat up.

Sincerely,
-Perry
Perry Montrose
Director of Lifespan Religious Education and Faith Development
Links & Reminders

What's In a Name Committee -- 20-min meetings are now scheduled, and we hope everyone can participate in one of them. READ MORE...

Our Child/Youth R.E. Classes Descriptions of each of our eight R.E. classes meeting on Sunday mornings: CLICK HERE.

The UUA Common Read for 2014-15 is: Paul Rasor, Reclaiming Prophetic Witness: Liberal Religion in the Public Square.  Order your copy! READ MORE...

General Assembly 2015 is in Portland, OR -- Jun 24-28. GA is amazing fun, enriching, deepening, and transformative! We encourage all CUC members to begin planning now to attend.

Jan issue of the Communitarian: CLICK HERE.
Jan Journey Group Packet: "Justice": CLICK HERE.
The web site for Community Unitarian Church: CLICK HERE.
The Five Foundational Spiritual Practices
 - Journal daily
 - Study daily
 - Silence daily
 - Group monthly
 - Mindfulness as much as you can
READ MORE...