Sunday June 29, 2025
"Making Peace in a Battleground state"
This Sunday, Reverend Sarah is out of the pulpit. Filling in are guest speaker Reverend Doug Bland with Worship Associate Melanie Cloonan-Schulte.
Meg is song leader along with others providing music.
| |  | IN THE EDUCATION BUILDINGS | |
FAITH FORMATION
Who is this superhero pig that will help us learn our important Unitarian Universalist values? Jet Pig! Come and meet Jet Pig this week and help them fill their jet pack!
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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
| | | Love is our doctrine · Service is our prayer · Justice is our calling | | | | | |
Calendar
Thursday, June 26
Friday, June 27
Saturday, June 28
Sunday, June 29
Monday, June 30
Tuesday, July 1
Wednesday, July 2
Thursday, July 3
Friday, July 4
Saturday, July 5
Sunday, July 6
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
more than two weeks out or without an article below
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EastVUU Dinner Ryu Sushi - July 10
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Singles Lunch - Jul 11
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Paz de Cristo Meal Prep - Jul 11
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Page Turners Book Club - Jul 17
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VUUJAZ Coffee Conversation - Jul 20
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I-HELP Meal Prep - Jul 28 sign up here
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Rev. Sarah is on study leave and vacation. Sarah (and Desert Notes) will return in August
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Office Volunteers Needed
We need office volunteers! Each week, a team meets to prepare VUU's weekly bank deposit. This small but mighty group needs more folks. If you can spare an hour on a Monday morning, please contact Lynn DeMuth at 480.345.2626. Training will be provided, and you will work with an experienced partner to start.
--Submitted by Lynn DeMuth
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Election Results
At the June 8 Annual Meeting the Congregation voted to:
- Approve the 2025-26 budget
- Approve the amendments to the By-Laws, and
- Approve Special Funds funding of (potential) unfunded portions of the Safety Grant if necessary.
The following members of our elected leadership teams were elected:
- Special Funds Committee - Chris Sar
- Leadership Development Committee - Valerie Miller, Carrie Hardee-Smith, Joel Sannes
- Board of Trustees - Lisa Bonine, Katie Hurstwicker, Nancy Egly, Paul Schneider
The Congregation and Board thank all who ran, all who serve, and all who consider serving.in the future. VUU runs on U!
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EastVUU Online: Personal Freedom
Thursday, June 26, 6:00pm
Lots of people are talking about Freedom and meaning different things. What does freedom mean to you on a very personal level? Is there something that keeps you caged? Is life trying to offer you a new form of freedom? Join us as we lift our spirits, expand our consciousness, and learn more about each other.
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 812 3702 9733
Passcode: 597613
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Check out FUUNd's Last Chance Auction Today!
The Let’s Have FUUNd Together Auction is VUU’s largest annual FUUNdraiser. After the auction closes in February, this column keeps you informed about FUUNd events as they are held and advertises FUUNd events you can still get in on via the Last Chance Auction.
It’s not too late to get in on some events this summer. July’s open events include:
- Create an Inspirational Sign with a Cricut Machine (Saturday, 07/19 11AM)
- Get your bike ready for summer adventures with a tune-up by cycling enthusiast Ken S. (Ken and the Art or Bicycle Maintenance)
- Book a week at David S. and Jodi F.’s rustic Payson cabin (Escape to a Cabin in the Woods).
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VUUniversity: for a modest fee of $20, you can attend one of the expert-led workshops listed below AND support VUU’s vital mission and programs. Space is limited so get your seat now! Classes that will be offered in July and August:
- A Screening & Discussion of Alvin Ailey’s Dance Masterpiece, “Revelations” (Saturday, 07/12/2025)
- How to Play Scrabble Like a Champion (Saturday, 07/26/2025)
- Homeopathic Remedies for You & Your Family (Saturday, 08/09/2025)
- Abbott and Costello Re-visited (Saturday, 08/23/2025)
All Last Chance Auction items are being offered at a “buy-it-now” price. Payment must be made at the time of purchase. You can view the items, make your purchase(s), and pay via credit card at www.Auctria.Events/VUUFUUND2025. Email fuundtogether@vuu.org for questions or other assistance.
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Jet Pig Summer Program Starts Sunday, June 29!
Summer started officially last week. Our VUU Summer program, Jet Pig Summer starts this Sunday, June 29.
All summer long preschool and elementary children will learn about our Unitarian Universalist values with the help of our UU superhero Jet Pig!
“In the heart of a lush, green meadow, nestled among the tall, whispering trees, lives a superhero pig named Jet Pig. Jet Pig was no ordinary pig; he had a special fuel pack on his back, glowing with vibrant colors and filled with a magical substance called love.”
Beginning this Sunday and continuing through August, Jet Pig (JETPIG) will help us learn and remember our UU values of Justice and Equity (fairness), Transformation (openness to change), Plurality (respect for difference), Interdependence (being connected) and Generosity (sharing and being thankful).
