OUUC Weekly Update 2-16-21

Our Thursday evening spiritual practice this week will be a blessing of the animals. Bring your furry loved ones--live, imaginary & stuffies-- and join Rev. Mary and Emi Allen. There will be music by Dio Lewis and Troy Fisher. This will be a time for remembering the pets we’ve lost and blessing those in our lives now. All ages and all species are welcome!

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81051325520?pwd=NjdXM25OMThVRytydWtQQ0lJZmtMQT09

Meeting ID: 810 5132 5520

Passcode: 690200

Make your voice heard! Cottage Meetings build on what was learned from the Vision, Mission, and Ends surveys. When you participate in a Cottage Meeting you share your thoughts on our best future, and you hear other perspectives. All comments will be recorded and considered as we continue to define what the future OUUC Vision, Mission, and Ends will be. This is important work; the new Vision, Mission, and Ends will help us focus our efforts within our community and in the world. We need your ideas and your desires to create this future. Cottage Meetings are scheduled now through the end of the month. Sign up here!

All-Congregation Vision-Mission-Ends meetings!

One of the final steps in our VME project is a series of three meetings, an opportunity for all OUUC members and friends jointly to discuss and integrate the information gathered in the surveys and cottage meetings.

The meetings will be held Friday, March 5, 6:30 - 8:30 pm, and Sunday, March 7, 1:30 - 4:00 pm, and Sunday, March 14, 1:30 - 4:00 pm. We hope you will attend ALL three meetings; in each meeting, the work builds on what has previously been accomplished. Please plan on being there!

Are you curious about Buddhist meditation or mindfulness? A new spiritual practice offering is open to anyone interested in practicing silent meditation in the Plum Village tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh's Engaged Buddhism. Join us for an evening meditation and reading. We'll sit together on the full moon(s) each month, with our first one being on Saturday, February 27, 7:00 – 8:00 pm on Zoom (for now).

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85349276621?pwd=QU4vSm90eDhTMnc2b1NXNGZBbWNidz09

Meeting ID: 853 4927 6621

Passcode: 648090

In line with OUUC’s Vision, Mission, and Ends (VME), the stalwart Books, Brownies & Beans (BBB) committee will not let a pandemic get in the way of efforts to raise money for non-profit organizations serving our houseless neighbors. Volunteers have been working to collect, sort and enter thousands of books for the 2021 Virtual BBB Online Sale.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

· March 15-20 (Monday to Saturday) – BBB ONLINE STORE will be open! We will supply the link on ouuc.org soon. Browse the online store for thousands of wonderful titles. No brownies, no beans, just Books, CDs, and DVDs. Let’s go shopping for good.

· March 27 (Saturday) PICK UP DAY –COVID-safe pick up of your purchases in the OUUC parking lot.

More details and a link to the store coming soon. We look forward to “seeing you” there!

Our annual auction is coming up April 17-25 this year and your help is wanted! Just like last year, this year’s auction will be all online, and we need to add some folks to our team to help with procurement. Do you like to send emails, talk on the phone, or generally connect with others in our congregation? Do you like to brainstorm ideas about creative new auction items? Great! Contact Melanie Ransom to learn more. How else can you help? Start thinking about items you could donate, like dinners, artwork, services, and events. We don’t know how the pandemic will affect our gatherings this year, so think in terms of things that could be outdoors, with masks and physical distancing in place. We’ll provide more guidance on that very soon. Let’s all look forward to some great fun!

Tuesdays February 23 and March 2, 7:00 pm. The 2020-21 UUA Common Read is Breathe: A Letter to My Sons by Imani Perry. Breathe reflects on race, racism, and the hope that one’s child will be wholly known and valued by society. It is “an unforgettable lesson in Black resistance and resilience.” The New York Times calls Breathe “an elixir of history, ancestry and compassion, which, together, become instruction…a parent’s unflinching demand, born of inherited trauma and love, for her children’s right simply to be possible.” Carol McKinley will facilitate these discussions. Register here.

What do we do in this era of white supremacy? If you want to join us on the road to freedom with action, reflection, and theory, join this small group ministry. In our hearts, we may feel that knowing isn’t quite enough. Together we will begin to grow the energy, capacity, and skills we need to do the life long work of racial solidarity. Join Emi Allen and Anne Hundley, imperfect local racial justice organizers and members of OUUC, beginning in January and going through May. You are welcome as you are, accessibility is important to us. Queer and Trans friendly. Intersectional. Third Saturdays, 4:00 - 6:00 pm & First Saturdays, 4:00 - 4:45 pm. Register here.

February 16: Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras is a party before the season of Lent begins. Suggested video.

February 17: Ash Wednesday/Lent Begins

Lent is the season leading up to Easter and is often marked as a time of careful sacrifice and reflection on the themes of the life of Jesus. The children’s class learned more about these holidays on February 14.