Mid-week Email

UUSC has been working for 25 years to help displaced Rohingya families

For 25 years, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) has provided life-saving care for Rohingya families who have been displaced over decades of systematic persecution by the Burmese military. These families face heavy or complete restrictions on their employment, access to health care, education, and other services. To address these needs, UUSC is partnering with grassroots organizations in Kuala Lumpur providing community-based support to Rohingya refugees.

Rohingya Women Development Network is a women’s refugee center focused on livelihood development and education. Another grassroots group, Elom Empowerment, offers general capacity building such as language and computer classes, and mentorship for young men.

Community centers are integral to healing, health, and wellness, providing care and avenues for self-determination inside the world’s largest refugee camp. One space designed for women, and run by women, in the Bangladesh refugee camps focuses on providing places of peace and privacy for breastfeeding, showering in privacy, and quiet reflection. Other community centers supported by the UUSC focus on educational programs so Rohingya children can receive the basic education from which they’ve been banned in Burma.

You can read more here about how UUSC, with the help of UUs like you, has made such a difference in the lives of so many Rohingya families.

Your contenMid-week Email

Leadership Orientation:  Covid19 has brought some changes! So, whether you’re new to leading a committee or other team or you’ve been doing it for years, you’ll want to catch up on the latest information to help you do what you do. We’ll be providing the scoop on what’s new, what’s different, what hasn’t changed about how to get things done. Administration, communication, budget and expenses, resources available–we’ve got it all! And, of course, it’s virtual.

Join us Sunday, Aug. 16, at noon for an information-filled session. Here’s the link: https://zoom.us/j/95371243861 The session will also be recorded for those who are unable to attend the live session.

Nashville Organized for Action and Hope (NOAH) Happenings

Mendes Budget Passes: Metro Nashville City Council passed a budget early Wednesday morning June 17^th 2020 that included a 34% property tax hike. The budget will raise property taxes $1.006 per $100 of the property’s assessed value. It’s the largest property tax increase in Metro Nashville history and the first hike since 2012. With more than 80% of council members’ approval, a substitute budget offered by Council member Bob Mendes passed that included a plan to increase funding to Metro Nashville Public Schools and the Metro Nashville Police Department. Mendes’ budget was adopted over Mayor John Cooper’s, but the mayor tweeted following the budget decision Wednesday morning, showing support for the council’s decision. Mendes budget is a win because it:

• essentially guarantees passage of a budget that would add a $15/hour minimum wage for 1500+ school employees,
• added $7.5 million more for schools,
• allows community centers to open on Saturday mornings,
• adds a new Chief Diversity Officer position,
• adds a new Workforce Diversity Officer position,
• doubles the funding for the Nashville GRAD program,
• increases the Opportunity Now program for meaningful teen summer jobs by a third,
• adds an IT position to the Juvenile Court Clerk’s office to help Judge Calloway’s restorative justice program be able to work remotely,
• doubles a grant to TSU, and more.

Compared to Mayor John Cooper’s tax increase plan, the Mendes budget avoided sharp cuts to arts grants; put more money into community centers, summer youth employment and nonprofits; and prevented the closure of Nashville Community Education. In return, the administration made an amendment to strip out the Metro employee (not schools) step increases and add $2.6 million back in for the police department. Based on all of the circumstances, to avoid defeat of his budget proposal, Mendes decided to agree to not work against the administration’s amendment and voted to abstain. Councilman Bob Mendes said his budget will get the city back on a firmer financial footing, while still being able to help people. “Really, people who are hurt the most, we’re trying to get something in the budget for. I feel like we did that tonight.” He also states, “As difficult as this budget season has been, it should be thought of as the beginning of a several year process to get Metro on solid financial footing”. FUUN members please thank your council members for voting for Mendes budget.

NOAH’s Affordable Housing Task Force members wrote to their council person to support the Metro Budget that was passed (Mendes Budget) which gives the Barnes Housing Trust Fund $10 million for this year. While the property tax is going up, Metro has two property tax assistance programs for elderly and disabled low-income homeowners. The task force distributed information throughout its member congregations and Nashville about the programs.

