The Overlook
Unitarian Universalist Church of Huntsville 
3921 Broadmor Rd., Huntsville, AL 35810  
September 6, 2018
Vol. 18 Issue 36
In This Issue
Upcoming Events
 
Sat. 9/8
Alabama Arise Annual Meeting
Montgomery, AL
 
Potato Drop
8:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Faith Presbyterian Church


Sun. 9/9 
Sunday Services
Water Communion
10:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Sanctuary

Music Committee Meeting
12:30 p.m.

Rosh Hashanah Begins


Tue. 9/11
Finance Committee Meeting
6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. 

Rosh Hashanah Ends

       
Wed. 9/12
Soul Matters Small Groups [Group C]
1:00 p.m.

UUkulele Fun Group
5:45 p.m.

UUCH Choir
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.


Thu. 9/13
Huntsville Feminist Chorus 
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Choir Room

PFLAG Support Meeting
6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Adult RE Room


Sat. 9/15
Social Saturday
Potluck Lunch
11:00 a.m.
Fellowship Hall

John Jeter's Book Launch
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Fellowship Hall


Sun. 9/16 
Soul Matters Small Groups [Group D]
9:00 a.m.
 
Sunday Services
10:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Sanctuary

RE Fall Celebration
12:00 p.m.- 2:00 p.m.
Church-wide Event
BBVA Compass for Your Cause  

If you have a BBVA Compass account or are thinking of opening an account, you can use UUCH's organization code (136498) to help raise money for our church as part of the BBVA Compass for Your Cause program. See the link below for more information. 
 

Submitted by the Board 
Huntsville Assistance Program 
canned goods  
The Social Justice Committee has a goal to collect at least 100 items each month for the food pantry.
 
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
Returns on Friday,
September 28, 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 is drop-in, no experience necessary, and will be led by Sally Locklear. 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 at  [email protected]

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
kids singing
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 at  [email protected].
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 info at  [email protected].

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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 to
[email protected]. The next UUCH Board Meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 25th.

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 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 at 256-534-0508.

 
Upcoming Service
 
Sunday, September 9, 2018
        
Water Communion
 
We will have a multi-generational blending of the waters ceremony, or water communion. Marking the end of the summer season has been a tradition in Unitarian Universalist congregations, including our own, for many years. 
 
Each person is invited to bring a small sample of water representing a particularly memorable experience from this summer. As the water is poured into our common bowl, you may speak a few words of the water's significance. Our focus is on our journeys of growth and connection, as we deepen our individual and collective spiritual lives. You may share as individuals, as families, or as companions traveling portions of life's journey together.  
 
This is a service for all ages, with our regular nursery care for the youngest among us.
This Sunday in Children and Youth Religious Education (CYRE)  
 
Children and youth are invited to participate in the all-ages service. There will be no CYRE sessions. Nursery care for ages 0-3 will be offered as usual.
 
For more information, contact Erin Reid, Director of Religious Education, or Steve Rittenberg, CYRE Chair.

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

We encourage all families to learn about the CYRE program and to register by September 16, our first day of Fall RE sessions.
Potato Drop
 
Potato Drop is scheduled for September 8, from 8:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. at Faith Presbyterian Church. 30-40,000 lbs. of potatoes will be put into 10 lb. bags to be distributed to area food banks. This is a great chance to meet people from all faiths. Show up any time during the potato drop to participate.  Please see the Social Justice bulletin board for details.
 
Submitted by the Social Justice Committee 
 
Alabama Arise's annual meeting is Saturday, September 8, in Montgomery. 2019 priority issues will be voted on and chosen. Six representatives from our church can vote, each having seven votes. Please see the Social Justice bulletin board for details.
 
Submitted by the Social Justice Committee 
Rosh Hashanah Begins
 
Rosh Hashanah, the start of the Jewish New Year, begins on Sunday, September 9.

A popular tradition on Rosh Hashanah  is eating apples dipped in honey, followed by a prayer. Ancient Jews believed apples had healing properties, with the honey signifying hope for a 'sweet' new year.
 
The reason why you eat apples and honey on Rosh Hashanah is because you're asking God to give you a sweet, or happy, new year. This tradition is based on ancient Jewish teachings. A blessing is given as the apple is dipped into the honey and eaten.

Members of our Worship Committee's new Aesthetics Guild have placed apples and honey in the front of our sanctuary, and we invite you to share these apples and honey with us during coffee hour after this Sunday's service.
   
Submitted by the Worship Committee 
Social Saturday - September 15  
Let's Do Lunch!
 
The second "Social Saturday" will be held on September 15, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. This event is a casual social time for people to get together, share a meal, chat, and maybe find out that they share a common interest. Anything can happen when UUs get together! So plan to come and join the group. 

It is a both a potluck and a brown-bag lunch, so your choice to bring a dish to share, or keep it simple and brown-bag it. Everyone is welcome, but seniors and new members are especially encouraged to attend, meet folks, and feel like part of our UUCH family. If enough interest is shown, it will become a monthly event. We hope to see you on September 15!

