This Sunday,
May 3rd, is a
Sharing Sunday!
On the first Sunday of each month, we
Share the Plate* during the offering,
Share our Lunch with each other during Potluck and
Share our Bounty by filling the Food Basket!
Please don't forget to bring non-perishable food and hygiene items for the food basket, to be donated to the Huntsville Assistance Program.
All donations are welcome and appreciated!
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Wednesday Night Childcare!Childcare is now being offered at our Wednesday evening church programs: choir, chalice circle, and Adult RE programs. If you have any questions, please contact our Director of Religious Education, Erin Reid, at eereid@hotmail.com or 256-694-6786.
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Upcoming Services
Sunday, May 3rd, 2015
"Why Bad Things Happen to Good People"
The Reverend Alice Syltie
This extremely difficult subject was chosen by Jo Broussard, when she placed the highest bid for the sermon topic at a UUCH Service Auction. Our human desire to make meaning of what befalls us is the realm of most religious philosophy. When bad things happen to good people, we want to know why. While I can't promise each of you a satisfactory answer to this question, I will promise a look at the ways people try to make meaning of the events in their lives, including how Unitarian Universalists might approach this question.
This Sunday we Share the Plate with the UU Service Committee. For more about the UUSC, please see the article below.
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This Sunday in RE
Peace Room
Chalice Children: "The Wonder of Weather"
The Justice Room, Searchers Room, and Over-Achievers Room will be preparing for RE Appreciation Day, which will be held on the following Sunday, May 10th.
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).
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Adult RE's "UU Parenting" Continues This Sunday Afternoon, May 3rd
 Join Adult RE as we discuss how we can use Unitarian Universalist principles in our caregiving of children. Following the curriculum, "Parents as Spiritual Guides," we recognize there are many definitions and interpretations of the word "spiritual." Authors Bobbie and Chris Nelson encourage us, in the company of other seekers, to honor, enrich, and enhance our own spiritual growth. As our spiritual life grows and expands, it challenges and nurtures us. Our task is to open ourselves to what is happening and share it with our children. Based on the belief that children's religious education should not be restricted to Sunday school, this program brings spiritual growth into the home, where the communion and rituals of family life can support the "dynamic process of faith development."
Everyone is welcome--parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, friends--all those who care for the spiritual growth of children. You do not need to have attended the first session to benefit from this last one. The class is this Sunday, May 3rd at 12:15 p.m., in the Adult RE Room, with Rev. Alice Syltie and Janet Vignaroli facilitating. Childcare and pizza will be provided for the children while the adults are meeting.
If you believe that you might attend, please contact Nancy Finley at finleyn@uah.edu so we can make preparations. Hope to see you there!
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Adult RE, Monday, May 4th:
Exploring SoulCollage®!
 Don't really understand what SoulCollage® is all about? Well, it is similar to Unitarian Universalism in that it is "about" many things to many people. For some, it is an easy way for the less artistically talented to create something very personal and beautiful, to enjoy some small part of the feeling talented artists feel when they create. Some simply enjoy the intimate community in which we create our cards. Still others just find the process "plain ole fun." Overall it is a way of creatively expressing components of ourselves, a visual reminder that each of us comprises complexity!
Join us Monday, May 4th in the Fellowship Hall, as we continue to explore Seena B. Frost's SoulCollage® process, beginning (or continuing) to build our deck of cards. We will begin at 6:30 p.m. and go until 8:30 p.m. Join us!
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Habitat for Humanity Work Day
 UUCH will have a volunteer day with Habitat on Saturday, May 9th from 8:00 a.m. until noon(ish). No special skills required (other than being 18 years old!) More details will be available later. Please let Tonia Betts know if you plan to attend at (256) 882-9891. Hope to see you there!
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Property Work Days Coming Up!
Our church facilities need your help! We will be holding a property work day at our old facility on Governor's Drive on Saturday, May 16th from 9:00 a.m. to noon. There will be indoor and outdoor projects available for all ages and abilities. Please bring work gloves, loppers, clippers, rakes, cleaning supplies, and an eagerness to spruce up our beloved old place so we can get it sold!
