Special Note - Fawn's Vacation

Hi all you lovely UUFF'ers! Most of you already know that I (Fawn, your Administrator) will be away from the UUFF from Saturday, March 18th until Tuesday, March 28th. I will not be available for work communications during that time.

That being said, I'm not just leaving y'all high and dry. Several wonderful folks have volunteered to cover the most basic of necessary tasks next week.

The Weekly eNews for week of March 22, 2023, will be handled by Elizabeth Littlepage ([email protected]). All article/announcements submissions for the email must be emailed to Elizabeth no later than NOON on Tuesday, 03/21. Please put "For UUFF eNews" in the email subject line to make it easier for them to see. Elizabeth will also handle website updates (like posting the Sunday service info).

Other internal tasks (like the Facebook Sunday Event creation, Order of Service creation, etc.) will be covered as well.

You can still email [email protected] if you have urgent needs that arise, but it will not be checked daily, so if your request can wait until my return on the 28th, that is ideal.

For Pastoral Care needs, please contact Rev. Steven ([email protected]) or Renée Janksi ([email protected])

Thanks, y'all. Have a good week!

March 19th: "Spring Equinox Service!" Awaken all you dreamers! The time of Spring and of balance quickly approaches. Come celebrate the fertility of the land and the joy of life renewed! The UUFF Choir will sing, directed by Renée Janski. All are invited to stay for a potluck after the ritual! Please bring something to share if you are able, and if not, please join anyway.

CHOIR PARTICIPANTS: Please meet in the Sanctuary at 10am this Sunday for rehearsal. It's gonna be great!

You can attend this service in person at the Fellowship or online via Facebook Live Stream. To attend via Facebook, click on: https://www.facebook.com/events/3405108093060742/

and then click on "Watch Live Video. You don't need a Facebook account to access.

Nursery Care is available each Sunday between from 10am-12pm

Please see Nursery Coordinator, Alex Emmons, down in the nursery if you have questions or want to register your children for care.

If you'd like to print and fill out the registration form in advance, CLICK HERE!

Mindful Discussions (Adult RE) at 10am Downstairs -

Topic this Sunday: "Our Culture of Individualism." From a very early age, we are encouraged to be independent. Self-reliance is extolled as a virtue, and “doing things on your own” is often seen as proof of maturity. The “we” here is we Americans, as the notion we must do without support is ingrained in our nation’s culture. This toxic myth is our “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” individualism, which we'll discuss this Sunday. Join us.

Children's (ages 5-11) and Youth (ages 11-18) Religious Exploration classes meet downstairs at UUFF each Sunday at 10am.

If you have questions or would like to register your child(ren) for CRE, please contact Stephanie Bentley ([email protected]). If you have questions or would like to register your youth for YRE, please contact Leanda Gavin ([email protected]).

It is with a very heavy heart that we inform you all that UUFF has lost another beloved Member. Mike Schermer (pictured) died peacefully at 8am this morning at Willard Walker Hospice in Fayetteville. He was surrounded by family, including our own Cathy Schermer, Mike's spouse of 35 years. Many of you know Mike for his abundant and goofy sense of humor, the instant ease felt just being around him, and for his chosen role as UUFF's "Circle Suppers Guru." He was passionate about bringing UUFFers together in a small group setting (one that included great food, wine, and stories) so that we were able to get to know one another on a deeper level. Mike knew that true connection is important, and he fostered that in our community. Circle Suppers will go on, and Mike will be deeply missed.

Cathy Schermer is going to need our care and support in the coming weeks and months. For now, she asks that cards/notes (you are encouraged to include your favorite memories of Mike) be mailed to: 685 Cactus Wren Dr., Farmington, AR 72730

Beloved UUFF Member, Joyce Mendenhall (pictured), died peacefully on February 25th, following a long battle with cancer. Joyce will certainly be missed. To read her obituary, CLICK HERE.

UUFF Member Marvin Hilton, life partner of Joyce Mendenhall, suffered a stroke just a week after her passing. Marvin is receiving stroke rehabilitation care at Encompass (on the WRMC campus) in room 144. He is (understandably) struggling and welcomes visitors. Please go see him if you can.

We wish a very happy MARCH Birthday to the following UUFF Members!

Amanda Bancroft

Dick Bennett

Marquette Bruce

Sarah Faitak

Leanda Gavin

Ron Hollingshead

Tim Hudson

John King

If you want to send a birthday card and can't find the address in our membership database, or if you are a UUFF Member with a birthday this month and aren't on the list, please contact me at [email protected]

Would you like to offer occasional support to your fellow UUFF members and friends in need? As you can clearly see in the UUFF Cares section above, there are many opportunities to do so, including making meals, writing birthday/get well/sympathy/congratulations cards, helping with memorials, running simple errands, caring visitations, and more. Fill out this survey, and the Care Team will contact you when a need in your area of interest arises to see if you are available at that time. And of course, keep an eye on the UUFF Cares email section for publicized caring opportunities every week.

UUFF will host a "Being UU" Class after service on Sunday, April 16th, 2023 (12:30-2:30pm)!

Lunch will be provided, and nursery care is available upon request. If you are new to UU and/or UUFF and are interested in learning more about Unitarian Universalism in general and about the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fayetteville - our history, organizational structure, membership opportunities, etc. - then this is the class for you!

Anyone is welcome to attend, but we do request that you fill out this APRIL 16, 2023, BEING UU CLASS REGISTRATION FORM by Friday, April 14th so that we can plan appropriately for lunch and any other requests (such as nursery care). If you have any questions about the class or about becoming a member of UUFF, please contact our Connections Team Lead, Charlotte Taylor ([email protected]) or contact Fawn in the office by replying to this email.

