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Please Help Provide Hospitality!
We need your help to provide hospitality to our visitors on Sunday morning. It has never been easier to host Coffee hour--everything you need except snacks can be found in our beautiful new kitchen. Very simple instructions for how to make coffee and set up are posted on the kitchen wall. Please sign up to host coffee or greet by clicking here! Thank you!
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New Adult Enrichment Opportunity: Claiming our Spiritual Leadership
One of the purposes of UU congregations is to inspire and support all people to affirm and practice their Spiritual Leadership. Spiritual Leadership is not reserved for religious professionals or lay leaders. It is an orientation and practice by which every one of us creates, sustains, and restores beloved community. Community in which each person experiences belonging, equity, and well-being regardless of identity, role or rank. We need Spiritual Leadership everywhere: our homes, schools, places of work, neighborhoods, communities. As covenanted communities, congregations are perhaps especially suited to nourish and support it. People of faith who long for a transformed world are called to claim their Spiritual Leadership. Our souls need it. Our congregations need it. Our world needs it. In this adult enrichment opportunity, expect to spend a few hours learning on your own by watching some videos and responding to some prompts, and then sometime together as a group that Rev. Susan will facilitate. We’ll start by scheduling two group sessions but we can extend those if those gathered so desire. Our first unit will explore what Spiritual Leadership is, and how we can claim, identify and act on our own gifts as well as supporting others to do the same. The second unit will focus on cultivating the skills of spiritual leadership: understanding our spiritual grounding, avoiding reactivity, and engaging in covenantal relationships. If you are interesting in participating, please email Rev. Susan at minister@nuuc.org before March 13, and then she will reach out to those interested to find a mutually convenient time to meet.
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A two-session New Adult Enrichment Opportunity: “Humanism and UU”
Unitarian Universalism is a big-tent religion. It attracts and nurtures the religious, the spiritual-but-not-religious, and the not-spiritual (or at least the non-believers in the supernatural.) People in that last group might see themselves as humanists.
Dick Leavy will be offering a two-part exploration called “Humanism and UU” on Sundays, March 2 and March 16 after worship services. In Part 1, we will discuss the history of humanism and its contemporary place in society. In Part 2, we will look specifically at the ties between humanism and UU. This “class” should be a good opportunity to hear the values and beliefs of others in the congregation and voice your own. No need to sign up--if you are interested, just head to Classroom Number 3 at 11:45 AM on March 2.
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Religious Exploration at NUUC
First Friday for Families - February 7 @ 6pm
Bring the whole family to NUUC for some casual community time. We'll provide dinner, play a movie (probably My Neighbor Totoro) for kids, and have time for adults to chat. Please RSVP with the number of people attending and any dietary needs to Morgan at morgan@nuuc.org by Sunday, Feb. 2.
Trail Blazers: NUUC Summer Camp Aug. 4-8
For the first time, NUUC is hosting a summer camp! Learn more and register. We would love it if you helped us spread the word by sharing with your networks. In addition, we will need volunteers during the week of camp. Email Morgan at morgan@nuuc.org if you would like to volunteer.
Second Sunday Board Games and RPG on February 9
We will have a mix of fast-paced family games, strategy games, and fun collaborative games. After worship on the Second Sunday of the month, grab some food and/or a beverage and then head to Room 1 if you'd like to participate in a role playing game, and Room 3 if you'd like to play a board game. Note that the RPG group will also meet on Feb. 23. No experience or sign up necessary!
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SOCIAL JUSTICE BOOK GROUP
Friends,
Thank you for all your interest in meeting together to read and discuss the topic of authoritarianism using the books listed below.
We will meet on the 4th Sunday of each month after service for an hour. (about noon to 1) in Classroom 3.
Reading for Feb and March will be:
On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A “bracing” (Vox) guide for surviving and resisting America’s turn towards authoritarianism, from “a rising public intellectual unafraid to make bold connections between past and present” (The New York Times)
And perhaps in April and May:
On Freedom by Timothy Snyder
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A brilliant exploration of freedom—what it is, how it’s been misunderstood, and why it’s our only chance for survival
Thank you for your interest in exploring these topics together. The knowledge in these books may be very helpful during the next 4 years in understanding our national situation.
