New Evening Book Group: January—Bettyville by George Hodgman, February—to be chosen by the group3rd Thursdays, Feb. 18, March 186:30 p.m. on Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/93201093352
Join Susie Wilcox for this version of the longtime book group that meets during the day on second Tuesdays. In January, both groups will read George Hodgman’s memoir of leaving Manhattan for his hometown of Paris, Missouri, to find himself—an unlikely caretaker and near-lethal cook—in a head-on collision with his aging mother, Betty, a woman of wit and will. Will George lure her into assisted living? When hell freezes over. He can’t bring himself to force her from the home both treasure—the place where his father’s voice lingers, the scene of shared jokes, skirmishes, and, behind the dusty antiques, a rarely acknowledged conflict: Betty, who speaks her mind but cannot quite reveal her heart, has never really accepted the fact that her son is gay. For February, the group will choose what book they wish to read, which may or may not be the same as the daytime group’s book.
NOAH’s representatives met via ZOOM for their monthly meeting. NOAH has planned a virtual retreat on Jan. 28 and 31. Topics to be discussed are discussing and the calendar for the upcoming year as well as reflecting on who NOAH is and where we want to go in the upcoming year.
Reflections were shared of the Public Lamentations held on Dec. 29, 2020, remembering all the Tennesseans who have been lost to COVID. NOAH hopes to create a lasting memorial on the site so that COVID losses are always remembered.
The Task Forces then met in breakout rooms:
Criminal Justice Task Force reported that NOAH representatives met with Chief Drake on Jan. 5, 2021. Responses from Chief Drake were positive in the areas of exploring alternate interventions for people who are suffering from mental illnesses, rather than police intervention. Chief Drake is also open to exploring using Social Emotional Liaisons in place of SRO’s in schools. NOAH representatives will continue to meet with the Chief monthly. The CJTF is also beginning work on reforming cash bail practices.
Affordable Housing Task Force is actively seeking the release of TANF funds by the Governor to needy Nashvillians, now rather than later.
The Economic Equity and Jobs Task Force is exploring Procurement Reform Legislature: that businesses offer a living wage, insurance and offer apprenticeships.
The Education Task Force continues to focus on BEP? funding for schools and NOAH representatives finally have a meeting with state legislators.
Join FUUN member Laurie Samuels as the Beloved Community Committee continues the work of our Eighth Principle. Laurie will address current biomedical understandings of race, ethnicity, and genetic ancestry.
Board Member for the UU Mental Health Network, Roddy Biggs, invites you to join their twice monthly Open Zoom Rooms for UU’s across the country to join together in a safe, supportive environment to address and talk about mental health challenges. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Zoom details:
Time: First Mondays at 6pm Central Time hosted by Roddy Biggs
Third Sundays at 6 pm Central Time hosted by Rev. Barbara
On Dec. 29, 2020, St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church in Nashville was the site of the power of love and caring and a focused effort to demand more guidance and direction in the fight against COVID-19. NOAH and their extended organization members created thousands of STARS for visual and stark recognition of all the Nashville lives needlessly lost to COVID.
Governor Lee has not mandated a statewide mask mandate leaving counties to decide how they will combat the virus. The rising numbers of deaths due to COVID demonstrates that Tennessean counties need more direction. NOAH is strongly asking Governor Lee to step up and lead.
In addition, NOAH asked that Governor Lee use the huge (the largest amount in any state) of monies allocated under The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) immediately to assist families in dire need of food and housing assistance. Nashvillians need and deserve more help.
Our NOAH A-Team is Carol Copple, Susie Wilcox, Carleen Dowell, Pat Lynch, Elizabeth Jesse, Len Walker, and Marguerite Mills.
Young Adults (40 & under) are invited to join and be a part of the NOAH Young Adult Caucus. You don’t have to be part of a task force to come! Just be serious about building the POWER to make CHANGE! Some of the things that the Young Adults will be focused on are:
Intro to Organizing
The DNA of an Issue
How Do We Make an Issue Really “Winnable”?
How do we Create A “Power Analysis” of an Issue to See WHO The Real Decision-Makers Are?
