Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church - Unitarian Universalist

Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church - Unitarian Universalist

Friday E-Mail News           December 24, 2010

We are sending our Friday Email on Thursday due to the Holidays. There will be no Friday Email on Friday, December 31.

Inclement Weather Policy: In case of snow, sleet, or freezing rain we will air any cancellation on local radio and tv stations. In addition, our website will have up to date information at uucharlottesville.org. Any weather related changes to the worship schedule will be posted on the main page of our website. The church’s voice mail message will also announce any cancellations due to inclement weather.

Service at 10 AM Only

December 26, Sunday: 10 AM, One Service Only. Sermon - Finding Balance While Teetering On the Cusp. Chaplain Alexandra McGee, Transitional Ministry Associate. At this time of year as the holidays are winding down, the Solstice has turned us back toward the light, and schedules are shifting, how can we ride the wave and keep our balance? Lessons from various sacred traditions including Taoism and Buddhism will shed light.

Religious Education

No Religious Education classes.

Child care for children four and under in the lower hall at both services.

Church This Week

December 24—31: Church Office Closed for the Holidays.

December 24, Friday: Christmas Eve Services:

4:30 PM Christmas Eve Service - Leia Durland-Jones, DRE & Rev. Janet Newman. This joy-filled service will be our interactive re-telling of the Christmas story. Come ready to jump right in and play the part of one of the characters in this timeless tale of wonder, mystery, and love. Donations of new mittens, gloves, socks, and hats will be received for those in need. At the end of the service, we will proceed to the front portico and search the skies for Santa and his sleigh! Potluck cookie reception after.

8 PM A Dickens of a Christmas - Rev. Dr. Janet E. Newman & Chaplain Alex McGee. A Christmas service to which all ages are invited. Holiday music and stories, a look at A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, candle lighting and exiting on Silent Night. The offering will go to the Minister’s Discretionary Fund. A liberal communion service will follow for those who wish to attend. Potluck cookie reception after.

December 31, Friday: Labyrinth Walk, 5-7 PM, Social Hall. Transition from the Old Year to the New by walking the labyrinth on Friday evening December 31! Live music by Suzanne Morris on hammered dulcimer. Refreshments in the Parlor. Plenty of time for your New Year’s Eve festivities afterward!

January 2, Sunday: 9:15 + 11:15 AM. Sermon - For the Time Being, Rev. Dr. Janet E. Newman. This first Sunday in the New Year offers us an opportunity to look back, look ahead, and look around. With poetry by Robert Frost, W. H. Auden, and others, we will do so.

January 2+16, Sundays: Women Weaving Wisdom Committee, 1 PM, Green Room.

Church Notes & Requests for Help

January 2011 Monthly Bulletin is now online at uucharlottesville.org. Thank you to Eleanor May and Gloria Watson for helping get the monthly bulletin out this month. If you had a monthly bulletin mailed to you please be sure it has pages 5+6. If it does not then you can pick it up at the church.

Grounds News: This frigid cold air blast is a stark reminder that winter, i.e. snow, is upon us. We need to be prepared in case we have a repeat of last winter’s three snow storms. Does anyone have or know of where we could get a used snow blower? This could save time and effort clearing off the sidewalks and the Summit parking lot. It was very difficult, almost impossible to park (after the city snow plows had passed by). If anyone lives within walking distance and can clear some parking spaces that would be a huge help.. Any high school students or Boy Scouts out there who need a community project? Please let Sallie Kate Park know at 978-7360 or wildwindsk@earthlink.net.

Please fill out your “Promise Cards” and return them to Rev. Dr. Janet Newman or anyone on the Transition Team after the service. If you need cards, please see any of those persons. The yellow cards are for you to write down the promises, one per card, that you make to the others in the church. The blue cards are for you to write down the promises, one per card, that you would like the others in the church to make to you. Next week will be the last collection of the promises. They form the basis of the Congregational Covenant of Healthy Relations.

IMPACT Progress: On Tuesday, December 7, the IMPACT Research Team has already conducted interviews with the Charlottesville/Albemarle Commission on Children & Families (CCF), the Mental Health Coalition, Western State Hospital, and Region Ten Planning Services Board in an effort to define the extent of the problems facing the community with regard to mental health. In the coming weeks, we are planning to meet with the University of Virginia Health System in conjunction with the University Medical Association, On Our Own, Virginia Organization of Consumers Asserting Leadership (VOCAL), Counseling and Psychological Services at UVA (CAPS), Piedmont Virginia Community College, and the Regional Jail with Offender and Restoration Services (OAR). Based on the large scope of information we have received, the research team has voted to further investigate individuals between the ages of 16-25 with mental health problems who are currently untreated, though our focus remains open as we continue our research. We are reminded of the continual need to eradicate the long-standing stigma against those with mental health problems and to ascertain how we are addressing mental health within our own congregations. In addition to our upcoming research interviews, we are planning to conduct a survey amongst IMPACT congregations regarding mental health. Our next Research Team meeting will take place on Tuesday, January 11, at which time we plan to finalize an area of focus. If you have information about the mental health situation in the community or if you have a personal testimony that you would like to share please contact Lauren at gilchrist.lauren@gmail.com or Peter at ptg3va@gmail.com. Elizabeth Breeden is our representative on the Research Team.

The Labyrinth Ministry and the Chaplain at the Women’s Correctional Center in Fluvanna send our heart-felt thanks for the many boxes of Christmas cards, stamps, and stationery that you donated to the women inmates. Thanks to the generosity of TJMC and other churches in Virginia, more than 1100 women received personal hygiene or card packets. The Chaplain said the women were very touched, appreciative, and grateful for the tangible evidence of the caring of others. Thank you, TJMC!

Niki’s Toy Chest: During the last four months I have donated toys to the local social service agencies and I have decided that this is something I want to do on a year round basis. So I am asking those of you who have children with toys they no longer need to donate them to me. I will take them and clean them up or fix them and then donate them to the appropriate agency. (Think birthdays.) For more information or to donate toys contact me, Niki Skaggs, at 979-7824 or niki.skaggs@yahoo.com.

Buy Scrip! The scrip table is fully stocked with GiftCards for more than twenty popular grocery and retail stores. Do your shopping at the Scrip table! Cash and carry from our selection or place a special order using the shopwithscrip.com website, by e-mailing scrip@uucharlottesville.org or at the Scrip table. Weekly order deadlines are Sundays at midnight.

Buy Your Groceries Online and Raise Funds for TJMC! For every family that places four orders of $100 or more by the end of January 2011 (note extended deadline!), Relay Foods will give TJMC $50. RelayFoods.com allows you to shop at more than fifty area grocery stores, specialty shops, and farms on one website. Browse for staples, prepared foods, and farm-raised meat and produce, all at in-store prices, from places like Whole Foods, Rebecca’s, Reid Supermarket, and the Cheese Shop (which has great prices, btw). You can check out with a credit card, and they will meet you with your purchase at one of their free pick-up spots conveniently located around town. Enter “TJUU” in the coupon code box to participate in the fundraiser.

Religious Education newsletter that has highlights and information about what is happening in our Children and Youth Religious Education program. You do not need to have children in the program to be added to the mailing list. To add you name, contact Leia Durland-Jones at leiadj@embarqmail.com.