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Sunday, September 29
“Human Rights in the Pulpit”
Join me in welcoming Corazon AZ and guest speaker Pastor Erin Dooley as we encourage our community to fight another round of harmful immigration policy on our ballot this fall in the form of Proposition 314. We’ll talk about how this could impact our neighbors and our community, and what you can do to stand up for human rights and dignity.
Corazon will also have a table set up with information. Last week we hosted a press conference in our Sanctuary on this issue as well, and many of you joined us.
This week is a game day for the children. There will not be a Time for All Ages.
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IN THE EDUCATION BUILDINGS | |
FAITH FORMATION
Children should go directly to their classrooms for game day.
This is our children’s last week exploring our theme of Invitation. We invite children and youth to invite a friend to VUU this week!
- Preschool (3/4 yr olds)
- Kind/1st Grade
- 2nd/3rd Grade
- 4th/5th Grade
- Middle School (6-8th)
- High School (9-12th)
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DALAI LAMA AND FRIENDS
8:30 am Meditation
9:00 am Discussion
In person, in the board room, and
Via Zoom here
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Love is our doctrine · Service is our prayer · Justice is our calling | | |
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Calendar
Thursday, September 26
• Board Meeting 5:30p
• Ukester Friends 6p
• EastVUU Social Dinner 6p
• Facilities Meeting 6p
Friday, September 27
• Singles Dinner Out 6:30p
Saturday, September 28
Sunday, September 29
• Dalai Lama and Friends 8:30a
• Sunday Service 10:30a
• Faith Formation 10:30a
• General Assembly Review 12:15p
• OWL Class Grades 5/6 12:15p
• LDC Retreat 2p
Monday, September 30
• VIP Core Team Mtg 9:30a
• I-HELP Shelter 5:30p
Tuesday, October 1
• EastVUU Circle of Friends 1p
Wednesday, October 2
• Policy Group 6:30p
• No Choir - summer break
Thursday, October 3
• Ukester Friends 6p
Friday, October 4
Saturday, October 5
Sunday, October 6
• Dalai Lama and Friends 8:30a
• Sunday Service 10:30a
• Faith Formation 10:30a
• Congregational Conversation 12p
• OWL Class Grades 5/6 12:15p
Click here for the most current calendar, to view locations, contact information details for above events
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Abbreviated information about upcoming events that are further than two weeks out. Events that occur sooner may have a full article below.
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EastVUU - Sep 26, Oct 10
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Congregational Conversation - Oct 6, Nov 3
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FLP Events - Oct 11, Oct 25, Nov 8, Dec 13 Reading for 10/11
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Read with Rev. Sarah - Oct 16 RSVP here
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Page Turners Book Club - Oct 17 See the Book Here
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Brown Bag Lunch with Rev. Sarah - Oct 22 (date change), Nov 12
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VIP Public Action - Oct 24
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New Participant Classes - Oct 26, Dec 7, Mar 22, Jun 7 RSVP here
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New Participant Meal - Nov 2, Feb 1, Apr 5 RSVP here
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VUU Retreat - Apr 11-13 at Friendly Pines Camp in Prescott
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I will be attending a retreat with other UU clergy beginning Sunday, September 29 through Thursday, October 3, and then I will be joining my family on Fall Break for a camping trip. I will not be available by email during this time and will be available only for emergencies. You can contact the pastoral care team or our Congregational Administrator, Todd, if you need to reach me in an emergency. I look forward to returning to work October 11 at the AZCEND Gala and for Sunday service October 13. I hope you enjoy some of the good weather this fall, too. Brown Bag Lunch is on October 22 next month!
The next "Read with Rev. Sarah" will be on October 16 from 6:45-8:15 pm. We'll discuss On Repentance and Repair. RSVP Here.
Rev. Sarah Oglesby-Dunegan
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General Assembly Delegates Update
After service on Sunday, September 29, the Denominational Affairs Committee will host VUU's 2024 General Assembly delegates for a discussion of the outcomes of the event and the observations of the delegates. There will be time for a Q&A with the audience. Please plan to attend!
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Help support the work of AZCEND
AZCEND is a partner organization we work with to help support our neighbors in need in Chandler and Gilbert. They offer the IHELP program, that creates temporary housing for folks in partnership with faith communities, and they help with a foodbank, assistance with some bills, meals and activities for seniors, and early childhood education. They reach our neighbors when they are most vulnerable and make sure there’s a system of support and transformation to help our neighbors thrive. I want to invite you to join me in connecting with Azcend and there’s many ways to do that!
