Friday News 3-11-2022

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It was wonderful to see so many of you back in the building in person this past Sunday, building community and advocating for peace! I look forward to reconnecting with all of you at some point soon!

Don’t forget to change your clocks Saturday night – it’s time to Spring Forward, and we wouldn’t want you to miss the fantastic Sunday service that First UU’s Atheists, Skeptics and Humanists group (ASH) is putting on this week!

Stay for Coffee Hour after the service, and definitely plan to next Sunday, 3/20 – when our Justice Action Ministry will have special activities and actions you can take to kick off their push for voter registration!

As our congregation continues to resume more in person activities, more volunteers are needed! This includes all the tasks that make our worship services and Coffee Hour possible, as well as the need for Sunday school teachers and youth advisors as we prepare to add back more classes this fall. For general volunteer opportunities, please email Kelli. If you are interested in building community and making meaning with the next generation of UUs, please email me! Thank you in advance for your help!

Thank you for all that you do! It is such a blessing to be together here! 🙂

Cheerily yours,

Amber Scott
Director of Religious Exploration
amber@firstuucolumbus.org

*For now, please send any Friday News updates to Amber by 8 pm Wednesday, and put “Friday News” in the subject line! We will let you know when Kelli returns from surgery recovery! Thank you!
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If you would like to be included in the directory, please fill out this membership update form and let us know which information you would and wouldn’t like listed. If you are a member and would like a copy of the directory, please contact Marian Garcia in the front office.
Announcements at a Glance
SUNDAYS @ FIRST UU
  • Sunday Service – 3/6
  • How to Attend the Service
  • March Soul Matters Packets
FIRST UU HAPPENINGS
  • Friday Walks at Highbanks!
  • Sign Up Now: Dinner and Conversation Groups! Reg due 3/14
  • Voter Registration: Protect Democracy in Ohio! 3/14, 3/21-3/26
  • Polar Bears and Climate Change Presentation! 3/16
  • Rainbow Connexion Movie Night 3/18
  • East of the River Concert 3/19
  • Fourth Friday Fun Night! 3/25
  • Celebration of Life for Linda Keith 5/7
  • Save the Date: Labor Day Retreat! 9/3-9/5
  • Join the Conversation on Facebook!
WIDER COMMUNITY EVENTS
  • Jung on Gender Fluidity 3/12
  • Columbus Library Conversations About Race
  • Support Ukraine: Donate to UUSC
  • Register Now for CER Summer Institute!
  • Register Now for UUA General Assembly
  • Columbus Vaccine Clinics
FAMILY UPDATES
  • One Spot Left: 6-7year OWL – Register Now!
  • This Sunday At-a-Glance! 3/13
  • Outdoor Religious Exploration and Youth Group Updates!
  • Peace Camp Registration Coming Soon! 8/1-8/5 and 8/8-8/12
  • Calling All Volunteer Teachers!
SUNDAYS AT FIRST UU
This Sunday’s Service: March 13th, 2022
Women Beyond Belief

Celebrating Women Freethinkers: words of famous women from across the ages!

Worship Presenters: First UU’s Atheists, Skeptics, and Humanists group (ASH), including Tom Baillieul, Anita Bucknam, Cathy Elkins, Alice Farina, Brenda Penn, Karen Thimmes, and Marge Lynd.

Please join us for fellowship and socializing in Beach Hall after the service! Folks are encouraged to bring their own coffee until coffee service resumes. 
How to Attend the Service
1) Attend live and in person at First UU! (Don’t forget your mask)!

2) Tune in to our livestream! Join virtually via firstuucolumbus.org/sunday

2) View the recordings later, at your convenience, on our website!
March Soul Matters Packets
This month, our theme is Renewing Faith. You will notice that these packets will look a bit different while Kelli is off! Usually she combines the Small Group Ministry packet and the Worship Resource packet into one document each month.  Additional packets for families that follow the monthly theme include Soulful Home and Flagstones. If you would like to request a printed or mailed copy of any packets, please contact Marian Garcia.
FIRST UU HAPPENINGS
Friday Walks at Highbanks!
Meet today (3/11) at 10am in the Nature Center parking lot, and next week (3/18) at 9:30am for a hike around Highbanks with fellow First UUers! Contact Erica Scurr to be added to the UU Walkers email list!
Sign Up Now: Dinner and Conversation Groups!
Join fellow First UUers for fun, food, and fellowship – April thru June! Sign-ups for this quarter end 3/14. Contact Marcia Canter to register, or for more info!
Voter Registration: Protect Democracy in Ohio!
More than 1 million Ohio voters have been purged from the voting rolls. Without representation we cannot fight climate change, end the death penalty, secure women’s health, and impact all the issues we care about. How can I take ACTION?

