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The Overlook

Unitarian Universalist Church of Huntsville
3921 Broadmor Rd, Huntsville AL 35810

November 20th, 2014

Vol. 14 Issue 50

In This Issue

Basket in the Foyer

Temporary Phone Number

No Interweave Potluck

Service Auction Success!

Care List

We CAN

Reach 100!

The Social Justice Committee's goal is to collect and donate 100 items per month. 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).

HAP 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.

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Correction! Temporary phone number!

Our old phone number (256.534.0508) is going to be moved to the new building within the next week or so. You may leave messages on the number above, or call the temporary office number 256.801.9316 (not "9315") between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday to reach Deedee Moore, our Administrative Assistant.

INTERWEAVE Potlucks on Hiatus

Our Interweave group is planning events for the spring, and is suspending the monthly "Potluck and Game Night" for now. Please watch the newsletter for upcoming Interweave events!

Hot Chocolate on a Cold Day!

Your Social Justice Committee is once again selling Fair Trade chocolate varieties from Equal Exchange, including Cocoa powder! Proceeds are used for social justice projects, and our congregation's purchase of Equal Exchange products supports UUSC.

We also have Fair Trade, Organic, "Kaffeeklatsch" coffee for sale! These items will be available in the Fellowship Hall after Sunday services.

Quick Links...

UUCH Calendar
UUCH Website

UUA Website

Mid-South District

Upcoming Services

Sunday, November 23rd, 2014

"Thanksgiving Bread

Communion Service"

The Reverend Alice Syltie

As we settle into our new church home, we will experiment with ways to accommodate familiar ceremonies in a new space. This Sunday we will celebrate our traditional Thanksgiving Bread Communion, introduced to many Unitarian Universalist congregations by members of Eliot Chapel in Missouri, where it was first celebrated in 1976.

This is a multigenerational service and you are invited to bring a loaf of bread, or a basket of bread in bite sized pieces, to share with the congregation. Our favorite breads usually have a story. If the bread you bring has significance to your own family, or to your ethnic, cultural or religious heritage, you are invited to share that story during the service. If you bring bread that is gluten free, vegan, etc. you may wish to label that, for those who have special dietary considerations.

This Sunday in RE

Children will remain in the sanctuary with their families to participate in our multigenerational Bread Communion.

A very important note on safety at the new church:

Remember that your first stop on Sunday morning is to check-in at the RE Welcome Area in the foyer and pick up a nametag. The grounds are large, and we ask as always that children be in parents' or guardians' supervision at all times, especially on the playground.

If you haven't already, please register your children and youth online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WS8LDNP and check out our family agreements commitment. Thank you!

Nursery care (ages 0-3) will be provided as usual. For more information, contact Erin Reid, our Director of Religious Education (DRE) (256.694.6786 or eereid@hotmail.com).

From Your Minister

We did it. We moved! Years of dreaming and scheming and it actually happened! Amidst the worry, frustration, and hard work, we also found joy and celebration. This is definitely the way of life. It is the way of Grace, similar to the way we heard Amanda Schuber talk about it in her sermon last Sunday. The theme for November is Grace, and the question to consider is "what does it mean to be a people of grace?"

A member told me Sunday that she was able to sing "Amazing Grace" with a new appreciation, after hearing what Amanda had to say. Unitarian Universalists are beginning to take a new look at many of the words we have either rejected or ignored for several decades. An entire generation of UUs has probably grown up not even knowing about common theological concepts like Grace.

Reclaiming and understanding language from the liberal religious perspective of Unitarian Universalism has the power to open us to richer and deeper experiences, as we journey through this life. Sometimes these understandings are life saving.

Grace is often described as encountering a gift that we didn't expect, earn, create, or even deserve. And how often do we truly pay attention to those gifts? Might our lives be a touch richer if we practiced noticing and appreciating the inexplicable joys and moments of delight as they come our way? Perhaps the hard times wouldn't be nearly as difficult if we had a store of happy memories from which to draw. And perhaps our day-to-day existence would be brightened by an intentional awareness of moments of grace as they happen.

This month we are invited to ask ourselves what we need to do to open ourselves to the unexpected gifts of the universe. What is your "grace work?" Keeping your eyes and ears open? Letting go of something? Trusting more? Accepting what comes your way? Or perhaps it is finding a way to make someone else happy. Or offering forgiveness, even when you don't believe it is deserved.

As the time of giving thanks draws near, I'll be thinking of all the things I am thankful for. How about you?

Help Brighten Christmas For Local Teenagers!

Make a Donation for Gifts to be Given through the Alabama Hispanic Association

This Sunday, Nov. 23rd, you have another opportunity to help! Your Social Justice Committee will again be collecting money to buy gifts for teenagers in need. UUCH is partnering with the Alabama Hispanic Association (AHA) to bring Christmas cheer to some of the poorest in our community. Youth from our RE program will shop for the gifts.

The date has changed--come meet our friends! On December 13th, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., the AHA will have its annual Christmas party in our Fellowship Hall. Our gifts for the teenagers along with other gifts for the younger children will be distributed then. UUCH members and friends are encouraged to attend the party--it will be a great opportunity to get to know the AHA and their work!!