Conducting One-On-Ones With Decision-Makers
Building Relationships
Training
Working With NOAH Task Forces
To join our monthly meetings via Zoom,register in advance using this link. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
To ensure a pleasant experience using Zoom, we highly encourage everyone to download and install the Zoom Application beforehand.
Go to: https://zoom.us/download to download the application to your computer. For mobile devices go to the App Store for iPhone or Play StoreAndroid. Search Zoom and install.
If you have questions, please contact Organizer, Jerome Moore:jmoore@noahtn.org or 615-397-6468.
Jan. 5, 2021 “People fall out of church for the same reason that children fall out of bed: they sleep too near the place they get in.” Gordon McKeeman
Well, we made it to 2021!
When I visit my family in New Jersey, my daily walk is through the neighborhood where my son lives. There’s an elementary school at the end of the block. Painted on the pavement outside the school are the words “Drop-off Zone” in very large letters. Even though I know it demarks the place where children can be safely dropped off for school, every time I see it, I’m reminded of a short essay by a beloved Universalist minister, the late Gordon McKeeman, titled Falling Out of Bed. He recounts the time, as an adult, when he fell out of bed because he fell asleep too close to the edge.
I’ve taken to thinking of the drop-off zone as that edgy place where one is in danger of falling out of a healthy habit or practice. I know I’ve been in that place many times myself. I skip a day of walking, then two. “I’ll get back to it tomorrow,” I tell myself. A week goes by and before I know it, I’m in the drop-off zone.
There’s something about a new year that causes us to make resolutions, set intentions, renew habits or institute new ones. Church attendance is a habit. I know that the pandemic has pushed many people into the drop-off zone. I get why this is so. Online church just isn’t the same as being together in the sanctuary or the classrooms or the social hall on Sunday morning, yet it is a way of staying connected to each other and the values our faith tradition teaches.
If you are finding yourself in the drop-off zone, I urge you not to fall asleep there! All our routines and habits have been thrown off-kilter. It takes deep intention to maintain habits that keep us healthy in body, mind, and spirit. The church exists as a place where we nurture each other into being the best possible version of ourselves. Even now, maybe especially now, church is a good habit to have.
Christmas comes but once a year. It comes in good times. It comes in bad times. It comes even when we aren’t ready. Christmas arrives without fail – every year – even this year; mixed-up, turned-around, and upside-down as 2020 has been, Christmas will come.
On Christmas Eve, we usher in the spirit of the season through story, song, and ritual, all of which will be online this year. Not the same as gathering in person to listen, to sing, and to light candles together, I know. Yet, it just might be the balm of connection and star of hope that our tossed and tumbled souls need to guide us through the darkest of nights.
There will be only one service this year. The service will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will conclude with a Zoom social hour. You may want to have a candle nearby to light as Silent Night is sung. The service will be posted to our YouTube channel, but if you want to come to the social hour, you will need to join us for the service in Webinar Jam, and you will get the option to be re-directed to the Zoom social at the close of the service. The Christmas Eve service link is the same as the ones you use for Sunday morning services, found in the Worship Portal on the FUUN website (and below in this email).
I will be away from the church Dec. 25 through Jan. 4 for some vacation time. I will be traveling to be with family and meet its newest member – my grandson. My family is small. We have all been in quarantine conditions for the past couple of weeks. You can rest assured that we will be following every possible safety precaution to protect each other and the baby. My hope is that each of you is doing all you can to stay safe and healthy over the Christmas holiday.
In case of a pastoral emergency while I am away, your Assistant Minister, Rev. Denise Gyauch is on call.
Wherever you may be this holiday, however, it is with your spirit, may the blessings of the season find you and hold you with a love that will not let you go.
Even though we are tired of staying home, we are also grateful for having homes. Home ownership continues to one of the biggest indicators of economic well being and continues to be out of reach for many. First UU of Nashville has a history of supporting Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville and the need is more than ever.
I love doing this fundraiser as a community-building experience around the theme of love at Valentine’s Day. My wonderful team of people who help with this have energized and renewed my commitment to adapt to our staying at home and still be together virtually while raising much needed funds for our Fall Build of 2021.
