Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church - Unitarian Universalist

Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church - Unitarian Universalist

Friday News Update

December 9, 2011

Theme for December: Incarnation

“The incarnation is true, not of Christ exclusively, but of [Humanity] universally, and God everlastingly.” ~ James Martineau

Services – 9:15 AM+11:15 AM

December 11, Sunday: Sermon - The Speech of Angels, 9:15 AM +11:15 AM. Thomas Carlyle once wrote, “Music is well said to be the speech of angels.” As we move through this season of angels, our choir, as well the duo Terra Voce, will embody that speech with special music.

Four year-olds through fifth grades begin their morning in Children’s Worship.

Religious Education classes for children and youth are offered during both services.

The two and three year-olds RE class as well as the youth classes (sixth thru twelfth grades)

start in their classrooms.

For more information, see the RE display table in the Social Hall on Sunday morning.

Children are always welcome in worship.

Nursery and child care is available for children four years old and younger

during both services in the lower hall of the main building.

The Comfort Room at the Rugby Road entrance of the Sanctuary is designed for parents with young children. Audio from the service can be heard in the Comfort Room.

uucharlottesville.org Information Go To Links

December 2011 Bulletin: http://www.uucharlottesville.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/december-2011-monthly-bulletin-2pub.pdf

Calendar: http://www.uucharlottesville.org/calendar

Sermons: http://www.uucharlottesville.org/about/worship-life/services-and-sermons

Church This Week.

December 10, Saturday: Confronting the History of Slavery in Charlottesville, 10AM-12PM, Westminster Presbyterian Church, 400 Rugby Road. The University and Community Action for Racial Equity (UCARE) is dedicated to helping the University of Virginia and the Charlottesville communities work together to understand the University’s role in slavery, racial segregation, and discrimination and to find ways to address and repair the legacy of those harms, particularly as they relate to present day disparities. This is exactly the kind of activity Rev. Erik Walker Wikstrom talked about in his sermon on the work of atonement we could be involved with because of our identity as the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church. UCARE was one of the specific potential partners he referenced. A brand new “Call for Reflection and Action” describes what UCARE has learned to date about this history and legacy, as well as efforts to confront those wrongs, as they apply to the University of Virginia and the surrounding community. Besides sharing what we have learned from dozens of interviews and meetings, it contains specific actions that everyone can take to address today’s problems. On Saturday, December 10, we will be holding an open forum about the document. TJMC’s Frank Dukes and John Alexander have been leaders in the UCARE project.

December 11, Sunday: Peace Action - United Nations (PAUN), 12:45 PM, Summit Room 2. This will be the last meeting of PAUN this year. Important decisions and updates. All are welcome to visit and/or to join this dynamic group.

December 11, Sunday: NatureSpirit, 5:30 PM, Social Hall. Come join us for a presentation on the traditions of Yule. We will have a potluck starting at 5:30 PM and will assemble individual Yule logs! If you have questions, email us at nature@uucharlottesville.org.

December 11, Sunday: Giving Tree, foyer. This is the last Sunday to take a wish card! Share the joy of the holiday season through TJMC’s Giving Tree by choosing a wish card from the tree in the foyer. This year, we are partnering with Hope House and The Women’s Initiative to provide holiday gifts for low income families in our area. All the details are available in the foyer. Bring your gifts on Sunday, December 18. Thanks in advance for your generosity!

December 11, Sunday: Support Your Church & TJMC Artisans and Crafters. Artisans and crafters will be selling handmade items in the Social Hall every Sunday in December. Vendors pay a commission to TJMC plus many donate all profits to the church. You will find Jewelry, Christmas Ornaments, Music CDs, Niki’s dolls, and more. Each week will have some of the same vendors and some new vendors so be sure to shop every week. And do not forget to admire the art work displayed around the church. Some of which is for sale.

December 12, Monday: AFD: Let’s Have a Conversation about Death (our Ministry Theme for January 2012) 7–9 PM, Sanctuary.

December 13, Tuesday: AFD: Poetry: Reading, Writing, Sharing, Caring Change of Venue, 1-2:30 PM, C’ville Coffee. For more information contact Holly Dilatush.

December 13–January 31, Tuesdays: AFD: Why Evil Exists, 1–3 PM, Parlor. Leader: Rev. Tony Perrino. Fee: $20 for series or $2/class. Number of participants: 4 minimum, 21 maximum. To register email leiadj@embarqmail.com.

December 13–Tuesday: AFD: Belief and Reason: Readings & Discussion in Psychology and Philosophy, 7–8:30 PM, Summit House Room 2. Leader: Barbara Shenefield. All are welcome.

December 13–January 31, Ongoing Tuesdays: AFD: Why Evil Exists, 1–3 PM, Parlor. Leader: Rev.Tony Perrino.Fee: $20 for series or $2/class. Register online or at leiadj@embarqmail.com.

December 14, Ongoing Wednesdays: Weekly Lunchtime Labyrinth Walk, 11:45 AM, Outdoor Labyrinth. Leader: Leia Durland-Jones. Fee: free of charge. Drop-ins welcome.

December 14, Ongoing Wednesdays: AFD: Wednesday Wonderings, 12:15–1:15 PM, Summit Room 1. Leader: Erik Walker Wikstrom. Fee: free of charge. Register online at leiadj@embarqmail.com .

December 14, Wednesday: Finance Committee, 7 PM, Social Hall.

