Circle of Life

 

* Marion Erickson does not want calls or visitors. Her son and daughter are with her, so she is not alone. 

 

Toiletries for TIHAN.  During the month of August MVUU will be collecting toilet paper and paper towels for TIHAN clients. Paper products cannot be purchased with food stamps and are essential for HIV/AIDS clients to help manage their limited resources.  See Pat Desai with questions (577-9642,

csdesai@comcast.net) 

Attention Fry's Shoppers

 

Don't worry if you have money left on your Fry's gift card.  The cards are good.  At the end of July, Fry's computer will add up the unspent moneys, the computer knows this stuff, and we will be sent a check for 3%.  The program is ending at the end of July but that money on your card is still there for you to use.  Just don't put any more money on the card.  I'll be putting out instructions in August explaining how to sign up for the new program which starts in September. 

 

Alberta

Regarding the upcoming Service: Ch-ch-ch-changes

Thank you for your enthusiastic response to a request for poems and thoughts. I have decided to change the format somewhat. Because so many snowbirds and vacationers sent in their musings, and because these were enjoyable, touching and important, I have decided to include them. In doing so (and also to enhance the flow of worship), I have decided that the poems will be read by myself and the worship associate and done so without attribution.

My hope is that this will create an experience wherein the collected wisdom of the community is revealed and indulged. I hope that the anonymity of the musings creates the sensation of shared experience.

We will definitely do this again. So if you did not get a poem or thought submitted or if we need to tweak the process, those opportunities are available. See you all on Sunday where we'll see how this goes.

Adult Religious Exploration

 

The church year that starts up unofficially in September will be filled with ample opportunities to explore your faith and your spirituality. Wednesday evenings from 6:30-8:00 or 8:30 will be Adult Religious Exploration (ARE) time at MVUU. Mark your calendars. Childcare is provided, so anyone who wants to participate can.  

 

Some things we hope to offer:

• Owning Your Religious Past
• 6 part UU Roots Film Series
• Sacred Poetry
• Financial Integrity (based on "Your Money or Your Life")
• Power of Myth
• 12 Steps to a Compassionate Life

Other ideas under consideration:

• Exploration of Reproductive Justice
• Latin Culture
• Building Your Own Theology

There is so much we can do with ARE. A class or two might be offered on a different day of the week if there is interest in it. If you'd like to (co)facilitate any of these classes, please contact Sybelle van Erven at UUSybelle@gmail.com.

 

Make plans to make Wednesday evenings your ARE evening and bring a friend--no need to be a UU to enjoy this kind of exploration.

If it takes a village...

 

Just as the future of the world depends on the children, so does the future of our faith and of our congregation. If we would like Unitarian Universalism to grow we had better make sure we keep our young people in our congregations. One way to help accomplish that is by the connections the children make with UU adults and through teaching them about our faith.

 

If you want to help change the world, one child at a time, consider playing a role in our Religious Education program. Especially if you do not live with children (any longer). They are pretty amazing people! We would like to achieve an RE program where it is not up to the parents to make things happen. The parents come to church on Sundays to recharge and be ready for being the best parents they can be the next week. They should not be working with the children on Sundays.

 

There are many ways to help, from teaching a Sunday here or there (materials provided and you're never the only teacher in the room), to being a driver on a field trip, to chaperoning an overnight event. The sexuality education program, Our Whole Lives, still can use one or two male facilitators. MVUU would pay for your training and it is very fun!! Another valuable contribution is participation in the Religious Education Committee meetings (see MVUU calendar). Those meetings have been run by the same 4-6 people for years. We could use new ideas.

 

If you are willing and able to help out in any way, even occasionally, please let Donna Pratt, DRE or Lara Brennan, RE Chair know. You will not regret it. 

Long-Range Planning Group

 

Mountain Vista UU needs a few visionary people with some business skills to form a long range planning group, which will gather information and report to the congregation. Its members will serve 2 or 3 year terms.  See full text in April 15 issue. 

The Bake House group is planning silent retreats, courses on UU history and theology, and poetry. All are welcome to join this planning group.  See full text in April 15 issue.
 

MVUU Finance Study Group

Are you interested in understanding the recent history, current status, and potential future of MVUU finances? I am. Let's have a study group (this is not a committee, sad to say) to educate ourselves. All are welcome; 5 have so far indicated interest. Email me for more information and a detailed description.

Tom Bunch, Stewardship, sparky9132000@yahoo.com

Good News from MVUU

 

The op-ed page in the Arizona Daily Star (page A12) on Thursday, July 25 contained an article on Walter Douglas, an elementary school in a stressed neighborhood of the Flowing Wells school district. Check it out. You may be aware that Steve Weatherspoon has, for years, through the MVUU social action group, collected tax credit forms and checks from us members for Walter Douglas.  

 

Thank you, Steve. Maybe we can enhance this.

Aluminum Cans

 

Please bring your empty aluminum cans to church and place in the special bin. Proceeds from cans go to the Camp de Benneville Pines Scholarship Fund. Thank you to Emily Ricketts for sponsoring this worthwhile project.

Time and Talent

 

Please visit the Time and Talent Table outside the sanctuary for information about MVUU, all we have available to offer, and how you can participate. Or see Meg Kidwell, Ron Meikle, or Jane Paul.

Sign Up for Daily Compass

Sign up for the Church of the Larger Fellowship's Daily Compass, a daily meditation and inspirational email that now offers and audio version with a response. To subscribe, go to the Daily Compass, dailycompass.org, scroll to the bottom, and add your email.

Wednesdays, 9:30 am, Writers' Workshop. Contact Margaret Fleming at 888-7059 or 
margefleming@earthlink.net.  

 

MVUU Growth Group 

 

   

Following this book, Growth Group and Stewardship will head in different directions with the Growth Group (and maybe those interested in the coming Long Range Planning Group???) taking up Holy Conversations; Strategic Planning as a Spiritual Practice for Congregations, by Gil Rendle & Alice Mann. Stewardship continues with our second summer reading book Ministry and Money: A Guide for Clergy and their Friends, by Dan Hotchkiss.

 

 

 

"Sacred Poetry as Spiritual Practice" is taking a break until September.