A New Member Welcome Ceremony will be held the following Sunday, April 23rd.

The UUFF Grounds Crew work begins again on Thursday, March 23rd, between the hours of 10am and NOON.

All are welcome (and encouraged) to join in the effort to keep our beautiful grounds...well, beautiful! Contact Laura Brewer ([email protected]) with questions.

Justice Issue:  March is Women's History Month in the U.S. It is also Social Work Month. I observe them both each March by trying to spread the word about how many things women and social workers know and can do to help people and make life easier. 

Since 1987, the US has celebrated Women’s Month in March. Women’s Month started in England and was an outgrowth of the women’s suffrage movement. For 2023, the U.N. theme for Women’s Week is digital technology and women, focusing on two aspects: that women are underrepresented and underpromoted in science and technology careers and that women are harassed and stalked online in digital space.

In 2005, Jacob Blickenstaff (Gender and Education, Vol.17, Issue 4), reported from studying the pipeline into STEM careers that 80% of engineering and 60% of physical science Bachelor’s degrees in the US were awarded to men in 1999–2000. At the Ph.D. level, 84% of engineering degrees and 75% of the physical science degrees went to men. Even in biology, where 58% of the Bachelor’s degrees were awarded to women, 56% of the Ph.D.s went to men. We don’t have figures on what percentage of women attempted these degrees, versus what percentage of males attempted them.  However, this happened, even though 55.1% of women (vs. 51% of men) averaged C's or better in their science classes.

In 2017, Heidi Blackburn published her study of this subject in Science and Technology Libraries, Vol.13: she studied women in the STEM career pipeline from 2007-2017.  She was able to point to many factors which cause leaks and clogs in the pipeline from kindergarten to being hired. President Obama launched the Education to Innovation program which encouraged more women to enter science and technology fields. Progress was very slow, so tech companies asked for research on how to better include women and minorities in preparation for STEM careers.

Thanks to Dr. Blackburn, we now know specific factors were involved in more women actually joining STEM fields: access to early K-12 formal and informal experiences with science and technology, good mentoring and deliberate support by teachers, positive feeling about one’s math abilities by high school, use of recruitment materials which included women and minority success stories, contact with female teachers and other role models, libraries which contain research that relates well to female and minority students, and equal access to tutoring and funding for higher education in these fields. Another blockage in the pipeline can result from the intersectionality of gender, race, and the role of a science career on one’s family life. Transferring from a community college to a 4-year school often caused problems for women in STEM courses if the community college classes were not equivalent. So many leaks in the pipeline to STEM careers! It was found that even STEM-student dorms helped retain women from freshman year to career.

I can relate to this issue, since I did not have a strong algebra background in high school, even though I made A's in Geometry. So when I got to upper level Ph.D statistics courses and we hit differential equations, I had a lot of trouble and hired a tutor. The male tutor I hired was a foreign student with his own stresses near exam time, and he quit right when I needed him most. These factors, on top of the challenges of single-parenting, resulted in me being unable to finish my Ph.D. program in Criminology, a social science. As a matter of fact, 4 out of 5 women in that program did not pass the comprehensive exams. There were no female faculty members in the department and no tutoring support or mentoring by females.

You can celebrate Women’s Month any way you wish, but I encourage you to call up a woman who meant a lot to you in your formative years and thank them for the encouragement. And if you know a female science student, please give them your encouragement.

If interested, check out the “We Are Not Going Back!” a webinar by Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Katherine Clark about women's history.

Use link below to register to watch it (happening at 5:30 CST TODAY!)

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/5716787637053/WN_-4amck--Ti2SCYrkCIkx3w

-Dina Nash, Justice Team Lead

501-554-2200

From Brooke Eldredge:

Special shout out this week to UUFF's New Beginnings meal provider team! The team works together to provide one meal a month to the residents of New Beginnings NWA - a Bridge Housing Community in Fayetteville. This past weekend, the grateful residents were treated to an enchilada feast, provided by UUFF! Thank you to: Kate Kowalski, Annette Lewis, Joanna Person-Michener, Carol Olson, Susie Schroeder and Diane Vigeant. 

To learn more about this volunteer opportunity, contact Brooke at [email protected].

Calendar of UUFF Events for March 15th - 22nd

TODAY, 03/15 - 6:30pm - Chalice Team Meeting - Zoom

March 18th-27th - Administrator OUT OF OFFICE for vacation (duty coverage info can be found at the beginning of email - just above the Sunday Service section)



Sunday, 03/19 - 9:30am - Sunday Meditation Group - Zoom (Ines sends out link each Saturday evening)

Sunday, 03/19 - 10am - Mindful Discussion (Adult RE) Group - Downstairs Common Room

Sunday, 03/19 - 10am - Children & Youth Religious Exploration Classes - Downstairs

Sunday, 03/19 - 10am - Choir Rehearsal - UUFF Sanctuary

Sunday, 03/19 - 11am - Main Sunday Service - UUFF or remotely via Facebook Live Stream

Monday, 03/20 - 6pm - Sanctuary reserved for closed Covenant Group gathering

Thursday, 03/23 - 10am-NOON - UUFF Grounds Crew returns from winter hiatus!

DISCLAIMER: Please note that any personal views expressed in various articles within the UUFF eNews should be attributed to the individuals and/or teams who submitted the information, and that the views do not necessarily represent those of UUFF as an organization.