Friday News – Dec. 19, 2025

•
I supposed you could say we had an early white Christmas! While beautiful, the snow combined with the frigid temperatures meant it was unsafe for participants and attendees to hold our Lessons and Carols service last Sunday. But never fear, we still have the holiday spirit at First UU! The cookie sale and gift wrapping event will happen this Sunday, and the Lessons and Carols service will be on January 4, spreading out the holiday celebrations! In between we’ll have the Solstice service this Sunday, two Christmas Eve services – the family service at 5 and candlelight service at 8 – and opportunities to walk the labyrinth between Christmas and New Year’s Day. On December 28, there will be an Expressive Worship service during the 11:00 time slot in addition to the labyrinth in the Worship Center. Come celebrate with us.

Rev. Dr. Terasa Cooley

Lead Minister

Upcoming Events

This Sunday, December 21st

9:15 “Nouurish Service”

Featuring

Winter is Here

by Kevin Henkes

Presented by members of the Alternative Worship Team with members of our First UU Community.

11:00 “Winter Solstice Service”

Join us to celebrate the Winter Solstice and the return of the light after the shortest day of the year!

Presented by Seeker’s Grove,

First UU’s Covenant of UU Pagans (CUUPS).

*No Sunday School Classes This Week –

We Return From Holiday Break Sunday, January 4th!*

All Soles Contra Dance

Saturday, December 20, 2025

Beginners’ Session 7:30 to 8:00 PM

Dancing 8:00 to 10:30 PM

Kenny Greer, from Berea, Kentucky, will call the dances and Firefly Trace will provide the music.

Cost is $10 for adults, $5 ages 12-25.
New to dancing? A beginners’ session, from 7:30 to 8:00 PM, will get you started. You will learn some basic figures that will be repeated in the evening’s dances. All dances will be taught and no partner is needed. Dancing is from 8:00 to 10:30 PM.

Please bring your own refillable water bottle. Snack contributions are appreciated (Read More)

Holiday Cookie Fair *This Sunday!*

Bring in Your Dozens, and Get Ready to Buy!
Raise money for Youth Group summer trips and our church’s Holiday Appeal! Drop off cookies labeled with allergens (ie nuts, dairy, eggs, wheat, etc.) in Beach Hall before the 11am service. The sale will commence after the service! Thank you for your generosity! You can also donate online!

Due to the presence of peanuts and tree nuts, as a precaution we recommend that those with severe and airborne allergies carry your epi-pen.

Gift Wrapping Fundraiser for Kaleidoscope

Rescheduled to Sunday, 12/21 after services!

Kaleidoscope Youth Center has experienced a catastrophic cut in funding, resulting in serious cutbacks in staff and programming, and the pending closure of their housing program for trans and queer youth in July, 2026. Kaleidoscope needs additional funds so the youth they serve can be appropriately transitioned to other housing before their facility closes.

To fundraise, Rainbow Connexion will be offering holiday gift wrapping after the 11:00 service on 12/14, for a suggested donation of $5-$20. Or donate here! Bring your gifts to room A/B (by the kitchen) and let the Rainbow Connexion elves wrap them for you – all while supporting this vital community program! Helpers, wrapping paper, and curling ribbon wanted! Contact Shirley Lange.

Support the Rising Young Adults (RYA!) and

Get holiday Gifts this Sunday

Do you need a last minute Christmas gift? To freshen up your wardrobe? Or for a cool print to decorate your house with? Well boy are you lucky! This Sunday come find Rising Young Adults (RYA) at their print-on-demand booth in Beach Hall.

These lino-cut prints designed and cut by RYA members will be available on pre-printed garments, patches, or paper prints or you can bring in some clothing to be up-cycled with prints in black or white ink. (For best results, bring smooth garments with 60% natural fibers for us to embellish for you).

All proceeds will help fund a the RYA trip to the Newport Aquarium. (see samples below)

Monthly Lunch Outing

Sunday, Dec. 21 after Service

Cilantro Latin Fusion, which began as a popular food truck, is owned by Hector L. and Hector J. Muñoz and offers Venezuelan cuisine alongside other South American dishes.  Meet us at the restaurant around 12:45 pm or at the church kiosk for car pooling at 12:30 pm. The address is 4852 Sawmill Rd, Columbus, OH 43235. All are welcome!

Handmade Holidays

Monday evenings thru 12/22, 6:30-8:30 PM, room 301

Come craft together and build creative community! Make holiday gifts for loved ones or work on a project. Bring your own materials or use those provided. We have supplies to make cards, ornaments, hand crafted books, yarn and bead crafts, and wrapping paper. For more info, or to donate supplies contact Christine.

