WELCOME TO STEWARDSHIP MONTH
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 As they say during every pledge drive on PBS or HPPR, we need your help. We have our obligations that only you can help us meet. You have your own reasons for joining us every week or every day. What programming makes your day more complete, more hopeful, more enjoyable? Wouldn't you feel incomplete without that special music, that uplifting story, that meditation opportunity, that potluck camaraderie? We are a family and we join in making this Fellowship provide what makes you feel part of something greater than yourself. Now is the time for you to make your pledge of support so we can continue to nurture love in your life. Believe in Good! Pledge your support for all the good you receive. (And it is all tax deductible!)
Contact: UR Conscience
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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 nursery group topics change according to individuals who attend and cannot be listed in advance, but they fall under the curriculum Celebrating Me and My World.
During February, the elementary students will be learning about science.
Feb. 7: Eruption of Mt. St Helens
Feb. 14: New Mexico Volcanoes
Feb. 21: Capulin Mountain
Feb. 28: What causes volcanoes?
Lesson plans are subject to change, but this is the plan.
Contact: Wes Phillips and Sarah Brown
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 There will not be a February 13 meeting of Amarillo Feminists; however, there are two full rehearsals of the Eve Ensler play at 2 PM on Sunday, February 7 and Sunday, February 14. Hopefully all you good feminists will buy a ticket and attend the performance in lieu of a meeting! And remember to bring a friend or two! Tickets in advance are $5; however, if you purchase at the door, tickets are $10. All donations and purchases are tax deductible! The performance is February 19 at 7:00 PM at the Fellowship (4901 Cornell St.). Remember, all proceeds go to Martha's Home!
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History of the Fellowship
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 For those of you who have not read Wayne Darrow's history of our Fellowship, perhaps you would like to visit this document. If you have additions to the history, please indicate at least the year (if not the actual date or month) of an event and who was involved. We are in dire need of information covering 1975 to the present (submit by email or on paper to April as soon as possible). Remember to write down your contributions to the AUUF History Wall also. A confident sense of self is important for our Fellowship in its search for an interim minister.
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"Institutional memory is a collective set of facts, concepts, experiences and know-how held by a group of people. As it transcends the individual, it requires the ongoing transmission of these memories between members of this group."
~ Harvard Business School
Do you have a favorite memory of the Fellowship? Do you know of an important moment in our history that you want to be sure is remembered by all members? Help us get a more complete history of our Beloved Community by adding these memories and events to our new "History Wall". It is located on the hallway bulletin board across from the RE rooms. There are note cards you can fill out, or bring your own. The Ministerial Search Committee will be using this to give us a more complete timeline of our history and also to provide information and context to our many newer members.
Contact: Keralee Clay
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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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Mary Emeny speaks on Is the Pope a closet Unitarian? Mary examines the recent papal encyclical on the environment for similarities to UU principles, concerns, and programs. Minnie Venable will also present a Stewardship Moment as part of February Stewardship Month.
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Chris Seals speaks on The Big Reveal: How I Came to Love What I Feared the Most-- Myself.
On Valentine's Day, I shall share from my personal journey of learning to love myself. Despite the disapproval of my family, my friends, my church and my God, I found freedom through unconditional acceptance of myself.
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February 21, 2016
Tom Neilson speaks on Sensibility and Stewardship
"Usually I am asked to talk about my 'journey.' How I got from a small dairy farm in upstate New York to Amarillo; my combining of art and activism; my choices. In many ways it is a talk about stewardship as it has been a process of how I can be most effective; how I can be most powerful as one person and collectively in organizing and caring for the environment and its inhabitants. And things I've learned along the way."
Nina Stein will present a Stewardship Moment as part of February Stewardship Month.
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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.
Feb. 7: Lecture #9 of The New Testament "The Noncanonical Gospels."
Feb. 14: Lecture #12 of Science and Religion and Religion. The final Lecture on this subject and we will also pick its replacement.
