February 10, 2022
This Week
Worship
February 13, 10:00am - online or outside (weather permitting)
Beloved Community
Rev. Joanna Fontaine Crawford

We talk about "Building Beloved Community" all the time. But what does it actually mean?


Join us online for Worship at 10:00am. The link will be on the Live Oak homepage: www.liveoakuu.org.

Join us for Fellowship Time immediately following the service (approx. 10:15/10:30 or 12:15/12:30): https://link.liveoakuu.org/FellowshipHour
Share the Plate
Vital support for families
We will share our plate in February with Any Baby Can, an organization that offers many services to strengthen Central Texas families and improve outcomes for children. Programs are wide-ranging: prenatal classes, parenting classes, support groups, early intervention services such as physical therapy or speech therapy, in-home visits, family health services and more. Any Baby Can also offers a range of volunteer opportunities if you want to get more involved in such important work.

Go to the Donate link on the Live Oak website’s home page. Use the drop down menu to designate your donation for “Share the Plate”.
A Few Words from the Minister
Why We Will Never Drop Online Services
In my world of religious professionals, an article in the New York Times last week unleashed a torrent of attention. Most of it, I’m happy to say, was a refutation of the opinion expressed. Read more
Special Notices
Elevator UPdate!
Progress towards the installation of our elevator is (finally) proceeding rapidly! Read more about what's happening and how you can be a part of this and future projects that will reshape our church home.

Religious Education Updates
Big shoes to fill need many feet!

Due to surge in Omicron cases, we have returned to outdoor worship, weather permitting. RE will be outdoors as well. One worship service at 10 AM, followed by faith development classes at 11. We will continue to livestream worship services.

If we are only online for worship, there will be no classes during RE hour.

Calendar for February:

2/13: Valentines for the Votes: join the Social Justice Ministry for this inter-generational project. If the weather prevents us from meeting this week, this important event will be postponed until the Fall, in time for voter registration drives.

2/20:
PreK: Principled Stories & Play
K-7th: Spirals & Labyrinths
HS: May Service Planning
Adult: Living Our Values: Relational Ethics

2/27:
PreK: Principled Stories & Play
K-7th: Putting Together the Pieces
HS: Music as Resistance

At Home Faith Development
Online Faith Development for families to use at home is available at the beginning of each month. You can access previous family focus pages here

Thank you to everyone who has offered me their help in my temporary role as acting DLFD. How you can help me best is by teaching or assisting in the classes. We hope to be back in person soon and will need our classes fully staffed then. Please contact me at dlfd@liveoakuu.org to help, or with questions.

- Cindy La Greca

Bookworms
Bookworms will be discussing “The Dutch House” on February 16 at 7:15pm. The Zoom link will be on the What's Happening page. For more information about the group, contact Marjorie Taylor.

Member Connections
We’ll be featuring members who joined Live Oak during these many pandemic months in our newsletters. Welcome, Judy.

New member Judy Reynolds and her husband, Neil Suneson, moved from Norman, OK, to Austin in the midst of the pandemic to be closer to part of their family. One of their sons lives in Austin with his wife and two daughters; their other son and daughter-in-law live in Edwards, CO.

Judy grew up as a Unitarian-Universalist in Minneapolis and she and Neil (also a new Live Oak member) attended the UU Fellowship in Norman. “I started watching Live Oak services online when we first moved here. I was thrilled to be able to belong to a group with professional leadership,” she said.

Judy is a retired teacher who taught English to speakers of other languages for most of her career. Now she and Neil enjoy hiking, biking and travel. They get out to exercise every day with their Shiba Inu dog named Hiroki.

Like her mother before her, Judy has long been a member of the League of Women Voters. She is already trained to work at the polls here and to register voters in Travis and Williamson Counties.

“I’m still optimistic about the importance of getting out the vote,” she said. “No matter how the election rules get doctored, if we can get more people out to vote in every election, voters will still prevail. I hope I won’t ever be disillusioned about that.”

Social Justice Ministry Projects
Love Guides Our Vote
Valentines and voting may go together, but no worries if we are unable to meet in person this Sunday for our intergenerational activity. The Social Justice Ministry Team will postpone until closer to the general election. We want all ages to be involved in this social justice issue. It may not be valentines, but no matter when or which election it is, love guides our votes!

This primary election on March 1st is important! Early voting starts February 14th. Every statewide office, legislative seat, and U.S. House district will be on the ballot. That's right--every single office, seat, and district. What an opportunity! We highly recommend the website sponsored by The League of Women's Voters for all the information you need: Vote411.org. Be informed and VOTE!!

The Live Oak social justice ministry team​'s goal is​ a 100% Voting Congregation. If we want to have an impact on the rest of the world a good start is to have a fully committed voting congregation​.​ As a 100% voting church we envision providing voter forums for local elections. Imagine candidates wanting to speak to this powerful congregation because we are all registered!

Lyndy Dower, SJM Voting RIghts Team

Women's Labyrinth Group on Zoom
Sunday, February 13, 6:30-9 p.m.
We gather for a sharing circle followed by a finger labyrinth walk, focusing on the Celtic Goddess Brigid—Her Holy Well and Sacred Flame--for healing, poetry/creativity/inspiration, and smithcraft/transformation. Have a candle available to light, as well as a small bowl or cup of water. Also feel free to share a song, poem or short reading. The group is open to women high school age and older. The Zoom link with be sent via email for those who are on the email list for the Women’s Labyrinth Group. If you need a copy of the labyrinth graphic and/or the Zoom link, contact: Linda Webster

You Are Invited to Join a Discussion On Environmental Justice
On Thursday February 17 at 6:30pm, the Environmental Awareness Team will meet and discuss the Environmental Movement and Human Rights - the foundation of Environmental Justice.

Please join us. Zoom Link: https://link.liveoakuu.org/Environment
Chris Mihealsick
For More Information: environment@liveoakuu.org

HELP DISTRIBUTE FOOD TO OUR NEIGHBORS
Live Oak Church will be distributing food to our neighbors at Fresh Food Friday and need volunteers to help.

* Thursday, February 17th @ 1:00 p.m. to approximately 2:30 p.m. food needs to be separated into smaller quantities for distribution. Meet at Hill Country Community Ministries, 1005 Lacy Dr, Leander, TX 78641

* Friday, February 18th @ 8:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. in the Live Oak parking lot. This is when we distribute the food to our neighbors. Volunteers are needed to set up, direct people to the drive through area, collect client information, and place food in the client’s trunk. You do not need to remain the entire 2 & 1/2 hours.

HCCM has asked for 7 people for each activity. We are asking you to please let us know if you will be able to participate in either activity, so we know if we have enough or too many people.

To RSVP or for any questions please contact Donna Durbin

Senior Coffee
Join Rev. Joanna on Zoom for the Senior Coffee. The link is on the What's Happening page. Here are the discussion topics coming up:
February 3 Best Trip You Ever Took
February 17 Marriage and Other Partnerships

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