OUUC Weekly Update
January 9, 2024
Community Dinner: Soup Night
January is National Soup Month, and we will celebrate that and enjoy soup together at this week’s Community Dinner on Thursday. All are welcome for food and fellowship; a donation is accepted to help pay for the food. If you would like to volunteer to help with dinner prep, set up, or clean up, email Rev Sara.
There are many activities at 6:30 pm: All Ages Board Games, Action Hour, the Social Justice Book Group, and the Christian group.
Buddhist Sangha Retreat
The OUUC Sangha will be hosting a meditation retreat on Saturday January 13 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at OUUC. All are welcome.
If you have questions, please contact Curt Hill.
Nature Group on Saturday
January 13 at 9:00 am. We meet to connect with nature and each other on the 2nd Saturday of each month. All ages and abilities are welcome. This month we will walk and enjoy the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge. Bringing binoculars is encouraged if you have them. We will cancel if there is snow. Questions or to RSVP, email Rev Sara.
Investing in Our Values; with a Focus on Congregational Financing
January 14 after the Sunday service. A resolution brought forward at the last UUA General Assembly asked that the UUA Common Fund totally divest of fossil fuels. Although the resolution was not successful, many congregations currently in the Common Fund, including OUUC, are interested in pursuing fossil fuel divestment and pursuing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investments instead. ESG emphasize a portfolio's measures of sustainability, social justice, LGBTQ+ rights, solving food insecurity, and human rights. Not all ESG-labeled funds live up to their claims. How do you know? Do ESG funds perform as well as non-ESG funds? Longwave Financial will describe their experience as a financial advisory firm with experience in personal advising as well as helping faith-based organizations answer these questions and maintain endowments to insure their long-term financial health and pursue their financial and values-based goals. Please join us in the Sanctuary or on Zoom and YouTube.
Action Hour
Each Thursday at 6:30 pm, January 11 to February. Do you find yourself overwhelmed by all the petitions to sign and the bills to comment on during the legislative session? Do you mean to get to it but find your email inbox just too choked up and/or you forget? Well, set a time and do it with us! All are invited to join us at OUUC for this weekly opportunity to engage with faithful advocacy actions in the company of others. Bring your own device if you can: laptop, phone, tablet. We’ll have a menu of actions to take, all experience levels are welcome.
30 Days of Love
From January 15 to February 15, all UU’s are invited to engage with resources and themes of intersectional love and justice gifted to us by the Side with Love project.
You can find those resources here: 30 Days of Love 2024 — Side With Love
2nd Annual Chili Cook Off!
Thursday, January 25, 5:30 pm, we will hold our 2nd annual chili cook off. Dust off your favorite chili recipe and submit a pot of chili to be voted on at the community dinner! There will be prizes to be won.
Let Rev Sara know if you plan to bring a pot of chili, and if it will be veggie or meat based.
Seeking Candidates for the OUUC Board and LDC
Are you interested in serving on the OUUC Board of Trustees or the Leadership Development Committee (LDC)? Or can you suggest a member of the congregation who should be considered for these positions?
The Board of Trustees is responsible to the will of the OUUC membership in setting church policies and overseeing the business, property, and other affairs of the congregation. Members with finance, accounting, data management, or community outreach experience would be especially helpful, though these skills are not essential.
One of the LDC’s main duties is identifying members with the desirable skills and experience for both the Board and the LDC. A vote to confirm the proposed slate of candidates will then take place at the OUUC annual meeting in May-June.
We welcome your aid! Please contact a current LDC member with candidate suggestions: Alice Curtis, Jason Martinelli, Gail Wrede, Anne Kohlbry, and Gary Worthington.
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 January. To update or create a new profile, log in to your Realm account. Onrealm.org/OUUC Choose the Serving tab, then click Select Skills & Interests. Or stop by the church office to fill out a paper form.
New UU/Seekers Class
All who are new to UU or to OUUC are welcome at these classes (one or all of the series). For those interested in becoming members of OUUC this class is required.
Upcoming classes:
January 20: membership and congregational life
February 3: Q&A with minister
This will conclude this series and those who have been attending will be welcomed into membership if they choose to join. The series will then restart in a hybrid Zoom/in person format still on Saturdays.
For questions or more information contact Rev Sara.
Don Melnick Recognized
OUUC Member, Don Melnick was recognized by the Transportation Policy Board for years of service. Congratulations, Don! Read more about it here.
