Saturday, August 15 - 2 PM
A public memorial service will be held for Wilson Bates, son of AUUF member Minnie Venable. Wilson died in June. A reception will immediately follow the service.
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Volunteers Needed for CRE
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We really need someone to volunteer in the Nursery and someone to volunteer in the Elementary classroom on August 30th and September 6th.
You do not have to come up with a lesson plan unless you want to.
Contact: Sarah Brown
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| Children's Religious Education Update |
Our Children's Religious Education (CRE) program is divided into two groups by age. In CRE, which meets each Sunday at 11 AM, we challenge our children with interactive studies about religion and science.
The older children will focus on "co-creating" community, which is how members of a community work together to share responsibility for all the functions of the community.
In the Nursery, we continue with Unit 3: We are Alike, We are Different, exploring similarities and differences among races, including fears, anger, and goals. This topic will continue throughout the month of July.
Contact: Wes Phillips and Sarah Brown
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In June 2015, the AUUF Board approved the use of attendance pads to be used during our Sunday services. These pads - common in many congregations - provide an easy way for guests and members to record their presence.
Attendance pads give our Membership Committee a valuable tool for collecting and correcting basic information. The committee can also more efficiently follow members whose attendance lags, with the goal of ensuring no one in our beloved community "falls through the cracks."
A pad is placed on each row of seats, to be handed down the row during the service. Members and guests simply print their name or as much information as they desire to share, and anyone may opt out of recording their attendance altogether. Completed pad pages are collected following the services and the information is recorded or updated in our congregation management software.
Attendance pads replace the guest information cards used previously. They serve the same purpose as guest cards, while also allowing members to update information such as address, phone, or email. Guests who register their attendance are added to the Fellowship's newsletter list, and are invited to attend Path to Membership sessions and other events.
Again, any members or guests are perfectly free not to record their attendance if they choose.
The aim of attendance pads is to enhance our beloved community. We can better serve members and guests by having up-to-date information. We can communicate more accurately with everyone. And we can improve our ability to express our caring through following up with those who have been absent.
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In addition to the events described in this newsletter, you can find a complete listing by clicking on the Calendar icon to the left.
Want more detail? Check both the News and the Events sections of our website, uuamarillo.orgAlso on our website, you can learn more about our Fellowship and our faith, Unitarian Universalism.
All events are held at the Fellowship, 4901 Cornell St., unless otherwise noted.
If you are unsure how to reach any of the individuals named as contacts, please email the AUUF office or call our Office Administrator, April Myers, at 806.355.9351 and leave a message. She will return your call during her office hours, which are Tuesday- Friday from 9 AM to noon.
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Sunday Worship - 9:30 and 11 AM
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As one of our representatives to the Unitarian Universalist Association's General Assembly, Minnie Venable will report on the decisions voted by the assembly and other activities in Portland, Oregon, June 24-28. The theme of the GA in 2015 was Building a New Way.
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David Green, Kristy Fuller, Jason Hudson, and Ellen Robertson Green present The Wisdom of Robert Fulghum, offering a selection of readings by the UU minister and best-selling author of many books, including "All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten."
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August 9, 2015
David Green speaks on Meaning, Purpose, and Humanism, discussing how humanism can offer essential emotional needs traditionally ascribed to religious belief.
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Adult Religious Education
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 The Adult Religious Education class is considering subjects for study over the next few months. We are checking out the following options: The New Testament by Bart Ehrman, Natural Law and Human Nature by Joseph Koterski, Science and Religion by Lawrence Principe, and Consciousness. We will watch and discuss the first lecture of The New Testament series on Sunday, July 26. If you have an interest in these subjects or want to make other suggestions, please join us at 10:00 Sunday. All comments and suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.
Contact: John Gay
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Nothing Much Buddhist Covenant Group
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Monday, July 27 - 7:30 PM
 Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is a global spiritual leader, poet and peace activist, revered throughout the world for his powerful teachings and bestselling writings on mindfulness and peace. Hanh has published over 100 titles on meditation, mindfulness and Engaged Buddhism, as well as poems, children's stories, and commentaries on ancient Buddhist texts. More information about the Zen Master and the Plum Village Mindfulness Practice Centers is available here. The Nothing Much Buddhist Covenant Group has elected to read and discuss Thich Nhat Hanh's latest release, No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering. Pick up a copy and join our meditation on 2nd and 4th Mondays every month.
We will discuss Chapter 1: "The Art of Transforming Suffering" on July 27.
Contact: Rick Todd |
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Tuesday, July 28 - 7 PM
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler.
Karen Joy Fowler's cleverly structured and thought-provoking novel introduces intelligent but dysfunctional family members traumatized by a scientific experiment. Issues of scientific ethics, identity crisis, and dealing with grief raise plenty to discuss at our meeting on the 28th.