NOAH’s Education Task force had four public meetings between June 30th and July 9^th of candidates for the school board elections. Their June meeting included a conversation with Rep. Harold Love who discussed the Basic Education Program (BEP) funding formula and how to strategize around getting it changed so that it is more effective for all of public school students. The education task force is engaged in an on-going effort to promote restorative practice and social emotional learning as alternatives to punitive discipline in Metro Nashville Public Schools, as documented in recent articles in the Tennessee Tribune. They welcome members of First UU to participate in the work of their task force. Meetings are the 4th Monday of each month currently via Zoom. 

Criminal Justice Working Group. Their June meeting was focused on removing the Police Chief but they are now having open dialogues because of the recent retirement of Chief Anderson that transpired after their regular scheduled meeting the fluid situation with policing in Nashville. At a recent meeting with Mayor Cooper, he committed to have a member of NOAH on a Committee studying use of force and making recommendations to the Mayor about policy and job description for the new police chief. Members also plan a town hall meeting about community policing/defunding the police using an online discussion and chat room call and explaining what defunding and community policing means. This group also focuses on Mental Health diversion and reforming the Bail system which requires cash so discriminates against the poor.  They meet by zoom on the 1st Monday of the month from 6:30-8 pm.

NOAH’s Economic Equity Task force  advocated for a moral budget including $15 an hour for all school system support staff and cost of living increases.

The UUA disaster fund granted $9,000 toward tornado relief to the North Nashville area. A group of people from GNUUC who wrote the grant request, Roddy Biggs, co-chair of Social Justice and reps of the A Team chose organizations to distribute the money to. The funds were distributed to Gideon’s Army, New Covenant Christian Church, and Pray for Nashville a relief fund set up in partnership with the North Nashville YMCA. See https://www.gofundme.com/f/gc492-prayfornashville/update/24447464/gallery/0 for a sample of their work.

Integrated Voter Engagement (IVE)

IVE is: listening to voters instead of pushing them to vote, holding town hall meetings, helping to educate voters about pertinent issues and how they can mobilize their ideas and helping interested people to become viable contributors to change. NOAH is offering workshops to this end.

NOAH is offering information and training to guide interested people who desire to become more involved in getting the vote out, but are not always sure how to do that.

“Tennessee is 45th in Voter Registration and 49th in Voter Turnout. We can do better.

For more information contact info@noahtn.org.

Important Communications Notice from your staff team:

The Weekly Email will be on hiatus the first week of August (Tuesday, August 4).

To this end,

• Announcements necessary to get out before the weekly email on August 11 will be included in the July 28 email and should be submitted by noon on Tuesday, July 28.

Additionally,

• The deadline to submit announcements related to the first half of August for other outlets (website, pulpit announcement) is Wednesday, July 29.

This is part of staff self-care (we are all trying to schedule accrued time off, so important in this time of pandemic) and in anticipation of Rev. Diane Dowgiert’s first week with us.

We appreciate your patience and flexibility as we all traverse this season of transition.

Rev. Denise Gyauch (for Staff)

Safe Haven Family Shelter continues to closely monitor developments around COVID-19 and implement procedures to ensure the health and safety of the families they serve. They have suspended the shelter program for now, and are housing families through housing and hotel options to make sure they have a place to call home. They evaluate this process weekly and will let us know when they plan to reopen the shelter. They are on target to serve over 330 families this year.

While we will not be serving dinners until the families are back in the shelter, they welcome donations. If you would like to make a donation, of any size, please visit safehaven.org/give/.
Pat Lynch
Safe Haven Action Team
safehaven@thefuun.org

Community reading of Ibram X. Kendi’s How To Be An Anti-Racist

Spurred on by the terrible killings of black men and women in the early part of this summer, many people have been inspired to redouble their efforts to bring true racial equity and justice to our country. Part of this effort, especially for people who have not had direct experience of unjust treatment based on the color of their skin, has been trying to learn more about antiracist work. As you probably are already aware, Kendi’s How To Be An Anti-Racist is one of the books that people have turned to most often. Maybe you’ve read it; maybe you’ve been meaning to read it; maybe you haven’t really thought about it but, with a little encouragement, might be interested in reading it.