Save the date for the evening of Saturday, Feb. 13. We will continue to have a tapas hors d’oeuvres but instead of eating together in person we will have it boxed for pick up or delivery.
There will be an auction also Tuesday through Friday, Feb. 9-12 using the same software we used for the church auction in October. This way, you can pick up your items from the auction at the same time you get a snack dinner.
If you are an artist or have a talent to share, please contact us at habitat@thefuun.org to contribute an item for the auction. At 7 p.m., a show will be broadcast using highlights we have collected from previous shows, new videos, and music from Silversonix (the band staring our own Tom Surface, Jim Surface, Sheri DiGiovanna, Victoria Harris and Joe Warner and James Collins) and more. This will be a fun evening of entertainment for the entire family.
You can log onto the software and participate in any or all of the activities or make a generous donation that will be matched by an anonymous donor. Double your impact! The dinner and show will be $20 ($25 if delivered) or $10 for the show only. Tickets will be on sale beginning Jan. 10. Show your support for Habitat in the comfort of your home but in the spirit of community.
-FUUN Habitat Action Team Carleen Dowell Suzanne LeBeau Sheri DiGiovanna Jessica Moore-Lucas Tony Tyler Fred Guenther Steve Edminster
Dec. 15, 2020 “I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” -Albert Einstein
What would the winter holidays be without imagination and wonder? Fanciful visions of sugar plum fairies and flying reindeer, dancing snowmen, and magical elves ― these work to awaken the child within each of us and connect us to the miracle of our own birth; the mystery of life itself. The dark of winter gives us pause to consider the wonder of the stars and the vastness of the cosmos. We gather round to tell ancient stories of wondrous things ― the Channukah miracle of oil enough for one night lasting for eight ― the longest night of winter welcoming the sun’s return on the Solstice ― a shining star leading shepherds and wise ones to the birthplace of a child on Christmas.
Stories, be they fairy tales or mythic legends of the gods, need not be factually true to reveal truth. Author Neil Gaiman, in his book Coraline, writes: “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
May the spirit of imagination and wonder lift us all to find enough hope and enough courage to overcome whatever dragons lurk around this holiday season.
A Covid-Related Action by NOAH (Nashville Organized for Action and Hope, an organization of which FUUN is a member): In Tennessee to date, 5000+ of our fellow citizens have died from the COVID-19 virus. In all areas of the state, our brothers and sisters continue to suffer.
Many face eviction from their homes, with no money for rent. Families with children struggle to provide adequate food and health care. Jobs for many have shut down or disappeared entirely.
Governor Lee has still refused to issue a mask mandate for the state, even though COVID deaths are TWICE as high in counties with no such mandate. On Nov.17, Governor Lee said, “The strategy we are taking is actually working. . . . may be working better than a mask mandate would.” On that date, 3995 Tennesseans had died of COVID-19. On Dec. 8, that number had climbed to 5,109.
NOAH is asking that Governor Lee and our state government do the following:
Issue a statewide mask mandate;
Immediately free up the surplus of $740 million in federal TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) funds to help low-income families with children.
NOAH is holding a PUBLIC ACTION on Tuesday, Dec. 29, calling on Governor Lee to take these actions.
What can you do?
1. Watch for more info on the ACTION! 2. Help make STARS to be used in this action – one star for each Tennessean who has died – 5000 stars!
We are making stars (like those posted in the photo on the right):
In memory of those who have died and
In hope for those who survive.
Please sign up for how many stars you are willing to make HERE.
Completed stars can be dropped off at the NOAH offices at the MNEA Building at 521 Fairground Court or in a covered bin at the Morgan House at FUUN. There will be a plastic tub outside under the awning, starting onSaturday Dec. 26, 10 a.m. and will be outside until Dec. 28, 6 p.m.
There will be a celebration of the life of Bill Welch (FUUN’s former Director of Religious Education) on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 9 a.m. via Zoom.Click here for more information.
