Friday News – Feb. 27, 2026

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Dear friends,

As the growing sunlight points towards spring, our hearts begin to thaw, and the earth grows ready for the quiet stirrings and re-emergence of plants and other living things. These hints of newness remind me that we are all connected, and renew the promise of achieving greater things together than we may apart. As we prepare to make waves together tomorrow at our congregation’s Auction celebration, and to see just how BREAD rises in this Sunday’s service, I remain grateful for the many gifts and blessings of our community. There is truly much to celebrate! Thank you all for being a part of it!

Amber Scott

Director of Religious Exploration

How will we make things better in our community today?

Social Justice is hard work. I am grateful to be a part of a community that values this work and perseveres to bring changes that need to be put into place for the greater good.

Do you notice problems? Do you have ideas for fixing them?

Much research is done through the BREAD organization after identifying and voting on a new campaign. Many tries happen to make things right. We do not give up and most of the time solutions to community problems are implemented to fidelity.

Would you tell me about a time when you helped solve a problem?

Working with the Restorative Practices committee in BREAD, we won implementation in Columbus City Schools. This is a proactive approach that fosters relationships, provides and alternative to suspension and improves the overall school climate.

Join me in engaging in direct action with the BREAD Organization!

 

As our mission states: By building the power of organized people in our community, we work to hold decision makers accountable to solve the community problems that create victims the first place.

Robin Lawson

Congregational Life Assistant

Upcoming Events

This Sunday, March 1st

9:15
Nouurish Service

Join us for this interactive and inherently multigenerational community worship experience!

Our featured story this week: Just a Thought: Exploring your Weird, Wacky, and Wonderful Mind

Written by Jason Gruhl

and illustrated by Ignasi Font.

Presented by Alternative Worship Team & Members of this Community

11:00

“Strength in Community” BREAD Service

BREAD rises! Building Responsibility, Equality, and Dignity is a local nonprofit and nonpartisan interfaith coalition that organizes for big change in our central Ohio community. Join members of the First UU BREAD Team to explore strengthening community and how strong communities can be a source of resilience in times of crisis.

First UU Auction:

TODAY is the LAST DAY to bid on FUN, FOOD & FROLIC!

Bidding Closes at Midnight Tonight!

Log into the auction website via Facebook or Gmail to bid, sign up to bake for tomorrow’s Dessert Dash, or volunteer to set up, serve, or clean up!

Tomorrow! Live Auction & Celebration!

6-9pm Saturday, February 28

A small number of tickets are available at the door. See you there!

“Sometimes in the waves of change we find our true direction.” -Unknown

Democracy Action Hour – This Sunday!

& Every Sunday in March, 1-3pm in room 301

In response to rising political extremism, attacks on civil rights, voter suppression efforts, and the growing intimidation of marginalized communities, we are coming together in this critical election year as a multicultural, supportive, and loving community committed to democratic participation.

🗳 March 1 – Voter Outreach & Letter Writing to Voters

📣 March 8 – Making Whistle Kits & Know Your Rights Cards

📞 March 15 – Call Your Representatives (Scripts Provided)

🎨 March 22 – Sign-Making for No Kings Protests

If you are able, we welcome donations of supplies (stamps, whistles, markers, cardboard, glitter, colorful paper) or financial contributions to help cover printing and materials for Know Your Rights cards and whistle kits.

Carpe Diem at First UU!

Sunday, March 1 at 3:00 pm

Join Carpe Diem String Quartet at First UU on Sunday, March 1 at 3:00 pm, as they play string quartets by Bacwicz and Beethoven, as well as a world premiere commission piece by Columbus composer Michael Rene Torres, “in the never-ending shore of your tomorrows” (preceded by a poem by Jennifer Hambrick). First UU members receive a $10 discount on tickets, which may be purchased at the door or online via Zeffy.com.

First Friday Dinner & Wizard Night!

Friday, March 6th, 6:30-9pm
We’ll have salad, pasta, sauce, meatballs, garlic bread, and dessert (including veg, gluten free, dairy free, and vegan options for different dietary opportunities). The millennial covenant group will be cooking this month. All ages are welcome!
After dinner, Wizard Night activities abound – wear your robes, bring your wands, and get ready to make the magic of community! Activities for all ages include:

  • Sorting into Houses by the Sorting Boot
  • Potion Mixing Class
  • Tarot Readings
  • Runes Class
  • Indoor Quidditch
  • Scavenger Hunt to find Magical Creatures Around the Building
  • Millennial Music Trivia with Millennial Era Prizes
  • And More!

