Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church - Unitarian Universalist

Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church - Unitarian Universalist

Friday News Update          October 7, 2011

Services – 9:15 AM+11:15 AM

October 9, Sunday: Sermon – Reconciliation. We all have places in our lives where we need reconciliation, with family and friends, with ourselves, with that which is deepest and most high. Bob Kiefer and Rev. Erik Wikstrom will weave a service of hope.

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

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

The two and three year-olds RE class as well as the youth classes (sixth thru twelveth grades) start in their classrooms. For more information, see the RE display table in the Social Hall on Sunday morning.

Nursery care is available for children under two years-old 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.

Church This Week.

October 7, Friday: Food Pantry, 9 AM, Social Hall.

October 9, Sunday: Peace Action-United Nations, 12:45 PM, Summit Room 2. Come and participate to help make important decisions. Contact Mary Rose Curtis or Al Reynolds.

October 11–January 31, Tuesdays: AFD: Why Evil Exists, 1–3 PM, Parlor. Each one of us struggles with the concept of “evil” in our lives, in our community and in the larger world. Together, through video-lectures and discussion, we will explore our understandings of evil and try to make sense of this challenging and powerful topic. Highly respected University of Virginia Religious Studies Professor Charles Matthewes provides the lectures via video. Discussions following each lecture. Leader: Rev.Tony Perrino.Fee: $20 for series or $2/class. Number of participants: 4 minimum, 21 maximum. To register email leiadj@embarqmail.com

October 11, Ongoing Tuesdays: AfFD: Poetry: Reading, Writing, Sharing, Caring, 1–2:30 PM, Summit Room 1. Our gatherings open with readings of favored, pondered or newly discovered lines of our own or others’ work (we each read a line, stanza or short poem or paragraph of our choice).  Some weeks we share detailed info about various poets’ inspirations, lives and publishing and presenting history.  Some weeks we focus on a particular form of poetry. Most weeks we spend 30 to 45 minutes reading aloud, sharing and discussing, followed by 30 to 45 minutes of quiet independent writing, followed by a few minutes of sharing excerpts of what we’ve written as / if we wish. Leader: Holly Dilatush. Fee: free of charge. Number of participants: 2 minimum, 7 maximum. To register email leiadj@embarqmail.com

October 11, Ongoing Tuesdays: AFD: Caring Correspondence & Cards: A Spiritual Practice, 3:15–4:15 PM, Summit Room 1. Remember what it is like to receive handwritten letters and cards? Share a pleasant hour with other caring folks, have a cup of tea, choose a card or two or three (or sheet of stationery or two or three) and let us write! We will share opening words, share ideas and addresses of those we might write to – other UU members? People special in each of our lives? Strangers we think might appreciate a word of encouragement, inspiration and/or cheer? All of the above? Anyone (whether or not you are able or choose to join us) is welcome to donate blank stationery and cards that we might use. Leader: Holly Dilatush. Fee: free of charge. Number of participants: 2 minimum.  To register email leiadj@embarqmail.com

October 12, Ongoing Wednesdays: Weekly Lunchtime Labyrinth Walk, 11:45 AM, Outdoor Labyrinth at TJMC. Come and enjoy an intentional pause in the middle of your week. We’ll meet on the outdoor labyrinth (weather permitting) and engage in walking meditation at our own pace. No prior experience with the labyrinth or walking meditation necessary. If the weather makes being outdoors uncomfortable, we will gather in the sanctuary and enjoy the silence. Come and go as suits your needs. This class is a prefect prelude to Rev. Erik’s Wednesday Wonderings which begins at 12:15. Leader: Leia Durland-Jones. Fee: free of charge. Number of participants: unlimited.

October 12, Wednesday: AFD: Serving with Grace, 7–9 PM, Parlor. Rev. Erik’s most recent book, Serving with Grace: Lay Leadership as a Spiritual Practice, is being very well received by UU congregations across the country. In this session we will take a look at what is in the book, why it is getting the kind of reception it is, and what all of this could mean for TJMC. Co-sponsored by the Leadership Development Committee. Leader: Erik Walker Wikstrom. Times: Fee: free of charge. Number of participants: 4 minimum, 20 maximum  To register email leiadj@embarqmail.com

October 13+20+27, Thursdays: Active Minds, 1 PM, Parlor.

October 13, 20, 27 & November 3, 10, 17, Thursdays: AFD: Faith Like a River: Themes in Unitarian Universalist History, 7–9 PM, Parlor. Our history is a narrative peopled with prophets, doers, and shapers of the faith we seek to live today. The workshops, organized thematically, offer many ways for participants to explore our history and connect it with their own lives. Themes include orthodoxy and heresy, reason, reform, martyrs, tolerance, freedom, polity, idealism, multiculturalism, globalization, evangelism, and Unitarianism, Universalism, and Unitarian Universalism. Leader: Erik Walker Wikstrom. Fee: free of charge. Number of participants: 8 minimum, 21 maximum.  To register email leiadj@embarqmail.com

October 13, Thursday: UU Christian Fellowship, 7 PM, Summit Room 2. Jean Newland will be leading a meditative service, Praying Without Words.

October 15, Saturday: Bulletin Submissions for the November Bulletin Due. Please note: any articles received after the deadline will be held until the next month. Please limit your formatting.

October 15, Saturday: Newcomer Orientation, 9 AM–12 PM, Summit Room 1. We would like to welcome visitors to join our minister, Membership Committee and other church leaders to our Fall Newcomer Orientation. This session is an opportunity to learn more about Unitarian Universalism and about our church. A light breakfast and snacks will be provided along with fellowship and coffee. The sign up sheets are located on the Community Life Council bulletin. Please feel free to contact Jean Newland with any questions or concerns.