Thursday, Dec. 24: “An Untraditional Christmas Eve,” 6:30 p.m.Rev. Diane DowgiertA service of traditional lessons and carols done in an untraditional way. Though we are not able to gather in person for Christmas Eve, there will be time to connect online through familiar stories and songs, including Silent Night.Use our usual weekly Sunday Service WebinarJam link to join live on Christmas Eve or click here to join.
To view on Facebook, click here. To view on YouTube, click here.
There will be a mid-year congregational meeting on Sunday, Jan. 24 immediately following the 9 a.m. service via Zoom.
Come and learn what’s going on. All members are encouraged to attend.
The link and meeting materials will be posted here before the meeting. If you are joining us live for the service, there will be a re-direct button at the close of the service taking you directly to the Zoom session.
Meeting materials will be posted here before the meeting.
Our next session of this twelve-hour program is Mondays, Feb. 1, 8, and 15 and Mar. 1, 8, and 15, 6:30-8:30 p.m. via Zoom (with a mid-session break on Feb. 22). The 6-session program has limited participation. First slots will be reserved for FUUN members and friends and then opened up to others.
Participation: Participants are asked to commit to being present at all sessions, and do assignments before sessions which may take two-three hours.
Who’s this Program For? For people who have engaged in other anti-racism/multiculturalism training, this program is designed to take your understanding and your competency to a deeper level. If you’ve never taken a class about racism, this program will challenge you to invest in and deepen your learning so you can put yourself on the road to intercultural competence.
Living the Pledge to End Racism Program (formerly the Nashville Pledge Program).
Since 2017, we have conducted four workshops reaching more than 70 people. In those sessions, we learned about and discussed race-related issues, and considered making a commitment to anti-racism work. Those days were intense and exciting. We have the pledge hanging on the wall in the FUUN social hall signed by those who have graduated from this program. Each person was engaged and open – sharing and listening, and planning next steps. Ask any of them what they think.
Where Does Racism Start and Stop? Racism can be both systemic and individualistic. It is in the past, the present and will be in the foreseeable future unless individually and collectively, we stand-up against its existence and its proliferation. The Living the Pledge Program provides a place to stand-up both individually and collectively against racism.
The primary goal of the program is to develop confidence in our abilities to:
• Integrate the Pledge into our daily lives*
• Recognize and challenge systemic racism
• Confront racism and bias in our everyday lives, and
• Take leadership in ending racism in our community, our culture, and our lives
As part of the workshop, participants develop a community of support and an understanding of how to use support in deepening our work in building a just and equitable multicultural world.
The workshop, of course, is just the beginning. This year, past participants in the workshop have been meeting regularly in person and now virtually to support each other in continuing efforts to live the pledge to eliminate racial injustice. In the past, workshop participants have also traveled together to Montgomery, Alabama, to visit The Legacy Museum and taken a walking tour of Civil Rights sites in Nashville offered by United Street Tours.
Living the Pledge to End Racism Program History
Beloved Community: what comes to mind when you hear that phrase? You may think of our church community. You may think of some other community in your life. Martin Luther King, Jr. used the phrase often and for him, it had a specific meaning: the community of all people that may be created when our nation fully overcomes its history of racial oppression and injustice. The name of our “Beloved Community Committee” comes from MLK’s vision in using this phrase.
The Beloved Community committee sponsors iterations of the Living the Pledge to End Racism program (formerly the Nashville Pledge Program). The program stems from the Birmingham Pledge, composed in 1997 by Jim Rotch, as part of an effort to “eliminate racism and prejudice in the Birmingham community and in the world, one person at a time.” In 2014, members of the First UU Church in Richmond, Virginia, made this pledge the starting point for their Living the Pledge workshop, a program designed to help participants move beyond simply giving lip service to a desire for racial equality and help them act more confidently in talking about and confronting racism when they encounter it.
Our Living the Pledge to End Racism program grows directly out of the Richmond program, with some adaptations to make it fit our community more closely.
Or contact Tom Surface, Jennie Wolff, Cindy Wood, or Nancy Ledbetter at beloved@thefuun.org.
*The Pledge to End Racism
I BELIEVE that every person has worth as an individual.
