September 29, 2022
This Week
Worship
October 2, 10:00am - In Person or online (visit www.liveoakuu.org for the link)
We Can Build a Beautiful City
Rev. Joanna Fontaine Crawford

Live Oak celebrates 30 years of community this weekend. And we're just getting started.

Share the Plate
Income Needn't Matter
The Social Justice Ministry team chose Hospice Austin as the recipient of Share the Plate donations in October. The nonprofit provides hospice care and palliative care in our five-county region regardless of the patients' ability to pay.

Hospice Austin provides care for people with life-limiting illnesses and for their families. Services are offered in hospitals, other care facilities and patients' homes as well as Hospice Austin's Christopher House. You can find out more at hospiceaustin.org.

You can contribute to Share the Plate during Sunday services or donate on our website. All checks and envelopes marked “Share the Plate” and half of all undesignated cash during the services will be donated to recipients. Or go to https://www.liveoakuu.org/community/donate/
A Few Words from the Minister
Live Oak 2052

What will we build next? Read more
Special Notices
Final Week to Make Your Pledge
The 2023 Stewardship Campaign is moving into the final week. 58% of the congregation has pledged $163,600.00. Add your name to the List of Live Oak Supporters by submitting your 2023 PLEDGE FORM today. Help us wrap up this campaign so we can all move on!

Thank you,
The Stewardship Committee
Joel Bercu - Chair, Sue & Tim Buckley, Barbara Coldrion, Linda McCullough, Becky McPherson, Liz Schwab, Diane Stepakof-Fay

30th Anniversary party!
The celebration is Saturday, Oct 1 from 3-7 pm. Some things to know:
Even if you’re not playing in the music program we hope you’ll bring instruments to jam with other musicians in Common Ground.

The party is come and go as you please; no need to arrive at right at 3 and stay until 7.

At 4:00 Everyone into the sanctuary for the live music. If you come while it’s in progress, there will be someone to help you slip in, hopefully unobtrusively.

Please DO take as many photos and selfies as you wish, even during the music program! #louu30

3:00 Start arriving, get/make nametag, browse our booths, learn about the history of Live Oak, check out the scrapbooks and old photos, have fun at the Photo Booth, greet old friends, take photos.

4:00—Everyone to the sanctuary for music! Please no food or drinks except water in a covered container.

5-ish to 7 – Chat with special guests, get food & drink, enjoy popcorn and cotton candy, greet friends, continue browsing booths and history project, jam/listen to
jamming in Common Ground, check out Photo Booth with friends.

Office Closed
The office will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday for Yom Kippur.

Seeking Newsletter Editor
We need a new newsletter editor. The right candidate for this volunteer position will have excellent editing skills, the ability to learn Constant Contact (our newsletter program), and the creativity to produce an enticing, well-organized weekly digest. Live Oak has a 60% "open rate" for our newsletter, twice that of most churches. If you might be the right person for this job, send an email to minister@liveoakuu.org expressing your interest.

September Board Meeting Summary
Apologies for the delay on this, everyone! Our meeting was 9/18 -- I missed last week's deadline. :)

Our voting items were: Approving previous meeting minutes; Approving Sue Buckley as interim Trustee for Julia's position

We discussed the results of the engagement survey and brainstormed some ideas for how to use the data to create goals. We also planned more structure and goals for our Board Retreat in October. For more details, please read through the linked (not yet finalized/approved) minutes.

- Audrey McCann

Read about the Voice of a Movement Class here

ANTI-RACIST TRAINING OPPORTUNITY
It's not enough to be not racist, you must be anti-racist.
Five of us on the Social Justice DEI team (diversity, equity, inclusion) will be attending an antiracist/Jubilee training that Wildflower UU is sponsoring. It's a great opportunity to dive deeper into the work of antiracism to learn and support our goal of adopting the 8th principle. All the UU churches in the Austin are partners in this including Live Oak.

Important details: It's all on zoom. There is money available for five more people to attend. (cost is $170.00 per person)
Schedule:
Friday, November 11 (6:00pm to 9:00pm CST);
Saturday, November 12 (9:00am to 8:30pm CST);
Sunday, November 13 (12:00pm to 6:00pm CST)
There will be breaks throughout the day.

This training will be facilitated by Paula Cole Jones, the woman who got the whole 8th Principle started. Click here for more information.

Your Church Needs You To Get People to the Polls
Write, walk or drive.
Live Oak is committed to getting citizens to vote. Climate justice, racial and gender equality, reproductive freedom, schools that teach, fair elections, voting rights, dignity and worth for all, freedom from oppression – these are the fruits of our Principles in action. Voting matters. Here’s how you can help. Read more


For more information or to sign up for an action, contact the Live Oak Voting Rights Team at votingrights@liveoakuu.org

Attention Live Oak Voters!
We've got technology helping with our Voting Pledge effort.
As of September 18, we have reached the 35% voting mark. We still have a ways to go to achieve our goal of being a 100% voting congregation. The pledge cards are in the narthex alongside the green return box--not the stewardship box! You also can pledge online using this new link

And remember the last day to register to vote is OCTOBER 11.

Vote Forward Meets Again
Could We Mail 500 Letters??
Live Oak members have completed 320 Vote Forward letters so far this election cycle, so 500 is not impossible! These letters will go out to registered Texas voters who are not regular voters. We hope to spur them on to the polls this fall. We will meet again Oct. 23 after the service for one last push to get even more letters ready for the national mail-out Oct. 29. Please join us to stuff and seal envelopes or write letters. Bring the letters you've printed out yourself or come work on some that other members have ready. If you want more information about Vote Forward, check out their website VoteForward.org

Upcoming: Ted Lasso & Bowen Discussion Group
Mark your calendar! Beginning in October, Rev. Joanna will be showing episodes of Ted Lasso then leading a discussion group around the Bowen Family Systems concepts shown in the show -- things like triangulation, differentiation, etc. The group will meet in the library at 6:00pm on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. If you're interested, email minister@liveoakuu.org to reserve a spot.
In the Community
Fall events at UBarU:
 
Bioblitz Oct 7-9
Women Aligned retreat Oct 14-16
Men Aligned retreat Oct 21-23
Winter Family Camp Dec 16-19

LiveOakUU.org Pages to Visit:
Worship Service & Fellowship Hour: http://www.liveoakuu.org/
Community Outreach & Social Justice: http://www.liveoakuu.org/justice/
The deadline for the weekly e-newsletter and the Sunday announcements is midnight on Tuesday. The submission form can be found here
If you have any questions or comments about this Newsletter please email: editor@liveoakuu.org