The League of Women Voters of Metropolitan Columbus is organizing voter outreach week from March 21st to March 26th at many different sites ahead of the May primary – and First UU’s Justice Action Ministry is planning to be a part of it! Get trained ahead of action week by joining the Live Voter Registration Training March 14th at 7pm on Zoom, or by watching a Recorded Voter Registration Training.

  • Help re-register voters who have been purged!
  • Register new voters!
  • Voting is fundamental to democracy!

Email us and let us know if you plan to participate in voter outreach week, or if you have questions! Shifts will be 2-3 hours, and new outreach sites will be scheduled based on the number of volunteers available. We’d love to have a big First UU contingent!
Polar Bears and Climate Change Presentation 3/16
There are still spots available!!! This exciting eco-justice presentation will take place in Beach Hall at First UU, at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, March 16th, followed by warm beverages, Hungarian nut and poppy seed rolls, and polar bear cookies. The cost is $15 per person, paid to the church. (If writing a check, please write “auction” on the memo line). Please contact Danya Furda to RSVP, or for more info!
Rainbow Connexion Movie Night 3/18
Rainbow Connexion is a First UU group specifically for people who identify as LGBTQ, where folks come for community, support and sharing of their stories. Please contact Barb Fisher with questions or for more info. The next Rainbow Connexion meeting is Friday, March 18th at 7pm in Beach Fellowship Hall. Please wear a mask and bring your favorite snack! We will watch the movie Belfast with discussion to follow.

About the film: “Belfast is unquestionably Kenneth Branagh’s most personal film to date, but it’s also sure to have universal resonance. It depicts a violent, tumultuous time in Northern Ireland, but it does so through the innocent, exuberant eyes of a nine-year-old boy. And it’s shot in gentle black-and-white, with sporadic bursts of glorious color. In recalling his youthful days in an insular neighborhood in the titular city, Branagh has made a film that’s both intimate and ambitious.”
East of the River Concert 3/19
First UU is thrilled to host East of the River as part of Early Music in Columbus’ concert series on Saturday, March 19 at 8:00 pm (7:30 pre-concert talk). This ensemble will present “HAMSA: Music of Andalusia, North Africa, and the Ottoman Empire.” First UU members receive a 50% discount on tickets using the code EMCFRIEND or by letting them know at the ticket desk when you arrive if purchasing at the door. More info can be found here!
Fourth Friday Fun Night! 3/25
Fourth Fridays will frankly be full of fantastic fellowship and fun! Everyone is invited! Bring your favorite board game or other activities, and come socialize with fellow First UUers in Beach Hall! Activity schedule:

  • 5pm – let’s eat! (bring your own dinner)
  • 6pm – games, puzzles, and playground time!
  • 7pm – movie screening
  • 9pm – goodbyes

Also mark your calendars for 4/22 and 5/27! Planners and helpers needed – contact Christine Davidson!
Celebration of Life for Linda Keith 5/7
Mark your calendars for the Celebration of Life for Linda Keith happening at First UU on Saturday, May 7th at 10am.
Save the Date: Labor Day Retreat!
Our congregation’s traditional Labor Day Retreat will return to Camp Oty’Okwa this year, September 3rd-5th! More info coming soon. Contact Julia Pinsonneault to help plan this fun weekend for all ages!
Join the Conversation on Facebook!
See what our community is doing, support each other, and kindle personal connections – Check out the First UU Facebook Page, and join our Facebook Group!
WIDER COMMUNITY EVENTS
Jung on Gender Fluidity 3/12
The Jung Association is offering a free Zoom program from 10am-noon on March 12th about gender fluidity and the concepts of anima / animus. Many people are working to understand and empathize with the non-binary community, while many folks within the large and diverse non-binary community long for understanding. This program opens up a conversation that we anticipate will be enriching and loving. RSVP to reserve your spot here!
Columbus Library Conversations About Race
Your library is more than a home for books. It’s also a space to listen, to reflect and to grow. Our Speak Up/Speak Out series gives our communities an opportunity to come together to read and discuss a book about race, racism and social justice. We’ll also hear from the authors themselves.

