The Overlook

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

May 12th, 2016

Vol. 16 Issue 19

In This Issue

Let's Fill the Basket!

Iced Coffee for Summer

UUGA

Upcoming Services

This Sunday in RE

Wonderful Wednesday!

Interweave Benefit for Thrive

Annual Meeting May 22nd

Summer RE Needs You

Kaffeeklatsch Celebration!

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). 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!

Fair Trade Chocolate and Coffee

If you are a coffee connoisseur, the Social Justice Committee invites you to visit the coffee table in the Fellowship Hall where the chocolate is sold to order your Certified Fair Trade and Organic coffee from the Kaffeeklatsch. Provide your name, contact info, and type of coffee, grind, and amount you want and deliveries will be made the following Sunday (unless you arrange otherwise). Should you not make it that next Sunday the coffee will go into the church kitchen's freezer with your name on it. All profits go in support of our Social Justice efforts.
And we still have a few bars of Equal Exchange Chocolate for sale, too!

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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Quick Links...

UUCH Calendar
UUCH Website

UUA Website

Mid-South District

Upcoming Services

Sunday, May 15th, 2016

"We Are the Church"

Angel Hundley

Sing with me, "The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is a people. I am the church; you are the church; we are the church together..."

Join us this Sunday as we celebrate the gift of community, the blessings of volunteering, and the spiritual practice of leadership.

Coming up May 22nd: It's Choir Sunday! Our amazing UUCH Choir will offer a whole service of music!

This Sunday in Children and Youth Religious Education

This Sunday, each room will be working on a special creative project for the Children and Youth Program. Nursery care for ages 3 and under will be provided as usual.

For the summer months, we are recruiting volunteers to share their interests, skills, and hobbies with our RE program! For more about this opportunity, see the article below!

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.

Wonderful Wednesday Tacos and Games!

Come enjoy delicious tacos and warm UUCH fellowship at the Wonderful Wednesday Supper on Wednesday, May 18th, serving 6:00-6:45 p.m.

Family-friendly pricing: ages 6 and younger are free, ages 7-12 are $2, age 13 and older are $5. Family max: $15.

We'll have cards and board games until 7:30 for everyone to enjoy after eating. Childcare and creative children's activities will be offered at 6:30 for families staying to attend choir practice.

Do yourself and your family a favor! It couldn't be easier, so don't try to resist--just come join the fun! Be part of this beloved fellowship.

--Hosted by your UUCH Hospitality Committee

UUCH Interweave Hosts Dining with Friends Event to Benefit ThriveAlabama

UUCH Interweave is Standing on the Side of Love with Thrive Alabama, helping raise money to purchase a Mobile Testing Vehicle which will provide free HIV testing at public events, health fairs, homeless camps, and to people with transportation barriers in rural communities.

What: UUCH Interweave Dining With Friends Event

Where: UUCH Fellowship Hall

When: 6:30p.m., May 20th, 2016

Cost is donation based:

$25 or more donation for seat at UUCH Interweave hosted dinner on May 20th.

$50 or more for seat at UUCH Interweave dinner PLUS Thrive Alabama Dessert Disco! on June 11th.

Even if you cannot go to either event, any and all donations are welcome.

There are three ways to sign up and/or Donate:

Online: Sign up and donate at the same time at this link: https://thrivealabama.kindful.com/dwf2016/uuch-dining-with-friends-for-thrive-al
(NOTE: indicate in the comments when you donate if you would like a ticket to the Interweave Dinner; donation must be $25 or more to attend the dinner.)
FaceBook: Sign up for Interweave dinner (and donating at the door) by going to this FaceBook event page and select "Going."
At Church: Sign up for Interweave dinner (and donating at the door) on the signup sheet in the UUCH Fellowship Hall.

Formerly the AIDS Action Coalition, Thrive Alabama has the mission to stop the spread of HIV & AIDS in the 12 counties of North Alabama, and care for people and


	Thrive's "Dessert Disco" will be held June 11th!

families living with the disease. With clinics in Huntsville, Florence, and Albertville, Thrive Alabama provides comprehensive medical healthcare for people living with HIV, free HIV testing, prevention and education programs, housing assistance, substance abuse treatment, behavioral healthcare and sexually transmitted infection treatment. For more information about Thrive Alabama, visit www.thrivealabama.org. For more information about our UUCH event, please contact Denise Runnels (drrunnel@gmail.com).

