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New Class: Theology & Ethics from the Margins
In this adult education class, we will explore ways of doing theology and ethics informed by the lived experiences of marginalized communities. We will learn the basics of queer theology (theology that grows out of LGBTQ+ experience and seeks to destabilize oppressive norms) and liberative ethics (ethical reflection that lifts up the voices of marginalized people as a primary source of moral wisdom). Then, we will brainstorm together how our learning might inform our UU identities and inspire our social action. Taught by our student minister, Katie Kuntz-Wineland, this class will meet on three consecutive Thursday evenings: March 3, March 10, and March 17from 7:00pm-8:00pm in Fellowship Hall. Sign up on the bulletin board in Fellowship Hall or online at
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April 9th - Save the Date!
2016 NUUC Service Auction
It cometh! You ask, "What?" Why, the Spring Faire, a Renaissance Faire, with all its merriment, on
Saturday, April 9, starting at 2:00 pm. "Spring Faire" is the theme for this year's Service Auction. The
Service Auction is NUUC's biggest annual fund raiser, last year bringing in $7,000, thanks to generous donations of services and goods, and also enthusiastic bidding on the day of the event.
"Spring Faire," like our other Service Auctions, will have a live auction, a silent auction, a gift basket auction, and for the kids, a raffle auction offering educational games and kits, movie passes, and
restaurant gift cards. BUT ALSO, a "fair ground" will be set up in Fellowship Hall. There you will
find a juggling instruction booth, a magic show, a crown- and wand-making booth, "Ye Olde Ducke
Pond" with prizes, a photography Renaissance costume booth, and activities like face painting.
Delicious food is a given! The booths, activities, and food are free, and child care will be provided.
Attention: The donation form deadline has been extended to Monday, March 7. You may submit your form online (click here) or fill out the paper form and put it in the Service Auction box in Fellowship
Hall. Please help make this event a success. In addition to your donations, we need volunteers to
decorate, set up, clean up, or be part of the food crew. If you have questions, just ask one of the
"Service Auction Magic Makers" (the SAMMs): Becca Morse, Bob Keith, Trina Timson, Dee Burlison, and Marty Keith
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Adult Enrichment: Mindful Writing
In February the Mindful Writing group shared their poems, journals, and other forms of prose, many pieces exploring the meanings of "power" and "reconciliation." We enjoyed ourselves! March's session will be on the 16th, the third Wednesday of the month, as always, at 6:30 pm in Fellowship Hall.
We like NUUC's theme for March, "Sanctuary," but in addition decided upon "Friendship" for a second, related topic because in friendship we often find sanctuary. The session is sure to be "mindful"--thoughtful and moving. All are welcome. Please see Marty Keith if you have questions.
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This summer from Thursday, June 23 - to Sunday, June 26, The UUA General Assembly will be held at the Columbus Convention Center We have an amazing opportunity to share our sense of community by attending this great event. But we can also provide a service to the many others coming from all over the country to attend.
Please consider being a host for someone who might like to choose an alternative to the standard hotel room during General Assembly. If you live in the city of Columbus, or even on the outer suburbs, and have a spare room and a generous spirit, you might find this to be an extraordinary change to learn about other UU's.
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The NUUC Recorder Ensemble has full wind in its sails once again. We would like to invite you to join our
tootling fun! For more information, contact Becca Morse at beccamorse@gmail.com
(or 614-805-6680)
or Nathan Morse at zefquaavius@gmail.com.
We rehearse together on the second and fourth Fridays of each
month at noon at Friendship Village of Columbus. If you're interested, but the rehearsal time doesn't work for you, just go for Baroque and contact us anyway:
If enough people are interested in an alternate time, I'm sure we can work out a second rehearsal schedule. Just because a hobby blows doesn't mean it's not fun! |
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Meets at Noon the Third Tuesday of the month. Get all the details by clicking here. |
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Your board of trustees has called the annual meeting of the congregation for March 20, for immediately after service. Babysitting will be available until 12:30 PM. We will elect our new board and nominating committee members, receive reports, and hear news.
