News from Unitarian Universalist Church of Huntsville

Please put your nonperishable food items or personal care products donation in the basket in the church foyer for the Huntsville Assistance Program (HAP).

THANK YOU for your continued generosity!

Awareness Through Movement

Fridays at 10:00 a.m.

The Feldenkrais Method of Awareness Through Movement class will start again with a series of lessons focused on improving balance and breathing by improving the use of the muscles that support the hips and lower back. These lessons will use small, gentle movement, imagination, and sensing. Mats will be provided, but feel free to bring anything you might need to make yourself comfortable lying on the floor. If you are unable to lie on the floor, please let us know, and we will make an accommodation for you.

This Adult RE class, led by Sally Locklear, is drop-in, with no experience necessary. Everyone is welcome.

We will meet each Friday at 10:00 a.m., from September 28 to December 14.

UUCH Adult Religious Education focuses on the whole spiritual person, mentally and physically, so come join us!

For further information, contact Adult RE chair Nancy Finley.

Submitted by the Adult RE Committee

UUkulele Fun Group

The UUkulele Fun Group is open to everyone, regardless of skill level.

The group meets every 2nd and 4th Wednesday at 5:45 p.m.

UUCH Choir

The UUCH choir practices on Wednesdays in the Music Room. Our start time has changed to 7:00 p.m. Whether you know how to sing or would like to learn, we would love for you to join us! If you plan to attend but cannot, or if you have other inquiries, please contact Pam Siegler at 931-307-4994 or via email.

Girl Scouts at UUCH

We are living the Girl Scout way at UUCH and looking for friends to join us! Girl Scouts at UUCH meet biweekly to enjoy adventures, friendship, and fun together. We are recruiting girls and helpers for the 2018-19 school year.

Please stop by our table in the Fellowship Hall after Sunday services to learn more about our troop! Or contact Harper Goodman for more information.

Are You Ready to
Become a Member?

If you've been attending UUCH long enough to know that this church community feels like your spiritual home, then you may be ready to take the next step and become a member. On an upcoming Sunday in early November, we will welcome new members as they "sign the book" and officially join our church.

If you are ready to become a member or would like to find out more about the process, please contact Pam Korb by October 31.

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF MEMBERSHIP

Because we are a democratic community, members are collectively vested with responsibility for the congregation. Members may vote at all congregational meetings, be elected to the governing board, be appointed as committee chairs, and participate in all activities of the congregation.

Because we are a covenanted congregation, members have certain responsibilities to the congregation and to each other. These responsibilities are best fulfilled by:

Regular attendance at worship
Voting at congregational meetings
Making financial contributions
Contributing time and talent
Spiritual growth and development

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UUCH Calendar

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UUCH 2018-19

Board Members

President:

Susan Coddington

Vice-President:

John Schulz

Secretary:

Nancy Finley

Treasurer:

David Bollinger

Trustees:

Ed Bernstein
Theresa Miller
Nick Wilbourn

Interim Minister:
Rev. Edward L. Brock

Do you have an agenda item for the Board?

The Board respectfully requests that all agenda items for the meeting be submitted to Board President Susan Coddington no later than one week prior to the meeting (i.e. the Tuesday before). You may text or call her, or send a copy of your request via email. The next Board Meeting will be on Tuesday, October 23.

The Overlook is a publication of The Unitarian Universalist Church, 3921 Broadmor Rd., Huntsville, AL 35810

Interim Minister:

The Rev. Edward L. Brock

Board President:

Susan Coddington

Editorial Board:

Kathy Heath
Nick Wilbourn

Newsletter deadlines are each Monday at midnight.
Any committee with newsletter announcements should send submissions to news collator Willette Battle at [email protected].

Office Hours:

10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Monday - Friday

Office Phone: 256-534-0508
Email: [email protected]

Minister's Email: [email protected]

Website: www.uuch.org

Sunday Services are held 10:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Children's Religious Education held concurrently. Nursery available for age 3 years and under.

For more info on any event, contact the church office.

Upcoming Service

Sunday, October 7, 2018

" Why Coming Out Day?"

Amanda Schuber

All these years later, and we are still acknowledging National Coming Out Day... but why? Equality on many fronts has been won, and the LGBTQI community is more visible than ever. But how far have we really come, and how far do we have yet to travel?

