Next Week: We will celebrate a “Cornbread Communion” which will be a multi-generational service.  This means the service will be oriented to include all ages and to be more interactive.  After service we’ll begin planning for holiday decorating (12-1). Help us plan how we will decorate the sanctuary and look at our current stash of decorations to see what we need.  All ages welcome!  Have some decorations you want to donate?  Bring them!  Let’s spread some seasonal joy! 

To help with Sunday morning hospitality, click here.

Abbreviated information about upcoming events that are

further than two weeks out.

• AZCEND Foodbank with Rev. Sarah - Nov 15, 22; Dec 13 Sign Up
• FUUNd Donations Accepted - Nov 17 - Jan 5
• New Participant Classes - Dec 7, Mar 22, Jun 7 RSVP here
• EastVUU Holiday Party - Dec 12
• FLP Event - Dec 13
• Senior High Winter Camp at de Benneville - Dec 28 - Jan 1 Register here
• Ethics for Unitarian Universalists - begins Jan 8 Sign Up
• New Participant Meal - Feb 1, Apr 5 RSVP here
• FUUNd Auction - Feb 2 - 16
• VIP Leaders Retreat - Feb 5
• VUU Retreat - Apr 11-13 at Friendly Pines Camp in Prescott

Dear Ones,

It was wonderful to see so many new people in the Sanctuary last Sunday and to see so many members who hadn’t been here in awhile. We hope you’ll come back and find a way to get involved–that you’ll find this to be a place where your belonging is only based on your willingness to show up and be yourself. “What would it be like if you could trust, unequivocally, that you were valued here for the pieces of yourself that make you feel different, not despite those pieces. That in this space there was nothing about you that could make people reverse their welcome or reject you from the circle of belonging...” Alix Capitan. It’s my goal that this will feel like such a place. 

This doesn’t mean we can burn the house down, though, right? And it doesn’t mean we can do whatever we want without being mindful about our impact on each other. It does mean that you get to be you; your journey, your questions, your answers, your struggles and your successes are all welcome here. We have all arrived here by different paths, with different language for the holy and different ideas about the future and the work ahead of us. To belong together is to negotiate this future, to listen and offer and try things out together. Watch the Happenings posts every week for more opportunities to connect, to grow and to be a part of the necessary healing our world needs and the joy that is part of being alive and being in a community. Blessings this week as we navigate change and our shared future. –Rev. Sarah

-Rev. Sarah Oglesby-Dunegan



This Just In!

Welcome Ariel Russo, our new preschool teacher!

Hello! My name is Miss Ariel, I am a friendly and warm neurodivergent person. I love people and to be creative. So excited to see your little ones bloom!

Donate Now to the 2025 Let’s Have FUUNd Together Auction

The annual auction is a longstanding tradition at VUU. From its humble beginnings as the Heart and Hand Auction to our Let’s Have FUUNd Together online extravaganza, the auction has been VUU’s premier FUUN and FUUNd raiser for over 40 years! The 2025 auction will open on February 2nd. Between November 17 and January 5, DONATE one of the wonderful events, dinners, parties, handmade treasures, tasty treats, and services that will make up this year’s auction catalog. Visit the FUUNd table on the patio after Sunday services in November and December to find out how YOU can get in on the FUUNd!

VUU Congregational Survey

Grab a beverage and take some time to share with us. VUU is ours and each of us may choose to have a say in what happens here. Please share your responses to the Congregational Survey with us. You may complete the survey here.

Email assessment@vuu.org if you have issues with survey completion or questions for the committee.

Thank you,

Nancy Egly and Your VUU Assessment Committee

Monthly Financial Report

The first quarter of the VUU fiscal year is in the books and things continue looking reasonable. Pledge income was excellent in September, so thanks to everyone who has caught up on their pledges! Income and expenses are both under budget, so the numbers look good so far.

There is enough cash on hand for now thanks to one time monies from the endowment and the recovery funds; these will be available to cover monthly deficits for this fiscal year only. The new mortgage rate that goes into effect in March will be 7.25%, three percent higher than we are paying now. We have this covered in this year's budget, and will have to account for these higher payments in next year's budget as well.

ALSO, it should be noted we will need to balance our FY 2025-26 budget, so please pay attention to Pledge campaign notices when they arrive.

As always, thanks!

The full FA report can be found here.

-Submitted by David Sheh

Post-Election Huddle & Eat

Thursday, November 14, 6:00 pm

Join EastVUU friends for post-election huddle in the back room of MV Pita Mediterranean Grill

1066 N. Power Rd, #103, Mesa, AZ 85205.

Save the date for EastVUU's holiday party: Thursday, December 12.

Our Director of Music Ministries, Katie Seiferth, is on extended medical leave.

Caring Neighbors Coordinator Needed

There is one neighborhood that is still in need of a Coordinator: Phoenix (not including Ahwatukee). This Neighborhood includes approximately 24 households that are spread across 14 zip codes: 85003, 85004, 85008, 85012, 85014, 85016, 85018, 85020, 85024, 85028, 85039, 85040, 85042, 85043.

If you are someone who enjoys connecting willing helpers to congregants in need, please contact either Joyce Donahue by email or call 480-221-6837, or Nancy Wittenberg by email or call 480-283-4725 for more information. Thank you!

Chandler Pride Festival

Join us at the Chandler Pride Festival this Saturday, November 16, from 4pm - 9pm where VUU will be reaching out to our LGBTQ+ friends and offering them a chance to become a part of our loving community.

Page Turners Book Club Meeting

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 Thursday, November 21 at 7:00 pm. We will meet at the home of Johnnie Godfrey in Tempe (near Baseline Rd. and the 101).  The book is The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, by David Grass. See the book here.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon, a page-turning story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth. The powerful narrative reveals the deeper meaning of the events on the Wager, showing that it was not only the captain and crew who ended up on trial, but the very idea of empire.

For the meeting address or questions, please contact Johnnie at 480-231-8381 or send an email here.

New I-HELP Coordinating Team

Many thanks to Laura Rohlfing for keeping I-HELP going when we came back to our Sanctuary in 2022. This is program where VUU works with the non-profit Azcend to offer temporary shelter a few times a month in our sanctuary, and once a month serving dinner and making lunches for the day. This has been a heavy lift, and we are now moving to a model that doesn’t require the same person to be there every week! If you would like to sign up to help once a month or more with this team, please contact Rev. Sarah minister@vuu.org or Adrienne O’Donnell. We will be training new folks on November 18, 2024, between 5:15pm and 7:00pm. It’s a fun way to help our neighbors in need and to meet new people. Our next date to provide the meal and lunches is November 25. Sign up here!