Well, here’s a blog during the week of Thanksgiving, following a wildly successful Meet the Moment fund drive, in a month whose theme is gratitude. What to write about? Oh right, being thankful. I thought about making this blog like a game of Taboo, where I tell you I’m thankful but I’m not allowed to use the words thanks, thankful, grateful, gratitude, appreciation, Thanksgiving, happy, or turkey. That’s a fun game. Probably would be a short blog though. Here’s what I do want to say. Thanks!!!
When we were starting the Meet the Moment campaign, a challenge was put forth that resonated with me. Are we a congregation with a consumer mentality or a service mentality? Do we give of our time, talent, and treasure with the expectation that we will receive something in return, or because we think we have to? Or are we able to give of those things with only a motive of nurturing the congregation that nurtures us? Can we find spiritual fulfillment in the act of giving and serving, rather than it being a means to an end? It reminded me that in giving and serving, we build a community that is welcoming, nurturing, and supportive, and we build our own spiritual selves in the process.
Here we are, the campaign is over, and the Moment Hath been Met-eth. To me, this is a moment to be grateful for and to celebrate our UU community. We met the moment, and we are thankful for those who were able to give. What better example of being in community with one another? And we even found support from folks who aren’t members; what a testament.
During the campaign, I was personally moved by the testimonials from several members. They painted the picture of who we are. My family has only been a part of this church for about 5 years. Not sure what that equates to in UU years…But we feel at home. And this place is special. I can only think that when we go searching for our called minister, we are going to find a lot of folks lined up at the door, for a chance to be part of what we have going on.
We have a thriving RE program. We have a continuous crop of young minds to nurture, with lots of water, sunlight, and educational fertilizer so we can put more good people out into the world who can find ways to help and serve others. I’ve got 2 kiddos in RE, and if I am being honest, I am learning from them as they go, and as they grow. We have a resurgence of engagement and the halls are full again. And the Auction was a blast! Several folks took Margaret McAllister’s advice to ‘leave your dignity at home and went all out with their attire. If you haven’t seen the pictures yet….seek them out.
Most of all, I am most grateful for the work that lies ahead with the 8th principle – accountably dismantling racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions. This one really has me thinking. Remember the thing about building our own spiritual selves through giving and service? I feel the paradigm shift coming, and recognize that through it I will become less comfortable. Which I embrace. It’s impossible not to grow spiritually when working on myself and the institutions I am a part of. I have been thinking a lot about the paradox between our UU values, and the lack of diversity in our UU community. For reasons I truly want to understand, non-white people do not generally see UU Asheville as part of their spiritual home or community. Beloved Community is a phrase now used to mean when people of diverse racial, ethnic, educational, socio-economic status, gender, abilities, sexual orientation, and various identities come together in an interdependent relationship of love, mutual respect, and care that seeks to realize justice within the community and in the broader world. The 8th Principle endeavors for Beloved Community. I am thankful that our church is on this journey, and I am ready to get to work.
Saturday, March 28, 10am-2pm. Join us for “Get Out The Vote.” We will gather at the YWCA for a 30-minute training from Savannah Gibson, our Racial Justice Advocate, then go out in teams to canvass door-to-door to REGISTER VOTERS.” FMI, contact Savannah Gibson.
Ongoing – MANNA is partnering with Democracy NC to do voter registration/outreach at their food pantries. Volunteers needed who can commit to regularly going weekly/bi-monthly to a food pantry to build relationships. One site in particular has a need for volunteers who speak Spanish, Russian, and/or Ukrainian. Days/times needed: Downtown Welcome Table (Wed 10am-1pm); Bethel SDA (9am-12pm); Downtown Transit Ctr; Hopey; V.A. Hosp (Thurs at 10 am). Interested folks contact Edward Peters: edwardpeters@democracy-nc.org
More information about these at the Justice Ministry table or at bit.ly/UUtheVote
If you’re looking for an educational opportunity, don’t miss this powerful opportunity to learn about the voting rights struggle of the 1960s directly from the people who lived it. On March 16-20, 2020 join the UU Living Legacy Pilgrimage from Memphis to Selma. This five-day pilgrimage, designed for people ages twelve (12) and over, focuses on exploring sacred American Civil Rights Movement sites in Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee through a multigenerational lens.
Yes indeedy! The Auction Committee ROCKS! And so do you!
The Committee did a fabulous job of keeping expenses low (this fancy new venue at AB Tech actually cost less than our previous venue) and you did a great job of donating services and “things to do” that people wanted to buy. That terrific combination resulted in a record-shattering net income of about $36,000, $5,000 above last year’s record-breaker.
Extreme thanks go to chair Tory Schmitz, her inner circle of Ann McLellan, Margaret McAlister, Sally Witkamp, Jim Gamble, Judy Galloway, Deb Holden, and Judith Kaufman, special food experts Robin Loew and Karen Morris, and what seems like a cast of thousands that provided support in various ways from bartending to greeting, from soliciting business donations to contributing things we can sell, from buying balloons to setting up the room, from playing in the band to handling the A/V duties. (Seriously, I can’t name everyone, and I already apologize if I missed someone I shouldn’t have!)
LED bulbs are now the way to go for energy-efficient lighting. If you have any incandescent bulbs, go ahead and replace them now. If you have compact fluorescent bulbs, wait till they burn out to replace them. LED bulbs are super cheap (less than a dollar) at Habitat ReStore and close to that at certain other stores, including Ace Hardware, Home Depot, Walmart, Lowes and Goodwill.
Ta-da! This new website has just gone “live.” We’re sort of doing a soft opening so we can work out kinks before the big grand opening. However, it IS the only website we have so anyone that looks us up for whatever reason from now on ends up here.
Here are a few things you can do to help out: Pretend you are a person using the internet to scout us out before attending. Can you find out what you want to know? Tell us all about it!
How hard was it to find answers to these questions? If it was hard, was it important to find it? Tell me anything that you think we should know about the site. (This is not a test–I know the answers so no need to report them back. The point is if you wanted to find the answer, could you?)
I am running an event that will be collecting money. How do I do that?
I have a 5-year old. What’s the Sunday School like? What do we do when we get to UUCA for the first time?
Do you have a choir? How do I audition?
Who can be interred in the Memorial Garden? How can I make it happen?
I need to get on Realm.
I am looking to rent a room for a meeting. Do you rent rooms?
Are there any adult faith development classes coming up?
What does the ECC do?
What’s this month’s theme?
I want to make a donation.
I want to nominate a group for our Community Plate. How do I do that?
I need to know who is on the RE Council. Where do I look?
Who’s in the pulpit this week?
I missed last week’s sermon. Can I find it online?
I want to re-read the description of the thing I bought at the Auction. Can I do that?
Well, that’s enough for now. Send me your results, comments, thoughts, etc. Be kind, though, because we DID try hard to get things right.
Well, here’s a blog during the week of Thanksgiving, following a wildly successful Meet the Moment fund drive, in a month whose theme is gratitude. What to write about? Oh right, being thankful. I thought about making this blog like a game of Taboo, where I tell you I’m thankful but I’m not allowed to use the words thanks, thankful, grateful, gratitude, appreciation, Thanksgiving, happy, or turkey. That’s a fun game. Probably would be a short blog though. Here’s what I do want to say. Thanks!!!