To get involved, contact Patricia Boughton, Erin Reilly-Sanders, or Anne Chunko!

Register Now for Pathways to Membership!

Sunday, March 8th, 8:30am-2pm

Interested in becoming a member of First UU? You are invited to participate in Pathways to Membership! This workshop is designed for newcomers, and will better acquaint you with our congregation and faith as you consider membership.

Planning ahead? Check our online calendar for additional events!

From First UU Leadership

Staff Team Updates

Becca was unexpectedly admitted to the ER Tuesday night for gall stone pain, and had emergency gallbladder removal surgery on Wednesday. Everything went well, and Becca is resting and recovering at home with the support of family. Becca is thankful for all the love and patience that our congregation has offered while she heals up, and other staff cover her duties!

Rev. Terasa has been working remotely on and off this week, as she is in the midst of moving, and is looking forward to getting settled in at her new place!

Rev. Kelli has also primarily been working from home while she helps to care for her father during his surgery recovery.

We would like to give a huge thank you to our wonderful congregation and lay leaders for all the support and grace you have offered to the staff team during these wild times!

Schedule Change: March Board Meeting

The March Board of Trustees meeting has been moved to Monday, March 23, from 7-9 PM. Interested congregants can RSVP to join in person or online.

Upcoming Governance Meetings

  • 3/18 Finance Committee (RSVP)
  • 3/23 Board of Trustees (RSVP)
  • 6/7 Congregational Annual Meeting
Want to nominate someone to be on the Board of Trustees or Nominating Committee (NomCom)? Fill out our Nomination Form or email NomCom!

Justice & Volunteering

Feed and Read Reaches Over 1,000 Families!

As of February 24th, we have provided food to over 1239 families (since December 22nd, when concentrated I.C.E. activity started in Columbus)!

Food staples needed for the month of March:

  • bags of rice, pinto, and black beans
  • cooking oil
  • canned meats: tuna, sardines, or salmon
  • peanut butter

Special items needed include:

  • feminine pads
  • socks
  • deodorant

Gift cards for Aldi, Walmart, or VISA and monetary donations are always welcome and needed. Please see Jacques at the table in Beach Hall to make a direct donation! Thank you for your help providing this assistance to vulnerable families!

Fund for Immigration Legal Assistance (FILA)

Justice in Action!

Last week FILA surpassed the $30,000 mark in funding for immigrants in our community. We have helped with work permits, DACA fees, asylum cases, and green card status adjustments. Most of the beneficiaries have been families with children, DACA-aged young people, and minors. We are partnering with CRIS, LASCO (Legal Aid of Southern and Central Ohio), the OSU Immigration Law Clinic, and US Together, providers of free or discounted legal services, as well as law firms in Columbus and across the country to aid our neighbors.

Donations since August 2025 have exceeded $38,000. The 6-week Faithify Campaign, which ended in early December, raised over $15,000. The campaign broadened FILA’s exposure and increased its donor base. Most of the newer donations are coming from the wider Columbus community, beyond First UU’s membership.

There are 2 days remaining in Pattycake Bakery’s fundraiser for FILA! During the month of February, Pattycake is donating $1 for each thumbprint cookie sold to FILA. We thank you for your ongoing support of this justice work in our community!

Your FILA Committee Members: Rev. Dr. Terasa Cooley, Dr. Dorothy Hassan, Laura Hartman, Matt Hollander, and Jan Phillips.

BREAD Quarterly Newsletter

Save the Date! Nehemiah Action

Tuesday, May 12th, 6:40pm

Celeste Center Ohio Fairgrounds

Read the latest BREAD newsletter to learn more about BREAD’s recent activities – featuring Tom Tichenor! Read more about BREAD’s latest efforts on First UU’s BREAD Team Page.

Pride March Coordinators Needed

Stonewall Pride Festival & March, June 19 & 20

First UU has a long tradition of participating in Pride! We march and set up a booth where we distribute water, give glitter blessings, and connect. Coordinating this important outreach has fallen on very few volunteers, who are ready to pass the baton. We need YOU (and 2-3 friends) to join a planning / coordination team!Please reach out to Becca with the subject “Pride Party Planner” in your email.

Dates with Justice

  • 3/28: 4pm No Kings protest
  • 4/25: 9am-5pm Unitarian Universalist Justice Ohio (UUJO) Spring Gathering here at First UU
  • 5/12: BREAD Nehemiah Action (Email to help)

Join the First UU Columbus Protesters chat on Signal App

or email our Justice Team for more information.