 We will also be holding a property work day at our Broadmor facility in June (tentatively scheduled for June 6th). Stay tuned for more details in a future newsletter.
We look forward to seeing you at one or both of our upcoming work days!
George Fletcher and Brad Korb
Property Committee Co-Chairs
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UU Yard Sale: Unqualified Success!
 Thanks so much to everyone who participated in this year's yard sale--from those who donated goods (and goodies) to those who bought and sold.
Deciding to open the sale on Friday turned out to be a good decision, but I couldn't have done it without a great deal of flexibility on the part of my volunteers. The sun was on our side, and we attracted lots of customers, including many neighbors. (They all appreciated the free cookies!)
And, against all odds, the rain held off on Saturday so we had another good day sales-wise. It truly takes a village to sell more than $1900 worth of 50 cent items!
Thanks so much!
Bonnie Herold, Yard Sale Chair
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We Share the Plate* with the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
 Water is essential to human life. Yet, almost three-quarters of a billion people around the world lack clean drinking water. The United Nations has reported that more people now die from contaminated water than from all forms of violence.
UUSC defends and promotes the human right to water by working with grassroots groups and activists to push for new laws, challenge violations, and create new models for implementation.
UUSC collaborates with innovative groups who are protecting water resources and increasing access to services in law and practice. Recognizing that too many people are denied the human right to water because of discriminatory policies and procedures, UUSC puts special focus on working with people in the following populations:
- Rural communities and low-income urban residents
- Indigenous people
- People of color, women, children, and people living with disabilities
Access to water shouldn't depend on your race or bank account. UUSC envisions a sustainable future in which all people have access to water for basic human needs and water supplies are safe from industrial contamination, overextraction, and climate change.
For more on the UUSC's Safe Water project, go to http://www.uusc.org/campaigns/the-human-right-to-water.
*When we "Share the Plate," all cash collected on the first Sunday of each month in the quarter (April, May, and June), along with any checks noted as "Share the Plate," will be halved with the UU Service Committee.
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 Care List
At our Circle of Candles on Sunday, April 26th, candles were lit for:
Amanda Schuber, a candle of sorrow and joy: "In remembrance of the April 27, 2011, storms that ravaged Alabama and took my mother's home in Tuscaloosa. It was a terrible time of loss for the state, but a joy because neighbors and strangers alike came together to help in those painful days. Compassion in action continues to renew my heart."
The Betts Family, a candle of joy: "Happy 7th birthday to Rose today!"
LaDawn Edwards, a candle of sorrow and joy: "Last week I was touched by tragedy when a new neighbor took her own life. At choir that night, I shared the information with a couple of friends and afterwards came into the sanctuary to light a candle, the only thing I could do for the troubled young woman I had spoken to twice. Her roommate and boyfriend didn't see this coming, so she must have been very experienced at hiding her pain. It is my joy that I have a community to turn to with my sadness, a ritual that brings me comfort and, if needed, a support system when life is too hard to bear. That's what I wish for everyone, and why I keep telling people about my wonderful church."
Jack Long, a candle of concern: "Please light a candle to say that Echo is going to Vanderbilt this Wednesday for treatment for her pancreatic cancer."
Echo Long, a candle of joy: "Please light a candle of thanks to all who are doing good deeds for me, as well as praying and thinking of me."
Bonnie Herold, a candle of thanks: "Thanks to the many helpers who participated in making this year's yard sale a big success. The bottom line is ... the church is $1,900 richer!"
Brad and Pam Korb, a candle of joy: "A big thank you to Bonnie Herold for coordinating a very successful yard sale."
Barbara Hitt, a candle of joy: "A candle of immense gratitude for human dynamo, Bonnie Herold, who worked day after day with unflagging enthusiasm and energy to organize and run the very successful UUCH yard sale. Thanks, Bonnie!"
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.
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UUCH 14-15 Board Members
President: Denise Hunter-Gilbert
Vice-President: Angel Hundley
Secretary: Bobby Hall
Treasurer: Jerome Belcher
Trustees: Millicent Simmons, 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.
The next UUCH Board Meeting will be held Tuesday, May 26th, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. Thanks for your cooperation!
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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 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.
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