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Hospitality Teams
No doubt you have noticed, that since November, there have been different greeters each Sunday morning. You may have also noticed that the coffee hour host signup sheet has been filled in three month blocks. This is the result of the Leaders' Council creating four hospitality teams, each of which would serve one quarter. Each team is responsible for making sure that we have greeters and coffee hour personnel assigned for each Sunday for a period of three months. It is up to each team to decide how this is accomplished. Members of the team could rotate themselves to cover these services or they could enlist other members of the congregation to fill these responsibilities.
The rationale behind this process is twofold. It eliminates the burden of a social committee constantly trying see that someone has signed up for coffee hour host and a membership committee trying to make sure there is a greeter each Sunday. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, is provides more involvement opportunities with minimal time commitment for our friends and members.
We are in the middle of our second quarter with this system. It has worked remarkably well. So far, since November, we have not been without a greeter or coffee hour host on any Sunday morning. Being on a hospitality team may sound like more of a commitment than it really is. It consists of one meeting on a Sunday after the service and serving one, two or zero times as a greeter or coffee hour host. Normally there are 12 Sundays in a quarter. If there are 12 folks on the team, each team member is responsible for one Sunday as greeter and one Sunday as a coffee hour host. Some team members may not enjoy greeting but enjoy hosting coffee hour and vice versa. In that case, team members can trade off responsibilities or someone, not on the team, who enjoys one or the other of these tasks might be asked to take a Sunday.
The first two teams were filled by asking individuals. Very few, of which declined the invitation. We have two quarters left to complete a year. Consider this your personal invitation to be included on one of these teams. It would be wonderful if we could do this without having to asked those who have already served to do it again. Although, I know that many would be willing to repeat. Anyone willing to help out with this project, please contact John Rodeheffer (jrodeheffer@insight.rr.com).
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Social Justice News
PROJECT LINUS: For the month of January, we collected blankets for Project Linus, named after the Peanuts character who is comforted by his blanket. The homemade blankets are given to children suffering trauma, such as homeless children, hospitalized children, and children in foster care. NUUC members made 26 blankets and contributed $105 in the Loose Change offering. We hope to do Project Linus each year. Thanks to Brad Bushman for coordinating this project.
FEBRUARY LOOSE CHANGE: In February, we cllected $159.91 for
Turning Point, a Marion shelter that serves victims/survivors of domestic violence in six counties, including Delaware County. The shelter is designed to meet the victims' physical needs by providing housing, food, clothing, and personal items, as well as their emotional needs through support services. To learn more about this organization, visit their website at http://turningpoint6.com
MARCH LOOSE CHANGE OFFERING: Faithful Forgotten Best Friends (FFBF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization built on all volunteers; they don't have any paid personnel. They work to improve the quality of life for pets of the homeless and less fortunate in the downtown Columbus, OH and Franklinton areas through educating their owners and providing food, basic veterinary care, vaccinations and assistance with spay and neuter of their pets. They work side by side with Mt. Carmel Medical Outreach Program and Holy Family Church. The organization believes in the healing power of companion pets and that the human/animal bond is very important to life. Between 5% and 10% of homeless people have dogs or cats. Sometimes, this is their only companion or family! Ohio shelters do not allow pets, and many of the homeless are forced to choose between their pet and staying in a shelter: Most choose to stay on the streets with their pets. FFBF is the only non-profit organization in the Midwest that focuses on this need, and it is their hope that this program will become a pilot program for other cities! In addition to donating the Loose Change offering in March, NUUC will be collecting dog and cat food for the month of March to be donated to FFBF. Check donations can be made to NUUC with FFBF Loose Change in the memo line. To learn more about FFBF, visit http://www.ffbf-columbus.org/Home_Page.html. Feel free to contact Erin Fisher