Help Us Plan Adult Faith Formation Opportunities!  Fill out this quick survey and let us know what you’re interested in!



Help Wanted! We need a couple of volunteers to help open the Zoom room for coffee hour on Sundays after service. A quick training will get you set up and you can help us keep folks connected when they’re attending services online. Email Rev Sarah at [email protected] if you are willing to help. Until we have someone to help run the zoom room, we won’t be able to offer this opportunity to connect online.  

SCAM UPDATE

Please do not reply to emails purported to come from Mark Foote asking for a list of members, nor to text messages supposedly coming from Rev. Sarah that, once engaged, ask for Apple gift cards!

Several members who have responded to the scammers and received a barrage of curse words and/or threats of violence. Please just report and block the number.

Contact Todd at [email protected] with questions or to verify requests for information

To help with Sunday morning hospitality, click here.

Liz Chain



Dalai Lama and Friends and VUU Member and cat lover, Elizabeth Chain died unexpectedly Thursday, Aug. 17. Liz's spirit is in her twin cats, who Linda and Dennis Swain graciously adopted. Liz's relatives will plan a celebration of life for her in Iowa with a gravestone next to Liz's mother and father's gravestone plot.

Cards may be sent to Crystal & Tom Hennessey, 124 E Redbud Dr, Stillwater, OK 74075 and Charity & Tom Murphy, 1365 Joliet St, El Cajon, CA 02019.

Submitted by Pat Flahart, Ahwatukee Caring Neighbors

Calling all LGBTQ+ congregants

Adults and youth alike! We want as many of you as possible to participate in the October 15th service when we celebrate National Coming Out Day!

We are looking for speakers, ushers, those willing to give a coming out story, musicians, artists, those willing to do a reading, etc. 

Please contact Bobbi Ryals 602.486.3587 or Email her here by September 15th if you would like to participate. 

If you don't feel comfortable participating in the service, we hope to see you there so we have a strong showing from our community.

Caring Neighbors is continuing to expand the number of those we serve in our VUU community. We appreciate every Neighborhood Coordinator for all they have done and will do in the future. From coordinating short term transportation help, meal delivery, and phone calls to checking in on VUU'ers, and much more, we hope to continue to enhance our caring and support for one another. Starting September 1st, there will be some changes to the list of neighborhood leaders.

We are grateful to the following coordinators for all their dedication and support this past year. We appreciate you all: JoAnne Smith, Deidre Mears, Robin Latto, Jeanie Gaskill, Bonnie Phillips. Renee Spears, Sabena Norman, and Joanne McGrath. We look forward to announcing the full Coordinators roster for '23-'24 soon.

Caring Neighbors Co-chairs, Johnnie Clemens May and Nancy Wittenberg

Partners In Education

Trauma-Informed Safe Spaces

Grades 3-5

Adams Elementary School, Mesa, AZ

Ms. Rozum

Help me give my students a social emotionally focused classroom that promotes emotional health, trauma informed coping strategies, and a welcoming calming corner for them to de-escalate.

For more information and to support this worthy request, click here: https://www.donorschoose.org/project/trauma-informed-safe-spaces/7419582/

Spirit of Life Reading Circle

Anne Schneider, Rebecca Riggs, and Mary Rothschild are delighted to begin a new year of Spirit of Life Reading Circle on Zoom! Our first meeting will be on October 5th at 7:00 pm. We are continuing our first Thursday of the month calendar from 7:00 to 8:30 beginning this year in October.

This will be our 11th year, which hardly seems possible, but which gives use great joy. Our discussions over the years have been all over the map, but that has been a good part of the fun of them. Digging into a theological issue or question has made us more thoughtful UUs and your willingness to discuss, agree, and disagree has always been a genuine gift.

So thank you all and we hope to see you on Zoom on October 5th. We'll send out our links to read before in plenty of time, as usual.

Committee Update

The Special Funds Committee is accepting applications for its 2023-24 “Special Funds Small Grants Program,” that provides funds for special VUU projects. As of July 1, 2023 (the start of this new fiscal year) we had $34,566.48 available for grants (approximately 4% of the total in the Endowment Fund). Five projects totaling $30,400 have been funded to date.

The Special Funds Committee meets the 2nd Tuesday each month at 6:00 pm via Zoom. Our meetings are open and those submitting proposals are encouraged to attend. As of August 16, we still have $4,166.48 available for grants this fiscal year. All VUU members, committees, and staff are eligible to apply.