Sponsored by the Hospitality, Membership, and Care Committees
Book Launch
 
On Saturday, September 15, from 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., UUCH member and author John Sims Jeter will talk about writing and read from his latest book, The End of a Perfect Death: Short Stories with a Thread of the Strange and Wonderful. For additional information, contact John Jeter at 256 489-6095 or via email at [email protected].
 
The book launch party will be in our Fellowship Hall, with snacks and drinks available. Books will be available for purchase at reduced rates, as well as for signing. All are invited, and feel free to bring a friend. The book, with reviews and story samples, is available at Amazon.com.
childA New Year in Children and Youth Religious Education (CYRE)
 
The first day of the fall CYRE program will be September 16. If you have not done so already, please register your children and youth for this year's program. Paper registration is available at the church, or you can register online here.  
   
Our usual age-based groups are listed below, and we will update you on any changes to this year's room configurations.
  • Nursery (ages infant to 3, staffed by experienced childcare providers);
  • Peace (ages 4/Pre-K to grade1);
  • Justice (grades 2-3);
  • Searchers (grades 4-5);
  • Transformers (grades 6-8); and 
  • YOUUTH (grades 9-12). 
This year's theme is INreach/OUTreach. CYRE groups will explore how to create a wonderful welcome at church and also how to reach outside our doors with special service projects. We expand on last year's theme, which explored our values as Unitarian Universalists and how we live our principles in the world. We have terrific curricula from UUA's Tapestry of Faith that incorporate "Faith in Action" projects. Lessons are highly interactive and story-based, with games, crafts, music, projects, and more! O lder youth will participate in an innovative program that engages small group ministry, learning, and outreach projects. 
 
We will continue to integrate our monthly Soul Matters worship themes with our stories, RE worship time, singing, and discussions. We begin the month of September with VISION! As always, children and youth are invited to pick up their name tags in the foyer and wear them while at church, just like everyone else. This is one way we welcome each other!
 
We are so pleased for your presence in the UUCH Children and Youth RE Program.
 
For more information, contact Erin Reid, Director of Religious Education (DRE), at [email protected], or Steve Rittenberg, CYRE Chair, at [email protected] 

Submitted by the Children and Youth RE Committee
2018 UUCH Book Sale

If you missed Sunday's service announcement, the 2018 UUCH Book Sale Committee's Coffee Cup Campaign has begun! We are gladly accepting donations of coffee and soup mugs that you may no longer need. Each mug will be tagged with all the necessary information about our sale from  Friday, September 28, to Sunday, September 30.

Mugs will then be distributed two weeks before the sale begins to those you know who like to read and buy books cheaply: neighbors; fellow UUCH members and visitors who may not have been to our Broadmor Road location lately; work colleagues; and relative strangers who you know could use a good book and free cuppa!

Information tags about the sale will also be made available after service for those UUCH members who wish to personalize their own invitations to the book sale by mug or other means.

Saturday, September 29, will be the ideal day for any UUCH member to bring a friend who might otherwise not be able to make it to our book sale. Mug recipients should be encouraged to bring them on Saturday (or Sunday for the lowest prices on books) for free hot cider or hot chocolate, as well as coffee and tea. Baked goods will be available upon opening of Saturday's sale at 8:00 a.m.; soup and sliders will be available at 11:00 a.m. Coffeehouse music will be playing outside in our interior courtyard, which will be outfitted with cafe tables and chairs until Saturday's sale closes at 3:00 p.m.

Do you like Uno, Hearts, or board games? Bring your favorite form of entertainment, and contribute to our coffeehouse ambiance on both Saturday and Sunday! Our book sale provides just the right opportunity to familiarize others with our facility and the church family it supports.

Dates and times for the book sale are:
 
Friday, September 28
11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
 
Saturday, September 29
8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
 
Sunday, September 30
12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

We are requesting donations of baked goods for September 29. Please contact Dan McKitrick at [email protected], or by text at 256-426-6906, for more information. Pickup of books from your home will resume soon.
votives
Care List
 
This Sunday, September 2, 2018,  at our Circle of Candles:
 
Deborah Delacey lit a candle of joy: On Tuesday, Suzey Delacey, the love of my life and anchor of our crazy Delacey Tribe, leveled up to level 44. Happy birthday, and may we celebrate many, many more together.  
 
Rachael Scheib lit a candle of sorrow: I have lost my iPhone! Gold and glitter case. Last seen in the UUCH sanctuary. 
 
Fran Alexander lit a candle of sorrow: Please send healing thoughts to Gloria Guay, who fell and was diagnosed in the ER with two vertebral fractures. She will see her physician next week for further treatment.    
 
Meghan Sevei lit a candle of sorrow: Please pray for the Borgia family, who have suffered the terrible loss of their daughter. She leaves behind two small children.
 
Ilene Sparks lit a candle of joy and gratitude: To Gloria Guay and her brother for welcoming my beloved cat, Misty, into their hearts and homes. And joy that my son's, Pete Sparks', surgery for a basal cell carcinoma located on his gums was successful, with two weeks' recuperation.  
     
Kathy Fisher lit a candle of sorrow: Please send healing wishes to my daughter, who is having trouble after recent hand surgery. She is a veterinarian/surgeon and depends on her hands!