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Sunday Service -
11:00 am
Every Day is Earth Day --
With Rev. Dr. Paula Gable
& Dr. Allan Georgia
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In Memoriam: Pete Spencer
We regret to inform you that Pete Spencer passed away on Friday, February 23rd at the age of 88.
A memorial service for Pete will be held at First U on Saturday, March 3rd at 11:00 am, with a reception in Fellowship Hall to follow.
We ask that you hold Pete's wife, Heidi; their children, John, Amy, and Paul; and their grandchildren and other family members close in your circle of care and concern.
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"Every Day is Earth Day" Lunch and Fun for Everyone...
The Earth Day lunch will follow the March 4th Service. Your UU Ministry for Earth Committee is cooking and baking just for you, and there will be at least one astonishing surprise you won't want to miss...
Other surprises will be discovered in the biomimicry boxes provided by our speaker Lara Roketentez, the Director of the Bath Field Station, University of Akron. Lara is planning some hands-on activities for adults and kids. Don't miss the fun!
We are not taking formal reservations, but if you plan to join us, please let Carol Gibson know at
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Have You Returned Your Pledge Card?
You have a say in how First U spends its money. That's why we present our yearly budget to you in June.
The deadline for returning pledge cards is approaching fast, and only about 1/3 of them have come back to us.
Return your pledge card by March 11th to ensure your gift is factored into the 2018-2019 budget!
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Making Your Pledge Online This Year?
Donating online is now fast and easy using PayPal!
PayPal will open up and ask you how much you'd like to donate. There's an option to "Make this a Monthly Donation" - click the check box and your monthly pledge is set up!
You then have the option to donate via your PayPal account, or use a credit or debit card.
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Multigen Choir This Sunday - March 4th!
Adults, youth and children of all ages are welcome to sing with our
Multigen Choir
during the service on
Sunday, March 4
th
. No singing experience is necessary, and there is no weeknight rehearsal commitment for this group - just come to the sanctuary at 10:00 that morning to be a part of the fun! Mike will teach the group an easy-to-learn song at 10:00, then we'll sing during the service the same morning. All are welcome - see you there!
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March Newsletter- The Unitarian
The March issue of our monthly newsletter, The Unitarian, is out now!
We've recently learned that some people aren't receiving the email version of the newsletter that is sent out separately from this eBlast. If you think you should be receiving that message and are not, please let Erin know via email to
[email protected].
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FDR Partners - Come to the Show!
Our partner school, FDR Prek-8 Academy, has received a great honor. It is one of only 4 schools in Cleveland and Loraine County to win a Disney Grant to perform 3 Disney musicals in 3 years. This first year, FDR is performing the Jungle Book. Students will perform at FDR (we're invited), and then join the 3 other schools to perform at Ohio Theater (families only) in early March.
First U has already given support including costume donations, painting props, and the generous offering, for which FDR is most grateful.
We can also support our partner school by going to the show!
When: Friday, 3/2 at 7:15 pm and Saturday 3/3 at 2:15 pm
Tickets: Adult, $5, children $1
Carpooling From First U on Saturday, 3/3? Please arrive by 1:20 pm. We will leave from the church parking lot at 1:30 pm
.
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Upcoming Community Forums
Join us at 9:30 am in the Worship Center for our next Community Forum.
All are welcome!
March 4th - Sanibel Discussion: Major News and Current Events
Today's issues are overwhelming. Join us for an interactive, engaging "Sanibel Discussion" on the events we're currently experiencing. Moderators will pose questions and ask for responses. Audience members have up to 90 seconds to discuss their opinion and re-focus the discussion on their answers. Over coffee, we'll listen to each other, and confront today's events as we individually experience them....Together.
March 18 - Equifax, Experian, and Others: Hacking, Data Breachesand Personal Security
How can we be proactive and protect personal data?
Massive data breaches are now commonplace. Over 145 million people had their social security number and birth dates stolen via the Equifax hack. Given governmental public records, credit cards, employee information, banks, retail information and credit bureaus, is any data safe?
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March for Our Lives - March 24th
March For Our Lives is created by, inspired by, and led by students across the country who will
no longer risk their lives waiting for someone else to take action to stop the epidemic of mass school shootings that has become all too familiar. In the tragic wake of the seventeen lives brutally cut short in Florida, politicians are telling us that now is not the time to talk about guns. March For Our Lives believes the time is now.
Cleveland, and a number of other cities, are hosting sister marches on the same day.
The Cleveland event will kick off at Public Square at 10:00 am.