With Perseverance and Hope For a Better Future
Rev Joan Van Becelaere (retired)
(Pronouns: she/her)
Phone (303) 641-5896 | Email: uujoanvanb@gmail.com
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Unitarian Universalist World Magazine Launches Digital Newsletter
Want to stay updated on the latest from UU World? You can now sign up for the magazine's free twice-a-month emailed newsletter, Wayfinder, which launched in October. As a Wayfinder subscriber, you will get the latest news and storytelling from UU World to help you chart a course that aligns with the Shared Values of Unitarian Universalism. Expect moments of insight, inspiration, joy, spiritual nourishment, and more! Sign up at the UU World website by clicking here.
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Drum Circle--Feb. 16 at 1:30 PM
Join Pam Spence’s Covenant Group in a Community Drum Circle, to be held at NUUC, led by Iggy Garcia, on Sunday, Feb. 16, 1:30 - 3:00. Participants are invited to bring their own drums/percussion instruments and/or try out some of the instruments Iggy brings along; no experience necessary. While drum circles, by their nature, are, at times, LOUD and boisterous, Iggy always has his hand firmly on the rudder. He will also lead meditation and pow wow as part of the event. Teens and adults; goodwill donation of $10 suggested. Wear comfortable clothing. Iggy hails from Peru and came to this country as a youngster with his family. As you may have noticed from previous Beyond Words emails, he leads drum circles all around Central Ohio: at Reiki Centers in Westerville and Columbus; Grief and Healing circles in Gahanna through Ohio Health, as well as larger, outside events as the weather gets warmer.
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Ongoing Ways to Connect
Play games with persons of all ages the second Sunday of the month. There will be both board games and role playing games. We will have a mix of fast-paced family games, strategy games, and fun collaborative games.After worship of the Second Sunday of the month, grab some food and/or a beverage and then head to Room 1 if you'd like to participate in a role playing game, and Room 3 if you'd like to try play a board game. No experience or sign up necessary!
What Moves Us: Unitarian Universalist Theology --First Sundays at 11:45 AM led by Rev. Susan the first Sunday of the month each month starting in October 2024 and concluding in February 2025.. Both adults and teens are welcome. Join No need to sign up, just show up to Room 1 at 11:45 AM. . You are welcome to attend just a few or all of these sessions. Through shared direct experiences and reflection exercises, readings and lessons, and ethical deliberations, What Moves Us creates an adult faith journey for those people who want to be able to better articulate their beliefs and understand how they connect with Unitarian Universalism.
Mindful Writing meets monthly, with members sharing a variety of written pieces and thoughts. All are welcome! Please contact Marty Keith if you're interested in joining the group so she can send you time and the Zoom link. martykeith@zoho.com
Brown Bag Books Discussion Group meets monthly at noon on the Third Tuesday of each month, in Room 3 at church. Upcoming books are as follows:
February The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
March The Voyage Home by Pat Barker
Beyond Words Covenant Group
Pam Spence is coordinating a new covenant group, "Beyond Words." The group will explore a variety of paths that help deepen spiritual connection focused on "whole body" experience by participating in local initiatives. Experiences we will pursue might include, singing bowls/sound baths, drum circles, chanting, labyrinth walking, heart-centered meditation, Dances of Universal Peace, animal assisted prayer and meditation - depending on the interest of the group. We will each be responsible for any fee involved and, of course, you are not obligated to participate in any of the events. Contact: pammy.spence@gmail.com or text at 740-816-1905 for further information. Pam holds a MA in Transformational Theater/ Sacred Drama from Antioch University and is a commissioned community minister through the Federation of Christian Ministries, licensed through the state of Ohio.
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Life has a way of rushing by. Sometimes we feel the need to pause or to reflect more deeply. Join me for a virtual half hour of mindful contemplation that is inclusive, non-judgmental and expectation free. I’ll bring a mix of poetry, music, breathwork, silence, or meditation to create a space for you to relax. Participants are muted. Feel free to turn your video off. Please engage in whatever way feels most meaningful to you. A Space for Reflection is freely offered the third Wednesday of the month at 7:00pm on Zoom. Registration is required (link here).
As for me, Karen McGuire, the facilitator, I’m a lifelong Unitarian Universalist, a retired educator, and a trained Interspiritual Companion who finds it necessary to stop every once in a while, and pay attention.
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