*On the first Sunday of each month, we Share the Plate during the offering, Share our Lunch with each other during Potluck, and Share our Bounty by filling the Food Basket! Please don't forget to bring non-perishable food and hygiene items for the food basket, to be donated to the Huntsville Assistance Program. All donations are welcome and appreciated.

This Sunday in Children and Youth Religious Education (CYRE)

Children and youth will continue lessons on the theme of INreach/OUTreach, exploring how to make a wonderful welcome at church and how to extend that welcome in service to our community and world.

Peace: Wonderful Welcome - "The Gift of Forgiveness"

Justice: Faithful Journeys - "Welcoming Superman"

Searchers: Sing to the Power - "The Power of Growth"

Transformers: Amazing Grace: Exploring Right and Wrong - "Being Good, Being Bad"

YOUUTH: INreach/OUTreach YOUUTH - "Sharing the Journey: INreach Action Part 2, Age and Community"

For more information, contact Erin Reid, Director of Religious Education, or Steve Rittenberg, CYRE Chair.

CYRE registration is open! All families, new and returning, should register each year. Click here to register!

First Sunday Potluck Lunch

Please join us for our First Sunday Potluck Lunch after the Sunday worship service on October 7. Fall is in the air; maybe you have some special autumn dishes you would like to share. Our monthly potlucks provide wonderful opportunities to get to know each other better as we share food and fellowship.

Hosted by the Hospitality Committee

Come Out, Cook Out, Camp Out!

Interweave 's 7th annual evening of fun, camping, and cooking out on the fire will be THIS SATURDAY, October 6. Join us beginning at 5:00 p.m. at Monte Sano State Park Campground. We plan to be at our usual spot, primitive camp site #20.

Bring a lawn chair or blanket, and join us for food, fellowship, and campfire singing.

If you plan to attend and are willing and able, please consider signing up online to bring some food to share or other supplies.

Please note: you do not have to camp out overnight. You're welcome to drop by and stay for as long as you'd like Saturday night. All are welcome!

For more information, contact Nick Wilbourn and Denise Runnels . If you need directions or the campground gate code, you can also call Nick (256-698-0786) or Denise (256-509-4002).

Sponsored by Interweave

Brought to you by the Social Justice Committee

We Share The Plate* with

Faith in Action Alabama

This month, we Share the Plate* with Faith in Action Alabama (FIAAL). FIAAL is a 501(c)(3) statewide nonprofit organization with branches in Huntsville, Birmingham, Mobile and Montgomery. FIAAL stands in witness with people across faiths and races, working to achieve systemic change by creating pathways of opportunities for all Alabamans. One of its current aims is solving the problem of mass incarceration.

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Go, UUCH, Go!

We've formed a team, and we have a date; now all we need are some teammates!

The 15th Annual Liz Hurley Ribbon Run will be on Saturday, October 20, 2018, and UUCH once again has a team sponsored by our Social Justice Committee. The 5K course will take walkers and runners through beautiful downtown Huntsville on a lovely fall day. The race will begin at 8:30 a.m., followed by awards.

This year the Survivors' Walk will begin at 8:00 a.m. The race will start immediately after.

Proceeds from the 2018 Ribbon Run will be used to purchase additional mammography diagnostic equipment.

To register as a team member, go to hhfi.convio.net and search for Teams. Then enter Unitarian Universalist Church of Huntsville to find our team.

Support your fellow UUs who have already been touched by this and other awful diseases. Register now, and start stretching. All abilities are welcome!

Additional information is coming soon. For more information, contact Becky Ellingwood .

Sponsored by the Social Justice Committee

Board Report

September 25, 2018

The Board met for its regularly scheduled meeting on September 25, 2018.

The Board continues to work on policies for Children/Youth Safety and Fire Safety, as well as establishing a Safety Task Force.

The Board discussed ways to raise funds to purchase gifts for our annual Hispanic Association Christmas Party. The Board will recommend to the Social Justice Committee that we share all cash contributions from the offering plate each week in November to that cause.

A charter was finalized for the new Communication Task Force. This task force, headed by Denise Runnels, will " develop policy and procedure surrounding the channels of communication used by UUCH, including Facebook, Twitter, email, and web presence. Such proposed policy and procedures will be sent to the Board for emendation and/or final approval."