Visit the Facebook page for the event here.
Interested in carpooling? Contact Erin Justice!
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Food For Our Minds and Our Spirits
Served fresh by Allan Georiga, DRE!
Sometimes it is hard to tap into our spiritual selves or find time to nurture our intellectual curiosity. So every week I'm going to be pulling together some nourishing materials from around the web and related media channels that can get us thinking, get us feeling, and get us reflecting on the lives we are living in this big, beautiful world. Follow the links below if you want to explore some of these materials!
**Note that while all of the below links are nourishing, some of them may include content intended for a mature audience.
Big Ideas Really Are Everywhere
Back in the early '10's, PBS gave the internet a gift. They allowed a group of passionate intellectuals to develop a space online in which they could ask big, deep, profound questions about popular media: movies, television, the internet, video games, etc. The channel produced almost 600 episodes, nearly all of which engage a topic in a really interesting way, and often with big ideas from theorists or philosophers guiding their path. It is not only a great tool for learning--it was a chance for the internet (as it were) to think critically about itself and about media that doesn't usually get a second look. I tend to be very sympathetic with this point of view. I think that much of what we think of as popular or low forms of media can actually hide some profound and important concepts that we should pay attention to. So, instead of mounting my own case, I share the case put forward by PBS Idea Channel in one of their final episodes: "A Defense of Overthinking Popular Culture." Host Mike Rugnetta offers a compelling case for why we should think a little bit more and a little bit harder about things that seem to be below our notice. You can view the episode here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KY-TGmXQik
Multiculturalism Is Not a Fantasy
Despite the importance of the concept, the use of the term "multiculturalism" is often restricted to pretty abstract discussions. The specifics, the details, the lived realities of a multicultural society are not often conveyed by the term when it is wielded by speakers who only want to give a sense of diversity. Of course, this is also an idea that speaks profoundly to UU ideas about personal dignity, the integrity of community and the importance of living just lives in a world we seek to make more just. In 2015, the extraordinary documentarian Fred Wiseman produced a film about the most diverse neighborhood in the most diverse county in the most diverse city in the country--Jackson Heights, in Queens, New York.
In Jackson Heights
is so frank about the realities faced in diverse communities where cultural differences are worn proudly and confidently, even as Jackson Heights as a neighborhood faces pressures of urban expansion and gentrification. Wiseman's expert perspective conveys a place that is not passively diverse, but actively multicultural. It is an extraordinary reflection on an extraordinary place, from which we all could learn a great deal. The trailer for the film and some clips from it can be seen here:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/jackson-heights/home/
Wangari Maathai
In planning for the service this week, I found myself reading words by Wangari Maathai, an extraordinary Kenyan environmental activist. She won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize partially for her work building the Green Belt Movement, which sits at the intersection of deforestation activism, environmental conservation and women's rights in Africa. What she accomplished before her death in 2011 reads like a CV that makes me, at least, feel like I am WAY behind on making a positive impact on the world. Her example and her wisdom bears importantly on the topics that First Unitarian is thinking about these next few weeks. Maathai was interviewed on the pathbreaking podcast "On Being," by Krista Tippet, which you can listen to here:
https://onbeing.org/programs/wangari-maathai-planting-the-future/
Deep Thoughts in Comic Books
Unless you are completely averse to popular media, you probably have some sense that we as a society have been on a "comic book kick" for a while now. Movies and television have been saturated in superheroes, anti-heroes and villains for a while now. But this isn't a fruitless exercise. I have taught comic books and graphic novels as part of religious education in a number of contexts, and the reason for it is because these stories often prove to be very creative spaces for thinking about what it means to be human, how our actions affect the world, and why it matters how we carry ourselves within it.
The most recent comicbook film,
Black Panther
, showcases precisely how powerful this can be as the film has become a lightning rod for discussions about African identity, power and self-portrayal. The writer of--not the movie--but the current run of
Black Panther
comics is Ta-Nehisi Coates, a public intellectual whose influence and credibility are well documented. Coates just this week announced that he'll be taking on another comic book series that will give him ample opportunity to explore themes that have already appeared in his other work: Captain America. In an essay about taking up this project, Coates writes:
"And Captain America, the embodiment of a kind of Lincolnesque optimism, poses a direct question for me: Why would anyone believe in The Dream? What is exciting here is not some didactic act of putting my words in Captain America's head, but attempting to put Captain America's words in my head. What is exciting is the possibility of exploration, of avoiding the repetition of a voice I've tired of."
