News from UUCV

 
January 31, 2020
This Week at UUCV

Save the date (and your foam blocks!)
 

There will be a Special Block Foam Collection at UUCV on February 23rd.

Bring your block foam to the UUCV parking lot, Sunday, February 23rd for recycling.  Look for the sign and SUV parked near the Beyond Curbside shed.  We will be monitoring items and answering questions from 9am to 1pm, before and after church and between services.  Do not leave foam un-attended out in the rain!  If you do not see a monitor near the SUV you can put your foam inside the shed, but please sign the tally sheet on the counter inside the shed.  We need to show this to Waste Connections to avoid a collection fee.  Only “snap-able” block foam and sheets, such as what comes in packages shipped to you, and squeaky-clean, white food trays, cups, and egg cartons are acceptable (run through your dishwasher cycle to clean them).  Foam must break with a snap and not bend.  All block foam must be clean, dry and free of any residue. 

Questions: Contact greenteam@uucvan.org

Check the calendar!

To find more information about events this week, check the weekly calendar or upcoming events page at uucvan.org.
Announcements

Family Promise is a UUCV  interfaith outreach to the homeless community and our next Family Promise week of hosting is coming soon: March 8-15.

Trained  Family Promise volunteers are asked to use our SignUp Genius to reserve their times of service.  You will receive an email today with the weblink.  New Volunteers are always needed.  Please email familypromise@uucvan.org if you are interested and we will let you know where the next training will be held. 

 

Upcoming Book Club Meetings

 
On Monday, February 10th, the UUCV Second Monday Book Study & Persistence Group will discuss three documents:
  • Custom and Cherishing: The Arts in Elementary School, By Linda Mabry
  • The Economist, 9/28/18 - Poverty In America 
  • Chronicling a Community, and a Country, in Economic Crisis, By Nicholas Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn  
Our March 9th book will be: 
  • The War on Normal People By Andrew Yang

From 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, a captivating account of how “a skinny Asian kid from upstate” became a successful entrepreneur, only to find a new mission: calling attention to the urgent steps America must take, including Universal Basic Income, to stabilize our economy amid rapid technological change and automation.

Questions or to request links to the articles??  Contact Gale Long (contact info in the UUCV Directory).

Banner Parade


 
What fun!  GA starts with a bang!  That is, the annual Banner parade where more than 1000 congregations parade into the hall carrying banners of every color, theme, history, and/or location.  They represent the oneness that our diverse membership and theologies bring together to form our UU identity.  For those who attend every year, it’s old home week as we search for friends and those who will be.  Start your tradition this year in Providence, June 24 - 28, and look forward to GAs coming to Milwaukee, Portland and Pittsburgh!  For details: www.uua.org/ga.  


National Consumer Protection Week

This year’s NCPW is sponsored by Federal agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission.  Visit https://www.consumer.ftc.gov to discover programs and other information to inform consumers.  There are resources for complaints, credit reports, do not call, identity theft, and email protection.  All are available in Spanish, too.
 

Thanks to: Our volunteers who make sweet music: all you folks who participate in choir, and musicians who brighten our moods as we worship each week.

… And “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”
 
A Note From the Board President:

Four years ago, I took a novel step.  I was preparing for our ministerial search process and there was information I needed.  Now, I had to do some digging.  And it wasn't the easiest task.  But I finally did it: I read the UUCV bylaws.

The bylaws of any organization are not really great marketing material.  They tend to be a little technical, with several very specific details that contrast with the often frustratingly vague points a few paragraphs on.  UUCV's bylaws read in much the same way - they are about 16 pages long and have obviously been edited bit by bit over the last 50 years.  There was outdated language, references to processes that don't exist anymore, and the occasional nonsensical statement.  It was clearly time to look at the whole document and make it cohesive, consistent, and up to date.

In the early fall (before any other events happened) the Board of Trustees created a team to take a look at the bylaws and recommend changes.  We've been steadily chipping away at the task and are almost prepared to host a series of informational meetings.  While we did initiate this change, the Board cannot complete it by ourselves.  Changes to the bylaws require the support of the congregation, which is exactly how it should be.  The bylaws represent the essence of the congregation, the technicalities of how we agree to operate within our structure - this is not something the Board can or should do unilaterally.

And so, I invite you to tread the same path I did four years ago: read the bylaws and see what you think.  We will be hosting informational meetings with details about the changes that we are recommending this spring in advance of this summer's Annual Congregational Meeting.  Hopefully we will vote on the changes then. And, in the mean time I encourage you to talk about it! Think it over, consider what this kind of change means to you and to us.  Come to the meetings and read the documents - get informed!
- Mellie Hock
February 2nd

The Regulation of Complex Systems:
 Hot or Cold?

Two Services at 9:30 & 11:15
 
Rev. Kathryn A. Bert
& Karl Anderberg
 
We begin this morning the exploration of Spiritual Practices.  Some practices energize us so that we might take action, and others cool us down, so that we don't act precipitously.  Spiritual Practices can help us regulate our own complex systems so that we might be more effective in the world.
February 9th

Embodied Faith
Two Services at 9:30 & 11:15
 
Rev. Kathryn A. Bert
& Jessica Sand
 
 The spiritual discipline of physical conditioning helps us stay in tune with the rhythms of our own bodies so that we remain integrated as a whole being, and as flexible as possible.





 
Our spiritual theme for the month of February is Spiritual Practice.
 
No mirror ever became glass again;
no bread ever became wheat;
no ripened grape ever became sour fruit.
Mature yourself and be secure
from a change for the worse.
Become the Light.

 
- Jalal al-Din Rumi
For more information, visit us online at www.uucvan.org.
To see the most recent news and events, visit our Facebook.
To submit an article to the weekly bulletin, contact weeklybulletin@uucvan.org.
Deadline for submissions is Friday morning by 9:00 am.
Check out the How to at UUCV Guide for guidelines.

If you have an announcement you want to be read during the Sunday service, check out the Sunday Announcement submission form.
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