The Overlook
Unitarian Universalist Church of Huntsville 
3921 Broadmor Rd., Huntsville AL 35810  
January 05, 2017
Vol. 17 Issue 1
In This Issue

We CAN Reach 100!   The Social Justice Committee's goal is to collect and donate 100 items per month. CAN you pick up an extra CANNED good, nonperishable food item, or personal care product next time you are out shopping? Please do, and put it in the basket in the church foyer to be donated to the Huntsville Assistance Program (HAP).  Suggested donations:
macaroni and cheese, pasta and sauce, dry beans and rice, boxes of cereal, bars of soap, canned meat, and peanut butter!

Thanks in advance!

Pick Up Your UUCH Picture Directory 
 The long awaited UUCH Picture Directory has arrived and is available for pick-up in the Fellowship Hall after church this Sunday. If you had a picture made or included in the directory, pick up your free copy after the Sunday service.

Do You Have Trouble Hearing During Worship Services?
UUCH has purchased a number of devices to help hard-of-hearing members of the congregation listen to services. Need one? Just ask the greeter Sunday as you come in and return the device after the service!

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January's Theme: Prophecy
Upcoming Services

Sunday, January 8th, 2017

    "Imagined Edges"

The Huntsville Feminist Chorus, directed by our UUCH Music Director, Pam Siegler, presents a story in song from their recent Solstice Program. You are invited into the deep winter dark to find again that respite that promises new light and life in a troubled world.

                                             The Reverend Alice Syltie and
                                              the Huntsville Feminist Chorus
 
This Sunday in Children and Youth Religious Education 
 
We begin our spring program continuing our "Storysharing" curriculum, this month on the theme of "Prophecy." The Peace, Justice, and Searchers RE groups will meet in their rooms. The Transformers will attend the sanctuary service.
   
Nursery care (ages 0-3) will be provided as usual. 
Register for the UUCH Children and Youth Religious Education program by going to: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WS8LDNP. Paper registration forms are also available at the church.
For more information, contact Erin Reid, Director of Religious Education (DRE) at [email protected] or Audrey Fox, CYRE Chair, at [email protected].
Time to Return Guest at Your Table Boxes

Now that we are through the holidays, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) Guest at Your Table program is wrapping up and it is time to return your Guest at Your Table boxes!

There are three ways you can return your contribution to the UUSC:
  1. Bring your box to church and place it in the basket in the Fellowship Hall (cash or check; if cash, provide the information on the side of the box)
  2. Send a check directly to UUSC at UUSC, PO Box 808, Newark, NJ 07101-0808
  3. Donate on-line at https://donate.uusc.org/checkout/donation?eid=75595
Thanks for your contributions!

Brad Korb, UUSC Local Representative 
Building Your Own Theology    
 
Do Unitarian Universalists get to believe anything they want? Can they keep the easy stuff and ignore "religion" when it gets hard?  We as UUs profess a free and responsible search for truth and meaning.  This means while we all covenant to affirm and promote our 7 principles we do not all follow the same path to that truth and meaning. Though Unitarian Universalism is its own theology, it encompasses many personal theologies we each have as individuals.  Our UU community is where we carry out the process of building our personal theology.

Join Adult Religious Education facilitators Shiela Burrows and Denise Runnels as we walk through UU Richard Gilbert ' s "Introduction to Building Your Own Theology." This workshop will "provide some tools for building a theology based on the materials of individual life experiences."   Gilbert ' s program is "designed to provide a systematic, disciplined, and communal approach to the process." As he says "we have gathered together not to believe alike, but, to love alike, to live religiously together."

We will meet Sunday evenings in January beginning January 8th. This four week workshop will meet each Sunday through January 29th from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. If you need childcare, please let Denise or Nancy Finley know at least one week in advance,  [email protected].

Hosted by your Adult Religious Education Committee 
Movement Class Now on Friday!
 
Come start a healthy New Year off in our Awareness Through Movement® class.These classes focus on gentle movement that can assist us in being more comfortable and pain-free in our everyday activities.
Come learn how to use the core of your body to improve movement, balance, and chronic pain. 

Everyone is welcome! Class is drop-in, no experience necessary,
 and is led by Sally Locklear. Wear comfortable, loose clothing, and bring a bath or beach towel to use as head support for comfort in side-lying.
ATM is held on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. , starting January 13th until further notice.

For more information, contact Adult RE chair Nancy Finley at
[email protected]. UUCH Adult Religious Education focuses on the whole spiritual person--mentally and physically. Join us!  
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UUCH Family Movie Night

January 21, 2017 at 6:15 p.m. 

Although our annual chili cook-off is being held on Feb. 4th instead of Jan. 21st, come join the UUCH Children's and Youth RE Committee as we celebrate a different type of food.

CAN YOU GUESS THE FILM? The chickens on the farm are in danger when their owners decide to transfer the farm's focus from egg production to chicken pot pie production. Will the plucky American rooster be able to help the chickens escape before they end up in the freezer section of the grocery store? Find out in this fun animated film for any age!

Please bring your favorite movie snack to share. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. with the movie starting at 6:30 p.m.