Volunteer at AZCEND’s Food Bank with Rev. Sarah
Hello! As part of my community service sentence from my civil disobedience arrest, I am putting some hours in at the AZCEND Food Bank on some Friday mornings this Fall. Care to join me? It will be fun and rewarding. Sign up Here.
Volunteer with AZCEND’s I-HELP Program at VUU
VUU is seeking a team of volunteers to manage the I-HELP program at VUU. Several nights a month VUU is a host site for folks to receive a meal, a place to sleep overnight, a shower, and a lunch for the next day. A VUU team would help set up for the meal, greets guests and makes sure things get cleaned up and put away. We have developed a job description for this work, but in the meantime you can come get a taste of what is involved by volunteering for some of the upcoming dates: September 30; October 7, 15, 21, and 28. These are evenings where we set up the meal at 5:30 pm. Laura Rohlfing looks forward to training her replacements! Let her know you’re coming.
Attend the AZCEND Gala or Empty Bowls
We have an upcoming gala event on Friday, October 11 at 6:00 pm. The event will feature dinner and drinks, a live auction and casino games. For more information, visit this site. Wednesday, October 16 we’ll also host an Empty Bowls event at the Chandler/Gilbert Community College campus where you can learn more about AZCEND as well. The bowls are $10 apiece and lunch is an affordable soup and bread. If you live out that way, this is a relaxing way for us to meet up, as well.
-Rev. Sarah
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Rev. Fred's Latest Book is Available
Our most recent interim minister, Fred Wooden, has published his latest book, A Long Time Coming: A Pilgrimage of Race, which is based on the expanded and extended series of sermons he gave here at VUU in the spring of 2022. If you would like to buy a copy, click here.
Synopsis: The author - retired pastor, failed political candidate, sometime newspaper columnist and radio host - goes to Selma Alabama in the fall of 2019 to walk the path of those who did so in March of 1965. This pilgrimage, one of several he has done before and since, is to do homage to those who were there back then, but also to undertake a pilgrimage of the soul, a "searching and fearless moral inventory" of his experience of race in his own life. He invites readers to walk with him over the miles and the years, hoping it will inspire a similar journey in them.
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Monthly Financial Report
The second month of the VUU fiscal year is in the books, and things are looking reasonable. Pledge income was about $20K under budget, so please remember to send in your pledges! There is enough cash on hand for now thanks to one-time monies from the endowment and the recovery funds.
Again it needs to be noted that one-time funds are exhausted, so what we have needs to last until next June. 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. Monies paid for cash reserves were expensed. And one-time was corrected to actuals. Finance will be developing a desired budget for FY 2025-26 soon so all of us can understand our needs for the future, and pledge goals in particular.
As always, Thanks!
The full FA report can be found here.
-Submitted by David Sheh
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Director of Music Ministries Katie Seiferth is currently on extended leave. | | | |
Dia de los Muertos
Join UU friends as we fondly remember our departed loved one, sharing good memories of them and the way they affected us. Bring photos and a picnic dinner for yourself!
When: Thursday, October 10, 6:00-7:30 pm
Where: Falcon Field Park
4800 E Falcon Dr, Mesa, AZ 85215
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Register for a New Adult Faith Formation Class!
I have been working with UU’s across the state to lead a shared curriculum. I invite you to consider joining us for this adventure! More information is here.
–Rev. Sarah
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Fellowship and Social Activities | |
Singles Dinner Out
When: Friday, September 27, 6:30p
Where: Rigatony's at 1850 E Warner Rd, Tempe
This venue has been a Singles VUU favorite, so I selected it for our 2024 Homecoming.
RSVP to Claudette by phone or text (preferred) 973-768-6047.
-Submitted by Claudette Wassil
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Paz de Cristo: A couple more volunteers needed this month
Continuing the Tradition… Keeping the Commitment… Living our Principles
October date: Friday, October 11, 4:00-7:00 pm
Location: 424 W Broadway Rd, Mesa, AZ
Click here for the sign up link. Please sign up by October 6.
Families welcome!