What is the Alabama Hispanic Association?

The AHA reaches out to help meet needs in Madison County's Hispanic community through education and support. AHA made its home in the Highlands United Methodist Church building, which is now our new UUCH facility at Broadmor! We are happy to continue partnering with the AHA as we move into our new church home.

Bountiful Bash Brought in the Bounty!

The 2014 Bountiful Bash at Broadmor was a huge success--the church netted well over $12,000! Thanks so much to everyone who participated from the volunteers to the donors to the bidders.

Special thanks go to Todd Hunter-Gilbert for leading it and emceeing; Alice Dilbeck for auctioneering; Audrey Fox for spearheading the food situation (and to the volunteers who brought the goodies); the Finance

Committee--Steve Herold, Pam Korb, Jerome Belcher, and Eleanor Schweinsberg--for investing many hours in planning the event; Tim Miller for setting up the sound system; John Schweinsberg for tending bar; Nick Wilbourn and Ryan Wittig for working the registration desk; Bobby Hall and Denise Runnels for identifying the bidders by number; Sage Betts, Sarah Korb, Quinn Hunter-Gilbert, and Matthew Bollinger for running the items up and down the aisles; Tom Meier for setting up the bar; Tonia Betts for arranging child care; Jo Broussard for beautifully decorating the tables; Erin Reid for producing an eye-catching logo; and to the three delightfully competent cashiers Greg Howard, Betsy Applegate, and David Bollinger for making the process all go smoothly.

Great Services and Items Still Available....

For those of you who missed out on the evening of fun and laughter, you still have an opportunity to participate in the fundraiser in a different way. Please click here to view the items and services that are still available for sale. If you see something that interests you, please contact Todd Hunter-Gilbert at penguin@swcp.com.

Care List

At our Circle of Candles on Sunday, Nov. 16th, candles were lit for:

A Candle of Concern for Becky Ellingwood who suffered a hemorrhagic stroke on Nov.13th. She is in the ICU in critical but stable condition and showing improvement every day. Please keep Becky, Nancy, and Abby in your thoughts and prayers. You can get online updates and leave messages of encouragement on the Caring Bridge website for Becky. The URL is www.caringbridge.org/visit/beckyellingwood/journal or you can go directly to caringbridge.org and search for Becky's name. You can also click on the Guestbook link to leave a message.

Amanda Schuber and Wanda Snoddy, A Candle of Joy: "Our youngest, Brayden turned 2 this past Thursday."

Michael and Claudia Carson, A Candle of Joy: "This Thanksgiving we will be thankful to have family visiting us from Florida and New Jersey. We will also be thankful that we are now expecting a new addition due in late spring!"

Bonnie Herold, A Candle of Joy: "Happy birthday to my dear husband. He turned 60 today!"

Heather Kyemba, A Candle of Joy: "My mother, Sue Copley, is visiting us this weekend from New Hampshire. Sophia and Torin love to see Grandma."

Audrey Fox, A Candle of Joy: "I want to thank all the volunteers who helped provide such a bounty of food at the service auction last night. From set up to clean up many people helped make that aspect of the night run smoothly and enjoyably."

Audrey Fox, A Candle of Sorrow: "I am having to quit taking my current MS medicine due to a negative side effect of lowering my white blood cell count. Hopefully in about a month I will be able to start a new medicine."

If you have pastoral care needs, please contact the Reverend Alice Syltie at revaluu@aol.com . Barbara Hitt is Chair of the Care Committee, and may be reached at home, (256) 881.2531; on her cell, (256) 348.5845; or by email at bghitt1@comcast.net.

UUCH 14-15 Board Members

President: Denise Hunter-Gilbert

Vice-President: Angel Hundley

Secretary: Bobby Hall

Treasurer: Jerome Belcher

Trustees: Becky Ellingwood, John Fox, & Laurel Bollinger

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 Denise Hunter-Gilbert, no later than one week prior to the meeting, i.e. the Tuesday before. You may leave a copy of your request in her Mailbox at the church office, or contact her at UUCHBoardPresident@uuch.org.

Notice: Next UUCH Board Meeting will be on Thursday, December 4th, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.
Thanks for your cooperation!

From the Overlook is a publication of

The Unitarian Universalist Church,

3921 Broadmor Rd. Huntsville, AL 35810

Minister: The Reverend Alice Syltie

Board President: Denise Hunter-Gilbert

Editorial Board: Laurel Bollinger, Kathy Heath

Newsletter deadlines are each Monday at midnight!
Please send submissions to news collator Deedee Moore at uuch@uuch.org.

Admin. Office Hours: 10:00a.m. to 4:00p.m. Mon-Tue-Thu-Fri.

For Wednesday access, please call in advance.

Office phone: 256.534-0508, email: uuch@uuch.org.

Minister's Phone: 256.539-9607, email: revaluu@aol.com.

Web: www.uuch.org

Sunday Services are held 10:45 a.m. to 12:00 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.