UUCH Chalice
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The Overlook
Unitarian Universalist Church of Huntsville  
June 20th, 2013
Vol. 13 Issue 25
In This Issue
100 a Month!
Why Fair Trade?
Upcoming Services
Sunday in RE
Interweave Potluck
Rocket City Pride!
Mark Your Calendars!
Capital Campaign Update
Wandering Chalices
IMS Invite
Care List
Where Do Your Basket Donations Go? 
bags of food

Huntsville Assistance Program is an interfaith network of Madison County congregations providing volunteers, information, and financial resources to help those in need.  HAP focuses on those who need temporary assistance.  HAP provides not only food boxes but also assistance with rent/ mortgage and utility bills.


The Social Justice Committee's goal is to collect and donate 100 items per month for the food basket!  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).  
A Fair Bargain
Your Social Justice Committee is selling Fair Trade chocolate from Equal Exchange.  There are a variety of yummy flavors, and the proceeds will be used to help fund social justice projects.

  

coffeecup

 

We now also have Fair Trade, Organic, "Kaffeeklatsch"
coffee for sale!  These items will be available at the back of the sanctuary after Sunday services.

 

Remember, Fair Trade products help ensure that:

1) Unjust labor practices, such as child slavery, are not used.

2) Farmers and workers are paid fair wages and have a voice in the organization to which they sell their products.

3) Environmental sustainability is held as an important goal.

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Upcoming Services

UUCH Chalice
Sunday June 23th, 2013
 

"The Flaming Chalice"   

Your Worship Committee

"Today, the flaming chalice is the official symbol of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee and the Unitarian Universalist Association. Officially or unofficially, it functions as a logo for hundreds of congregations. Perhaps most importantly, it has become a focal point for worship. No one meaning or interpretation is official. The flaming chalice, like our faith, stands open to receive new truths that pass the tests of reason, justice, and compassion."      

--from the UUA.org website.  

 

Join us this Sunday as we reflect on this focal point--both the history and the symbolism.

This Sunday in Religious Education

 

Summer RE continues at CAMP UU-BE-LONG:

 

This Sunday, avid aviarists Barbara & Gary Hitt will be telling us all about birds! Learn to recognize calls, and the best ways to see the most birds!

   

Nursery care (ages 0-3) will be provided as usual. For more information, contact Becky Ellingwood, our RE Chair.

Interweave Potluck & Game Night

--This Friday, June 21st!

 

chalice w/rainbow flame UUCH's Interweave is an Outreach Group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) peoples and their friends and allies. On the 3rd Friday of each month, we hold a "Potluck and Game Night" to eat, play, and have a good time in a "safe zone" for the LGBTQ. We hope that our allies will come out and join in the fun so that we have a good mix of LGBTQ and A's participating. Everyone is Welcome.

 

This Month's Potluck/Game night will be held Friday, June 21st, from 6:30-9pm, here at the church.

Contact Denise Runnels or Morgan Justice for more information.

UUCH at Rocket City Pride--This Sunday!

 

rainbow flag This Sunday, June 23rd, from 1 p.m. until 10 p.m. is Huntsville's own Rocket City Pride celebration at the Historic Roundhouse Depot. There will be music, performances, guest speakers, activities for children, a pet area, and much more. Over 50 booths from the community support the event, and your UUCH is one of them! As part of our commitment to being a Welcoming Congregation, we will be at Rocket City Pride with information on how our church is inclusive of everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. We would like to encourage everyone who is willing and able to come out on Sunday to spend some time at our booth to share what UUCH has to offer and to support the community effort that has gone into the planning and execution of these festivities! 

 

If you're interested in marching in the parade behind the UUCH banner, we will begin parade line-up between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. The parade is scheduled to kick off at 5 p.m. If we have enough people there who are interested in staying the duration, we will keep the booth up until the end of the event at 10 p.m.; otherwise, we will take the booth down at the end of the parade. 

 

We hope to see everyone "Standing on the Side of Love" on Sunday (and every day, for that matter!). 

 

For additional information or if you're interested in helping set up, contact Morgan Justice at [email protected] or 256-508-4613.

Important Congregational Meeting   

on Property!

Save the Date--June 30th  

(immediately following the Sunday service)

 

The Property Sales and Purchase Committee, the Renovation Committee, and the UUCH Board have been working diligently to gather information on the Highland United Methodist Church property.  The inspection has been completed, estimates on repairs are being gathered, the Capital Campaign Wrap-up information is becoming available, and assessments of financial feasibility are being analyzed.  We have many teams with information to share with the congregation.  It is now time to share these details, and to involve the congregation again in important discussions.

 

Please mark your calendars now for an important date for the UUCH congregation:

 

June 30th there will be a Town Hall Meeting.  At this meeting updates on the property inspections, estimates of renovations and repairs, and financial assessments of the purchase and operation of the property will be presented.  This will be an information-packed meeting, and you will want to come participate in the discussion.   No vote will be taken, but it will be an important information-sharing meeting, and there will be time for questions and comments from the members.  It is important that we are all well informed when we make our final decision on this property.  This is the time to gather the information you need.