Hosted by your UUCH Children and Youth Religious Education Committee.
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Social Justice Meeting 

Our next Social Justice Meeting will be Sunday, January 22nd at 9:30 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Please bring your ideas for spring and summer projects. We'll have bagels, and if you need childcare, please contact Tonia at (256) 882-9891 or [email protected].  

Everyone is welcome!

A Chili Cook-off Hot Time on Feb. 4th!  singing chili

Who will win coveted red ladle on Saturday, February 4? It could be you! Queen Shiela Burrows won the 2016 Best in Show Coveted Red Ladle with her first entry. First-timers Emily Garrison and Alice Dilbeck won in their categories.

Bring your chili, side dishes, and hot talent to this fun evening!

Sign up on the Fellowship Hall poster or online
( http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c044ea9a62aa3fd0-2017 )
to register your chili and to bring your favorite chili side dish: cheese, sour cream, crackers, salads, cornbread or rolls, and desserts.

Open mike entertainment is an important part of the evening! If you'd like to be part of the show, contact Susan Coddington
([email protected] ) or call 256-520-3490 .

For others, doors open at 5:00 p.m. and eating begins at 5:30 p.m. Admission is $5 each for those 12 and older; children 3-11 are $3 each; with a family cap of $15. Free admission for Chili Chefs! 
 
Hosted by your Hospitality Committee
Soul Circles are Forming!
 
Don't forget--Soul Circles are forming! We are bringing small groups into the Soul Matters shared thematic ministry alongside our Worship and Religious Education ministries. Our "Soul Circles" will meet monthly. Each month, prior to meeting, group members will receive preparatory information designed to help them engage more deeply with the monthly theme we are experiencing in our congregational worship. Group members covenant with one another to practice deep listening, speaking from both the heart and the head as they share their soul-journeys through living into the monthly themes. Monthly meetings are scheduled to last no more than two hours.
 

If you would like to join a Soul Circle please contact John Czachurski at [email protected] and let him know which of the following times you can be available: 

  • Sunday Afternoons (after Sunday Worship or Potluck)
  • Sunday Evenings
  • Wednesday Afternoons
  • Wednesday Evenings
Please indicate all of the days/times that could work for you, so that we can more smoothly match available group members with available facilitators.
General Assembly 2017
June 21-25, 2017
New Orleans, Louisiana

It is not too early to begin planning your trip to our UUA's General Assembly! Important dates and programming updates may be found here: http://www.uua.org/ga. This is close enough to drive from Huntsville! 
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Care List
 
At our Circle of Candles on Sunday,  January 1st, 2017:
 
From Rev. Alice
Our first candle today is a candle of sorrow for the loss of our dear friend and long time member, Catherine Hall, who died the day after Christmas. Catherine was kind, generous, and deeply committed to our UUCH community. Her knowledge of music and her talent were a gift to all of us. I always enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity to work with her. Like many of you, I have a number of special memories of Catherine. She played for my daughter's wedding and my mother's memorial service. Catherine's absence will be keenly felt, and she will be greatly missed.

Her memorial service is Saturday, January 14th beginning at 2:00 p.m. 
 
A candle for John Czachurski, whose son Adam has been in a hospital in Hong Kong for two weeks recovering from Meningitis.

Barbara Hitt, a candle of gratitude: "for the wonderful Christmas morning service led by Mari Hinckley with assistance from Amanda Schuber, and accompanied by beautiful guitar and violin music played by Tim Miller and Dan Nielsen. And a fabulous potluck with beautifully decorated tables served on finery, with thanks to Sheila and Kim Burroughs, Gail Williams, and Susan Coddington. We had over 50 people in attendance including guests and visitors. It was a very merry Christmas with our church family!"

If you have pastoral care needs, please contact the Reverend Alice Syltie at [email protected]Barbara Hitt is Chair of the Care Committee, and may be reached at home, (256) 881.2531; on her cell, (256) 348.5845; or by email at [email protected].
UUCH 16-17 Board Members

 

President: Laurel Bollinger 

Vice-President: Denise Runnels  

Secretary: Ed Bernstein           

Treasurer: Greg Howard   

Trustees: Susan Coddington, Kathy Heath,

   and Lynsie Lamitie 

 

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 Laurel Bollinger, no later than one week prior to the meeting, i.e. the Tuesday before. You may leave a copy of your request in her Mailbox at the church office, or contact her at [email protected].

The next UUCH Board Meeting will be held
on Tuesday, January 24th, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. Thanks for your cooperation!

From the Overlook is a publication of

The Unitarian Universalist Church,

3921 Broadmor Rd. Huntsville, AL 35810

Minister: The Reverend Alice Syltie

Board President: Laurel Bollinger  

Editorial Board: Laurel Bollinger, Kathy Heath 

 

Newsletter deadlines are each Monday at midnight.
Please send submissions to news collator Willette Battle at
[email protected].  

 

Office Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Mon-Fri.

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 noon;  

Children's Religious Education held concurrently.   

Nursery available for age 3 years and under.

For further info on any event, call the church office:
256. 534-0508.