Send an email to Rick Hinrichs to get the Zoom link to our meetings.

More information about the projects funded to date and the process for submitting proposals is available here.

Thank you!

VUU Special Funds Committee:

Rick Hinrichs, Chair

Joanne McGrath, Treasurer

Anne Schneider, Secretary

Carl Anderson

Kama White

CommUUnications!

The communications team has varied responsibilities, including the Happenings newsletter, social media, public relations, signage, our website, and Sunday morning announcements. We keep our VUU family and community up to date!

We're looking for a few good folks to volunteer a few hours a month to work in one or more of these areas. If you're interested, just click here and we'll contact you right away! Thank you! The Communications Team

As we leave behind an extreme summer and move into a season of life-sustaining temperatures and regeneration, let’s celebrate what we love about the Earth.

Please participate in these events on October 1:

• Add your unique message to the “I Love the Earth” banner.
• Visit Environmental Action Team tables on the patio to learn about actions that can make a difference in our future.
• Share your ideas, actions and solutions for creating a cleaner and safer environment for all.
• Attend a talk on solar energy after the service in the sanctuary.

Food and drinks provided!

The Page Turners' Book Club

The Page Turners Book Club is open to all members, visitors, and friends of VUU who enjoy reading and discussing a variety of books. The next meeting is September 21 at 7:00 PM. The book is Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr.

Paz de Cristo Donation of the Month

September - Pasta Sauce



Please support our focus charity, Paz de Cristo, by bringing a donation of pasta sauce (any kind) during the month of September. Drop your donation in the designated container in the foyer of the sanctuary. Thank you for your generous support!

Paz de Cristo Meal Prep

Continuing the Tradition… Keeping the Commitment… Living our Principles

September date: 2nd Friday, September 8th, 4pm - 7pm

Location: 424 W Broadway Rd, Mesa, AZ

Click here for the sign up link Families welcome!

Please join us as we keep VUU’s 34-year tradition with Paz de Cristo on the second Friday of each month to serve the evening meal to Paz guests. Volunteers gather at the Paz kitchen/dining room to prepare then serve the evening meal. Additional tasks include cleanup of dishes, sweeping and mopping of floors. If you are joining us for the first time, don’t worry, Paz staff and experienced VUU volunteers make the work easy and the evening goes fast.

Seventeen volunteers are needed and can range in age from 12 on up. Volunteers must be able to stand and participate in all tasks during the entire evening. Have questions? Contact Joanne at 602-620-3100.

Affordable 55+ Housing in Chandler.

Join us for the next VIP Housing Team meeting. Meet members of other congregations engaged in the effort to increase affordable housing in Maricopa County. Monday, Sept 18, 6:30 (location TBD).

Email Barb Quijada for more information and / or to join the team.

Immigration Action Team

Team Meeting

The Immigration Action Team welcomes everybody to attend their Fall in-person meeting Sunday 9/10 at 11:45 in the Sanctuary after services.

We will discuss:

-How we can be better social supports to our families

-How to finance our work

-How we can participate in their legal processes

-How we can be a better part of VUU

Help Katherin Earn Money

The last several weeks saw Katherin and family selling their homemade Salchipapas at VUU to supplement their income. In the coming weeks Katherin will be offering 10 minute foot- or back- massages (on her professional table in the flex room) for $20. She will be there from 10 AM to 10:30, and from 11:30-Noon. She is trying to earn money to pay for tuition to Esthetician School starting in December. Sign up at the service!

A VERY successful month-long Clothing Donation Drive!  Three Latino Asylum Seeker Shelters received Men/Women/Children summer clothing. Much of what was donated was new which is always appreciated. As each shelter receives several bus loads in a weeks' time, this donation drive is ongoing with a bin marked for Refugee Aid in the sanctuary. One of our EVUU members assisted a Latino shelter last week in processing families. They saw firsthand how quickly supplies are used up and how appreciative those receiving are to have received.

Sex Ed for Young(ish) Adults: Millennials + Gen Z

Weekly on Sundays, starting September 10th

4:00-5:30 pm, Virtually on Zoom

Join us for Sex Ed for Young(ish) Adults, where we explore relationships, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, sexual health, and cultural influences on sexuality, together with other Millennials + Gen Z.

Sign-up at uujaz.org/register