Well, if you fall into any of these three categories, the Beloved Community Committee is here for you. We will be sponsoring a Community Read of How To Be An Anti-Racist late this summer (via Zoom). You can either read the book ahead of time or read along with us when it happens. We’ll divide the book into three sections, discussing them over three Sunday meetings. Here’s our proposed schedule:

Aug. 30:  Discuss chapters 1-6
Sept. 13:  Discuss chapters 7-11, 13-15
Sept. 27:  Discuss chapters 12,16-18

Read our weekly e-mail for more details and updates. (Subscribe on the right hand column, if you aren’t already receiving our email).

A Virtual Masterclass with Creative Director and Scholar Patrick Dailey

A Stirring in my Soul: The Negro Spiritual and Social Justice Movements

A Fine Tuning Virtual Masterclass presented by the National Museum of African American Music, First UU Nashville, and UU Church of Huntsville. Join us for a clinic on Hall Johnson’s setting of “I’ve Been Buked,” a discussion of dialect, text, and melody, and much more.

A Stirring in My Soul: The Negro Spiritual and Social Justice Movements:  As our society wrestles with major systemic issues, we will explore the intersections of musical creation and resistance through the root of all American music, the Negro Spiritual. Our work will identify traits, styles, and designations of these storied songs as well as draw correlation to contemporary music and expression through demonstration, lecture, performance, and conversation. This will provide a strong introduction to those looking to build bridges and further understand where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going.

Outline and Topics:

 Clinic with UU Quartet – Hall Johnson’s setting of “I Been Buked”

 What’s in a name? A case for the genre’s name

 Dissecting the sound and root: exploring dialect, text, and melody

 Drawing the lines of the Negro Spiritual to Freedom Songs and Hip-Hop

 Systematic Issues in the Performing Arts and Worship

Presented by Patrick Dailey, accomplished international countertenor whose credits include Opera Memphis, Queens Baroque Opera, and the Boston Early Music Festival, he has earned a reputation as a scholar of the Black Voice, lecturing at Southern University, Prairie View A&M University, and Vanderbilt University, to name a few. He is a graduate of Morgan State University and Boston University, and serves on the voice faculty at Tennessee State University.

For more information, please visit PatrickDaileyCT.com.

We hope you will join us for this exciting webinar: July 25, 2020 11 AM Central Time (US and Canada)
Register in advance for this meeting: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUkcuyvpz0vEtBcL9aFhSWE89yjlHTlZjmK
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. The webinar is free of charge.

This webinar is presented as a collaboration between the National Museum of African American Music, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville, and Unitarian Universalist Church of Huntsville.

FB Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/648554212725880/

Registration: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUkcuyvpz0vEtBcL9aFhSWE89yjlHTlZjmK

or 

https://bit.ly/323IZwn

After three years of deliberation the Commission on Institutional Change has completed their work. The product is a document called Widening the Circle of Concern. This is a detailed report on how to become a more open and multicultural community. The report can be found at uua.org/uuagovernance/committees/cic/widening.

The Beloved Community Committee welcomes the opportunity to share this work with FUUN and help any way we can with adopting its recommendations in ways that matter to us. It is exciting to have a national organization so committed to the work of Beloved Community.

“Your ordinary acts of love and hope point to the extraordinary promise that every human life is of inestimable value.” -Desmond Tutu

In the early morning hours of Friday, June 26, an 18-year-old Unitarian Universalist woman of color—Althea Bernstein—was attacked in what is being investigated as a hate crime. (If you want more information, there is much online.) She will recover, but it will be a long journey.

To support her in that journey, will you perform the “ordinary act of love and hope” of sending cards for Althea and her family? Send them to the attention of Marguerite Mills at FUUN, 1808 Woodmont Blvd, Nashville, TN 37215.

All cards received by Saturday, July 4, will be packaged and sent to her church, where they will see that Althea gets them. Email Marguerite at mmills@firstuunash.org if you have questions. Thank you.

Let the music get down in your soul–a musical celebration with Tony Jackson and Friends

On July 24, Tony Jackson and Friends will perform a live online benefit concert for FUUN. It’ll be a party with a purpose.