I BELIEVE that every person is entitled to dignity and respect, regardless of race or color.
I BELIEVE that every thought and every act of racial prejudice is harmful; if it is my thought or act, then it is harmful to me as well as to others.
Therefore, from this day forward:
I WILL strive daily to eliminate racial prejudice from my thoughts and actions.
I WILL discourage racial prejudice by others at every opportunity.
I WILL treat all people with dignity and respect.
I WILL commit to working with others to transform this community into a place that treats people of all races, ethnicities, and cultures with justice, equity, and compassion, and
I WILL strive daily to honor this pledge, knowing that the world will be a better place because of my efforts.
Friends, The winter holidays are upon us. The season can be merry and bright. It can also be sad and blue. Or a mixture of both. Especially this year. Feeling down when the expectation for happiness and joy hangs in the air, with every Christmas carol heard and every festive light display seen, can be – well – hard.
Several years ago, my little nuclear family decided to opt out of Christmas. The first few years after my father died a week before Christmas, we just could not force ourselves to have anything resembling a holiday spirit. Yet, reminders of the holiday were inescapable, even painful.
We came up with a plan for how we could escape Christmas. We used the money we would have spent on gifts that could be wrapped and put under a tree and took a family ski trip instead – on Christmas Day. It was glorious! Short lift lines. Uncrowded slopes. White snow. Blues skies. Green pine trees. The quiet stillness of crisp mountain air. And not a single Christmas decoration to be found. The best Christmas ever!
We made the Christmas Day ski trip an annual tradition. We told all our friends how wonderful it was. Then we started running into our friends on the slopes on Christmas Day. Slowly, the trappings of Christmas began to edge their way back in. Our grieving hearts had begun to heal. We no longer needed to escape.
I always hold a special place in my heart for all who have lost a loved one in the past year, especially for those who died near the holidays, and for all who have experienced loss of any kind – divorce, family estrangement, job loss, financial downturn – to name just a few. Loss adds a layer of stress to what is already a stressful season. Add in some seasonal affective disorder and a dose of 2020 chaos and you have a recipe for the holiday blues.
Skiing isn’t part of our holiday tradition anymore. What remains from that time is the release of expectation for what Christmas should be like. It was the respite from the usual bells and whistles of Christmas that made room for beauty and wonder to show up in our lives, alongside sorrow.
The winter holidays, whichever ones you honor and celebrate, will be different this year. Letting go of expectations and not trying to force jolliness can help. This holiday season will be like no other, remembered for its poignancy. Sad and blue, merry and bright, or some combination of the two, may your holidays be a balm of hope and healing in these troubled times.
If you have a child you would like dedicated on Christmas Eve, please let Rev. Diane know by sending an email to leadminister@firstuunash.org no later than December 11. Rev. Diane and Marguerite Mills, your Director of Lifespan Religious Education, are already at work crafting a child dedication ceremony for this virtual reality we are in. An online child dedication can be intimate and touching in ways not anticipated.
Hunker Down For Winter and Expand Your Horizons! Community of Belonging wants to help you engage with likeminded FUUN members.
Community of Belonging is a team of FUUN members who know how hard it can be to connect with others, especially during this pandemic. We are building ways for members–new and old–as well as visitors to find or expand their circle of friends and have a greater sense of belonging to the FUUN community.
Complete the survey below and wait for the satisfaction of BELONGING to begin. You will be put in contact with others who share your passions/hobbies/interests. The connections will be of your own choosing, virtual or physically distanced. It’s going to be a long winter Folks, might as well pass it with Friends!
Mid-week Email
Message from our Lead MinisterDec. 1, 2020
“Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together.”
-Vista M. Kelly
It’s snowing as I write. The first snow of the season. My first snow in Tennessee. It’s been four months since I first arrived, which seems either like a very short time or ages ago. Time is elastic these days. Usually, by now I would have met most of the 400 members who make FUUN their spiritual home, or at least seen everyone’s face or had a two-minute conversation on a Sunday morning. Nothing is usual these days.
