Barbara Haskell  

Once Upon A Time - Now U.U. calls me to explore and add a more inclusive focus of Love and Acceptance, to nudge me to live the lessons of my grandparents' stories.

 

Returning Home - I came to UUC once in 1979. I guess I wasn't ready. Later, I realized that people who connect in faith are few and far between. Thirty years later I came back.

 

 

Pegotty & Randy Cooper

Take Bold Action:   In 2003, about a year after my husband Randy and I joined the UUC, we were both downsized.

 

Read the rest of their stories as well as other Stories.

Share your story so we can connect to what is important to you! We have set up a page on our website: Share, where you can write your story. 

Join us Sunday, March 3 for the

Igniting Community Service and Luncheon!

All UUC Members and Friends are invited.  Share your story with someone you have never met.  Get to know other members of our community.  Talk about what matters to you and the future of our liberal faith community!

There will be special accommodations for children. 

We want you to imagine with us what we can do together!

Please RSVP here or call 727-531-7704.

9:30 in the Patio Room

Pledges are approximately 80% of our anticipated income which we use to pay our staff, maintain the buildings, and for the many UUC activities and programs.  It is very important that we receive your timely pledge payments so that we can keep up with our budget and meet our obligations.  You can now make donations and payments via the UUC website.

If your circumstances have changed since you made your pledge, please let Sheila Knaust, UUC Treasurer know, and we will adjust the records accordingly. 

Susan Hegner, President

The 4th Annual All Congregation Retreat will be held once again at the Cedarkirk Camp & Conference Center in Lithia, FL, Friday-Sunday, April 5-7, 2013.

Members & friends of all ages join us for a fun filled weekend of self discovery, reflection, adventure, and camaraderie with new and old friends alike.

Arts and Crafts, Games, Music, Yoga, Meditation Garden, Field Sports, Canoeing, Archery, Zip Line, Climbing Wall, Campfire, and more.

Variety of sleeping accommodations (dormitory style lodge rooms, cabins, bunk tents, limited RV sites)

Three memory filled days, lodging & meals included, only $80-140 per person (less for ages 12 & under).

On Friday, March 1st, we begin discussing the book Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West  by Stephen Ambrose.

"Undaunted Courage" is the definitive book on the most momentous expedition in American history and one of the great adventure stories of all time. High adventure, high politics, suspense, drama, and diplomacy combine with high romance and personal tragedy to make this outstanding work of scholarship as readable as a novel.  

Reader's Forum is led by Catherine & John Conover and meets every Friday at 10 a.m. It is free, with only a suggested $5 donation per month for coffee. All are welcome. For more information, go to Readers Forum.

Saturday, March 16, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

We often mention the tremendous needs of the RCS Food Bank. The systemic problem of hunger in America is the focus of a movie being shown in Tampa for the next two weeks (also offered on "On Demand").

From the Tampa Bay Times:

"An estimated 50 million Americans - many of them children - don't know when or where they'll get their next meal. That tragic situation is the subject of A Place at the Table, a documentary opening Friday for a two-week engagement at Tampa Theatre.

The film focuses on a single mother in Philadelphia, and elementary school students in Mississippi and Colorado struggling with food insecurity. The movie also includes commentary from food activist and Oscar-winning actor Jeff Bridges, who spoke on the topic at last year's Republican National Convention in Tampa, and Top Chef's Tom Colicchio. A Place at the Table features original music by Grammy winner T-Bone Burnett and the Civil Wars. Visit Tampa Theatre  to view a preview trailer and check show times. Tickets are $10 for adults. - Steve Persall, Times movie critic

*****

The Coalition of Immokolee Workers begins their March for Rights, Respect, and Fair Food next Sunday and UUC has been asked to fill a gap in their food supply. They need us to provide lunch in Plant City for 300 on the next to the last day of the march, Saturday, March 16th.

We will need folks to:

• Assemble sandwiches on Friday, March 15th

• Bake or buy three dozen cookies (We have commitments from four people... we need 13 more!)

• Transport and serve lunch on Saturday, the 16th.

• Lunch for 300 is expensive (especially since people marching 13 miles get hungry). We'd appreciate financial help.

For more information contact Donna

 ****

The banner reads "We are marching for the future of our families," and the rays of the sun are the hands of the community's children.

The Social Justice Council has been working with CIR NOW, a coalition of local area organizations, on the issue of comprehensive immigration reform. The District 13 task force has invited Rep. Bill Young to attend a press conference on February 28th at 4:30 in front of his office at 9210 113th Street Seminole, FL 33772 Following the press conference at 5:00 PM there will be an immigration summit at the St. Petersburg College Field House at the campus.

CIR NOW has asked Rep. Young for his position on the Congressional Hispanic Caucus' nine principlesfor immigration reform articulated in their position paper,ONE NATION: Principles on Immigration Reform and Our Commitment to the American Dream.

Speakers for the event will include our own, Rev. Abhi Janamanchi, as well as Rev. Felipe Perez, Edward Quinones Garcia, and a representative from Rep. Bill Young's office.

Following the press conference a summit of citizens interested in the issue of comprehensive immigration reform will meet at the St. Pete College fieldhouse to discuss strategies for educating the general public and legislators about the importance of this issue and the different proposals that are now being discussed. The eventual outcome of these discussions will affect the futures of the nation's 37 million documented and undocumented immigrants and could have wide reaching economic consequences for a range of industries.

 ****

Visit the Clearwater Green Market on Saturday mornings from 9 to 2. The market provides residents of Clearwater with better access to healthy, high-quality, affordable, and culturally-diverse food.  The market takes place in the 1200 Block of Cleveland Street at Missouri Avenue and is sponsored by our friends at the Hispanic Outreach Center.

Donna Polhamus

PUBLICATION DEADLINES

OCTAGRAM - WEEKLY EVERY THURSDAY

The Octagram is intended to focus on activities taking place at UUC or those of interest to UUC members and friends. Send items in brief with a link to more information to Octagram.

PLEASE DO NOT SEND INFORMATION FORMATTED, OR IN A FLIER.

Provide text in an email, or as an attached Word file with any pictures/graphics attached to the email.

Deadline is 10 a.m. every Wednesday.

Prepared by Barbara Bird.

ORDER OF SERVICE/ANNOUNCEMENTS - WEEKLY EVERY SUNDAY SERVICE:

Deadline is 6 p.m. every Wednesday. Send appropriate items to Order of Service/Announcements.  

Prepared by Pat St. Clair.

ITEMS RECEIVED AFTER THE DEADLINES WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE FOLLOWING PUBLICATION, IF APPLICABLE.