May 30, 2023 | Justice Ministry
UU Avl Events
June 4/5 – EAC Book Study: The Green Boat: Reviving Ourselves in Our Capsized Culture, by Mary Pipher. In person Sunday, 9:30-10:45 am, 23 Edwin Parlor; Zoom, Monday 7-8:15 pm (contact Sunita for zoom link sunitapatterson@gmail.com); Section 3: Awareness to Action
June 6 – Justice Ministry Council, Zoom, 4pm. Contact Rev. Claudia for link. faithdev@uuasheville.org
June 16 – Justice Film (TBA) – No films July & August
June 25/26 – EAC Book Study: The Green Boat: Reviving Ourselves in Our Capsized Culture, by Mary Pipher. In person Sunday, 9:30-10:45 am, 23 Edwin Parlor; Zoom, Monday 7-8:15 pm (contact Sunita for zoom link sunitapatterson@gmail.com); Section 4: Resilient Coping
July 9/10 – EAC Book Study: The Green Boat: Reviving Ourselves in Our Capsized Culture, by Mary Pipher. In person Sunday, 9:30-10:45 am, 23 Edwin Parlor; Zoom, Monday 7-8:15 pm (contact Sunita for zoom link sunitapatterson@gmail.com); Section 5: The Transcendent Response
Community Events
June 6th – Learn about income taxes and the decisions that may be made by the NC General Assembly that could impact revenues needed by NC, noon. Sponsored by the NC Budget and Tax Center. Get details and registerhere.
June 12th – 18th – “Juneteenth Celebration” in Asheville. Get details about the events offered here.
June 15th – World Elder Abuse Awareness Day Walk, 5-7 pm, at Carrier Park. Get details here.
June 15th– Leicester Reads Together: Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America’s Overdose Crisisby Beth Macy, at the Leicester Public Library, 6 pm.
June 21-25 – UUA General Assembly, Pittsburgh, PA
June 26th at 7 pm. An opportunity to learn about the Jewish perspective on and origins of North Carolina’s death penalty Please be sure to watch Racist Roots, a 25-minute film (here is the link to watch: https://youtu.be/55mVMDkXheI) created by the Center for Death Penalty Litigation, beforehand and come ready to hear a panel discussion moderated by NCCADP Executive Director Noel Nickle.
July 1 – Day of Outrage TBA Join labor, community and faith organizations for a “Day of Outrage” to protest against the attacks imposed by supermajority in the State Legislature.
October 17th – Save the Date for Pisgah Legal Services’ 13th Annual Justice Forum with Mathew Desmond.
May 30, 2023 | Faith Development
Welcome! Our theme this month is Creativity.
Faith Development Calendar
May 31- Article II Exploration Series, Final session: Exploring the 6 Values; Sanctuary, 6:30-8:00 PM
Please contact Rev. Claudia faithdev@uuasheville.org to register.
June 15 – Facilitator Celebration, 7PM, Sandburg Hall
Spiritual Deepening Groups
Covenant of UU Pagans – CUUPS. Contact: Sherry Lundquist sherry_lundquist@yahoo.com
Buddhist Sanhga – meets 2nd and 4th Tuesdays at 7:30 pm in Sandburg Hall; Contact: Sequoyah Rich sequoyahrich333@gmail.com, or Stef Garvin stef@giftsintogold.com.
Soul Matters Groups – Conversation Groups, UU Writers Group and Creativity Matters group explore monthly themes Sept.- June. New groups form each Sept. Contact: Rev. Claudia faithdev@uuasheville.org
May 28, 2023 | Sermons
Sunday, May 28, 2023 11am
Rev. Cathy Harrington, Interim Lead Minister
“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” These words from Joseph Campbell were particularly meaningful to me as I left my comfortable life and career to enter the unknown and become a minister. Something within us calls us to life, and somehow through the process, we learn to hope and trust.
May 24, 2023 | Weekly Message
Interim Ministry is an important and challenging time for a Congregation. Add the challenges of the COVID pandemic and the unexpected and heartbreaking news of the passing of Rev. Mark Ward and you have a real test of a Congregation and Interim Minister. As we look forward to working with our incoming Lead Minister Rev. Audette, we’d like to highlight the amazing work Rev. Cathy has led during the past 2 years.