Rev. Ed discussed the Legacy Giving Campaign and giving to endowment funds. We also discussed this year's Stewardship Campaign. We have to consider that $12,000 is needed for the Search Committee process for a settled minister.

One important issue for this church is to get a good assessment tool for the new settled minister. Rev. Ed is trying to help find models for good assessment tools so that this can become part of our church culture. He is also preparing plans for the Search Committee process.

The Board approved plans to sell Rev. Ed's book, Optimal Relationships: A Path Toward a More Civil Society, with part of the proceeds going to our church. Rev. Ed and Adult RE will explore opportunities to have a book discussion on this book.

For the next few months, the Board intends to set aside 30 minutes of each Board meeting to going through our church bylaws, with the expectation of proposing extensive revisions at a congregational meeting. Rev. Ed has provided guidance for bylaws and policy models that may be more useful for our congregation. He will be leading town hall meetings to discuss possible changes throughout this process.

The next scheduled Board Meeting is October 23, 2018. They will be meeting at 6:00 p.m. (a half hour earlier than the regularly scheduled meeting time, in order to work on bylaw revisions).

2018 Book Sale Chai r' s Report

Our September 28-30 book sale was a success, grossing over $2100! The Hospitality volunteers -- bakers, soup chefs, sandwich makers, and servers -- really made Saturday's and Sunday's shopping festive. Over $136 of the gross total was in food donations alone!

The music and storytelling volunteers were phenomenal at our outdoor Ray Bradbury Astral Café on Saturday. Property Committee members rallied during book sale prep on Sunday and assembled five additional garden bench kits in time for our café's grand opening. Book Sale volunteers made customers feel welcomed every day and never kept anyone waiting at checkout. All the advance team efforts in combining past sales experience, new ideas, and muscular arms and backs cannot be thanked enough for putting up with chair Dan's inexperience - Pam K., Gail, Mitzi, Kathryn H., LaDawn, Dorothy, Rachel, Theresa, Tamara, Angela, and June.

Members and friends of UUCH contributed $148 for gift coupons, distributed by librarian Courtney Braggs to her young readers and their parents at the recently opened Calvary Hills Branch of the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library. Seventeen boxes of children's and young adult books were taken to the library for display and coupon redemption on September 25-26; only five boxes remained to be brought back and sold during our weekend sale. Thanks to the Social Justice Committee for that idea! (Children's books remaining at the end of the sale have already been redistributed by UUCH member and Morris Elementary School teacher, Deborah Delacey, to her school's library.)

Another $57 in advance gift coupons was specifically sponsored by UUCH members in the purchase of five copies of The Care and Keeping of You 2 for our local Girl Scout Troop 10507. Troop Leader Harper Goodman thanks you!

Unmentioned by name herein are the so many members and friends of UUCH who donated books, or spent a lot of money buying some of them during the sale. Special mention must be made, however, of Diane and Brian Walls, whose 13 boxes of music CDs comprised our robust CD collection for sale. So many still remain, however, that they will be available to buy again during potluck on Sunday for the extremely generous price of 50 cents each. How can you pass up such a bargain?

We will attempt in next week's newsletter to provide a complete accounting of all the nonprofit organizations among which our leftover books have been distributed.

Submitted by Dan McKitrick,

2018 UUCH Book Sale Chair

Care List

This Sunday, September 30, 2018, at our Circle of Candles:

Ana lit a candle of joy: For bringing home 4 awards from the Mid-South Marching Band Competition for Guntersville High School Marching Band.

Allie White lit a candle of joy: My nephew, Mason, turned 1 last week, and his parents, Caitlin and Caleb, closed on their first home.

Rachael Scheib lit a candle of joy: The Ray Bradbury Cafe talent was amazing! Thank you for sharing with us all.

UUCH Choir lit a candle of joy: Happy Birthday to Jessica Schulz!

Jessica and John Schulz lit a candle of joy: We are super excited to have our daughter, Lauren, visiting us this weekend.

John and Eleanor lit a candle of sorrow: We mourn the loss of our brother-in-law, Randy Seefurth. He battled with diabetes most of his life and lived to the age of 77.

Miranda and Andy Durbin lit a candle of sorrow: Our cats, Metzhi and Fergus, are sick with a virus.