Classes & Groups

Senior Gathering!

10:30-Noon Thursday, March 12th, 2026

Attention Seniors! Jane E. Acri, LSW, from the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging will join us to discuss Fall Prevention. Coffee, tea and refreshments will be available. Click RSVP link in your email invite, or email us by March 9th to join!

Additional Groups & Classes

  • Keep On Keeping On chronic pain support: 3pm 3/16 Zoom (RSVP)
  • Sacred Song Circle: 6pm Wednesdays
  • Biblical Literacy for UUs: 6:30-8pm Zoom, 1st/3rd Mon. (Register)
  • Crafting in Creative Community: 7-9pm, 2nd/4th Mondays, rm 301

Community News

Ohio Roller Derby Home Games!

2026 home games will be played Saturdays at the Ohio Expo Center; join us TOMORROW, February 28, March 14, April 4, May 9, and May 23.

Arrive around 6:30 to get seats to see Amber (“Peach”) skate in the 7pm B game!

On the Journey
This section showcases information about anti-racist actions and programs. Read more about the 8th Principle and First UU’s anti-racism journey on our website.

Charles Young: Teacher, Soldier, Scholar, Leader
Charles Young (1864–1922) was born into slavery in Mays Lick, Kentucky. His father, Gabriel, escaped to join the Union army, and after the war the family was able to move to Ripley, Ohio. Charles attended the local, segregated school and was also home-schooled by his mother, Arminta. After graduation from high school, where he demonstrated an aptitude for music and languages, he taught for a short time at the “colored” school before enrolling in and graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point, a shining accomplishment but also an experience tarnished by five years of continual hazing.

His military career spanned more than 30 years, during which he was posted to forts in Nebraska and Utah, was selected to lead the newly formed military sciences department at Wilberforce College (now Wilberforce University) in Ohio (where he became friends with W.E.B. Du Bois and helped to establish the marching band), acted as superintendent of Sequoia and General Grant national parks, was deployed to the Philippines and Mexico, and served as military attaché to Haiti and to Liberia.

In his book The Military Morale of Nations and Races, published in 1912, Young argues that military fitness does not depend on race or ethnicity. By July 1916, Young had achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel. U.S. participation in the world war would mean a promotion for Young to brigadier general and the possibility that he would command White officers, some of whom opposed integration. Young was promoted to full colonel but was placed on inactive duty until almost the end of the war.

Young died of a sudden infection on a trip to Lagos, Nigeria. By custom, his remains were buried in Nigeria but were later transferred for interment in Arlington National Cemetery. A century later, Charles Young was promoted posthumously to the honorary rank of brigadier general.

 

Learn more:

Submitted by Susan O’Donnell and edited by Dennis G. Frazier.

To highlight an inspiring Black innovator, creator, or change-maker, email a brief description with 2-3 links. We publish one selection per week.

Upcoming Anti-Racist Allies Events

More details on ARA’s Feb/March Flyer!

Family Activities

Happening This Sunday, March 1st!

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

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

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

10:30am-12:15pm 13-15year Our Whole Lives (302)

10:55am-12:15pm 10-11year Our Whole Lives (404)

10:45am-12:15pm Neighboring Faiths Classroom Session (301)

11:00am-12:15pm Roots and Wings 13+yrs: HS Spirituality and Big Q’s (401)

11:00am-12:00pm Worship Service (sanctuary)

11:15ish-12:15 Spirit Play 3-7yrs: Start in Service Until After Story (102)

11:15ish-12:15 Spirit Play 7-12yrs: Start in Service Until After Story (201)

Kiddos w/fam in service: use Busy Bags or quiet toys in Wee Worship / Slowter!

12noon-12:30pm Snack, Coffee, and Tea (Gallery, Beach, A/B)

1:00-3:00pm Democracy Hour Voter Outreach & Letter Writing (301)

3:00-5:00pm Carpe Diem Concert! (sanctuary)

6:00-9:00pm Bridge Group (Beach Hall)

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

Check Out Peace Camp This Summer!

At Peace Camp we invite children to be their true selves, and make space for all to be welcomed and valued. We explore what peace means, looks like, and how it connects us. Cost: $100 suggested. Invite your friends! bit.ly/peacecamp2026

  • Session A for 5-8 years, Monday-Friday 7/27-7/31 from 9am-12noon
  • Session B for 8-12 years, Monday-Friday 8/3-8/7 from 9am-12noon