The first snow always brings on a reflective mood for me, remembering winters past and holidays spent with the various congregations I’ve served as minister. What I’m struck with is the diversity of ways our Unitarian Universalist congregations celebrate (or don’t celebrate) the winter holidays. Getting to know a congregation – its customs and traditions and its people – is always a challenge in the first few months – and one of the things I love most about my job. It’s what I’m missing most during this time of pandemic.
Usually I write this midweek message to be informative or inspirational. But nothing is usual these days so this week I’m writing to ask for your help.
First, I need your help to make the Christmas Eve service meaningful and memorable. This year there will be one service live at 6:30 p.m. which will then be available to view later on Facebook and YouTube. The tradition here at FUUN is to include a child dedication ceremony in the service. In our UU tradition, a child dedication is an act of the congregation; welcoming a child into your midst and dedicating yourselves to the nurture of the child. Even though the service will be remote this year, your presence is important to the families whose children are being dedicated.
If you have a child you would like dedicated on Christmas Eve, please let me know by sending an email to leadminister@firstuunash.org. Marguerite Mills, your Director of Lifespan Religious Education, and I, are already at work crafting a child dedication ceremony for this virtual reality we are in. I have actually attended an online child dedication and found it to be intimate and touching in ways I hadn’t anticipated.
Second, I need you to sign up for a Listening Session. You can find all the information at firstuunash.org/listening-sessions. Even if you have already met me, I need you to sign up! It is through these sessions that I come to know you not just as individuals but as a people. It’s how I come to know your congregation, its hopes, dreams, struggles, and accomplishments. As the sessions fill up, more will be added.
There’s something reassuring about this first snow. The seasons, disrupted by climate change as they are, still come and go. Even when a global pandemic has us in its grip, autumn yields to winter and winter will yield to spring.
This is longer than usual (there’s that word again). If you have read this far, thank you. I am ever so grateful to be part of this community.
Yours in shared ministry,
Rev. Diane
Jonah Eller-Isaacs, our Religious Education Coordinator for the past six years is leaving us in December—and he’s taking Rosie with him. Come say farewell 2-4 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 6 in the Norris House parking lot. Drive by the deck outside the Youth Room with your good wishes, your memories, and your thanks. (This will be as other recent events have been, with y’all staying in your cars in order to be safe.
Music Ministries is creating music for Christmas Eve, and we would love to see your faces and your holiday candles for “Silent Night.” Take a photo of you or your family group holding candles in front of you in a dimly lit room as if we were gathered in the sanctuary*. Email to Music@FirstUUNash.org by midnight Dec. 6.
Candles are available beside the door to Norris House (the church 0ffice) if you need one.
General Assembly (GA) registration opens Dec. 1 and the Committee for the Larger Faith is looking for delegates uua.org/ga General Assembly (GA) registration opens Dec. 1 and the Committee for the Larger Faith wants YOU to be part of it! Whether you are a delegate representing FUUN in the business meetings or just enjoying the many workshops, worship services, and stimulating lectures presented by the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), GA has something for everyone. The theme of this year’s all-virtual event is Circle ‘Round. Meeting dates are June 23-17, 2021.
If you’re interested in being a delegate, contact LargerFaith@thefuun.org. If you want to attend without being a delegate, check out uua.org/ga for more info.
Circle Round: Telling our stories and listening as a way to peace and connection
We value nurturing relationships as the basis of covenantal community, but COVID-19 has disrupted many of those relationships. And yet, this is a time when we need peace and connection more than ever. So let us Circle Round in a space that allows for thoughtful reflection, offers the opportunity for silence as well as words, and validates the importance of each participant’s presence. Come to one session, come to all sessions, come to as many sessions as you wish. Bring your whole self to this space where we may hold each other.
These sessions are facilitated by our assistant minister, the Rev. Denise Gyauch. They start at 7 p.m. and go for up to 90 minutes. Please arrive on time so that the group can establish covenanted community.
Rev Diane Dowgiert is accepting nominations for the Joan and Joe Moore Award. Details on the criteria for nominations (which include work at the Regional and Denominational level) and the nomination submissions form can be found here.
