UUCH Chalice
The Overlook
Unitarian Universalist Church of Huntsville
3921 Broadmor Rd., Huntsville AL 35810  
March 24th, 2016
Vol. 16 Issue 12
In This Issue
We CAN Do It!
foodbasket 
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).

Suggested donations:
macaroni and cheese, pasta and sauce, dry beans and rice, boxes of cereal, bars of soap, canned meat, and peanut butter!
Thanks in advance!
Bunny Eggs?
easter-bunnies.jpg
 In addition to Certified Fair Trade and Organic coffee from the Kaffeeklatsch, Your Social Justice Committee also sells Fair Trade chocolate from Equal Exchange.
Right now we have dark chocolate & almond bars, as well as chocolate Easter Eggs!
(Fair Trade means no bunnies were harmed during the egg-laying process.) Pick yours up in the Fellowship Hall after Sunday morning services!
Awareness Through Movement!
 
Everyone is welcome! This Feldenkrais group class is designed to improve self-awareness and mobility. The class will be verbally guided through gentle movement sequences. These new movement patterns will enable you to move with greater ease and fluidity.
 
This Adult RE class is drop-in, no experience necessary, and is led by Sally Locklear. Wear comfortable, loose clothing, and bring a bath towel to use as a head support.  Classes are held on Saturday mornings at 10:00 a.m. until further notice.

For further information, contact Nancy Finley at [email protected].
If you need childcare for this event, please contact Nancy at least a week before the event. 
This Year's UU General Assembly
 
UUGA will be held June 22nd-26th in Columbus Ohio!
This year's theme is "Heart land: Where Faiths Connect." For further information, visit the GA website at www.uua.org/ga

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Upcoming Services
UUCH Chalice
Sunday, March 27th, 2016
 
 
"Season of Hope and Liberation"
Flower Communion Sunday!  
The Reverend Alice Syltie 
 
tiny-purple-flowers.jpg Our annual Flower Communion Service is a celebration of the renewal of life and hope at the center of this season of Easter, Passover, and Spring. It is also a time to build lasting memories for our children. Our sanctuary comes alive with the splendor of flowers, representing the variety and beauty reflected in our coming together as people of all ages, with unique perspectives, hopes, and dreams. Each person, from the youngest child to the oldest adult, is asked to bring a flower to share, as we participate in the annual giving and receiving of a flower.
 
This service also includes a Child Dedication Ceremony. Please contact Rev. Alice right away if you have questions, or think that your family would like to participate in this Ceremony ([email protected]).
giving heart
This Sunday in Children and Youth Religious Education 
 
Children and youth will remain in the sanctuary this Sunday to enjoy the multi-generational Flower Communion service!

Childcare for ages 0-3 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 [email protected]) or Jessica Zelaya, RE Chair (256.322.2210 or [email protected]). Register online for the UUCH Children and Youth RE Program at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WS8LDNP. 
Our Shared Journey Update

The UUCH Annual Budget Drive (ABD) is getting close to wrapping up this year. Thank you to everyone who has pledged! Your commitments for the 2016-2017 church year are totaling $191,654 so far!
 
If you have not yet given your pledge and would like to support the church's budget for the 2016-2017 church year then please turn in your pledge form this week!
 
If you did not get a letter, or if you are new, or if you know someone else who would like to give to the church, there are blank pledge forms in the fellowship hall. Please let us know if you would like to support UUCH!
 
Jason Aycock,             2016 ABD Chair
Kevin Betts,                 2016 ABD Co-chair
Knit Wits Latest Project! You Can Help!

The CARE Committee and the Knit Wits invite you to join us to help with our next ongoing project. We will be making patchwork Care Shawls with 9" squares made by many people and pieced together to create meaningful gifts for members of our congregation needing support.
Nine-inch squares make a shawl of many colors! 

The next Knit Wits meeting will be the evening of Friday, March 25th, 6:00 p.m., at Barbara Hitt's home. Anyone interested in learning to knit or crochet--and those who are already proficient--are more than welcome! Please respond to Barbara Hitt (email [email protected] or phone 256-881-2531), if you would like to attend the meeting.  
Easter Egg Hunt at Alice & Betsy's!
Sunday Afternoon, March 27th!

You and your family are invited to spend Easter Sunday afternoon with your fellow UUs in a day of relaxation and fun while welcoming the beginning of spring. (Rain or shine!) 

What:
 Easter Egg Hunt
Who: Everyone is invited!
When: Sunday, Mar. 27th, 2-5:00 p.m.
Where: Alice Dilbeck and Betsy Applegate's home, in the Monrovia area.
 
Suggestions for what to bring:
Yourself and family--Eggs for the hunt (plastic filled and "real")--Baskets for gathering eggs--Goodies to share for munching--Lawn chairs and musical instruments. 
 
We'll have badminton, croquet, activities for all ages, and "sitting-on-the-porch-talking-as-we-watch-others-expend-a-lot-of-energy." What could be more fun?!
 
Children are advised to wear or bring play clothes to fully enjoy the outdoor activities.
 