Interim Ministry is built around five development tasks or focal point areas: history, religious education program identity, interim leadership changes, Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) linkages, and commitment to the future. Rev. Cathy reminded us that Unitarians have a long history in western North Carolina and Asheville. A Unitarian Fellowship was established in Asheville in 1950, grew into a church in 1962, and then moved into the current Sanctuary in 1972. UU Asheville has had a history of long, healthy relationships with Lead Ministers, a sign of a committed and mature Congregation.
Our religious education program has continued to thrive despite the challenges of COVID. A commitment to Religious Exploration remains a highlight and focus of UU Asheville and was strengthened during Rev. Cathy’s interim term. We continue to have a vibrant RE program with dedicated staff and outstanding, committed volunteers. Of course, the kids continue to be amazing, and we now welcome our little ones and their families into our new “Wee Worship” area in the Sanctuary.
After Linda Topp, our Director of Administration retired, Rev. Cathy worked hard to find the right person, the well qualified Wendy Motch-Ellis. A key leadership role at UU Asheville, the Director of Administration collaborates with many people behind the scenes to make things work.
The UUA’s assistance was instrumental in our successful Ministerial search. Rev. Keith Kron, head of the UUA Transition Office, hosted a well-attended training in beyond categorical thinking to prepare UU Asheville for an inclusive Ministerial search. His office was a key in working with our Ministerial Search Committee to connect with candidates.
With the leadership of Rev. Cathy, the Board worked hard to create our vision for a bright future of fiscal sustainability by establishing our four pillars; Care Connect, Annual Giving Drive, Long-Range Planning, and Legacy Circle. Our community is strong and looks forward to welcoming and working with Rev. Audette. So, as Rev. Cathy’s time with us winds down, please take a moment to personally thank her for a successful Interim Ministry.
The UU AshevilleTransition Team (John Bates, Nancy Bragg, Jensen Gelfond, Julie Ransom, and Buck Schall)
May 24, 2023 | Featured
The Racial Justice Coalition unveiled a new campaign called Reparations Are Due.Our goal is simple: to show that there is broad multiracial support for Reparations in Asheville and Buncombe County.Do you support the local Reparations process? If so, you can show your support by signing our Reparations Are Due Pledge here.We have set a goal to attain 5,000 signatures on this Pledge by July 1 – We hope you and your circles will sign, achieving this goal with us.
Some background:
In 2020, both the City of Asheville and Buncombe County apologized to Black community members for hundreds of years of harm they had caused or allowed. Our local Community Reparations Commission (CRC) has taken up the challenge of defining how the City and County should make amends for these harms. Recognizing just how hard that task was going to be, the RJC went all-in on Every Black Voice, our campaign to ensure that the Commission gets meaningful input from local Black community members to help guide their essential work. Every Black Voice remains our top priority, and we’re now launching a second campaign – The Reparations Are Due Campaign – to demonstrate the depth and breadth of community support for the Reparations process.
We gathered together over a hundred of our supporters last night to outline the rationale and purpose of the campaign and invite them to sign a Pledge of their support. We premiered an exciting new video produced by our teammate sparrow, went through some important local history, and then shared the content of the Pledge. A link to sparrow’s video, highlights from the call, and the full call (along with the Pledge) are all at the Reparations Are Due campaign page, in case you missed this launch event and/or want to share it with friends and fellow supporters. NOTE: This page has various informative videos).
The Community Reparations Commission (CRC) will soon be sending the City Council and County Commission a collection of recommendations. The City and County have affirmed their intention to follow the CRC’s leadership. However, if the CRC’s recommendations are appropriately bold in scope, they’re likely to encounter some resistance. Now is the time to let the CRC and our local government leaders know that this community supports deep and meaningful Reparations. We invite you to check out the Pledge today, and to share it with others so that we can meet our goal of 5,000 signatures by July 1. Together, we can and will continue to build this movement for collective liberation.
In Solidarity,
The RJC Team