Many of you know Tony from his almost 14 years of membership at First UU Nashville and his participation in the choir. Joining him will be fellow church and choir member Debrina Dills, and her father Jack Dills, local sessions player and veteran of the Opry stage. They’ll play their signature mix of Pop, Rock, R&B, Country, and Blues.

The concert starts at 7 p.m. It’s $20 for the live stream, $10 for the recorded link. Even while we’re apart, we can still enjoy live music together!

To purchase your reservation, please fill ou the form below: then, you will be redirected to our online giving form (to pay now or later).  Once we have received your payment, you will receive the link(s) purchased via Email or text, whichever you prefer.

Thank your for supporting FUUN.

SUUSI is virtual this year.

Virtual SUUSI 2020: Kaleidoscope

Registration opens Sunday, June 7th at noon!

To register for Virtual SUUSI, just log in to SOLIS, the SUUSI Online Information System. Registration will involve a slightly simpler version of our usual process. A few special notes:

• There is no charge to attend Virtual SUUSI.
• It is very important to make sure that your email address listed in SOLIS is the one you want to use to get emails during SUUSI and to log on to our virtual conference space.
• Workshops will not have a fee, but you do need to register for them. Some have attendance limits.
• New this year, in the “personal details” section you will be asked to select pronouns for each person you register. 

Join Scott Weaver as he hosts a FUUN coffee hour chat Sundays at noon.

We will be inviting various committees to host with him.  If your committee is willing to sign up for a Sunday, please let him know.

This will give us a chance to connect and see each other, check in, and share. It’s set up for one hour. Feel free to drop in for all of it, or part of it.

Here is the info to join this chat:

Click here to join

Contact Metro Council BEFORE TUESDAY about Metro Budget

The death of George Floyd has created a maelstrom of protest in the United States and in Nashville.  Protest can create a time for significant change.  The 2021 budget for Nashville is now being voted on!  What significant change will we see?

NOAH’s membership voted to support a budget with a substantial property tax increase if it includes:

• Funding for the Barnes Affordable Housing Fund,
• More property tax relief for seniors and other low-income homeowners,
• Adequate funding for Metro Nashville Public Schools, and
• A moral budget maintaining current levels of employment and services.

We support the budget proposed by Council Member Bob Mendes with a $1.066 property tax increase as the one that is the most equitable and that meets our requirements.  This budget includes:

• $15/hr for all school employees, $12.5M in additional school funding
• Cost-of-living increases for thousands of public workers
• Implementing police body cams; Does not increase police department funding
• Summer youth employment; Opening community centers on Saturday mornings

(See other items in the comparison of Council Member Bob Mendes’ budget to Mayor Cooper’s budget HERE.)

Our budget needs to reflect more investment in people, schools and communities than in the “public safety” line item which includes our police department.  We believe our community will be safer if we invest in community services such as affordable housing, health care and jobs that pay living wages. 

An example of this is North Nashville, zip code 37208. Due to past and present discriminatory policies resulting in concentrated poverty and the problems poverty brings, this area has the highest rate of incarceration in the nation. Major damage occurred there when the tornado hit March 3rd.  Investment in housing, in schools, and in people is needed to stop gentrification and displacement in the wake of the tornado.

We believe that the budget presented by Council Member Mendes makes a beginning on this kind of investment in people.   (More info on NOAH’s statement on the budget is HERE.)

CAN YOU TELL THE METRO COUNCIL to support the Mendes budget as the most equitable budget? 

Metro Council will be considering these budgets THIS TUESDAY at 6:30 PM at Metro Council.    (Watch online at stream.nashville.gov, Comcast channel 3, or AT&T Uverse channel 99.)

Email all Metro Council Members BEFORE TUESDAY NIGHT at councilmembers@nashville.gov.  A sample email is below:

SUBJECT:  NOAH Asks Support for Mendes’ Budget!

Dear Council Member,

The death of George Floyd has brought forth protests across the United States and in Nashville.  Protest can create a time for significant change. What significant change will we see in our Metro Budget?