December Music

Come see Carpe Diem String Quartet on Saturday, Dec. 20 at 3:00 pm for their concert, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”. Carpe Diem will play Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, as well as many holiday favorites. (Tickets $35 / $25 for church members)

The Music Sunday service, “Lessons & Carols” has been rescheduled for January 4 at 11am.

Carolers Wanted!

December 24, 7:40 pm

Gather to sing some carols around 7:40 pm before the 8pm Christmas Eve service in the worship center with Erin Reilly-Sanders. Feel free to bring requests for your favorites!

Candlelit Labyrinth

First UU is hosting a labyrinth experience in the worship center between Christmas and New Year’s. We invite you to mindfully walk this 800+ year-old pattern from beginning to end, in candlelit contemplation.

Sign up to help facilitate this experience for your community! Come host, provide music, or both! Contact Kristen Hartmann.

First Friday Spaghetti Dinner

January 2, 2026 at 6:30 pm

Join us for our monthly Community Building event to enjoy a delicious spaghetti dinner! A great way to unwind from the holidays and leave the cooking to your friends at First UU! There will be programming/activity after our meal together. Gluten Free and vegetarian options are offered. Hope to see you here!

The January Spaghetti Dinner will be sponsored by CUUPS – the Covenant of UU Pagans. Please email Robin if your group of 3-7 volunteers would like to sponsor one of our future meals!

Planning ahead? Check our online calendar for additional events!

From First UU Leadership

There’s Still Time To Give: Support Our Holiday Appeal!

Supportive community, social justice outreach and spiritual home are the essence of First UU. What other gifts make our lives more precious and meaningful while also helping the world around us?

Your donation of $500 or even $5 is greatly appreciated. Please help us reach our goal of $20,000! Donate online, write a check, or consider donating via an IRA.

A Note from Rev. Cooley

I regret to say that I will have to have another surgery on December 26th. The hip replacement I had in July has been unable to heal properly because of a failed knee replacement I had three years ago, so I will be having a redo on the knee replacement. I plan to be out of commission from the 26th to January 5, and then will be able to work from home for two weeks, and, fingers crossed, I’ll be back in the building on the 18th! I have friends caring for me but good wishes are always welcome!

Upcoming Governance Meetings

  • 1/21 Finance Committee (RSVP)
  • 1/28 Board of Trustees (No meeting in December)
  • 2/8 Mid-Year Congregational Meeting

Justice & Volunteering

Special Education Volunteers Needed!

Do you have relevant experience companioning children with special needs? Our congregation includes a diverse group of young people, and we need more Sunday morning volunteers who can act as aides in our classrooms. References and background check required. Please email Amber!

Feed and Read Ohio’s December Wishlist!

Please bring return your green bag this month filled with these high need items:
  • Bags of Rice
  • Bags of Pinto Beans
  • Oatmeal
  • Peanut Butter
  • Canned Meats:
  • Tuna
  • Chicken
  • Salmon

Protect Clintonville Tree Canopy!

Clintonville Residents: Email the Clintonville Area Commission!

The City of Columbus is asking the Commission for feedback on major rezoning proposals throughout Clintonville and the city. These rezoning proposals (Phase Two of the Zone In project), will further weaken already weak Columbus private property tree protection regulations. Ed Hoffman, a B.R.E.A.D. team leader, is asking Clintonville residents to email the Commission and ask them to recommend pausing zoning changes until strong private property tree preservation regulations are adopted. B.R.E.A.D. has been advocating for these regulations for four years.

Twenty-one resident-based Area Commissions serve as recommending bodies to review projects (developments, zoning changes) and be a community voice.

Making Waves and Décor!

Auction February 2026

Sign up at the Auction table on Sunday!

  • Crafting parties—make décor items.
  • Volunteer opportunities—help in other ways.

You can also drop off recyclables, loan glass bowls, and ask questions about donations!

“Feelings are much like waves: we can’t stop them from coming, but we can choose which one to surf.”

– Jonatan Mårtensson, Author

Connect with our Justice team and other First UU’ers on the Signal App

by joining the First UU Columbus Protesters (app required).

Classes & Groups

Time to Register for Dinner & Conversation!

This quarterly potluck group meets in participants’ homes. Commit to one meeting per month in January, February, and March – as agreed upon by the group. The host organizes dinner and picks a topic for conversation. The goal is for the group of 6-8 people to have a good time while getting to know each other.

