Faith and the Future

Fourth Friday Fellowship, Friday, February 27th

UU Seder, Saturday, April 4

The UU Seder will be held  Saturday April 4 at 6:00 p.m. This meal and retelling of the Exodus story will be led by Emily Manvel Leite. The meal will be traditional, but not Kosher. Omnivore, vegetarian and vegan choices will be available. A planning meeting for the Seder will be held on Sunday March 1 after the service in Room 208. Please come help us plan the ceremony and menu for this Seder meal. Contact Ruellen Fessenbecker for questions:  rfessenb@indiana.edu  or call 812-837-9550.

Our Folks...

  Kathy Kardynalski

Kathy Kardynalski came to Bloomington in the early '80s to return to school and ended up staying to here raise her family. After being a child in a military household, it has taken most of the past three decades to realize that Bloomington is not just another temporary stop on her journey but is, in fact, home. Her association with the UU congregation and activities over the years played a significant role in that realization and she is happy to find a home here also.

Roy and Jonna Capio

Jonna and I attended Unity of Bloomington for over almost three decades, collectively, prior to visiting the Unitarian Universalist Church in Bloomington. In 2012, Jonna and I wed and we both feel like newlyweds, still. Jonna is a practicing therapist at Centerstone of Indiana and I am retired. We both enjoy yoga, walking, volunteering, travel and reading. We appreciate attending weekly services and search for a deeper spiritual connection with the Universe, the earth and all of its inhabitants.

Carol Holding 

Carol is a retired psychology professor.  She moved to Bloomington in August 2013 to live closer to her daughter in Brown County. She also has two sons; one in Orinda, CA, and one in New Orleans, LA. She is a two cat person, currently living with three cats (a long story). She knits constantly, reads constantly, eats constantly (sad but true), and occasionally does story telling.

Judy Berkshire

Judy and her husband Jim Tarnowski retired from their farm in northern Indiana and moved to Bloomington two years ago. Judy, an avid gardener, grew most of their food on the farm and has continued gardening on a smaller scale here. UU Bloomington was near the top of their list of reasons for choosing Bloomington for their retirement. Judy is active on the Elder Focus Task Force and serves on both the housing and Valentine Tea committees. 

Christy True and Dan Reed

Originally from the Chicago area, Christy True began attending the UU Church of Bloomington in 2002 with her two children Jessica and Connor.  It was here that the Trues met the Reeds (Daniel, Zoe and Adrian), who, following a UU marriage, would become known as the "True/Reed Bunch."  Christy is a Montessori preschool teacher with a B.A. in French and M.S. in Special Education. She enjoys teaching in the RE program. Living a purposeful life is essential to her and being a member of the UU Church helps her with this daily goal. 

Originally from northern Ohio, Daniel Reed works as associate professor of ethnomusicology at IU, and plays music of various kinds.  He also loves travel and hiking his favorite trails around Lake Griffy, with dog Winter or, on lucky days, with beloved family members Christy, Zoe, Adrian, Jessica, and Connor. Daniel has enjoyed regularly attending UU Bloomington since 2004 and has absolutely no good explanation as to why it has taken him so long to become a member.  

Paulina Makowska

Paulina Makowska moved to Bloomington eight years ago. Raised and born in Poland, she lives in Bloomington with her two sons Nathaniel and Julian. My passion and profession is to explore and grow in understanding of Body-Mind connection,structural anatomy and systems, kinesiology and mindfulness. Dance Movement Therapy is my degree but every day I work as an Active Release provider, Therapeutic Massage Therapist and Pilates Trainer. I enjoy modern dance, play music, hike, cook and come to UU for spiritual growth.I am happy I found for myself and my family a place and people like UU.

Help make this congregation a friendly place.  Learn to be a greeter or newcomer welcomer.  The work is important and fun, but it takes only a little time, and you get to choose the time and date of the one service every month or so that you will serve.  Join us for  orientation on Sunday, March 1, at 12:45 in the Meeting Room.   -- Libby DeVoe

This Is My Church 

You walk in the door and can say, "This is my church" because you feel at home. In the last year, our congregation spent a month talking and thinking about generosity. We are a generous congregation; the examples are many.   Walk through the Commons, see the displays and boxes filled with pasta, toiletries and other gifts and know that you are part of a congregation that is taking responsibility for the community in which we all live.  The generous contributions of time, talent and resources given by the members of this congregation change the world.

Stewardship 2015 - Play your part!

