OUUC Weekly Update
January 28, 2025
You are cordially invited to attend a Gather, Grow & Guide Session in support of OUUC
We will gather in the homes of fellow congregation members for light refreshments and meaningful conversations about what OUUC means to each of us. During these small group sessions, we’ll share stories, build connections, and deepen our sense of community. There will be several gatherings to choose from, with different dates, times and locations. Each will last approximately 1.5 hours and will be framed by three focal points:
Gather: Gather stories on ways we nurture and are nurtured by the OUUC.
Grow: Explore our path towards growth and the five ways to grow. Rev. Mary will offer a short, supporting video on this topic.
Guide: Collect guidance and advice on how OUUC can achieve the goals it set for 2025.
Please join us for meaningful conversation, fellowship, and the joy of being in community. Sign-up for a time and date that works best for you here, or contact Wendy Tanner and she will help you get signed up. Thank you so much for contributing to this important exercise to nurture our community and move toward the future with hope and success.
Action Hour Actions For This Week
Join us each week on Sunday between the worship services for in person Action Hour. Bring your Own Device if possible.
If you didn't make it this week you can still follow through on several of these actions.
Battery Collection this Sunday Morning!
Welcome to February! The OUUC Environmental Action Team will be ready to take your dead fluorescent bulbs and batteries this Sunday. Look for our table in the Commons and also check out any of the informational materials we have about environmental issues in this Legislative session. Keep the faith, baby!
Protest Song Jam
Thursday, January 30, 6:30 pm
In times of trial and tribulation, coming together to play and sing always lifts spirits and provides energy for positive action. Bring an instrument or your voice (or both!) to jam out and lift each other up. Led by Ian Stephan on the last Thursday of each month.Register here.
UU Pagan Gathering: Imbolc Potluck and Celebration
Sunday, February 2, 5 pm
All are welcome to join us for a potluck and celebration of the pagan holiday of Imbolc. This is the sabbat that celebrates the first hints and promises of spring. We will be making and blessing candles as well. Bring a potluck dish to share, and RSVP to Rev. Sara.
Forum on Compassionate Communication
Sunday, February 2
12:15 pm, onsite and on Zoom
Have you wondered how to approach deep conversations without offending others or showing biases? Elizabeth Drake, Executive Director of the Thurston County Dispute Resolution Center (DRC) will offer valuable insights into the methods of Compassionate Communication. Elizabeth will also share practical tips and tools to help us be come more effective communicators in today’s world of “mass noise."
This forum will be offered after the second Sunday service in the sanctuary. The forum is sponsored by the OUUC Leadership Development Committee.
Join the OUUCyclist for the Winter Bicycle Challenge
Intercity Transit’s Winter Bicycle Challenge encourages all Thurston County Residents to bike for any reason in any season! Biking outdoors remains a great way to get the benefits of fresh air, sunlight, and exercise, for the health of our bodies, minds and spirits. All February, IT will have awesome prize drawings each week, plus a bonus drawing at the end of the month for everyone who logs rides on 10 days or more. Tag your photos with #WinterBCC or @BicycleCommunityChallenge on Instagram to join our photo challenge. To participate, log in or create an account here and enter the miles you ride each day in the "Log a Ride" box. In the Team box, enter OUUCyclists!
Death Cafe at OUUC
Monday, February 3
4:30 pm
Join us for our monthly Death Cafes at OUUC, supported through Pastoral Care & Adult Faith Development and facilitated by Jenee Wolfram, certified End of Life Doula. Death Cafes are not a grief support group but an informal, death positive, group-led space for conversations about all things death and dying. This is a drop-in program. All are welcome!
Let’s normalize conversations around death and dying, bringing this long taboo topic out into the light. And, did I mention THERE WILL BE TEA & CAKE!?!
Thanks and Appreciation...
...to those who donated food for the Day of Service project of food for the Weekend Backpacks of kids and teens experiencing food insecurity. Your generosity filled two car trunks of shelf stable foods.
12 Movements of Resiliency Class with Rev. Sara Lewis
Wednesdays 1/8-2/12, 6:30 pm on Zoom
This class explores different aspects of life and how we can all live more resiliently and sustainably. Read more and register here.