The first issue will appear on July 4th this year. Coates' remarkable essay on beginning this project can be found here: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/02/we-who-love-america/553991/
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Lost & Found Closet Clean Up
The lost and found closet is over flowing! Please check to see if your coat or sweatshirt is hanging out in our lost and found. Lost and found is located in the closet at the top of the across from the women's restroom on the 2nd floor. Unclaimed items are donated.
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A Uplifting Dating Update!
Our year of "dating" the UU Society of Cleveland keeps rolling along. From swapping ministers, congregational conversations, and sharing each other's news, we've been working on developing a strong relationship with our Cleveland Heights neighbors. To continue strengthening our bond, First U and the UU Society are sharing monthly social events. We'll take turns hosting - our first event in February will be at the UU Society.
Upcoming Events
Saturday, March 17th at 5:00 pm- St. Patrick's Day Shenangans!
NEW LOCATION - First U in Fellowship Hall
A lot of things will be green - maybe some that shouldn't be!
Join in the fun - bring and share your favorite dishes.
March 31st at 5:00 pm - April Fool's Tricksters Story Telling
at First U in Fellowship Hall
On the eve of April Fool's, enjoy stories of tricksters from the mythology of many cultures.
Oh, and there'll be a potluck dinner too! (No foolin' - there'll be food.)
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Upcoming Adult RE Classes - Winter 2018
Sermon Slam
March 3rd 5:00 - 8:00 pm
Do you have something to say? Ever wanted to try your hand at delivering a Sermon? Do you play music? Write poetry? Sing or Dance? Come support or come share your wisdom, feelings, thoughts or talent tied into to one of our seven principles. You'll have up to four minutes to move us, inspire us, or just entertain us. Bring your instrument, your voice or just your soul. There's a Party Potluck in Fellowship Hall immediately following. All are welcome at this multigenerational experience. Information and sign-up with Caryl Yoo at
[email protected]
.
The Epic of Gilgamesh
,
Saturday, April 14th at 3:00 pm
In this class, we'll explore what is arguably the oldest work of fiction-the epic poem, Gilgamesh, written about 1800 BCE. Gilgamesh poses many, many questions and the fact we are reading Gilgamesh 5,000+ years after it was written raises a few more. Bob Horan facilitates. To register or get more information, call or write Bob at
216-848-1806
;
[email protected]
.
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Celebrating Black History Month with East Cleveland Theatre
The Racism Task Force of First U and the UU Society have organized a joint event on Sunday Feb 18 to see the the 3 pm matinee of
Race at East Cleveland Theatre.
Everyone is invited. Those wishing to car pool should meet at the Cleveland Heights City Hall parking lot @ Severance before 2:30. Please purchase your tickets in advance.
Race and racism ... What lies do we tell each other? What lies do we tell ourselves? Can we find the truth? Or do we become too vulnerable in the process?
February 2nd thru 25th
Fridays & Saturdays @ 8:00 pm,
Sundays @ 3:00 pm
Tickets $12 & $15
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Basecamp, Google and You!
You've probably seen the notice that we are deactivating Basecamp at the end of February and migrating our online file sharing to Google.
Over the next month or so, we're asking everyone who is currently using Basecamp to migrate over to Google. We'll help you get set up in our online network, and show you how to move over your documents and discussions as needed. This is a great time to take a look at what you've been storing and delete any unneeded files.
We understand that there's a learning curve involved with a technology switch and are offering opportunities to learn about using Google to organize your committee's documents and discussions online. The next one is:
Sunday, March 4th at 10:00 am in the Worship Center
We will be scheduling more workshops in March - so watch this space!
If your group is currently using Basecamp, please contact Erin Justice or Cat White to get set up with Google.
Basecamp will be deactivated at the end of February.
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Worship Associate Training Workshop
Many members of the congregation have been appearing in the chancel in recent months as lay service leaders, or Worship Associates. If you are interested in serving the congregation in this interesting, important, and enjoyable way, come to one of the two training sessions that are coming up. You will learn the skills and information you need to be a confident speaker and a skillful assistant in the chancel.
The next Worship Associate Training session is
Thursday, April 26, 2018 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm in the Sanctuary
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2017-2018 Directories Are Here
Our 2017-2018 Church Directory is finished! Printed copies can be picked up from the Welcome Office Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.
If you've never logged in before, you can request credentials on the same page.
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Winter Weather Policy
First U closes whenever Shaker Schools are closed for inclement weather. Please check our Facebook and Twitter pages, or
fox8.com/closings/school-closings/ when the weather outside is frightful.
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