May 2016 become the most peaceful, prosperous, tolerant, compassionate, inspiring, meditative, joyous, invigorating, reflective, and, best of all, loving year of your life. It must be imagined before it can be achieved!
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Congregational Meeting: January 10
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After the 11 AM Service
Agenda:
- Affirm the Ministerial Search Committee
- Keralee Clay
- Larry Campbell
- John Hintz
- Ann Hicks
- Nina Stein
- Amy Taylor
- Cyndy Walton
- Assign new budget line item for Ministerial Search Committee work
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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.
During January, the elementary students will be watching brief videos and discussing their content.
Jan. 3: The Desert People - The Papago
Jan. 10: Do We Want Us to? - Pacific Northwest -
Totem Poles, clans, History, Potlatch
Jan. 17: Earth Shapers - The Mound Builders
Jan. 24: The Eruption of Mt. St. Helens
Jan. 31: Volcanos of New Mexico
The nursery group will be focusing on the following topics during January:
Jan. 3: The New Year
Jan. 10: Birth is Beautiful
Jan. 17: We Have Five Senses
Jan. 24: Our Bodies are Beautiful
Jan. 31: ??
Lesson plans are subject to change, but this is the plan.
Contact: Wes Phillips and Sarah Brown
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2015-2016 Common Read for UUs
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 Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (2015). A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice-from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time. One reviewer compared its power and eloquence to that of To Kill a Mockingbird. Available at UUA Bookstore or Kindle edition.
From UUA: "Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn't commit. The case drew Bryan into a tangle of conspiracy, political machination, and legal brinksmanship-and transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever."
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Chris Jordan Exhibit at AMoA
Friday - Sunday, January 1-3, 10 AM - 5 PM
These are the final days of the exhibit of Chris Jordan's art "Running the Numbers" at the Amarillo Museum of Art (2200 South Van Buren on the campus of Amarillo College). Jordan is a Seattle-based artist whose work combines statistics with photography.
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Newsletter and Website Submissions
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As always, we are eager to publish information regarding committees, boards, Adult RE, CRE, events, and services, but we need your help. The website and Facebook page can be updated daily, but the newsletter cannot. New information needs to be submitted (submissions@uuamarillo.org) by noon Wednesday if you want it to appear in the Friday morning newsletter. If you need an event placed on the website calendar, you may submit that request with description, image (or we can provide one), starting and approximate ending time, specific location, date (or dates for a recurring event), and name of contact person. Help us help you get your message out in a timely manner.
PLEASE, EVERYONE CAN MAKE ALL THESE COMMUNICATIONS MORE EFFECTIVE BY READING THEM EACH WEEK--ESPECIALLY THE WEBSITE AND NEWSLETTER!
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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 above.
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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January 3, 2016
Dr. Rolf Habersang speaks on the Myth of New Year's Resolutions.
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January 10, 2016
Keralee Clay delivers the State of the Fellowship Address,
assessing the current state of the Fellowship and looking to the future of the church.
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January 17, 2016
Rita Chamblin and Pat Smith from First Unitarian Universalist Church in Lubbock will bring us a special Sunday service. We invite you to participate in this distinctive service by lighting a candle to mark each significant event, each turning, in your life over the past year.
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Interim Search Committee Update
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Application Complete!
Our first big step was to complete an online application on the uua.org website for a part-time interim minister. The Interim Search Committee has pulled together a good overview of our congregation and community. This will not only be used to appeal to an interim minister, but also serve as a building block for the Ministerial Search Committee to create the more elaborate search package. Should you want to review this information, you can follow this link.
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Adult Religious Education
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Please join us at 10 AM each Sunday.
We are rotating three subjects. Each covers a different aspect of Adult Religious Education. All are welcome. No advance reading is necessary and no test will be given.
Jan. 3: The New Testament subject this week will be "John-Jesus the man from Heaven," based on the book of John.
Jan. 10: Lecture # 9 of Science and Religion examines "Geology, Cosmology, and Biblical Chronology."
Jan. 17: Lecture #8 of Natural Law and Human Nature discusses "The Stoic Idea of Natural Law."
Jan. 24: Lecture #9 of The New Testament examines the "Noncanonical Gospels."
Jan. 31: Lecture #9 of Science and Religion covers "Geology, Cosmology, and Biblical Chronology."
Feb. 7: Lecture #9 of Natural Law and Human Nature presents "Biblical Views of Nature and Law."
Contact: John Gay |
First Sunday Potluck Lunch
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 Sunday, January 3, 12:15 PM
Bring your potluck dishes and join other members of the congregation to share in the camaraderie and dining pleasures this first Sunday in January in Chandler Hall. If you don't have a dish to bring, join us anyway for good food and great friendships.
Contact: Rosemarie & Bill Kirkla
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 Monday, January 4, 6-7:30 PM
The Women's Covenant Group will be discussing and deciding on a curriculum for the new year at the January 4 meeting.
