OUUC Weekly Update
December 12, 2023
Thursday Dinner
This week’s Thursday Dinner will be “Comfort Food”. Volunteers are needed for set up and clean up, contact Rev Sara if you can help.
All are welcome for food and fellowship at 5:30 pm.
Following dinner there will be an All-Ages Board Game night, and the UU Christian and UU Buddhist groups will be meeting. For the Board Game night, please feel free to bring a game you’d like to play. We’ll play from 6:30-8:00 pm.
New UU/Seekers Class
This year we are trying something new in place of our New Member Classes, and offering a gathering twice a month for those interested in knowing more about Unitarian Universalism, OUUC, and membership at OUUC. Gatherings are all on Saturdays, 10:00-11:30 am. For more information, reach out to Rev Sara Lewis.
This Month’s Schedule of Gatherings:
December 16: pastoral care and small group ministry
Register here.
I am pleased to announce that we welcomed Isaac Ezra Jennings (he/him) as OUUC’s new Business Manager on December 11. Isaac will be training with both Darlene and Rev. Mary to learn the financial and human resources aspects of this position.
Current OUUC Administrator, Darlene Sarkela, will retire in February 2024 after almost 33 years of service. We are working hard to make Darlene’s retirement as smooth as possible.
We will be covering the duties that Darlene currently has as well as redistributing other duties to two new positions at OUUC: a Business Manager and an Office Assistant.
Isaac has years of experience working in non-profits with people of all ages and identities. Isaac worked with two organizations in the South Sound area that supported reading and literacy for young people. He most recently was the J-Pride (LGBTQ+) Program Coordinator for Jewish Family and Children’s Services of Minneapolis. Isaac brings skills and experience with program management, strategic planning, management and supervision, volunteer coordination, communications, outreach, and community coordination.
Isaac lives with his partner and toddler in the Olympia area. In his off-time Isaac is a writer and artist. His hobbies include cooking, reading, playing tabletop games, and spending time outside with his family in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. We are delighted to welcome Isaac and his family back to the South Sound. Please look for Isaac after the service on Sunday and in the church office during the week.
Welcome Isaac!
Free U-Cut/U-Dig Douglas Firs for the Holidays
To clear out many of the volunteer Douglas Firs that are growing too close to the lower parking lot, Building and Grounds is offering up free trees for the Holidays! Any of the Douglas Fir that are from 1 to 15 feet tall and within 8 feet of the edges of the lower parking lot are free game with just two catches. First, if you cut a tree, please cut it as close to the ground as possible. Second, if you dig out a tree, please fill in the remaining hole with nearby dirt or debris. Trees may be harvested at any time between now and the end of December. If you have questions please contact Lynne MacDonald.
Skills and Interests Survey
OUUC has amazingly skilled and talented members. In past years, we have collected information from our members regarding their skills and interests in order to provide opportunities that meet their needs and interests. We have not updated this list since 2021, so we are asking you to update your profile in Realm, or if you are a newer member, to create a profile for yourself. We are focusing on collecting this information in December 2023. To update or create a new profile, log in to your Realm account. Choose the Serving tab, then click Select Skills & Interests. Or stop by the church office to fill out a paper form.
Save the Dates - Holiday Services and Events
Holiday Concert, We Remember Them… “A Requiem” - Saturday, December 16 at 2:00 pm and Sunday, December 17 at 7:00 pm
Winter Solstice Spiral and Fire Ritual - Thursday, December 21 at 7:00 pm
Christmas Eve Services “Silent Night” - Sunday, December 24 at 5:30 pm (live-streamed and in-person) and at 9:00 pm (in-person only)
See the full schedule here.
Upcoming Faith Development Class
Fluent in Faith, Led by Rev Sara Lewis. 3 sessions, Wednesdays, 6:30-8:00 pm, January 10, 17, and 24. Do you love words like Worship, god, and grace, or do you struggle with them? Do you just find the words confusing? Join this class to explore these and more words, to find and make meaning together as we dive into the language of faith. Class will be on Zoom (good for those dark and cold evenings of January!)
Creating Your Own Spoken Spiritual Practice Class
The words we use have power in our lives. If we say things – especially out loud, but even just in our minds, our life will tend to work to make them manifest. The idea behind this class is that we can choose things we say with the intention of creating outcomes we actually intend to make manifest. Woody Moore has a Masters degree in psychology and has devoted considerable time (at least 25 years), energy and focus in using a practice made up of spoken words to achieve more consistency with how he lives his life. Class is offered in two sections with same content: Section One via Zoom: Four Mondays 6:30 – 8:30 pm—January 8, 15, 22 and 29 as needed. Register for Zoom section
Section Two In person at church: Four Tuesdays 1:30-3:00 pm —January 9, 16, 23 and 30 as needed. Register for In Person Section
Visit Equity Library
The Equity Library is located in the OUUC Religious Education wing, and open when OUUC is open, has books for kids, teens, and adults about Antiracism, Inclusion, and Economic and Environmental Justice. Two books you will find there to use the easy check out system to borrow are: All the Colors We Are: The story of how we get our skin color (by Katie Kissinger), and Don’t Let Them Disappear: Twelve endangered species and what we can do to save them (by Chelsea Clinton & Gianna Marino).
Celebration of Life for Anna Jones
On Friday, December 15, the family and friends of Anna Jones will be welcomed for a Celebration of Life service at 3:30 pm, both onsite in the OUUC Sanctuary or on Zoom. A reception will follow for those onsite.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89722416543?pwd=andVOTZTT2dJbk1KWkk2a1M3aEwzUT09
Meeting ID: 897 2241 6543
Passcode: 362116
It’s Guest at Your Table Time!
This is an annual fundraiser for the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, and we launched it last Sunday in our worship service (if you missed it, you can watch the service on the OUUC youtube channel). Learn more about Guest at Your Table here. And you can still get a box at OUUC, or make your donation directly to UUSC online!
Volunteer to Provide Food
On Wednesdays, December 20 and 27 volunteers from OUUC will bring main and side dishes for the evening meal at Interfaith Works’ Unity Common’s Adult Shelter, and/or collect shelf stable foods for the food bank’s weekend backpacks. New volunteers are always needed and welcome to join this team which is helping to provide food security to kids, teens and adults in need. For more information, please call or email Jo Ann Young.
Help Wanted for the New Year’s Fire Communion
Volunteers needed for setting up and cleaning up for the New Year’s Fire Communion on Sunday December 31. If you could help, please contact Rev Sara.
Cookie Brigade Raises $1330 for the Kitchen Fund - The Holiday Cookie Sale was a buttery and sugary success, raising $1330 for the Kitchen Fund. Twenty-two bakers including Maddy Martinelli, Mary Ann Thompson, Fritz Wrede, Karmel Shields, Linda Whitcher, Holly Porter, Rosalie Melnick, Judith Anderegg, Ginny Taylor, Mary Wildenhaus, Julie Rosmond, Susan Southwick, Carol McKinley, Tom Best, Carol Williams, Josie Solseng, Susan Bakke, Connie Ruhl, Diana Finch, Chris Parke, Karen Jackson, and Melanie Ransom, baked approximately 1800 cookies to fill 85 boxes of cookies of regular and gluten-free cookies. Gail Gosney-Wrede and Carol Williams beautified the cookie boxes with holiday ribbons. Many thanks to all who came together to create and enjoy this holiday fundraiser.
Thank you so much! OUUC collected $1425 in gift cards for our neighbors at LP Brown Elementary School. School counselors will distribute the cards to families in need, and were most appreciative of our support. Thank you for helping to spread holiday cheer and love.
A loving, just, and healthy world.