We accept nominations for this prestigious award annually by the first week of January
Children’s Religious Education (CRE) needs guest speakers the first RE Sunday of each month to make connections across generations and maintain them. Have you a passion that speaks to our faith? A cause around which you marshal your efforts? A calling whose beckon you cannot refuse? If your answer is YES then volunteer to be a CRE Guest Speaker and share that story with the CRE staff and students.
The CRE team is in need of people like you to share their message with the next generation. The commitment to this invitation would be 30-45 minutes of your time in a Zoom meeting with CRE teachers, students, and parents on the first Sunday of each month, starting at 10:30 a.m.
We want to hear your stories. Please volunteer!
Contact Marguerite Mills (mmills@firstuunash.org) if you are interested or have questions.
“The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.” -Pema Chodron
Did you know that the most common command in the Bible is: “Do not be afraid”? It appears 70 times in the New International Version. It is frequently followed with the phrase: “Be encouraged.” The word courage comes from the Latin word for heart.
These are times that call us to be in touch with our brave heart.
In her book The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times, Buddhist teacher Pema Chodron offers teachings and practices for facing that which is scary or challenging. They include practices that develop loving kindness: mindfulness, forgiveness, and extending compassion to self and others – to name just a few. As Unitarian Universalists, we agree to be in relationship with each other, relationship based in a covenant of love and service. When we must be physically apart, we are joined in a spirit of togetherness. Fearless is what we make each other, for together, we can face whatever the world places before us with brave hearts.
Yours in shared ministry, Rev. Diane
P.S. I hope you will sign up to attend a Listening Circle. I want to get to know you and to hear your hopes and dreams for FUUN! You can find more information at firstuunash.org.
Get the most out of Zoom. Find everything you need to know about the ins and outs of using Zoom here. Find information about getting started; audio and video, and sharing; hosting meetings & webinars; setting up Zoom rooms; account administration, training, and much more!
Here’s a quick guide to many of the technical aspects of Zoom. Whether you’re hosting or participating, you’ll find helpful hints. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygZ96J_z4AY
Join the 8th Principle & Climate Justice with 8th Principle Learning Community on Nov. 17 at 7pm. Come to learn how Climate Justice and the 8th Principle can help us to build stronger coalitions for the work ahead.
“Harvest the Power”, inspired by the hymn “Gather the Spirit” by Jim Scott, is a uniting call that the UUA Organizing Strategy Team adopted as a uniting element for all UUA justice priorities throughout October and November, beginning October 21 with the UU the Vote’s Harvest the Power Week of Action (10/21-27). The Harvest the Power theme will conclude with the Harvest the Power Justice Convergence & Teach-In, Nov. 19-26.
As the tremendous energy and momentum of the election cycle begins to shift towards preparations for winter and the holiday season, please consider centering justice, learning, and reverence for the Earth this Thanksgiving, by attending the Harvest the Power Justice Convergence & Teach-in:
Who: the Unitarian Universalist Association, UU Ministry for Earth, UUSC, & many partners
What: In 2016, Unitarian Universalists voted to pay special attention to learning our history and rethinking Thanksgiving in the year 2020, in observance of the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims landing in Plymouth. Historically, UU ministers were instrumental in creating the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday and the “Pilgrims and the Indians” pageant tradition that roots the holiday in an historically inaccurate and harmful colonial narrative.
Now is the perfect time to gather and think together virtually, and to celebrate differently.
Harvest the Power – a theme inspired by the hymn “Gather the Spirit” by Jim Scott – is an invitation to join together the many varied communities and justice ministries of Unitarian Universalism for this momentous season of collective action and transformation.
The Harvest the Power Justice Convergence & Teach-in is a series of excellent programs and documentary screenings to provide grounding, community, and justice education for the week of Thanksgiving.
Register today, and help spread the word about the fantastic programs and community documentary film screenings being offered for the Harvest the Power Justice Convergence & Teach-In:
Sign up for a Listening Session with Rev. Diane Rev. Diane Dowgiert will host a series of Listening Sessions for FUUN families and individuals as she continues to get to know the congregation. It’s a chance to mingle (virtually, of course), and to share your thoughts about FUUN. Sessions are planned for Thursday, Dec. 3, at 6:30 p.m.; Sunday Dec. 6 at 10:30 a.m.; and Thursday Dec. 10 at 4 p.m.