Contact: Keralee Clay
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Saturday, January 9 at Brookplace Apt. Clubhouse
 The Nothing Much Buddhist Covenant Group is hosting a Zazenkai (a day-long Zen retreat focusing on meditation practice led by Zen teacher Tony Tackitt) from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM. Included in the program are a Meditation 101 talk/discussion, two Teisho (dharma talk), Zazen (seated meditation), and Kinhin (slow, organized walking meditation). Participants bring their own sack lunches. There is no fee; however, seating is limited, so attendees will be on a first-come first serve basis. Familiarity with meditation is recommended but not required. Contact Tony Tackitt to reserve your space. More information is available on our website. Parking space is limited at the clubhouse. Unless you have a physical need to be closer or are bringing supplies for the event, please park on Fleetwood and walk to the clubhouse. Map of location:
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 Saturday, January 9, 3-5 PM
The Amarillo Feminists group holds monthly meetings at AUUF.
This meeting we shall watch Miss Representation and discuss how
 women are depicted in the media. This documentary explores the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America, and challenges the media's limited portrayal of what it means to be a powerful woman. We will also discuss the monologues which we will be presenting on February 19th at the UU. Contact: Amy Taylor |
Meet the Artist - Jim Livingston
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 Tuesday, January 12, 7 PM
When Jim was 18, he wanted to save the world; so he studied to be a priest. But he learned the world was too large for him. He still wanted to help so he did social work. But he learned that no one can help someone who is not willing to help themselves. In the end, all he wants to do is make a few pretty pictures and go home.
Jim was born the youngest of six children in a very Roman Catholic family and so it was at 18 he joined the Jesuits, which is an order of Catholic Priests and Brothers. He loved doing service work, but the politics of ministry left him rather unsettled about organized religion. Jim left the ministry and did social work. He married his college professor and they had one son who is currently in the Army. After 14 years his marriage ended. At this time he switched careers again and worked in the legal world doing consultation on cases involving social work with the state of Texas.
The oddest set of circumstances left him homeless in 2012. Jim lost most of his possessions that year; and with the little income he had, Jim traveled the United States and took photos. His camera became his best friend. Jim ended up attending Amarillo College's photography program and has been seeking a career in photography since 2013. His work has been published in several magazines and has won several awards. In 2015, Jim had six one-man photography exhibitions in various venues and galleries. His work is available at the Palo Duro Canyon Gallery and Gift Shop as post cards, posters, prints and even a video. Jim's work is also being sold at the Chalice Abbey.
The Meet the Artist talk at the Amarillo Universal Unitarian Fellowship will focus on the events that led him to become homeless and what being homeless taught him about art and photography. Jim's work is often described as full of feeling and this is his goal. He doesn't so much care to portray what he sees when he takes a photograph, but rather he wants to convey the emotion that he was experiencing at the time.
Contact: Pam Mayes and Ann Hicks
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 Tuesday, January 26, 7-8:30 PM
January's selection is Jamesland by Michelle Huneven. Three characters who are all somewhat adrift in their lives, a mentally disturbed man, a troubled descendent of William James, and a somewhat unfocused UU minister, maneuver their way, sometimes comically, sometimes movingly, toward a fuller existence.
Future selections for Spring 2016, if you want to order them all at once, include: Fortune Smiles: Stories by Adam Johnson; We Are Called to Rise by Laura McBride; and Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf.
Contact: Dick Moseley
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SouthWest Unitarian Universalist Women Conference 2016
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 February 26-28, 2016
Lawton, Oklahoma
Registration opened December 1, 2015
A non-profit organization that supports women through worship, learning, leadership, community and social justice, SWUUW addresses women's issues, explores feminist theology, promotes friendships and celebrates the diversities that make us unique women on our individual spiritual paths.  SWUUW is an organization open to all UU women, particularly those women in the Southwest District of the Southern Region of the UUA.
Keynote speaker, Lauren Zuniga, is an internationally touring poet, activist and teaching artist. She is the author of two poetry collections. Her work has been featured in Upworthy, MoveOn.Org, BoingBoing, Autostraddle & Everyday Feminism.
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 Barbara Child and Keith Kron, eds. In the Interim: Strategies for Interim Ministers and Congregations (2013).
A period of interim ministry poses unique challenges and opportunities for both congregations and ministers. Much more than a "caretaker" ministry, an interim ministry can help a congregation navigate and get the most out of a time of transition. In this practical and insightful volume, interim ministers and other congregational leaders provide a road map for a transformative and fulfilling interim period.
The transition from one settled minister to another requires a congregation to do much soul-searching, structural analysis, and evaluation of staff, leadership, and programs. These experienced interim ministers discuss the special needs of congregations and the roadblocks they can encounter. This book is a valuable tool for gaining insights into the transition our Fellowship faces for the next two years, especially for the Board members, leadership and staff, and every member who wants to understand its necessity and possibilities.
Barbara Child is a retired Unitarian Universalist minister and accredited interim minister who served continually in interim ministry for more than a decade. Keith Kron is the director of our Unitarian Universalist Association's Office of Ministerial Transitions.
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