Competing budgets are before the Metro Council.  A tax increase is needed, but no one wants to burden homeowners.   Downtown developers have benefitted greatly from Nashville’s past growth and need to pay more to deal with the problems of growth.  A higher tax rate will cause homeowners to pay slightly more — but will generate much more from commercial property owners, since they pay on 40% of their appraised value and residential owners pay on only 25% of assessed value.

Members of NOAH (Nashville Organized for Action and Hope) voted that we could support a budget with a substantial property tax increase if it includes:

–  Funding for the Barnes Affordable Housing Fund,
–  More property tax relief for seniors and other low-income homeowners,
–  Adequate funding for Metro Nashville Public Schools, and
–  A moral budget maintaining current levels of employment and services.

Our budget needs to reflect more investment in people, schools and communities than in the “public safety” line item which includes our police department.  We believe our community will be safer if we invest in community services such as affordable housing, health care and jobs that pay living wages. 

We believe that the budget presented by Council Member Mendes makes a good beginning on this kind of investment in people.  Please support the Mendes budget with a $1.066 tax increase.

Sincerely,

(NAME)  (ADDRESS)

Click pictures for larger images.

All singers past, present, and future, are welcome to join our Music Ministry team on Thursdays starting June 4. Jaie and Holling are teaming up to provide educational programming, sing-a-longs, discussion, and rehearsal for distance-sings. Ever want to be in choir but too shy to try? Join us, and sing and learn from your own home!

https://zoom.us/j/91081865539
password: music

or email Jaie at music@firstuunash.org for full ZOOM links.

All ages are welcome to participate with a parent present. No commitment necessary, but weekly attendance is encouraged.

FUUN Church is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic:   Summer Choir at FUUN Online
Time:    Every week on Thursdays, 7 p.m. (CT)                June 4 until July 30, 2020

June 4, 11, 18, and 25 
July 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30 

Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Weekly: https://zoom.us/meeting/tJUtf-igqD4vGd0ukf6rCvKGLauGDMGqjhAn/ics?icsToken=98tyKuCprjMrEtKQtRqORowcAoqgd_zwpiVYjacNiRTjVTJwdCjRGuNXFZZSN8na

Join Zoom Meeting:  click here.
Password: music

Dial by your location:  +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
Meeting ID: 910 8186 5539
Password: 246052

Dinner in the Twilight Zone
Wednesdays, July 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29
6-7:30 p.m. on Zoom:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81910948911
Have dinner at home while watching a Twilight Zone episode with our FUUN community, after which we’ll have a conversation about the Unitarian Universalist sensibilities and values reflected in the episode. Did you know that Rod Serling (1924-1975), creator of the Twilight Zone, was Unitarian Universalist? He was known as the “angry young man” of Hollywood who clashed with television industry leaders over issues that we hold near and dear to our hearts today. We’ll start with The Monsters are Due on Maple Street, and future episode choices will be made by participants. This is a multigenerational evening that the whole family can share.

If you are interested in learning the broad strokes of Unitarian Universalist history and getting a quick overview of the history of our own congregation, join Revs. Gail and Denise for a 75-minute online class, Friday, May 29 at 1 p.m.

The class will be held on Zoom and open by registration only, with preference given to prospective members. (It is one of the prerequisites to church membership!)

Please email Denise (assistantminister@firstuunash.org) for more information or to sign up.

There will be a memorial service for Jean Smartt on Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 1 pm here on WebinarJam, followed by a Zoom reception at 2 p.m.

Links and instructions to join in for both online events will be posted here shortly. The re-play video will also be posted to our YouTube channel after the service.

To join the Celebration of Life on WebinarJam:

Step 1: If you are joining us live, you simply click the event url here.

Final step: Wait until the service begins.  The picture below shows what it will look like as you are waiting, if you join before 1 p.m. (which is recommended to test your speakers).

We may not be able to gather together to say goodbye to Rev. Gail, but we’re still going to wish her well before she retires this summer. The Lead Minister’s Advisory Committee is organizing a physically distanced farewell for Rev. Gail.

Please start gathering your photos and thinking of your favorite stories to post on our digital scrapbook (link coming soon!), and save the date for our farewell Zoom: June 7 (after church and the all-ages activity). Details to follow.