December 14, Wednesday: Leadership Development, 7 PM, Parlor.

December 15+22+29, Thursdays: Active Minds, 1 PM, Parlor. Join us for community and conversation.

December 17, Saturday: All Church Holiday Party, 2 PM, All Church. Bring a snack to share and join in the fun of decorating the church’s Christmas Tree. Enjoy a cup of cider while you create holiday crafts, make a wreath or decorate candles. There will be ornament and rock painting as well as paper crafts and beading. The “Treasure Chest” will allow children to “shop” for a holiday treasure for someone special (and they can choose something for themselves too.) We will wr, Jennifer Edelson, or Krysti Mayers. Bring greenery to share for the wreath making if you can!

December 18, Sunday: Sermon - 9:15 AM One With The Trees and Stars. What does the idea of “incarnation” have to do with the science of cosmology? And what do either have to do with you? Come and find out.

December 18, Sunday: Sermon - 11:15 AM Giving Tree – Intergenerational. Rev. Erik Walker Wikstrom and Leia Durland-Jones, DRE. Come and share in this festive service as we celebrate being together in multigenerational community through story, song and a surprise or two.

December 18, Sunday: Social Action Collection - Play Partners. Play Partners, a program of Children, Youth & Family Services, Inc. (CYFS), promotes the development of early literacy skills in preschool children from low-income families. Each week trained volunteers bring a special book and enrichment activities to children in day care settings, including family day care homes, with emphasis on school readiness and the importance of reading. Your donations will help purchase books and materials for the children in this nationally recognized program.

Church Notes & Requests for Help

Christmas Baskets: Did you know that among our members are folks who are struggling to make sure their family has a holiday feast? We want to help them do that. Please donate holiday feast food into the boxes in the Edgewood Lane Hallway next Sunday, December 18. Many donations make a delicious feast. If you would like to buy a grocery scrip card, that will be helpful as well. If your family is in need of a little help, please let our minister, Rev. Erik Walker Wikstrom, know by contacting him at 293-8179 extension 1#, erikwikstrom@comcast.net, or in person. May the season spread warmth and light by sharing it.

TJMC-Cares Book: A hospital is less lonely when your commUUnity comes too. Jim Souder is going through a difficult time. A TJMC-Cares book is being made for Jim. Please consider creating an 8” x 10” page (a message, drawing, or collage) and bring it to the Social Hall on Sunday, December 11. See Laura Wallace or Rev. Erik Wikstrom. Shorter messages can be added on the spot.

Volunteers Welcome: Do you feel moved to help coordinate our CareNet program? CareNet helps arrange meals and rides for congregation members during times of special need. The coordinator contacts other members to match up people to help each other out. Contact Chaplain Alexandra McGee, Ministry Associate, ma@uucharlottesville.org.

Last Call for Special Order Christmas Scrip! The scrip table is fully stocked with cash and carry GiftCards for popular grocery and retail stores, but the deadline to place special orders for other ShopWithScrip GiftCards for Christmas delivery is midnight Sunday, December 11, with delivery on Sunday, December 18. Order at the Scrip Table on Sunday, through the shopwithscrip.com website, or by e-mailing scrip@uucharlottesville.org.

Back by popular demand – 2012 Attractions Coupon books only $25 to benefit the 2012-13 Coming of Age class. Just in time for holiday gift giving. See Margaret Gorman at the Scrip table on Sunday. We did not plan to sell the books this year but your requests for them has been overwhelming! Thanks for your support of our Coming of Age class! A limited number of 2011 books (five only!) available for $5 a piece!

Welcome a Guest at Your Table! Take home a collection box for the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee today for your family’s dining table. You are invited to imagine a guest joining you for meals between now and Sunday, December 18, by adding a monetary contribution to your box every time you eat. We will combine our financial gifts and send our collective offering to the UUSC to support their humanitarian efforts around the globe.

Update on Music Task Force: Over two dozen people attended our four sessions in mid-November to share their hopes for the future of our music program. Based on examples from other congregations, guidance from the UU Musicians Network, and the advice we received last month, our Music Task Force is preparing a survey that will enable everyone at TJMC-UU to express her or his creative dreams for music in our community… what inspires you, what stirs you, and what part you would like to play. The survey will be available both online and on paper after the first of the year. We will send email notification and provide a link to the survey on the church website at the earliest opportunity. Stay tuned!

Stock Donations: We would like to remind everyone that if you plan to donate stock to the church before the end of the calendar year as payment towards your pledge or for some other type of contribution, remember that it takes several weeks to complete that transaction. Also, the proceeds from stock transfers often come to the church without any donor identification on them. Therefore, if you intend to donate stock to the church, please complete a stock transfer form, available at the Church Office or on the Administrative Council bulletin board, in advance of the donation, so we may properly credit your account. The stock transfer form in the Church Office contains information about the church account to which the stock may be donated.

Registration for the 2011-2012 Religious Education Program for Children & Youth is available at http://www.uucharlottesville.org/education/religious-education-program-registration on the church’s website. All families with children infants through twelfth grades participating in the program need to register.

Let us create a collage of our beloved church family! Please email a family photo to Leia Durland-Jones, DRE, at leiadj@embarqmail.com or bring one in. All families are welcome to add to our collage in the Social Hall. Also, stop by the specially designated table in the Social Hall after worship/RE class and draw a picture of your family!