Let Marcia Canter know by noon Sunday, 12/28, if you’d like to participate!

Embodied Exploration of Religious & Spiritual Conditioning

Register Here! Sundays, Dec. 21st, 4:30-7:30

How have your religious or spiritual experiences shaped the way you feel, believe, and belong today? This series offers a gentle, compassionate space for anyone curious about how religious or spiritual conditioning has shaped their beliefs, identities, or sense of belonging. We’ll focus on how these experiences live in our bodies and explore tools for grounding, presence, and reclamation.

This program is not a substitute for therapy, nor led by a licensed clinician. Facilitator Whitney Dawn Pyles is an accredited somatic coach. Pastoral care referrals are available as needed.

UU History & Theology Book Group

1st & 3rd Tuesday at 7pm, starting Jan. 20

The book group will be reading Prophetic Sisterhood: Liberal Women Ministers of the Frontier, 1880-1930. Please contact Amber if you need assistance finding a copy of the book. Please let Dana Reynolds know that you would like to participate. We will likely be a hybrid meeting, in-person and over Zoom (or Google Meet).

Additional Classes

  • 1/11 Pathways to Membership 8:30am-2pm (Register)
  • 1/19 Keep On Keeping On chronic pain support 7pm Zoom (RSVP)
  • Tai Chi for Balance 10am Tuesdays
  • Sacred Song Circle 6pm Wednesdays

Community News

Go green for the holidays

From the city’s Conservation Team and SWACO…

Looking for simple ways to keep the holidays festive and environmentally friendly? Start by swapping incandescent lights for LEDs—according to the U.S. Department of Energy, they use at least 75 percent less energy and last up to 25 times longer. Bring nature indoors with pinecones, fresh greenery, dried herbs, cinnamon sticks or dried orange slices for décor that looks great and leaves a light footprint.

To cut down on waste, “shop your home” before buying anything new, choose durable decorations that last for years and recycle cardboard boxes from online shopping. Skip wrapping paper with foil or glitter (it isn’t recyclable), and consider regifting or donating items you already have. For a low-waste option, homemade treats always make thoughtful gifts.

Small choices add up—here’s to a greener holiday season!

Want to read more? Check out SWACO’s Green Holiday Guide

Bill Cohen’s Solstice Concert – For a Brighter New Year

7pm Sunday, 12/21 @ 48 E. North Broadway Methodist Church

This concert will acknowledge the dark days we are in, then shift towards our hopes and prayers for the coming year, when we will recommit ourselves to working for peace, justice, friendship, and the freedom to be ourselves.

Current Art Exhibit:

Sharonah Laemmle

On Display until January 4

Artist Sharonah Laemmle’s exhibit, “Internal Necessity: 50 years of Creative Expression” will be on display until January 4. Sharonah uses the Hebrew word “Henini” meaning “I am here”. She uses what is at hand, paints, natural and found objects to focus on movement and space. By using her own personal and spiritual life, she hopes to stimulate the viewer emotionally.

Image: To the Light

Save the Dates for Ohio Roller Derby’s Home Season!

2026 home games will be played Saturdays at the Ohio Expo Center: join usFebruary 28, March 14, April 4, May 9, and May 23. (See Amber in 7pm B games).

Family Activities

No Classes This Sunday, 12/21: Solstice Service!

9:15-10am Nouurish Multigenerational Worship Service (sanctuary)

10:00-10:45am Hot Breakfast, Coffee, Tea (kitchen, A/B, Beach Hall)

10:30am-12:30pm Infant and Toddler Care 3mos-3yrs (101)

Cookie Drop Off and Choir Warm Up Before Service Begins! No Classes.

11:00am-12:00pm Solstice Service w/ Covenant of UU Pagans! (sanctuary)

Kiddos staying w/fam during service: grab Busy Bags in the gallery, explore quiet toys in Wee Worship & Slowter Lounge, or crafts/games in cabinets by the kitchen!

12noon-1:30pm Cookie Fair!!! (Beach Hall)

12noon-1:30pm Gift Wrapping Fundraiser for Kaleidoscope (A/B)

Register Here! 🙂 https://firstuucolumbus.org/learning/sunday-school/

*Classes are currently on holiday break, and will resume on Sunday, 1/4.*

Join us for the Family Christmas Eve Service Wednesday, 12/24, at 5pm! Aim to arrive by 4:40 – especially if your kiddo might want a no-rehearsal pageant part / costume!