Feb. 21: Lecture # 9 of Natural Law and Human Nature "Biblical View of Nature and Law."
Feb. 28: Lecture #10 of The New Testament "The Historical Jesus."
Contact: John Gay
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First Sunday Potluck Lunch
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Sunday, February 7, 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 February in Chandler Hall. If you don't have a dish to bring, join us anyway for good food and great friendships.
Contact: Rosemarie & Bill Kirkland
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Nothing Much Buddhist Covenant Group
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Monday, February 8, 7:30 PM
 The Nothing Much Buddhist Covenant Group has selected as its reading Dr. Mark Epstein's Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart: A Buddhist Perspective on Wholeness. This national bestseller explores the similarities between Buddhist or Zen meditation techniques and those used in psychotherapy. We shall be discussing Chapter 5: Tolerance at the February 8 meeting at the Fellowship.
Contact: Rick Todd
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Meet the Artist - Brent Hillendahl
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Tuesday, February 9, 7:00 PM
Music has always been Brent's escape. After lip-syncing the Beatles in fifth grade, he developed a career as a songwriter and performer by merging styles into a Rockabilly-Beatles-Folk-Country mix. To him creating and sharing rock-n-roll is just having fun. For more information about his music and life, click here .
Contact: Ann Hicks and Pam Mayes
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Women's Simply Salad & Soup Fellowship
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 Wednesday, February 10, 6:30 PM
Our women's group meets every 2nd and 4th Wednesday for good food and great conversation. The meetings on 2nd Wednesdays are at the Fellowship-potluck style. On the 4th Wednesdays, the women meet at a different restaurant each month.
Contact: Ann Benedetti
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Public Performance of Eve Ensler's Play
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Friday, February 19, 7 PM at AUUF
Amarillo Feminists is presenting Eve Ensler's play, A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer, consisting of twenty monologues unified by the theme of violence against women. Women are victims of violence not only in foreign countries and large cities, but also here in Amarillo.
For this reason, we feel that it is imperative that we support organizations like Martha's Home, a 501(c)3 organization, which provides shelter and support services for women who have been victims of violence. ALL proceeds from this performance go directly to Martha's Home. All work on this production has been done on a volunteer basis. (This play deals with adult themes and contains adult language and may not be suitable for young children. Viewer discretion is advised.)
 Pizza and soft drinks will be sold at intermission. Wine will be available; freewill donations for wine will be gratefully received.
Ticket prices are purposefully low to enable more people to attend and experience this important performance-only $5 in advance and $10 at the door. If you pay by check, make it out to Martha's Home. All proceeds go to Martha's Home so tickets and donations are tax-deductible. A tax form will be provided if you purchase tickets or donate at the Fellowship. Otherwise, a form will be mailed to those expressing interest with a return envelope addressed to the AUUF.
We ask you to make an additional donation, as you are able, to support the work of Martha's Home in Amarillo. MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW!!
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Saturday, February 20, 7:00 PM at
AUUF Chandler Hall
Tom Neilson and company shall be performing a concert of political satire and social commentary on Saturday night that leads into his sermon the next day. This award winning songwriter/performer received the IMA - People's Choice Song of the Year for Social Action. His performance, according to Cathy Gilbert, Miami Dade Greens, is: "Politically cutting-edge, incisive, warm, & very funny; his raucous satire & quick wit had everyone laughing and engaged." People's Voice Café Collective in New York City described his performance as "creative and compelling; he skewers outrageous behavior of the greedy and powerful in corporations, the media and government." Michael Stock, WLRN, Miami, FL, says of Tom's act: "Does a great job of reminding people of what is really important, and the power of folk music to say it." Suggested donation for admission is only $10 per person. MARK YOUR CALENDAR!
Contact: April Myers
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Fiction Book Group - A Preview
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Tuesday, February 23 , 7 PM
Adam Johnson's Fortune Smiles: Stories-This year's National Book Award winner presents six strikingly original stories of modern life, from a sensibility akin to George Saunders or Kurt Vonnegut.