UUCH's Interweave is an Outreach Group for self-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) persons. Together with our friends and allies we are dedicated to the spiritual, political, and social well-being of UUs who are confronting oppression associated with their LGBTQ status. We follow the UUA's Interweave lead and facilitate the celebration of the culture and lives of our members.

Members: Save the Date!
gavel

Annual Congregational Meeting
May 22nd, 2016, at 12:00 p.m.

(Note the time change!)

Please make plans to attend, because we need a quorum! Light snacks and childcare will be provided--it should be a short meeting!

Children and Youth Summer RE:
We Need YOU!

In the summer months, the Children and Youth Religious Education Program takes a special turn from the regular fall and spring curricula. We invite UUCH members and friends to plan a class session for the children and youth. You'll be part of a teaching team as either the lead teacher or a helper; and we'll be sure to have a regular RE teacher there as support. Even children and youth can partner with an adult to lead a session!

We invite you to sign up to lead a session that shares a special talent, hobby, skill, or learning area of yours. Here are some topics to get your creative juices flowing: music, finger painting, scrapbooking, nature walks, gardening, yoga, science, paper airplanes, drawing, Lego, origami, fossils, friendship bracelets, mythology, sidewalk chalk, pottery, cookie-making. The possibilities are limitless!! What's a joy to you can be a joy to others.

Leaders will prepare a topic/activity that is adaptable to children ages 4 to 12. Senior high youth are invited to participate as leaders and helpers, or to attend the regular worship service in the sanctuary. Because of our exciting program growth, we'll need even more leaders and helpers this summer than before! So, don't be shy! We have room for the sharing of your gifts. There's nothing like spending time with the children and youth at our church. Their energy, creativity, and intelligence are contagious. And they benefit from interacting with caring adults who make an investment in them. This is what multi-generational community is all about!

For the next month, we'll have posters standing in the church foyer and fellowship hall where you can sign up for a summer Sunday session. Or, you can contact Erin Reid, Director of Religious Education, at eereid@hotmail.com.

UU Social Justice Calls Your Attention
to This Unique Event!

Please join us for our

"Coffee Tasting, Fund Raising, Celebrating--40 Years"
at The Kaffeeklatsch

103 Jefferson Street North, Huntsville, AL 35801.

Saturday, May 14th, 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.

All proceeds to benefit Coffee Kids and Grounds for Health.

Coffee Kids partners with communities to foster the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit needed to protect the future of coffee farming, assisting young coffee farmers.

Grounds for Health is an international non-profit organization, born out of and with enduring ties to the coffee industry, focused on increasing coverage of cancer prevention services for women.

We will be serving Coffees from Around the World, Teas, and Vanilla Biscotti!
Entertainment by "Microwave" Dave!

Suggested Donation--$10.00.

Please RSVP in person to Grant and/or Kathy Heath, or call 256 539-1636, or email us at klatsch@bellsouth.net.

Care List

At our Circle of Candles on Sunday, May 8th, candles were lit for:

Fran Alexander, a candle of both joy and sorrow: "Joy: Good news to have Steve and Gina Rittenberg back home after spending many weeks at MD Anderson in Houston. Sorrow: They need to return to Texas next week for Gina to undergo another round of chemo. They also need someone to take care of their 2 dogs, as the present dog-sitters are unavailable. If you can open your heart & Home to these 2 dogs, please call Steve ASAP for more info at 256.585.4329."

Gina and Steve Rittenberg, a candle of joy: "Thanks to everyone who reached out to us for support while Gina was in Houston for chemotherapy. We especially want to thank the cat-sitters from the Care Committee for taking care of our cats for us."

Brenda T. a candle of concern: "Asking for prayers for Erin's recovery."

Kathy Fisher, a candle of joy: "Number 1, my daughter is officially retired from the Army after 20 years! Number 2, my 45th recital was a great success yesterday, and I'm so grateful to be able to use this beautiful setting and our piano."

Gregory Kelton, a candle of joy: "For the mothers in my life--Anna, Eva, and my loving wife Rondi. Also Jeannie! Thank you!"

Our minister, the Reverend Alice Syltie, is on sabbatical through the month of June. For pastoral emergencies please contact Angel Hundley, the Sabbatical Coordinator, at ahundley@me.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, May 24th, 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.

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.