Please join us as we keep VUU’s 34-year tradition of serving the evening meal to Paz de Cristo guests on the second Friday of the month, October 11. Volunteers gather at the Paz kitchen/dining room from 4:00-7:00 pm to prepare several items for, and 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 fun and the evening goes fast.
Seventeen volunteers are needed for the evening and can range in age from 12 on up. Volunteers must be able to stand and participate in tasks during the entire evening. Have questions? Contact Joanne at 602-620-3100. Please sign up for this rewarding experience here.
-Joanne McGrath and Heather Moulton, Co-coordinators for VUU & Paz de Cristo
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UU The Vote Opportunities to Get Involved
There are 40 days to the election. The time to act is now!
Postcard Writing
Pick up a packet of postcards at the UU the Vote table at the back of the sanctuary after Sunday service. Postage is provided.
Poll Monitoring
Register for training here.
Volunteer with your Legislative District
Contact your LD for partisan opportunities.
Phone Banking
Help Get out the Vote for Prop 139 - Arizona Abortion Access Act! Sign up here.
Many other opportunities are available to get involved and WE NEED YOU! Visit the UU the Vote table at Sunday service to find out more. Or send an email to Denise McLeod to be added to the email distribution list to receive weekly updates on opportunities for action.
WE ALL MUST DO SOMETHING!
Your UU the VOTE team:
Sandy Whitley, Denise McLeod, Karen Stucke, Mark Beehler
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I-HELP Dinner Thanks
It is with a grateful heart that I once again announce a very successful I-HELP meal effort on September 23!
There are so many moving parts to these meals, and I owe a HUGE debt of gratitude to the many volunteers who come together to make it happen every single month. I cannot thank you enough, dear ones!
Thank you so much to the food donors, servers, and ancillary volunteers (like my husband Ron) who come through every month to support I-HELP.
I cannot stress enough how grateful our I-HELP guests are to receive these meals. I have gotten to know many of them personally, and am always so pleased when they move on to the lives they have always deserved. I was particularly touched last night after an encounter with one of our guests. I was sitting with them eating my meal and relaying a funny family story about my great niece Hanna. After I finished, he looked at me very intently and said, "Thank you for sharing that". Wow! I didn't even know what to say. I was incredibly touched.
As you may know by now, I am seeking a replacement for the role of I-HELP coordinator. Yes, it is a challenging role, but, as I related above, it can also be incredibly rewarding as well.
Yours in service,
Laura Rohlfing
VUU I-HELP Coordinator
-submitted by Laura Rohlfing
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Partners in Education (PIE)
Join our volunteers at Adams Elementary School, helping disadvantaged kids get an educational boost!
After School Tutoring: “Rumbo al Exito” We are adding extra volunteers to assist more English learners at Adams Elementary because we have been asked to serve 75 kids. Currently, we are focusing on improving the students’ reading comprehension because many students can read English, but still have difficulty understanding. If you speak Spanish, or know someone who does, we could really use help on Mondays or Thursdays after school in Mesa. If you don’t speak Spanish, we could use your help with recruiting and fundraising. This is a very impactful way to be an ally to disadvantaged kids who need a good start on their education. For more information contact Randall Casillas. Photo shows Rumbo al Exito tutors working with English-language learners.
Classroom Instruction: Art Masterpiece Program
We are looking for volunteers to teach the Art Masterpiece program and Arts and Craft projects. LOTS OF FUN! You don't need any art experience, but must attend one district training class, offered next at these times:
Tuesday, November 5, 9:00-10:30 am
Tuesday, November 12, 7:00-8:30 pm
Thursday, November 14, 9:00-10:30 am
Contact Adrienne O'Donnell.
-Submitted by Janice Miller
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Paz de Cristo
September Donation of the Month:
Pasta Sauce (any kind)
Paz Donation List
Please leave donations in the "Paz de Cristo" box in the sanctuary foyer.
Contact: Megan Kimball
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Border Support
Donations needed for asylum seekers at the border:
- small handheld fruit cups
- small handheld juice
- veggie cups or squeezies
- used clothing (all sizes, all seasons)
Please put donations in the "Refugee Aid" box in the sanctuary foyer.
Contact: Sharon Kopina
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Partners in Education
Adams Elementary's after-school support group for English learners (Rumbo al Exito) and their Art Masterpiece program need:
School supplies
Art Supplies
Bring donations to the Welcome desk after services.
Contact: Adrienne O'Donnell
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Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation | vuu.org | | | | |