Kenny at erinfisherkenny@gmail.com with any questions, and thank you for your donations! SEEING SYSTEMS: PEACE, JUSTICE, AND SUSTAINABILITY: The Interfaith Association of Central Ohio and Simply Living are sponsoring this Northwest Earth Institute discussion class on Wednesdays, March 16th through April 27th at the Simply Living office. We live in an interconnected world. Each of us is part of a complex global system, and our daily actions-big or small-influence the system in both healthy and unhealthy ways. This six session discussion course offers you a unique opportunity to gather with others from different faiths to reflect on the state of local and global affairs; discuss how we as individuals can contribute to a more peaceful, just and sustainable world; and then advocate on the issues that matter most. See more about the course on the bulletin board or NUUC Facebook page. To register for the class contact Pam Patsch at pgp723@aol.com by March 7, 2016. UUSC FAIR TRADE COFFEE: Shop for delicious Fair Trade coffee, tea, cocoa, and chocolate after the service on March 13, 2016. Your purchase of Fair Trade products means that workers along the supply chain are provided a living wage. The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) supports a number of worker-owned, local producers who are in danger of being replaced with multinational corporations that have little respect for workers' rights. Making consumer choices that are aligned with our UU Principles is one way to help create a more just world community UPCCOMING SOCIAL JUSTICE EVENTS
Saturday and Sunday, March 5th & 6th - Ohio Fair Foods invites you to join the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) for the 2016 Workers' Voice Tour. There will be a benefit concert for Farmworker Justice on Saturday, March 5th at 8:00pm at Summit on 16th UMC. On Sunday, March 6th at 12:30pm, there will be a Workers' Voice March on Wendy's at Goodale Park (120 W. Goodale St. , Columbus, 43215) as we call on Wendy's to become part of an industry that hears, respects - and gives a rightful, dignified place to - workers' voices. From New York City to Palm Beach, FL the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and allies will be taking the message of farmworker justice directly to Wendy's doorstep on the #WorkersVoiceTour! Despite countless actions to bring the Dublin-based fast food chain to commit to human rights for farmworkers, Wendy's remains the only major fast food company to refuse to collaborate with the (CIW). These events are part of the Workers' Voice March from New York City to Palm Beach, FL to call attention to the violation of human rights for farmworkers. More information here. Contact: OhioForFairFood@gmail.com Also see:
Wednesday, April 20th - Climate Action Coalition Event at Ohio Statehouse 11 am - 1 pm - This will be an "Earth Day" rally with members of Ohio Interfaith Power & Light, Interfaith Association of Central Ohio, Faith in Public Life, Unitarian Universalists, Move to Amend, Sierra Club, Simply Living, Citizens Climate Lobby, Transition Clintonville, Columbus Community Bill of Rights, Free Press, NextGen America and all individuals of conscience concerned about the causes and solutions to the threat of global warming. Climate change is real, mostly human caused, and we have a moral duty to act! Details will be forthcoming, including speakers, efforts to persuade state legislators to "end the freeze" on the Renewable Energy and Efficiency Portfolio Standards and other environmental justice issues in Ohio, and transportation arrangements from other cities in Ohio. This is our opportunity to begin to act publicly and call for new policies and solutions that are available now. Saturday, April 23rd: UUJO is offering a MeetUp4Racial Justice 2016 workshop at First Unitarian Universalist Church in Clintonville. The workshop will bring UUs from area congregations together for education and networking with racial justice partners and allies. UUJO is collaborating with OMD clusters and the UU Council of Greater Cincinnati to provide workshops that build a larger movement and promote more effective engagement. The "fusion politics" advocated by the North Carolina moral movement leader Rev. William Barber offers a model for Ohio UUs to form coalitions with like-minded liberal organizations mobilizing on a range of issues that address radical inequities. The UUJO MeetUp workshops occur as Ohio becomes an election year battleground when UUs need to join forces with others to leverage our concerns about mass incarceration, the school to prison pipeline, economic inequality, pollution in marginalized communities, theminimum wage, homelessness, Islamophobia, employment, health care and more. Those interested in receiving information can subscribe to the UUJO Racial Justice Team Google Group.
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