The Overlook
Unitarian Universalist Church of Huntsville 
3921 Broadmor Rd., Huntsville AL 35810  
June 1, 2017
Vol. 17 Issue 22
In This Issue
100!
The Social
Justice Committe e'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 for all you do!  
General Assembly 2017


June 21-25, 2017 
at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, 900 Convention Center Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70130.
By going to New Orleans, we can both celebrate our successes and recommit to the relationships that have been forged with this community. Plan your trip! 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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UUCH 16-17  
Board Members
 
President:
Laurel Bollinger

Vice-President: 
Denise Runnels

Secretary:
Ed Bernstein

Treasurer: 
Greg Howard

Trustees: 
Susan Coddington
Kathy Heath

Lynsie Lamitie


Ex Officio:
Reverend Alice Syltie

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 phone her at home or send a copy of your request to
President@uuch.orgThe next UUCH Board Meeting will be held on
Tuesday, June 27th. 

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:  

Susan Coddington 

Kathy Heath 

 

Newsletter deadlines are each Monday at midnight.
Please send submissions to news collator Willette Battle at
uuch@uuch.org.  

 

Office Hours:

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

 

Office phone: 256-534-0508
email:
uuch@uuch.org .

Minister's email: Minister@uuch.org.

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.

June's Theme: Joy
Upcoming Service 

   Sunday, June 4, 2017 

              "A Community of Joy"


Reverend Alice Syltie and
Angel Hundley, Nominating Committee Chair
 

Our worship theme this month asks what does it mean to be a community of joy? Does it mean we are always happy? Many believe the opposite of joy is not sadness, but isolation and disconnection. Joy connects us to each other, to the world, and to the divine. How can our religious community help us find (and keep) this life-affirming joy perspective?
 
Spoiler- one source of joy is service. This Sunday we will honor the service of our Board and Council Members. Join us in celebrating their contributions to our community of joy.

Also this Sunday, we Share The Plate with New Futures, Inc. For more about the program, see the article below.  
 
cyreThis Sunday in Children and
Youth Religious Education 
    
THIS SUNDAY...

We begin our Summer RE program with OUTDOOR FUN!

For information or to register a child, contact Erin Reid, Director of Religious Education (DRE), at dre@uuch.org or Audrey Fox, CYRE Chair, at children.re@uuch.org

SUMMER PROGRAM 
top 
 What Would YOU Do?
Adult RE Discussion
Sundays, June 4 and June 11
at 9:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.

Adult Religious Education has been having fun discussing a series of video presentations titled "Justice: What's The Right Thing To Do." The next two videos in the series will be shown and discussed at 9:00 am on June 4th and June 11th. Drop in for one or both of the film discussions. Everyone is welcome. Join in the discussion as we wrestle with difficult decisions to determine what is just and moral in particular scenarios. We are finding that it is not always easy nor clear to know what is the "right thing to do."

For more information contact, Nancy Finley, Adult.RE@uuch.org

--Adult RE committee
This is POTLUCK SUNDAY!
 
Please join us for a potluck immediately after the worship services. Bring a dish and let's eat together! Fellowship served up with potluck food. Get to know your fellow UUs! 
 
--Hosted by your Hospitality Committee
UUkulele Fun Group will meet through the summer!
 
The UUkulele Fun Group will continue to meet every 2nd and 4th Wednesday from 5:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. to enjoy ukulele playing. This group is for all levels of familiarity with the ukulele - from the "very beginner" to more "seasoned" players. We have a new song book to share that has lively songs we can all play together. So come make a little music with us.

This group is sponsored by UUCH Adult RE. Contact Nancy Finley finleyn@uah.edu or Glen Clark glenclark1973@gmail.com for further information.
Support Our National Spelling Bee Contestant!

For those interested in following Erin Howard as she competes in the National Spelling Bee this year...
The preliminaries were on Wednesday, May 31st on ESPN 3 (espn.com). Erin is speller number 36 this year, and was scheduled to be on sometime in the 7:00 a.m. (CST) hour and maybe again in the 12:15 p.m. hour if she correctly spelled the first word. The finalists will be announced Wednesday evening. The finals begin on Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. (CST) on ESPN 2. The end of the finals begin at 7:30 p.m. (CST) on ESPN.

--Greg Howard 
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We Share the Plate* with STP logo
New Futures, Inc.

New Futures, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, founded in 1990, addressing the need in Huntsville and Madison County for an organization that serves homeless, intact families. New Futures, Inc. operates the Marilyn Mabry Family Lodge, a homeless shelter that allows families to remain together in a safe, family-friendly environment. They are the only homeless transitional housing program in Madison County that accepts families with children up to 18 of both genders, single fathers with minor children, and single mothers with sons over age 10. By keeping families together, the Lodge will enhance the positive outcomes for all family members and ultimately for the community of Madison County. 

New Futures' shelter is dormitory style, with private rooms and shared bathrooms and common areas. Through its transitional housing program, New Futures acts as a catalyst for homeless families to obtain skills, education, and successes to empower themselves and overcome extreme poverty to achieve independence. Services include a Shelter Program--90 day program, job prep, job search assistance, case management; and a Transitional Housing Program--including Education Services (including GED, Certificate & assistance), Job Placement, Job Coach/Resume Building Classes, Transportation, Counseling, and Daycare assistance. For more information, see their website:

*When we "Share the Plate," all cash collected on the first Sunday of each month in the second quarter (April, May, and June), along with any checks noted as "Share the Plate," will be halved with New Futures, Inc.
                                                
SummerRE
Children and Youth Summer RE
 We Need YOU!

In the summer months, the Children and Youth Religious Education Program takes a special turn from the regular fall and spring curricula.  We invite UUCH members and friends to plan a learning session for the children and youth. You'll be part of a teaching team as either the lead teacher or a helper; and we'll be sure to have a regular RE teacher there as support. Even children and youth can partner with an adult to lead a session!

We invite you to  sign up to lead a session that shares a special talent, hobby, skill, or learning area of yours. Here are some topics to get your creative juices flowing: music, finger painting, scrapbooking, nature walks, gardening, yoga, science, paper airplanes, drawing, Lego, origami, fossils, friendship bracelets, mythology, sidewalk chalk, pottery, or cookie-making. The possibilities are limitless!! What's a joy to you can be a joy to others.

Leaders will prepare a topic/activity that is adaptable to children ages 4 to 12. Senior high youth are invited to participate as leaders and helpers, or to attend the regular worship service in the sanctuary.  Because of our exciting program growth, we'll need even more leaders and helpers this summer than before! So, don't be shy! We have room for the sharing of your gifts. There's nothing like spending time with the children and youth at our church. Their energy, creativity, and intelligence are contagious. And they benefit from interacting with caring adults who make an investment in them. This is what multi-generational community is all about!

For the next month, we'll have posters standing in the church foyer and fellowship hall where you can sign up for a summer Sunday session. Or, you can contact
Erin Reid, Director of Religious Education (DRE), at dre@uuch.org or Audrey Fox, CYRE Chair, at children.re@uuch.org.
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Care List
 
This Sunday, May 28th, 2017, at our Circle of Candles:
 
Maria Coble, a candle of joy: I am thankful for every one of my high school seniors who completed their work on time and graduated with their classes this past week. Each of my students were considered "at risk." They battled homelessness, addiction, lack of transportation, poverty and other issues, yet persisted. Some made up 19 credits, in this year, so they could graduate. This was their last chance and they made it!  
 
Glen and Michelle Clark, a candle of sorrow: Glen's father passed away Saturday after two and a half years of dementia following a stroke. Please pray for safe travels and for our kids who have lost their first grandparent.