Contact: Dick Moseley
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We Agnostics Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting
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Thursday, July 30 - 6 PM 
The "We Agnostics" Alcoholics Anonymous group meets weekly on Thursdays at 6 PM, in Chandler Hall. This AA group is for anyone with a desire to stop drinking and maintain sobriety, but particularly for those who are uncomfortable with AA meeting formats stressing particular religious beliefs.
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It's Party Time!! Game Night/Ice Cream Social!
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On Friday, July 31, at 6:30 PM, all "sociable" UUs and guests are invited to the Fellowship for a Game Night/ Ice Cream Social. We'll have lots of games available for adults and "big kids," AND WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE THE NURSERY OPEN FOR THE "LITTLE KIDS." Stay tuned for info on that in the newsletter that comes out on July 31. We'll have games like dominoes for Chickenfoot and Mexican Train, cards for Hand and Foot, dice for Farkle and Yahoo, a game of Rummikub, and others as we think of them or as they're suggested. You can play something you know well or perhaps learn something new. We'll try to end around 9 PM, but April says if we're having a "grand" time, we can stay until 10!
We'll have sign-up sheets on BOTH BULLETIN BOARDS for those who plan to attend
(so we'll know how many tables to set up) and for those who want to bring refreshments.
Either homemade ice cream or "store-bought" will be welcome, as well as
toppings, and perhaps some cookies, brownies, etc., for those who don't eat ice
cream. Drinks will be provided or bring your own.
If you won't be at the fellowship in the next couple of weeks but would like to sign up or have questions, call Janda and/or Lyle Raker at 352-0589 or e-mail.
Hope we have lots of folks there--the more the merrier!
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 Paul Rasor. Reclaiming Prophetic Witness: Liberal Religion in the Public Square. (2012)
Religious liberals need to answer the call to prophetic witness. Too often offended and appalled by the prophets of conservative Christianity, we silence ourselves rather than risk sounding like them. We fear that public witness in the name of faith could violate separation of church and state. This book speaks directly to religious liberals, sometimes laying out our shortcomings, but also giving us tools to equip us to speak out without compromising our convictions. Rasor identifies weaknesses in our approaches and gives alternative examples of public religious arguments that support the principles our faith holds dear. One chapter ends with this challenge: "Given the public dominance of conservative religious voices today, if religious liberals don't speak up, no one else will know that there is another religious perspective."
Recommendation level
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 The AUUF is making its facility available to the Somali Bantu community on weekday mornings for English as a Second Language classes.
Abdullahi Shidad, director of the non-profit Bantu Development Center, is coordinating and teaching the ESL classes for approximately 15 adults. Classes will be held 9 AM - 11 AM on weekdays in Chandler Hall. Class days will vary initially, and classes will not conflict with any regularly scheduled AUUF events.
The Bantu are a persecuted ethnic minority in Somalia, and thousands have found refuge in the United States in recent years. Locally, many are employed as shift workers at Tyson.
Abdullahi Shidad has lived in Amarillo since 2002 and has assisted refugees in finding employment, creating social and cultural connections, gaining higher education, and seeking US citizenship. A 2010 Amarillo Globe-News article describes the many challenges Somali Bantus face.
Read additional articles about the Somali Bantus, their history, and their journey to America: Somali Bantu History. Resources for Somali Bantu refugees. The Texas Tribune has also written about the plight of Somali's in Amarillo.
ESL classes provide a crucial step toward higher education and economic opportunities for participants. By providing space that otherwise goes unused during the week, the Fellowship is being a good community neighbor and putting our principles into action.
Interested in volunteering to help with ESL classes? E-mail the AUUF office.
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 Cowboy Mike at The Craig Senior Living
July 28, 6:00-8:00 PM (RSVP by July 24th to 806-352-7244)
Admission is Free, Reservations Required so Act Today!!
Mosey on down to The Craig Senior Living (5500 W. 9th Street) to hear about a day in the life of Cowboy Mike, Michael Grauer's entertaining living history presentation of the life of a Texas Panhandle cowboy in the 1890s. Michael Grauer is the Curator of Art and Western Heritage at the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon.
Vista 50th Anniversary
 Tuesday, July 28, at 8 AM - 4 PM, come out and join us for our VISTA 50th Anniversary! It is a celebration of current and past VISTAs and the journeys they have been on while fighting poverty. Speakers will highlight Ethical Sensitivity to Poverty. Lunch will be provided and 7 Ethic CEUs will be provided Free for Social workers, LPC, LCSW and counselors. The event is held in the Amarillo College Downtown Campus Auditorium and Exhibit Hall, 1314 S. Polk. Parking is on the south side of the building, including the large parking lot across the street to the south of the Auditorium. Email healthce@actx.edu or call 806-356-3686 for registration form. Last day for registration is today, July 24.
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Be Ours a Religion
"Be ours a religion which like sunshine goes everywhere, its temple all space, its shrine the good heart, its freed all truth, its ritual works of love."
Theodore Parker, 1810-1860
From Singing the Journey: A Supplement to Singing the Living Tradition, (Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association, 2005).
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