Directions to Alice Dilbeck's and Betsy Applegate's home are in the fellowship hall by the coffee, or you can call (256-534-0508) or email Deedee at the church office ([email protected]) for a copy.
 
We're Egg-cited! We'll be HOPPY to see you!
"New UU" Class Coming in April

What does it mean to be a Unitarian Universalist? Guided by the UU Tapestry of Faith Curriculum, this three-part series explores important themes in UU stained glass chalicecongregational life, such as worship, theology, history, covenant, faith development, social justice, and membership. This program focuses on introducing newcomers to Unitarian Universalism, but those who have been at UUCH for a while will also be able to share and connect with others as we explore our own beliefs and how they intersect with the UU tradition.

Everyone is welcome!
Starting Sunday morning April 3rd, and continuing on April 10th and 17th, join us for this chance to learn and share. Meet for coffee and snacks at 9:00 a.m. in the Adult RE room located at the end of the Religious Education (South) wing; discussion starts at 9:15. Childcare will be provided for each class. Come even if you cannot attend all three sessions; handouts for any missed sessions will be available. Contact Nancy Finley ([email protected]) for further info.  
Special Event! Please invite your family, friends and neighbors. Michael Dowd and Connie Barlow return to UUCH on Sunday, April 3 for our 10:45 Worship Service as well as this special program that afternoon. 
 
Ten Commandments to Avoid Extinction: Religion as if Survival Mattered
The Reverend Michael Dowd

Sunday afternoon, April 3rd, 2:00 p.m.
 
"What Reality is telling us through evidence about how we must now collectively think and act if we hope to spare our grandchildren from hell and spare ourselves their condemnation. 
 
"We each have experienced times of trouble that threaten to overwhelm our individual lives. In such times, a vision of possibility is essential. The same holds for the punctuations in history when whole societies face troubles of an immense and uncharted variety. Truly, we here and now have arrived at such a time. Humans, unwittingly, have become a planetary force. We are changing, irreversibly, the very climate of our world. Henceforth, any actions we take as individuals and societies will be done in the new light of climate change. What vision will carry us forward through such times and inspire us to work together? How shall we frame the need to shed our business-as-usual outlook on life and take on a new vision of possibility that can unite us as a species in joyful self-sacrifice and service? What vision will charge us with a sense of heroic purpose that the future is, indeed, calling us to greatness?"  
 
Rev. Michael Dowd is a bestselling evolutionary eco-theologian and pro-future evangelist whose work has been featured in The New York Times, LA Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Newsweek, Discover, and on television nationally. Michael and his science writer / evolutionary educator wife, Connie Barlow-both climate hawks-have spoken to more than 2,000 groups throughout North America since 2002, including 450 UU churches. Their work has been featured on the cover of the UU WORLD twice, in 1997  and again in 2006.
 
This program, geared for adults and teens, builds on Rev. Dowd's most recent TEDx talk, "Reality Reconciles Science and Religion," and his 20 minute youtube video: "Reality's Rules: Ten Commandments for Survival and Long-term Thrival." It also expands on material in his bestselling, bridge-building book, Thank God for Evolution: How the Marriage of Science and Religion Will Transform Your Life and Our World, which was endorsed by 6 Nobel Prize-winning scientists, noted skeptics, and by religious leaders across the spectrum. 
Only Four Weeks Until the
UUCH BOOK SALE!
 
Four Days of Book Buying!
Wednesday, April 20th through Friday, April 22nd,
from Noon until 7:00 p.m.
AND Continuing
Saturday, April 23rd, from 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.
Admission is FREE!
There will be no pre-sales!

Come browse through the HUGE SELECTION of used books, audio, video, magazines, rare finds and old favorites at BARGAIN PRICES--get there before the good ones get away!
 
What Can YOU Do To Help?
  • Donate your books to this great cause (and get a tax deduction).
  • Invite your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers.
  • Bring your books to church any time before Sunday, April 17th, and leave them in front of the North Hall doors.
  • Plan to stay after church on Sunday, April 17th, for a book-sorting party!
  • Volunteer to work a shift at the sale. Look for sign-up opportunities during the month before the sale.
"When I get a little money I buy books and if any is left I buy food and clothes."--Desiderius Erasmus
votives Care List 
 
At our Circle of Candles on Sunday,  March 20th, candles were lit for:

Lynda Lamitie
, a candle of joy and sorrow: "I will be admitted to Huntsville Hospital for laparoscopic colon surgery tomorrow--expect to be in the hospital for two to three days. But joyful that the pre-cancerous cells were found early."
 
Mari Hinckley, a candle of hope: "Hope that my Mom will adjust well to living in the assisted living facility that I had to move her to last Thursday. Gratitude for all the support I've been given by everyone."
 
Barbara Hitt and Rev. Alice for Care, a candle of sorrow: "Long-time member Jo Barry had a serious stroke last week and is the NICU. Please keep Jo and husband Ken in your thoughts and prayers."
 
If you have pastoral care needs, please contact the
Reverend Alice Syltie at [email protected]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 [email protected].
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 [email protected].

The next UUCH Board Meeting will be held
on Tuesday, March 29th, 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
[email protected].  

 

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: [email protected].

Minister's email: [email protected].

Website: 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.