This year we missed our annual gathering, Dining Out For Life, that supports Nashville CARES by dining at a participating restaurant.  That’s a lot of good times, good food, and fundraising dollars that became one of the many casualties of the pandemic and safer-at-home practices.

It was 35 years ago when Nashville CARES began caring for those affected by another new and mysterious pandemic that eventually became known as HIV. In light of the novel COVID-19 virus, the mission of Nashville CARES is as important as ever – to care for the most vulnerable in our community through education, advocacy and service.

In an effort to recoup some of the lost donations that would have been raised during DOFL, Nashville CARES is participating in The Big Payback, Middle Tennessee’s 24-hour day of giving from 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 6, through 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 7.  Please consider donating the amount that you would have spent at dinner by giving here (thebigpayback.org/FUUN-DIFL). But you don’t have to wait – donations can be made beginning Wednesday, April 29.

Richard Bird

DOFL@thefuun.org

2020 Vision: Stewardship Campaign Update: Thank you to our 247 pledgers!  We have reached a RECORD TOTAL of $611,371!!  We have now heard from almost everyone and will no longer be doing any follow-up. If you have not yet pledged, please do so now using the online here, or by sending an email to stewardship@thefuun.org. 
                                                -Bob Day, Stewardship Chair

Visit our Stewardship Page 
if you need more information before making your pledge.

April 17-26 is Faith Climate Action Week and Wednesday, April 22 is also Earth Day. Activities we had hoped to carry out, as well as those of other groups, have had to be changed due to COVID-19, but many are still happening, just in different forms. Some 1500 congregations are coming together online through Interfaith Power and Light to act to protect the Earth and all the people who live on our planet.Prayers are held at noon local each day of the week. By the time you receive this message there will still be four days of possibilities.

• April 22 – Rev. Susan Hendershot, President, Interfaith Power & Light, “We Hold this Earth,” downloadable at faithclimateactionweek.org/prayers-and-climate-blessings/.
• April 23 – Rev. Dr. Ambrose F. Carroll, Senior Pastor – The Church by The Side of The Road, Berkeley CA and Founder of Green The Church. He will lead a prayer from his own yard.
• April 24 – Rev. Brooks Berndt, Minister of Environmental Justice, United Church of Christ, will share Pope Francis’ prayer, “A prayer for the earth,” which will be accompanied by images and music. The prayer is accessible at the same site above.
• April 25 – Rabbi Fred Scherlinder-Dobbs, Adat Shalom Congregation, Washington D.C., and IPL board member will lead the final prayer.

Also, of potential interest is a documentary, The Human Element by environmental photographer and filmmaker James Balog and the Earth Vision Institute. According to IPL, the film “captures the lives of everyday Americans on the front lines of climate change. With rare compassion and heart, The Human Element relays captivating stories from coast-to-coast, inspiring us to reevaluate our relationship with the natural world.” The form to request the link, which can be emailed to you up to April 26, can be found at faithclimateactionweek.org/organizers-kit/join-the-nationwide-climate-prayer/.

Additional activities offered by IFPL are described at faithclimateactionweek.org/about/.

Finally, in support of increasing the population of monarch butterflies, packets of milkweed seeds, plants that are their favorite food, with be available to you for free, with pickup available from outside the church, date TBA. If interested please email kathyaganske@gmail.com.

 -Kathy Ganske

What: Online Family Friendly Party Games

When: Sunday, April 26, 3:00 pm

Where: Zoom (get the link by emailing us at trans@thefuun.org)

Why: Family-Friendly Fun and Fellowship!

The Trans Affirming Collective had so much fun hosting you at our first online party game last Saturday that we decided we must do it again! So, Sunday, April 26, at 3 pm, please join us via Zoom for Round 2!
We’ll play games like Fibbage, Bidiots, and Quiplash XL (check them out here). Up to 8 people can play at a time with everyone else able to participate as audience members. Bring your pandemic pantry snacks and join us for some family fun!

Email us at trans@thefuun.org for the Zoom link.

There will be a free screening of American Heretics on April  25,  3 p.m. (CST), hosted by All Soul’s Church with a Q&A zoom to follow with Bishop Carlton Pearson, Rev. Marlin and others from the UU community. 