Office Assistant Needed
OUUC is seeking a part-time Office Assistant as the second of two positions that will assume the work of Darlene Sarkela, church administrator when she retires in February. Read more here.
Explore Article II Resources
Last Sunday we held a forum exploring the question “What Does Love Mean?” and how the new Article II proposed for the UUA places Love at the center of our shared UU Values. If you’d like to catch up on Article II and what is going on there in our larger UU movement, we’ve collected resources here: Article II (padlet.org)
Adult Faith Development
This winter and spring you’ll find an intriguing mix of classes offered by the Adult Faith Development team. Perhaps you’re interested in meditation or wondered how to think about “loaded” words such as transcendent truth, mystical and prayer? Are you eager to figure out how to bring more love and justice into the world? Sign up for one of our classes and join a like-minded group of voluntary, self-directed learners who will travel with you on your individual journey as we explore how to live in this world. Faith development enables people who share similar religious values, sense of spirituality, or a similar faith stance to work together for spiritual awakening and faith development—religious growth. Adult learners come with experience. We ask questions. Some Unitarian Universalists are skeptical and challenging; others are goal-oriented. We may be looking for spiritual growth and a sense of connection, not only with other people, but with the mystery of being alive. Register for a class here.
Fluent in Faith 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!)
“Dare to Lead” by Brene Brown
A book study with workbook and discussion (facilitated by Jenee Wolfram). A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for recognizing the potential in people and ideas, and has the courage to develop that potential. Brene Brown writes about owning your fears, choosing courage over comfort and whole hearts over armour, and building an organizational culture (whether it be a family, business, committee, or faith community) based on bravery and vulnerability. When we dare to lead, we don’t pretend to have the right answers; we stay curious and ask the right questions. We don’t see power as finite and hoard it; we know that power becomes infinite when we share it with others. We don’t avoid difficult conversations and situations; we lean into vulnerability when it’s necessary to do good work. Let’s explore Brene’s four courage building skills together and see where it takes us. Tuesday evenings, 6:00-7:30 pm, January 30, February 6, 13 and 20. Register here.
Learn more about the following events and others here.
January 14, 1:00-3:30 pm, Mark Kremen Speaks on Assimilation and His Path To Reclaim Native Heritage at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 1515 Harrison Ave NW. Mark Kremen (Skokomish) will share his experience living through the forces of assimilation during his childhood living in non-native white homes and the challenges as a young man to find his path to reclaim his native heritage: learning his Salish language and reclaiming the cultural background of his Tribe.
Come to Olympia Indivisible's 2024: Mobilize for Democracy! on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, January 15 from 1:00-3:00 pm at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 114 20th Ave. SE. Find out how you can be a part of our new electoral teams to: help mobilize voters in key presidential states, get out the vote in key federal congressional districts in Washington state, elect progressive leadership in Thurston County and Washington state, Let's work together to ensure our constitutional rights and protect our democratic institutions. This event is free and open to the public. Tell a friend, bring a friend! Please Register Here (it'll only take you 30 seconds!)
JUUstWA 2024 Legislative Summit - January 27, 2024, 9:00 am – 10:30 am: Legislative Panel
and 11:00 am -1:30 pm: Strategy (Work) Session. More details here. Register here.
The panel will run from 9:00-10:30 am with a discussion on bills that will need action to get them through the session. We have Rep. Beth Doglio and Sen. Manka Dhinga joining us.
Are you interested in saving energy and switching to an all-electric lifestyle but don’t know where to start? The OUUC Environmental Action Team invites you to take advantage of a free home electrification assessment offered to active Puget Sound Energy gas customers. 1. You sign up for a free, 60-minute appointment at a time that works with your schedule. 2. An Electrification Coach will walk through your home with you, answer your questions, and help build a custom list of electrification recommendations.
The Dispute Resolution Center is seeking nominations for the 2024 Evan Ferber Peacemaker Leadership Award. The DRC welcomes and encourages members of the community to submit nominations for this award. Established in honor of Founding Executive Director Evan Ferber, it recognizes individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership in strengthening civil discourse and promoting peaceful dispute resolution and civility in our community. The 2024 award will be presented this spring at a special DRC Celebration of Peacemakers event.
Open your new year calendar and plan to join us in-person on February 8 for Interfaith Advocacy Day in Olympia! FAN’s annual gathering of advocates brings your voice and concerns to the state Capitol.
Read more....