UPCOMING EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES:
Preparing for the Inevitable Sunday, August 11, 11:30am, at First UU. What happens when you die? Join Funeral Consumers Alliance of Central Ohio for presentations and discussion about end-of-life planning. Learn about documents you will need to ensure that your wishes will be followed.
Cathy Elkins, 614-267-5884
Free Book Exchange Sunday, August 11, after the service. Bring a book, take a book.
Final Summer Choir Next Sunday, August 11. Anyone who’d like to sing may show up at 9am, learn a song and a closing, and then sing at the 10am service. It’s great fun and a chance for people who may not be choir members to sing on Sunday morning. Brandon Moss will direct.
Labor Day Retreat at Camp Oty’Okwa in the stunning Hocking Hills. Great for everyone – families, singles, couples! Saturday, August 31 – Monday, September 2. Hikes, workshops, nature, group worship, music! Meals included. https://firstuucolumbus.org/labor-day-retreat/
Beth McCreary, beth3ms@gmail.com
Documentary: Paris to Pittsburgh A free showing at First UU Thursday, August 8, 7pm. The film was made by National Geographic and the showing is sponsored by First UU’s Justice Action Ministry (JAM) and Interfaith Power and Light. It highlights efforts across the U.S. by local, private sector, and community leaders to transition to a clean energy economy, regardless of federal inaction.
Michael Greenman, mgreenmanoh@gmail.com
Summer Sunday School Children ages 5-12 are invited to join Summer Sunday School teacher Jen Bojanowski, for a series of activities and cooperative games that highlight our interconnection. Classes are at 10am, during the Worship Service. The Toddler Room will also be open.
First UU Bookstore Volunteers Needed Book lovers, if you can help sell books in Beach Hall one Sunday morning a month, please contact Will Whicker, swwhicker@gmail.com, 614-560-9975. Bookstore proceeds help the church, and volunteers get a 10% discount.
Volunteers needed for light yard work! Thursday, August 15, at First UU. Two sessions: 9-11am, or 5:30pm-dusk. We have tools available, but if you have favorites and/or garden gloves, bring them along. Tasty, healthy snacks and drinks provided!
Patricia Boughton, patriciaboughton@gmail.com
Dave Richter, drichter@sciotangy.com
Water Communion and Ingathering Service Sunday, September 8, 9am and 11am, Sanctuary. (We start having two Sunday services on this date.) Please bring water – a little bit will do. Be prepared to say what water represents in your life as we pour our waters into a common bowl. The water can be from your travels or from the kitchen tap.
ICO solidarity with immigrants table Second and fourth Wednesdays of the month. We need volunteers to staff the table, and to bake cookies or make trail mix. To sign up, visit Signup Genius or contact Jan Phillips, 614-261-3234, jephillips4444@sbcglobal.net
Immigrant Assistance We are seeing a dramatic decrease in folks coming through on buses. The government’s decision to keep people in Mexico or send them back to Central America coupled with the numbers being detained in camps is most likely the cause. We will hold off on donations of supplies and bagged items for now. The Steering Council will be discussing possible future directions the group might go. Make monetary contributions to UUJO to fund future work.
Karen Thimmes, 614-457-0409
Ohio Fair Food/CIW events Friday and Saturday, August 9, 10. Anti-Human Trafficking Training at Veritas Community Church. On August 10, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and Ohio Fair Food invite allies to join them in a fire pit gathering at the home of Wendy Ake, an Ohio Fair Food leader.
Sue Carter, 614-459-0017
Feed My Sheep food pantry It’s time for our school supplies drive. We need: backpacks containing 20 #2 pencils, large pink erasers, 2 glue sticks, box of 16-24 count Crayola crayons, box of colored Crayola pencils, 2 wide-ruled 70-page spiral notebooks, and a ruler (with centimeters and inches). Please bring school supplies on Sunday mornings by August 11.
Jacques Angelino, 614-439-0245
First UU Bible course Have you ever thought about how little you know about the history of the Bible, or why the Bible is so foundational to our western culture? Would you like to discuss the Bible with our evangelical friends? Would you like to examine the great stories of the Bible in a UU context? Does the Bible help us live in the world today? Does it argue against the existence of God? Who wrote it, anyway? Does it teach our UU principles and values? We’ll explore these and many other questions as we wind our way through the Old and New Testaments. The course starts on September 10. The class will meet in Room 7 on the second Tuesday of each month through next June, 7:30-9pm. Please join us. All are welcome. Contact facilitators:
Chas Williams, cwilli6711@gmail.com
Ron Payne, ronaldgenepayne@gmail.com
Tom Baillieul, tbaillieul@gmail.com
UU artists and poets Time for the fall members’ exhibit, “Telling Our Stories.” What stories do you tell in your art and poetry? Email Deb with your interest, titles, and medium, by August 25. Two works allowed. Take-in: Sunday, August 25, 11am-12pm. Drop off work in the Lobby. Poets, email Deb your poems and she will print and post them. Art and poetry reception will be held on September 8, after the 11am service.
Deb Baillieul, debbsyc@yahoo.com
Men’s Spirituality Meetings on themes tied to the lived experience of the men in the group. A talking stick gives each man the floor to express his experience without interruption on the topic or question chosen by each facilitator. The objective is the spiritual growth of each person. This is not a support group. Ten men are the maximum for each group formed.
– The Monday group meets every two weeks. One or two vacancies exist. Meetings are currently from 7-9pm at the church. Interested parties please contact Brian Lohiser, 614-264-3276, lohiserb@gmail.com.
The Wednesday group meets every week. Two vacancies exist. Meetings are currently held from 7-8:30pm at the church. If interested, please contact Dick Dawson, 614-563-4855, dickdawson@hotmail.com.
THIS WEEK’S EVENTS:
Monday, August 5
9:00am Peace Camp (through August 9)
3:00pm Women’s Creative Circle
7:00pm Monday Men’s Spirituality
Tuesday, August 6
6:30pm Nominating Committee
7:00pm Zen Meditation
7:30pm Worship Team
Wednesday, August 7
6:00pm Francophones Bavard(e)s
6:00pm Sacred Song Circle
Thursday, August 8
9:30am Improvisational Dance
6:30pm Housing in Retirement
7:00pm Movie: Paris to Pittsburgh
Friday, August 9
11:00am Nia Class
Saturday, August 10
8:30am Zen Orientation & Meditation
10:00am Families with Young Children
10:45am Hispanohablantes
Sunday, August 11
10:00am Worship Celebration
11:15am Getting to Know UU
11:30am Funeral Consumers Alliance End-of-Life Planning