Faith in Action Opportunities
There are so many ways to show up, speak out, or lend support for our values in the world this month, find many of them organized here.
30 Days of Love 2025
A Side With Love message provides political education and context for each weekly theme with lessons and inspiration to move through these times. Each week’s resources will be published on Tuesdays and include the following: A journal practice to reflect and dream to chart a course with clarity and care, a creative/art practice to ground in the beauty and abundance of imagination, a body practice to ground us in resilience and renewal, and a family-friendly, multigenerational activity that builds community as we take action for justice. More information here.
Transcendentalism and the Cultivation of the Soul
4 sessions on third Tuedays--Jan 21, Feb 18, Mar 18 & Apr 15, 2 - 3:30 PM
led by Frank Winters
Book discussion based on retired UU Minister Barry M. Andrews’ book. We’ll read the book over 4 weeks and discover why Andrews quotes historian David Robinson in his introduction as his jumping off point. "American Unitarians lament their vague religious identity, standing upon the richest theological legacy of any American denomination." Let’s explore that legacy together. Register here.
We Need Help with Coffee and Treats on Sundays!
With the move to 2 services we need help to make the coffee hours a success.
If you can help serve or clean the kitchen or bring treats to share, please sign up here or talk to Rev. Sara.
Thank you!
Return Your Guest at Your Table Box
Did you take home a Guest at Your Table box over the holidays? You can return those now to Rev. Sara and we will send the collection in to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.
Didn't collect any money? Still bring the box back, we can use it again next year!
January Thursdays Schedule is Different
Please note the Thursday evening schedule overall in January will be a bit different this month. Most activities have been moved forward by one week (so a first week group is actually meeting on the 2nd week, etc.) Please check the dates of your normal activities to see if they have changed.
OUUC Transylvania Pilgrimage: September 23 – October 2, 2025
Rick Brandt-Kreutz and the OUUC Partner Church Ministry Team are coordinating with Hungarian Unitarian Church representatives to organize a pilgrimage to historic sites in Transylvania this coming Fall. Transylvania is a Hungarian speaking/culturally identifying region in northern Romania. Our 10 day/9 night tour will include three nights hosted by our members of our partner church in Kissolymos. Our trip will begin and end in the city of Kolozsvár, where the nearby Cluj International Airport (CLJ) provides numerous options for flights from the U.S.
Previous OUUC trips to Transylvania have focused on cultural exchange with our partner church in Kissolymos. While this will be a part of this trip as well, we are planning this to be a pilgrimage to sites of historic significance for our Unitarian faith tradition that dates back to the mid-1500’s. Modern Hungarian Unitarian faith practices differ from those of the western Unitarian Universalist church, yet we share many values and a long history.
The total cost for the trip is $270 per day double occupancy, or a total of $2700 per person. Single occupancy is $300 per day, or a total of $3000. This fee is inclusive of all trip expenses (excluding airfare), and includes all meals, tours, transportation in Transylvania, accommodations, and gratuities. We will meet our hosts and begin our journey on the morning of September 23 in Kolozsvár, travel via motor coach to several villages in Transylvania, including Kissolymos, before returning to Kolozsvár for departure on October 2. The cost also includes a 5% "profit" from our trip that will go to assist Ukrainian refugees, Unitarian students, and other outreach projects. This is a sustainable and equity-promoting project, demonstrating the values we share, and the values of our hosts in Transylvania. A discount is available for families traveling with kids. To facilitate trip planning by our Transylvanian hosts, we are requesting a $500/person deposit by February 28. The deposit will reserve your spot on our pilgrimage to Transylvania this fall. The balance ($2200 single occupancy, $2500 double occupancy) will be due prior to the start of the trip. If a personal emergency or other extenuating circumstances arise, your deposit can be refunded.
If you are interested in participating and not already on the email distribution list for the trip, please contact Rick Brandt-Kreutz. Additional information on the tour itinerary can be downloaded below. We anticipate an educational and spiritually meaningful experience and hope you can join us for this unique opportunity to better understand the roots of our Unitarian religious tradition.
Facilities Manager, Marie Arensmeyer, will be working remotely for several weeks. During this period, please take extra care to leave church spaces better than you found them after use. Please direct any questions related to the Building and Grounds to Business Manager, Isaac Jennings.