This documentary explores the intersection between race, politics, religion, and current polarization of people and communities. We will provide more information once we have it, in the meantime watch the trailer in the link below: and watch for updates as we get them.

There will be a free screening of American Heretics on April  25,  3 p.m. (CST), hosted by All Soul’s Church with a Q&A zoom to follow with Bishop Carlton Pearson, Rev. Marlin and others from the UU community. 

This documentary explores the intersection between race, politics, religion, and current polarization of people and communities. We will provide more information once we have it, in the meantime watch the trailer in the link below: and watch for updates as we get them.

April 10, 2020

Dear Treasured Health Care Providers and your families,

We wanted to reach out to you to assure you that your community at First UU Church is here to support you as you move through these incredibly complex, uncharted days of being a health-care worker during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been written that many health-care workers are suffering from something akin to anxiety, but rooted much deeper, more disturbing and altogether less about excessive worry and more about what lies ahead. Dr. Alison Block of San Francisco has termed this “pre-traumatic stress disorder.” It’s a sense of knowing that psychological distress lies just ahead. It’s as if one begins to experience the impact of the trauma informed by the knowledge of how the onslaught of COVID-19 has played out for colleagues not only in New York City, but also around the world.

If this finds you in such a place, please know that pastoral care is available for the asking. Additionally, members of First UU have offered a few services to support those who might need them. Please let us know how we may be of service to you as you selflessly serve our community during these extraordinary times. It may be that you need one thing this week and something totally different two weeks from now.

 First thoughts of possible support include:

• Arranging supermarket shopping to be done for you and/or your family
• Picking up prescriptions for you and/or your family
• Setting up a pastoral conversation with Rev. Laurel or Rev. Gail for you and/or your family members
• Provision of cloth masks for family members who are venturing out

With many blessings,

Rev. Laurel Cassidy, RN— affiliated.laurel@thefuun.org, 615-74-0462. 

Rev. Gail Seavey – leadminister@firstuunash.org, 615-973-2203

Our second session of Our Whole Lives for Adults begins Jan. 19. This session of OWL is open to those 18 years old and above, and will delve into spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality. Please contact Religious Education Coordinator Jonah Eller-Isaacs if you’d like to participate.

Our Whole Lives, or OWL, is our UU lifespan sexuality education curriculum. This remarkable program, integrated with faith but based on facts, begins in Kindergarten and goes all the way up to courses for Adults. This year, because of the generous response to a special ask at our 2018 auction, FUUN can offer OWL for Adults. Thank you to the many donors who made the return of this class possible!

We’re offering Adult OWL in three sessions of five classes each. Our first session wrapped up in late November and our next sessions will start after the new year. You CAN attend one session without attending the others, though we do ask that you commit to all five classes. Apart from the introductions, none of the workshops repeat; each session is almost entirely new material.

Session Two
Jan. 19 – Intro to OWL/Sexual Attraction & Early Relationships
Jan. 26 – Sexuality & Developing Relationships
Feb. 3 – no class
Feb. 9 – Sexuality & Committed Relationships
Feb. 16 – Sexual Diversity
Feb. 23 – Sexuality & Family
Mar. 9 – Flex/make-up date

Session Three
Mar. 29 – Intro to OWL/Sexuality & Communication
Apr. 5 – no class
Apr. 12 – Discovering the Sexual Self
Apr. 19 – Experiencing the Sexual Other
Apr. 26 – Sexuality & Aging
May 3 – no class
May 10 – Sexual Health
May 17 – Flex/make-up date

Classes are on Sundays, 10:30 AM to noon in the Morgan House (room TBD). Adult OWL is open to anyone eighteen years and older. If you’d like to participate in the Winter and Spring sessions or have questions about the program, please email Religious Education Coordinator Jonah Eller-Isaacs at RECoordinator@firstuunash.org. You can also talk to either of our excellent Adult OWL co-Facilitators, longtime FUUN Members Keith Wilson and Debrina Dills. Childcare for children ten and under is available upon request; if needed, please include name(s) and age(s).