 

There will also be additional chances for people to visit the property if you haven't been or if you want to visit again.  Time and dates of these visits will be announced when they are scheduled.

 

Please plan on attending this meeting if possible. It will occur immediately after Sunday services and child-care will be provided.

Capital Campaign Update and Reminder

 

Many Thanks to those of you who have returned your pledge forms! I'm delighted to announce that between new pledges and increased pledges, we have raised upwards of an additional $61,000 toward the Capital Campaign!

 

ModChalice It's been exciting to see the congregation's enthusiasm over the possibility of moving--many people have also committed to paying the remainder of their pledges early, to make sure we would have the cash on hand for a closing if the congregation decides to purchase the Highland Methodist United Church property.  

 

It is not too late to be a part of the excitement if you have not already pledged to the Capital Campaign.  When we finally move into a new building with opportunities for new programs and growth, you will want to know that you helped make it all happen.  You will have made a home for future generations of UUs in North Alabama.  So no matter how small or large your gift, join us in this campaign. 

 

It's critical that we know exactly what gifts people are able to provide as we move forward with considering what the right property is for us.  Important decisions need to be made.  The Capital Campaign gift amounts will determine how much we have to borrow--which, obviously, affects the mortgage payments we plan for. The more we can raise, the more we can repair and renovate in order to make a new church home we can enjoy.  Many committees are working to pull together those numbers so that the Board can make a recommendation to the congregation for our vote. Your gifts and your information are essential pieces of the puzzle!

 

If you're making a new pledge or increasing a pledge, or even if you are making no change in your arrangements, if you've not already done so PLEASE return your Commitment forms to the Church. If your situation has changed and you cannot complete your planned gift, we understand--but we need to know, so our numbers will be accurate. If you're waiting to see what we'll decide, so be it--but let us know what you're thinking. Toss the form into the box at the back of the sanctuary, mail it to the church--either is fine.  Even a "no change planned" is useful information as we move forward--and how delightful it would be to announce a bigger number of Capital Campaign pledges at our next congregational meeting!

 

Laurel Bollinger

Chair, Capital Campaign Wrap-up

Wandering Chalices!

Wonderful Wandering Chalices
were created again this year! We look forward to seeing where they pop up this summer--you never know where UUs will be!

Interfaith Mission Service

Annual Celebration and Awards Dinner

Next Monday, June 24th, 5:30-8:00pm

UAHuntsville University Center Exhibit Hall

 

Keynote Speaker: Wendi C. Thomas, founder of Common Ground: Conversations on Race, Communities in Action, in her hometown of Memphis TN.

 

This IMS banquet will also recognize community leaders and volunteers who lead efforts to promote religious tolerance, social justice, and racial harmony and who care for the more vulnerable in North Alabama.

 

Tickets and registration for this event are available by calling the IMS office at 256.536.2401, or online at www.interfaithmissionservice.org

votives Care List 

 

In our Circle of Candles on June 16th, requests for candles came from: 

 

Kathy Fisher, who asked "Please be lifting up Rose Deverzley in your thoughts & prayers as her dad gets stabilized before having a pace maker implanted."

 

Former UUCH members Judy & Marc Stettner, who said "Happy to be back for a visit and to see so many new faces along with our old friends.  We bring greetings from Tree of Life UU Congregation in Illinois."

   

When you fill out a Circle of Candles form to be read during the service, please indicate on the form if you do not want your concern mentioned in this newsletter.   

 

If you have pastoral care needs, please contact the Reverend Alice Syltie at [email protected]

UUCH 12-13 Board Members
President: Kevin Betts     

V.P.  Denise Hunter-Gilbert 

Secretary: Bobby Hall           

Treasurer: Matt Jordan  

Trustees: Jerome Belcher, Nancy Finley, & Kathy Heath 

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 Kevin Betts, no later than one week prior to the meeting, i.e. the Tuesday before.You may leave a copy of your request in his Mailbox at the church office, or contact him at

Next UUCH Board Meeting will be on July 2nd, 2013 at 7pm. Thanks for your cooperation!

From the Overlook is a publication of

The Unitarian Universalist Church,

2222 Governor's Dr. Huntsville, AL 35801

Minister: The Reverend Alice Syltie

Board Pres: Kevin Betts 

 

Editorial Board: Laurel Bollinger, Kathy Heath 

Newsletter deadlines are each Monday at midnight!
Please send submissions to news collator Deedee Moore at
[email protected]  

 

Admin. Office Hours:  

Monday 9am- 1pm; Thursday 9am-12pm ; Friday 10:30am-2pm     

Office phone: 256.534-0508, email: [email protected] 

Minister's Phone: 256.539-9607, email: [email protected]

Web: www.uuch.org 

 

Sunday Services are held 10:45am to 12 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.