The Fiction Book Group meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the Fellowship to discuss a new novel or collection of stories chosen by retired English professor Dick Moseley, who also facilitates the conversation. All are welcome to attend, read the month's selection, and enjoy delving deeper into some of today's best new literature.
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 Wayne Arnason and Kathleen Rolenz. Worship That Works: Theory and Practice for Unitarian Universalists (2008).
Arnason and Rolenz examine the characteristics of various approaches to worship and the qualities of transformative worship as well as the practical details, strengths and weaknesses, of each practice in various UU services. In the appendix, they share the specifics of four highly different and greatly successful services from the many they attended in researching their book. This should be required reading for anyone in a leadership position within the Fellowship, especially those on the worship committee.
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Community Relations Committee
 Saturday, February 6, 10-11 AM at Southwest Branch Library (6801 W. 45th)
The topic for the meeting will be The Homeless Ordinance and a panel of individuals involved with the ordinance will be the speakers. Panelists include James Allen, Director of Community Relations, City of Amarillo; Nancy Tanner, Chair of the Ordinance Committee, Grant Reyher, Vice Chair or the Ordinance Committee, and others representing various agencies on the committee. Topics discussed will include (a) background of ordinance, (b) a review of the original ordinance, (c) selection of those on the ordinance committee, (d) actions of the committee, and (e) unresolved issues such as allowing input from the Amarillo voters, amending the ordinance to include language waiving citations when temperatures are below 40 degrees, wind chills are extreme, or heat is dangerously hot. The meeting promises to be informative to all those interested in homeless populations and in the safety and beauty of our city. For more information on the meeting contact Myrna Raffkind. To read the applicable portion of the current Ordinance, click here.
FireSongs Songwriter Series
 Wednesday, February 10, 6:30-8:30 PM
FireSongs Songwriter Series is a new, weekly series that is unique in Amarillo, in that each Wednesday night, a different area songwriter or combo will perform entirely original material---no covers. We have a wealth of creative energy here in the Panhandle and this series aims to celebrate those who express this energy through songwriting.
The shows are at Fire Slice Pizzeria (7301 SW 34th Space 10, Summit Shopping Center) on Wednesdays from 6:30 - 8:30 PM. It's a listening environment, so talking is discouraged in the concert room while the show is going on, but this makes it a much nicer environment, and of course Fire Slice has wonderful food which may be enjoyed throughout the show. There is no cover, but reservations are suggested to guarantee seating in the listening room. Call (806) 331-2232. The artist performing The artist performing February 10 is Colton Clarkson. The next performance, February 17, features Mike Fuller.
Twenty-First Annual Bach's Lunch Series
 The "Bach's" lunch series is (Bach) back by popular demand! Bring a "box" lunch and some friends with you. The Bach's Lunches are a wonderful time for Lenten reflection and good music among friends. Held at various churches every Friday during Lent, each program will begin promptly at 12:05 PM with a 24-minute organ recital. Following the recital, the host church will provide tea, coffee and a place to eat. You'll have plenty of time to get (Bach) back to work by 1:00 PM. This event has been very well received for the last twenty years, so plan to attend the Twenty-First Annual Bach's Lunch Series! Mark Your Calendar NOW!
Friday, Feb. 12, 2016 - St. Hyacinth Catholic Church, Cynthia Good, Organist
Friday, Feb. 19, 2016 - First Baptist Church, Ella Jane Tracy, Organist
Friday, Feb. 26, 2016 - Polk Street Methodist Church, Michael Raillard, Organist
Friday, Mar. 4, 2016 - St. Thomas Catholic Church, Jim Gardner, Organist
Friday, Mar. 11, 2016 - St. Andrews Episcopal Church, Margaret Lacy, Organist
Friday, Mar. 18, 2016 - Trinity Lutheran Church, Michael Johnson, Organist
For more information, call 806.352.5629. The "Bach's" Lunch series is sponsored by the Amarillo Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.
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