We kick off the series with Ijeoma Oluo’s 2018 book, So You Want to Talk About Race. Mark your calendars:

Virtual Panel Discussion: April 5
Virtual Book Club: May 3
Virtual Author Talk: May 16

We’ll also read and discuss two other books later this year. Learn more and get involved!
Support Ukraine: Donate to UUSC
The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee identifies partner organizations working on the ground at the site of global crises. Support Ukrainian refugees by donating to the Emergency Response Fund today!
Register Now for CER Summer Institute!
Spend a magical week this summer thriving within a community of UUs of all ages! Join us July 10th-16th on the beautiful campus of CalU of Pennsylvania (30 miles south of Pittsburgh) for fellowship, fun, and friendship! Learn more at cersiuu.org!
Register Now for UUA General Assembly!
General Assembly is the annual gathering of Unitarian Universalists, where we conduct business of the Association, explore the theological underpinnings of our faith, and lean fully into our mission and principles. This year, we will have the option of meeting online or in-person! Join us June 22nd-26th, online or in-person in Portland, Oregon! Learn more!
Columbus Vaccine Clinics
If it’s been at least six months since your last COVID shot, you are eligible for a booster! Many Columbus Public Health clinics do not require an appointment, and include the opportunity to get your flu shot! Find a clinic near you!
FAMILY UPDATES
One Spot Left: 6-7year OWL – Register Now!

Register Now! Don’t miss out on this developmentally appropriate sexuality education program! There’s only one spot left on our class roster! Already registered? Great! Tell your friends with 6- and 7-year-olds to sign up before the class is full!

This Sunday At-a-Glance! 3/13

Family Activities This Sunday! 

  • 13-14yr OWL, 9-11am (room 301/302)
  • Outdoor RE w/ Jen B, 10-11am (SYC 4’s playground)
  • Youth Group, 11:30am-1:30pm (302, Rainbow Room)
  • Navigators Scouting Hike, 12noon (offsite)
Outdoor Religious Exploration and Youth Group!

Outdoor RE Update! 

Hello First UU Families! This last Sunday was a lovely day to be together! During our gathering time we shared our “joys and sorrows.” And we read The Happy Day by Ruth Krauss. In this story the snails, field mice, squirrels, groundhogs, and bears start to sniff, then to run, and then to dance as they gather to see the first flower bloom. And then we engaged in closing our eyes and really listening to the sounds around us. Here is a list of things we were hearing around us: birds, people, robins, cars, chickadees, barn owl, fence clanging, electronic sound waves (like a soft buzzing), woodpecker, blue jay, and a sparrow.

After we shared space together the kids were ready to resume play in the sandbox and on the playground. They particularly enjoyed playing in the sand and digging a big hole in which they had a road and a bridge. Our best and most important work of the day was having time to reconnect and play. Although we can’t promise such perfect weather each week- we have found that we can gather and play outside together in many different types of weather. And, that time together is very precious! We hope to see you this Sunday! -Jen B.

Families with young to elementary aged children are invited to join Jen Bojanowski for Outdoor Religious Exploration during the service! We will read stories, play games, and do activities together. Start outdoors at 10, or begin in the service and join after the story.

Youth Group Update! 

This Sunday’s meeting will be full of planning and fun! It was decided that the youth-led service on June 6th will be a theatrical musical featuring fractured fairytales highlighting our seven principles. There are diverse opportunities for youth to contribute – whether by performing or working behind the scenes!

Middle and high schoolers are invited to join us for a late nighter on Friday, 3/25, from 9-11pm after Fourth Friday Family Fun Night!  Your entire family is welcome to gather in Beach Hall from 5-9pm for fun and games followed by a movie. Afterwards the Youth Group will gather for a life-sized game of CLUE, and treats with Mrs. Plum in the kitchen with the chalice.

Peace Camp Registration Coming Soon!

Mark your calendars for Peace Camp 2022! More info and registration coming very soon – be the first to find out by subscribing to the Religious Exploration Announcements List!

Session 1: August 1st-5th, 9:00am-Noon, for our 6 to 8 year-olds

Session 2: August 8th-12th, 9:00am-Noon, for our 9 to 11 year-olds

Calling All Volunteer Teachers!

Please email Amber or fill out this form to become an RE teacher or youth advisor, or to help set the course for our church’s RE program as a part of our RE Team! We need volunteers for all ages and stages – including for this spring and the 2022-2023 church year. Thank you in advance for your help! I look forward to reconnecting with you in person!

Parents and families: please subscribe to the Religious Exploration announcements list for more information on upcoming classes!