The Overlook

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

December 24th, 2015

Vol. 15 Issue 52

In This Issue

The Giving Season

A Word to Our Sponsors

Hospitality Helper?

UUA Common Read

Upcoming Services

This Sunday in RE

Sunday Brunch Jan. 3rd

Chili Cook-off!

Circle Supper in January

R U UU?

Anne's Last Book

Care List

Food Basket!

It's the holiday season, and we're all busy, but while you are rushing around,

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!

Let's Thank Them!
As you wind up your holiday shopping, please remember to support and thank our Service Auction business sponsors:

Pizzelle's Confections, Kaffeeklatsch,
and Connie Ulrich Design!

Hospitality Helpers!
Here's an easy way to become more involved in your service at UUCH. You can be a Hospitality Helper! One way Hospitality Helpers participate is to sign up for a monthly First Sunday Potluck to work with Hospitality Committee members on the Potluck after church service. Call or email Hospitality Chair Betsy Applegate if you'd like to help!

Coming in January: Let's Read This Book Together

The UUA's 2015-2016 Common Read is Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. Author Bryan Stevenson advocates for those wrongfully trapped by the U.S. criminal justice system. UUCH Adult RE will host a book study on this in January, but you can order the book now from the UUA Bookstore!
ARE also has a few copies to lend: See Nancy Finley (finleyn@uah.edu) for details. For more about the Common Read program, see the website.

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UUCH Calendar
UUCH Website

UUA Website

Mid-South District

Upcoming Services

Sunday, December 27th, 2015

"Welcoming Winter"

The Reverend Alice Syltie and Angel Hundley

Although the daylight hours will be increasing, the winter season has just begun. Warm yourselves in the glow of candle light and the reflective, meditative tradition of prayerful song, in the spirit of Taize. Influenced by his grandmother's tales of helping refugees during the First World War, Brother Roger developed the Taize community of France around his own commitment to sheltering political refugees, including Jews fleeing Nazi persecution. Today, faith communities around the world, including many Unitarian Universalist congregations, include Taize services as a regular part of their worship life.

This Sunday in RE

GAME DAY! Bring a game from home or enjoy church favorites!

Childcare (infant to 3 years old) will be offered as usual in the Nursery.

Questions about Religious Education at UUCH may be directed to Erin Reid, our Director of Religious Education (DRE) (256.694.6786 or eereid@hotmail.com) or Jessica Zelaya, RE Chair (256.322.2210 or asuriai@yahoo.com). Register online for the UUCH Children and Youth RE Program at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WS8LDNP.

Sunday "Brunch" Potluck, January 3rd!

Please join us for a specially themed potluck/brunch on Sunday, January 3rd to help ring in the New Year! Hospitality Helper Tom Meier will be flipping flapjacks along with Hospitality Helpers Shelia and Kim Burrows. Join the fun and bring your favorite breakfast or brunch dishes. We'll brunch after the morning church service, as always.

A Chili Cook-off Hot Time!

The 2016 UUCH Annual Chili Cook-off will be held on January 16th! Doors open at 5:00 p.m. and judging begins at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 each for those 12 and older; Children 3-11 are $3 each, with a family cap of $15. Admission is free for Chili Cooks! Advance ticket purchase isn't necessary.

We are looking for volunteers to provide side dishes, chili accoutrements (cheese, sour cream, crackers), salads, cornbread or rolls, and desserts. Please sign up via this website (http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c044ea9a62aa3fd0-2016) or the poster located in the Fellowship Hall.

Contestants vying for the Chili Crown should also preregister (via the website or poster) prior to the event.

Open mike entertainment is an important part of the evening! Contact Vanessa Miller Mantis (vanessa.mantis@me.com or 256.585.0260) if you'd like to be part of the show!

Mark Your Calendar for Circle Suppers!

Circle Suppers are informal potluck dinners held in hosts homes--just for fun! It's a great way to get to know your church friends a little better. So we'll be coordinating a round of Circle Suppers to be held around the end of January, from January 28th til February 1st. Please look for the sign up sheets, coming soon!

--Betsy Applegate, Hospitality Chair

Are You Ready to Become a Member?

If you've been attending UUCH long enough to know that this church community feels like your spiritual home, you may be ready to take the next step and become a member. We will welcome new members during a Sunday service in late January as they "sign the book" and officially join our church.

If you are ready to become a member or would like to find out more about the process, please contact Pam Korb (membership chair) at bradkorb@mindspring.com.

Rights and Responsibilities of Membership

Because we are a democratic community, members are collectively vested with responsibility for the congregation. Members may vote at all congregational meetings, be elected to the governing Board, be appointed as committee chairs, and participate in all activities of the congregation.

Because we are a covenanted congregation, members have certain responsibilities to the congregation and to each other. These responsibilities are best fulfilled by:

Regular attendance at worship. Weekly worship cements the bonds of community, and keeps our attention directed to our highest values, while nurturing our spirits.

Voting at congregational meetings. Responsible participation includes imagining the needs of the entire congregation, rather than focusing only on one's own needs or desires. Consider how issues affect all members of the congregation, as well as potential members and others in the world outside the congregation.

Making financial contributions. Not only does this provide for the support of the congregation, but it also serves as a spiritual discipline.

Contributing time and talent. Congregations succeed because their members find ways to give of themselves, whether through singing, financial management, educating children, sharing their passion for social justice, organizing, cooking, greeting, maintaining the building and grounds--the list of tasks goes on and on. Finding ways to give back that nurture your own soul helps support your personal growth along with the growth of our congregation.

Spiritual growth and development. Working deliberately at your own spiritual development is a gift to yourself, to the congregation, and to the larger world.

Anne Rutledge's Last Published Work
is Now On Sale

This is a note that may be helpful to members seeking a copy of Anne's last book. It was actually published for public release on the last day of her life. It was my mission to achieve this goal for her and wow, it arrived on time. She had received the galley several weeks prior to the final printing.

Anne's life, as she describes in Granddaughter of a Runaway Slave Boy: A Memoir is available on online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other book seller websites. The retail price of the book is $19.95.

(The link to Anne's book on Amazon is Here. And the Barnes & Noble link is Here.)

On a related note, an article about her memoir will appear in the December issue of Old Huntsville. I hope you can catch it as well as a copy of her book.

The article summarizes Granddaughter of a Runaway Slave Boy by describing "the barriers and perceptions for a woman of color in the years of segregated Alabama and the fight for civil rights. Anne holds nothing back, whether it paints a sympathetic or unsympathetic canvas of herself, her family, or environment. Regardless, her heartfelt passion for life crashes through these barriers that, for those who are able to place themselves in others' shoes, will be both exhilarating and thought-provoking."

Sincerely,
Mary Esther Johnson

Care List

At our Circle of Candles on Sunday, December 20th, candles were lit for:

Barbara and Gary Hitt, a candle of joy: "We are overwhelmed and very appreciative of all the love and care showered upon us following Barbara's surgery. Delicious and nutritious food, cards, calls and visits, and many offers of help. We are truly blessed to be a part of this loving congregation. Gary has enjoyed the food so much that he says maybe Barbara should have surgery on the other shoulder!"

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 15-16 Board Members

President: Laurel Bollinger

Vice-President: Angel Hundley

Secretary: Ed Bernstein

Treasurer: Jerome Belcher

Trustees: Millicent Simmons, Jon Fox, & Denise Runnels

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 Laurel Bollinger, 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 on Tuesday, January 26th, 2016 at 6:30 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: Laurel Bollinger

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.