Goods and Services Auction Sunday, May 17 -- 

Save the Date! 

Our UU Annual Goods and Services Auction will be Sunday, May 17. Save the Date! Join us for a modestly priced lunch after 2nd service on May 17th and stay for the live auction called by our own Darrell Breeden; registration begins at 1:30 and bidding starts at 2:00! Don't miss this lively and entertaining congregational fundraiser! Contact Martha Foster or Earon Davis for more info. Childcare provided during the auction.  

Board meeting on February 19

The Board meeting in February, normally on the third Wednesday, will be on Thursday, February 19th at 7:00pm in the Library. As always, it is open to anyone who would like to attend.

Spring Greeter Orientation March 1

Learn to be a greeter or newcomer welcomer. The work is fun, takes only a little time, and you get to choose the time and date of the one service every month or so that you will serve. Join us at the spring orientation on Sunday, March 1, 12:45 in the Meeting Room.  --Libby DeVoe

New Kroger Grocery Card Rewards Program -- How to Sign Up

Here are the instructions for participating in the Kroger Grocery Card Program, to make your Kroger purchases count for a percentage to come back to our church, since Kroger is no longer issuing Kroger grocery gift cards for this purpose. In a couple of weeks we will have laptop computers and helpful people available during coffee hour to help you with the registration process. Thanks for your participation! 

Our Kroger NPO (Non Profit Organization) number is 10159.

TO USE THE KROGER COMMUNITY REWARDS PROGRAM:

• Register online at krogercommunityrewards.com
• Be sure to have your Kroger Plus card handy and register your card with your organization after you sign up.
• If you do not yet have a Kroger Plus card, these are available at the customer service desk at any Kroger.
• Click on Sign In/Register
• Most participants are new online customers, so click on SIGN UP TODAY in the 'New Customer?' box.
• Sign up for a Kroger Rewards Account by entering zip code, clicking on favorite store, entering your email address and creating a password, agreeing to the terms and conditions
• You will then get a message to check your email inbox and click on the link within the body of the email.
• Click on My Account and use your email address and password to proceed to the next step.
• Click on Edit Kroger Community Rewards information and input your Kroger Plus card number.
• Update or confirm your information.
• Enter UUCB's NPO number, 10159, or name of organization, select organization from list and click on confirm.
• To verify you are enrolled correctly, you will see our church's name on the right side of your information page.
• REMEMBER, purchases will not count for our church until after you register your Kroger Plus card.
• Do you use your phone number at the register?  Call 800-576-4377, select option 4 to get your Kroger Plus card number.
• Always swipe your registered Kroger Plus card or use the phone number that is related to your registered Kroger Plus card when shopping, for each purchase to count towards a percentage  being donated to our church.  

Hospitality for Those with Allergies

As a courtesy to our friends and members who have allergies to fragrances, we are designating the west section of the Meeting Room (next to the sliding glass doors and tall narrow windows) as Fragrance Free. Please do not sit there if you have used any fragrances.  Anyone else is welcome to sit in this area.  Thank you for your consideration. 

25% Sunday Non-Pledge Plate Recipient for 2015-16

Social Justice Funds Committee Invites Nominations Starting March 1

     The application form for nominating our next local non-profit agency to receive 25% of Sunday non-pledge plate collections (July 2015-June 2016) will be available March 1. The application deadline will be April 1st. The Social Justice Funds Committee will choose three nominee finalists for the congregation to vote on at the spring congregational meeting on June 7th. Our contributions to the current recipient, Susie's Place, total $4,897 in the first two fiscal quarters (with 2 more quarters to go!) The total donated to the Circles Initiative, last year's recipient, was $10,277! Which local non-profit agency should be our next recipient?

      Those who submit applications must be able to meet the following obligations: (1) contact the agency you support to gather the information necessary to complete the application. If among the finalists chosen you will need to (2) provide 200 word written information on the agency to be published in the Prologue; (3) arrange for written materials to be available at the church throughout May, and (4) give a brief 3-minute presentation during both services on Sunday, June 7th, including an overview of the organization and an explanation of how the funds will be spent. The agency will also be tabling between services on June 7th.

     Watch for further information from the Social Justice Funds Committee. Contact Millie Jackson, SJFC Chair, at uucbsjfunds@uubloomington.org with any questions.

     The Social Justice Funds Committee: Jana Anna, Anna Beauchamp, Millie Jackson, Steve Mascari and Ellen Tamura. Co-Advisors: Jackie Hall and the Reverend Douglas Wadkins.