While several staff and the building itself are still without power as of this writing, I wanted to express my gratitude for your patience as it is slowing us down from being able to respond to you all in as timely a manner as we would like.

But, the work to prepare for the official start of the church year goes on! We will be opening up registration for our next year of Chalice Circle Small Groups soon.

First, we are looking for people interested in facilitating a circle. If you’ve participated in a Chalice Circle or a Covenant Group before, and would like to dive back in to this powerful and nurturing part of the church experience, please reach out to Robin and include what days and times you would be available to facilitate.

We have a large request for Chalice Circle participation so we are needing as many facilitators as are willing!

Please let us know if you have any questions – the work of the church is truly community work and we’re grateful to be doing it all with you!

Blessings,

Rev. Kelli McNeal

Congregational Life Minister

Sunday Services

August 16, 2026

10am ” The Work of Rest”

Presented by Rev. Kelli McNeal

Early-Childhood/Elementary Class for 3-11yrs after the story (start in worship)

Teen/Tween Board Games for rising 6th grade and up before and during service

Summer Choir This Sunday

Everyone is invited to come sing as part of our last Summer Pick-Up Choir!

We will meet at 9:00 am to learn and rehearse  “Heart Wide Open” by Lea Morris” for the 10:00 am service. All are welcome–no experience necessary! We look forward to seeing you there!

Come Sing at First UU!

All are invited and welcome to sing in one of First UU’s choirs, which will begin regular rehearsals in the coming weeks!

Currently, we have two adult choirs and a young children’s choir, and these choirs are open to anyone who loves to sing, no audition or choir experience necessary.

Chalice Choir, which rehearses Thursday evenings, 7:30-9:30pm, will begin on Thursday, Sept. 3. Chalice Choir is directed by Dr. Brandon Moss, and you can Email him with questions.

Spirit of Life Choir, which rehearses Tuesday evenings, 6:30-8:00pm, will begin on Tuesday, Aug. 25. Spirit of Life Choir is directed by Bruno Bush, who is new to First UU, and you will hopefully get to meet him and learn more about him soon! You may Email him

Peace Pals, our young children’s choir, rehearses the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month, 12:30-1:00pm after the service. They will begin on Sept. 27 and are directed by Erin Rothert Email

Older youth: stay posted for some exciting musical opportunities for you as well this year!

All choirs rehearse in the Worship Center. We hope to see you there and look forward to singing with you!

Planning ahead? Check our online calendar for additional events!

This message serves as a recap of the announcement sent by the Board on Monday, August 10 regarding upcoming transitions at First UU.

An Update from the Board of Trustees

On Monday of this week, Rev. Terasa announced that she will be leaving First UU at the end of this church year due to health concerns. While we will deeply miss her, we are incredibly grateful for her dedicated service. We will cherish this final year together as we prepare to search for our next minister. The Board is already collaborating with the Unitarian Universalist Association’s (UUA) Transition Team to guide this upcoming search. We are seeking a contract-to-call minister. You can learn more about how this specific process works UUA.org.

Our first step is to gather vital input from both our congregation and staff to help define the ideal characteristics for our new leader. This fall, we will select a Search Team from within our congregation to lead the effort in finding the right match for our community. Within the next few weeks, we will begin gathering your feedback through structured listening sessions and casual conversations at the Board table after Sunday services. We earnestly hope you will share your thoughts with us.

Our next business meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 26 at 7 PM. Members are always welcome and encouraged to attend. Please fill out the meeting attendance form to RSVP for in-person attendance, submit an issue or idea for board discussion, or request the Zoom link. We look forward to listening to your ideas and navigating this next chapter together as a community.

Parking Lot Resurfacing

Delayed Due to Weather

The parking lots here at First UU will be resurfaced mid to late next week.

Join the First UU Columbus Protesters chat on Signal App

or email our Justice Team for more information.

Democracy Action Hour

Sunday, August 16, 11:30 AM

For this week’s Democracy Action Hour, we’ll be writing letters to at-risk voters for VoteRiders. This is a great way to inform voters about voter ID requirements and direct them to resources that can help them with any ID issues. Feel free to bring stamps and envelopes if you’d like!

Help First UU be recognized as a

“Good Trouble Congregation”

with UU the Vote

Democracy Team Planning Meeting:

Tuesday, August 18 at 7 PM on Zoom

UU the Vote is the national UU democracy campaign, encouraging UUs across the country to get involved in voter engagement, election protection, and organizing to protect our democracy. UU the Vote congregations that do significant work in this as Good Trouble Congregations.

Becoming a Good Trouble Congregation is not easy. Here are the CriteriaHowever, this is a goal that can push us to do more of the work we know we need to be doing and help us build our capacity for justice work. This is also an opportunity for us to get better at tracking work we’re doing.

How can you help First UU become a Good Trouble Congregation?

Report any non-partisan electoral work you’ve done: Reporting Form

Come to our Democracy Action Hours after Sunday services.

Join the Democracy Team’s mailing list to hear about more opportunities

Come to our monthly planning meeting (next meeting: Tuesday, August 18 at 7 PM on Zoom) Email the team at Democracy at First UU for the link!

Stamped Discussion Group

August 25 7-8:30 pm

Anti-Racist Allies invites congregants of all ages to read or watch Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi and participate in discussion! Register

This important work has several versions for different ages and reading levels. Monthly discussions on Zoom Tuesdays, August 25 (Parts 3 & 4: 1826-1863), September 29 (Part 5: 1868-1963) ; October 20 (1063-today) w/ more activities TBA for fall.

Connecting with the Community: Our Festival Booth

First UU and the SYC had a table at the Festival of Faiths and Nations in Worthington on Sunday, August 9. We appreciate everyone who helped staff our booth, including Sandy Coen, Bill Fiorini, Diana Smith, Danya Furda, Jim Pinkham, Chris Johnson, Sharon Hammersley, Betsy Smalley, Holly Adams and Kate Blake representing the SYC. We also spread the word about Feed & Read Ohio. Thanks to all who dropped by!

It was a good partnership outreach with SYC, and a nice opportunity to network with representatives of other faiths in the Worthington area. The annual festival was at the Worthington Village Green NW, organized by Worthington Interfaith Neighbors. The Festival ran alongside Sunday Fundays End of Summer Fair.

Banned Books: What Are They Afraid OfQuilt by Deb Baillieul

See What Peace Camp Created Together!

9:30am-11:30pm Infant and Toddler Care 3mos-3yrs (101)

*Per safety policy, children/youth need to be supervised while on church grounds.

9:15am-12:15pm Teen/Tween Board Games! Rising 6th Grade & Above (A/B)

10:00-11:00am Worship Service (sanctuary)

10:15-11:15am (After Story) Early-Ed/Elementary Summer Class for 3-11yrs (201)

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

11:00-11:30am Coffee/Tea – Pending Volunteers!* (A/B, Beach Hall)

Coming Soon: Fall Class Registration and Volunteer Teacher Recruitment!