October 16, Sunday: Sermon - What’s In A Name? Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church has quite a name to live up to. TJ is an ancestor to be truly proud of. And his legacy includes much that cries out for atonement. What could be TJMC’s role in that process? Elizabeth Breeden and Rev. Erik Wikstrom will explore. The choir will sing “All My Trials.”

October 16, Sunday: Social Action Collection - TJMC Food Pantry.

October 16 Sunday: AFD: All Church Hike at Ivy Creek, 1:30–3 PM, Meet in the parking lot at Ivy Creek Natural Area, about 10 minutes from TJMC. Come and join your church friends for some time walking in woods after church! Bring your own picnic lunch or snack and join in the fun. All ages welcome. Our own Ruth Douglas will lead a hike/nature walk for approximately an hour and a half. The pace will be conversational. If you have binoculars or a field glass, bring them. Be sure to pack a water bottle. Come one, come all and see some lovely autumnal delights!  Rain cancels. Leader: Ruth Douglas. Fee: free of charge.  To register email leiadj@embarqmail.com

Church Notes & Requests for Help

TJMC-UU October 2011 Bulletin and Adult Faith Development prospectus is now online at uucharlottesville.org.

Thanksgiving is coming up, and so is the question of how the TJMC community is going to cultivate connections during this holiday time. Some people have suggested continuing the practice of coming together in the Social Hall for a community meal for any who would like to participate. Others have proposed that people with extra space at their own tables might be coordinated in a sort of “Guest At Our Table” program. If you have ideas, and especially if you would be interested in spearheading an effort, please contact Rev. Erik Walker Wikstrom at erikwikstrom@comcast.net.

Soup Kitchen looking for recruits! Soup Kitchen has been active in providing a meal every Sunday for the needy for the past twenty years. We are currently serving at the Haven, downtown. We have six teams who rotate Sundays with each team having a crew of volunteers. Volunteers are asked to contribute to the meal and also to serve when available. You need not be a gourmet chef as we usually serve simple meals. And the more people who volunteer, the more we can spread out the $$ and the energy required. Currently, we are serving about forty to sixty people each Sunday. Come join us one Sunday at the Haven between 1:30 PM–2:30 PM. No need to make a firm commitment without trying it on for size first! For more informaiton contact Cynthia Pulaski, the Soup Kitchen Coordinator.

Prepaid Orders of Rev. Erik Wikstrom’s Books are being Accepted: Our own Rev. Erik has three published books and is part of a contemporary anthology. Information about these books will be available at the UUsed Bookstore and Membership table for the next three Sundays after both services. We are accepting prepaid orders for these books with anticipated delivery for the last two Sundays in October. If you have any questions, please contact Jean Newland.

Membership Committee Launching bUUddy System to Whole Congregation: The membership committee has been cultivating connections with new members of the church by using a bUUddy system of pairing up new members with long time members in the church to make a deeper connection with TJMC-UU. Now it is time to expand our base of long time members. A bUUddy is an involved member of the church who would like to share his/her interests with a new member. Detailed forms are posted on the bulletin board under Community Life. If you would like to become a bUUddy, forms are available in the membership box. Please do not be discouraged if you do not get a bUUddy right away because as we keep adding new members, our program will continue to expand. Patsy Swindler and Gayle Floyd, bUUddy Coordinators.

Fall Means WVTF Fundraising: If you are a proud UU/NPR listener, you have heard the underwriting announcements telling folks about TJMC.  Those announcements are paid for by people who make their donations through our church instead of directly to the station. Just drop your check in the offertory any Sunday in September or October. Make it out to TJMC with “WVTF Radio” in the memo line.  Does it before the fund drive starts and we will even enter you into their drawing for great prizes! Support public radio and help get the word out about TJMC.

Wondering where the Fall Auction/Chili Fest went to? Your hardworking Fundraising Committee is channeling its efforts into a single auction this year for Saturday, February 25, 2012. It will be a “one-derful” event with live and silent auction items, yummy food, and lots of fun. If you are already thumbing through cookbooks thinking about the dinner you want to host, contact our Dinner Diva, Lynn Heath, to get your date on the calendar. We will be booking events from March 2012 through February 2013. For more auction information, write auction@uucharlottesville.org. We will be One; it will be Fun.

Seeking Barn or Garage or Storage Shed: The Yard Sale Crew is desperately seeking a dry storage space for donations through the year. Our angel, Shirley Paul, is downsizing and her perfect one car garage is no longer available. We prefer a place close to town, but any offer would be nice. Please notify Elizabeth Breeden.

TJMC Holiday Card: Send a TJMC Holiday card to members and friends and contribute to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) at the same time. Edith Good is collecting on Sundays in the Social Hall for the card that TJMC distributes during the end-of-year holidays to benefit UUSC. UUSC is a social justice affiliate organization of the UUA. See their website at volunteerservices@uusc.org. The card will be distributed electronically with the December issue of the monthly Bulletin. Hard coies will be available. Donations are tax deductible as are memberships (seniors 65 and over $20, adults $40, adult couples $35, youth $10). Make checks out to UUSC. Your name will appear on the card if you donate before November 13. Lorie Craddock has again agreed to design this year’s card.

Greeting Cards Collection for FWCC: The Labyrinth Ministry is collecting stationery items (greetings cards of all kinds, writing paper, and especially stamps) for our annual holiday donation to the Fluvanna Women’s Correctional Center (FWCC). At 23 cents an hour, it takes almost two full hours of inmate employment to afford a single first-class stamp. Please help by placing your donations in the FWCC Collection Box located at the Edgewood Lane entrance. Deadline is the end of October.

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.