This week we will meet Jet Pig in our summer learning centers - Story, Craft, Play and Talk and Listen. Jet Pig Summer is for children pre-kinder to fifth grade. Prekinder* children will meet in room 3 with Emma and Kinder* to Fourth* grade children will meet in Rooms 1 and 2 with Ani and Mallory. As usual, the children will start out in the sanctuary and leave with their teachers after the Time for All Ages.
*We will not advance the children in preschool through fourth grade until September. Please use their 2024-2025 grade levels.
Summer Faith Formation for Secondary School Youth
Learning how to worship IS faith formation. Our summer worship is more relaxed and a perfect time for older children to learn what we do and how to participate in worship. Incoming sixth to twelfth graders should plan to attend worship with their families through the summer. The fidget library will be open to keep hands busy.
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In The Interim
During the 2025-2026 Congregational year, we will offer children, youth and adults monthly anti-racism classes and learning. We want this to be the beginning of a commitment to long-term anti-racist transformation work.
Some of you may have heard the Time for All Ages last Sunday when I introduced the UUA Mosaic Project while teaching the children about mosaics. We learned that a mosaic is a thing of beauty, a complex piece of art created by assembling fragments and found objects, broken pieces and recycled parts. So, too, is the assemblage that is our Unitarian Universalist theology: a work of art, always in progress, shaped by many hands.
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The UUA Mosaic Project includes resources, connections and support for Unitarian Universalists who are working to dismantle racism and oppression. The program includes classes, resources, training, groups, and gatherings. We hope that participation in the Mosaic Project will help us tell a new VUU story of belonging and liberation.
A team of interested members will be planning the details over the summer. If you would like to be part of that planning group, please click here to help us select the best time for our first meeting, which will be held virtually.
Help us live into our belief that the work for collective liberation can be as colorful, multi-faceted, and diverse as the tiles of a mosaic. Together, all of our contributions can create something beautiful.
--Submitted by Sara Sautter Interim Director of Faith Formation Ministry
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Facilities Committee Thank you!
A HUGE thanks to our tireless volunteers who came out on Saturday to make our Sanctuary shine! Thanks to Pam Swan, Ann Sebren, Melissa Bush, Barbara Souraf, Bill Elliott, Linda Stenholm, and Mark, Tessa, and Will Foote.
--Submitted by Mikaela Foote, Facilities Committee
| | Fellowship and Social Activities | | |
Singles Dinner Out
When: Friday, June 27, 6:30pm
Where: Thai Spices Thai Bistro
66 S Dobson Rd, Mesa
This has been a favorite for us for the past few years. They serve delicious Thai food, artfully plated. Your host will be Cynthia Lane. RSVP to Cynthia by phone or text at 661-204-3907.
—Submitted by Claudette Wassil
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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 July 17 at 7:00 PM, we will meet at the home of Johnnie Godfrey in Tempe (near Baseline Rd. and the 101). The book is Project Hail Mary by Andrew Weir.
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company. His crew mates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.
For the meeting address or questions, please contact Johnnie at 480-231-8381 or email: membership@vuu.org.
--Submitted by Amy Monahan
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Paz de Cristo
Volunteers needed this month!
Continuing the Tradition… Keeping the Commitment… Living our Principles
June date: Friday, July 11, 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 of serving the evening meal to Paz de Cristo guests on the second Friday, July 11, 25. Volunteers gather at the Paz kitchen/dining room from 4 to 7 pm to prepare several meal items and then serve the evening meal. Additional tasks include cleanup of dishes, sweeping and mopping of floors and taking out the trash. 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 at www.vuu.org/paz.
--Submitted by Joanne McGrath
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I-HELP
Support Needed Over the Summer
Over the summer both Rev. Sarah and Adrienne O’Donnell have travel plans (and Rev. Sarah will be taking her vacation and study leave time). This will take us away from helping I-HELP guests and dinner hosts get set up. If you have been trained or are willing to be trained to do I-HELP hosting, we need you! This basically is a commitment from 5:15–7:00pm, four or five times a month. The dates we need help are: June 30; July 7, 15, 21, and 28. Adrienne is available for some of these dates but needs help. The highlighted dates are the ones when we provide the meal and host. Please reach out to Adrienne if you can commit to one or more of these dates.
—Rev. Sarah
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Paz de Cristo
Donation of the Month:
Canned Beans and Chili (pull-tab lids preferred)
Paz Donation List
Please leave donations in the "Paz de Cristo" box in the sanctuary foyer.
Contact: Paul Reed
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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 appreciates your TAX CREDIT donations. Get dollar-for-dollar credit to offset AZ tax liability this tax season!
Contact: Adrienne O'Donnell
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Unitarian Universalist Congregation | vuu.org | | | | |