Sign up for your preferred session using the links below; groups are limited to 12 participants.
Join Rev. Denise Gyauch for a Thanksgiving Day Zoom Gathering.
If you find yourself wanting a dose of connection on Thanksgiving Day, Rev. Denise will be hosting a gathering on Zoom, Thursday, November 26, 2 p.m. Bring your favorite celebratory food or drink—or just your lovely self—and let’s be grateful together.
Zoom meeting Information:
Topic: Thanksgiving Gathering Time: Nov 26, 2020 2 p.m. Central Time (US and Canada)
Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 959 2563 7722 Passcode: 978896
“Like a poem poorly written we are verses out of rhythm, couplets out of rhyme, in syncopated time . . .” -Paul Simon
Everything seems to be happening out of rhythm this year. The pattern of seasons and holidays feels out of time, or syncopated – a half-beat off. Thanksgiving is on the near horizon with Hannukah, Solstice, and Christmas not far behind. The winter holidays always come with a flurry of activity, but the coming holidays won’t be like holidays of the past.
These seasonal celebrations will come as they always do, but this year they will most certainly feel different. With the number of COVID cases and deaths on the rise again, it’s hard to know how to plan. Difficult choices must be made; to stay away from the traditional gatherings of families and friends or to gather as safely as possible with every precaution in place. Each choice has its own set of consequences. Each of us will weigh them differently, according to our own circumstances.
Through it all, the community of FUUN goes on, sometimes out of rhythm, sometimes out of rhyme, finding ways to stay connected, ways to be there for each other through the unexpected and ever-changing patterns of life as it is right now.
Remember – this Sunday we will begin offering a Zoom social hour at 10 a.m. If you are logged in live at 9, at the end of the service you will be directed to a button that will take you to Zoom. For those wanting to join at 10:00, the link can be found in the Worship Portal of the FUUN website. The Joys and Concerns portion of the service will move to social hour rather than being part of the broadcast service. I appreciate your patience and flexibility as we make this change.
I am ever so grateful to be part of this caring community, on this syncopated journey with you.
In the middle of this tumultuous week, let’s pause and breathe together. (You may want to place a hand over your heart to call yourself back to your center.)
Let’s remember:
We are connected to each other and to all that exists.
We need each other.
Each of us wants each of us not just to survive, but to thrive.
Breathing and remembering, let us join our hearts in prayer:
Spirit of Life and Love, who moves in & through, around & among us,
Bless all gathered here this evening to do the work of governing our city:
May those who speak, speak in truth and freedom.
May those who listen, hear with compassion and curiosity.
May those who decide, draw from wells of wisdom and discernment and act with care for every resident of this city, for the complex network of communities that sustain us, and for the land that holds us.
May this evening’s work bolster the strength of our communities and protect the health and dignity of every individual who lives, works, or visits among us.
Amen. May it be so. May we be so.
Rev. Denise Gyauch
Assistant Minister, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville
“The thing about democracy, beloveds, is that it is not neat, orderly, or quiet. It requires a certain relish for confusion.” Molly Ivens, You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You
The day has finally arrived. Election Day 2020. There’s nothing left to do now except wait. That is, unless you haven’t yet voted. If you have not yet cast your ballot, there is still time – so get out there and do it! Safely, of course. Masked and physically distanced.
Even though today is the last day to vote, it will likely be days or weeks – or dare I say it? – even months, before we know the outcome. The time of waiting, however long or short, will be tense, filled with everything from hope to fear to dread. So much is at stake.
This has been a year of high emotion, one that has taken a toll on mind, body, and spirit. In a recent podcast, Dr. Brene’ Brown interviews Emily and Amelia Nagoski, coauthors of the book, Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. They talk about the neurobiology of emotion and offer some concrete ways for dealing with difficult emotions like rage, grief, despair, helplessness, and shame. Here is the link to the podcast, which I highly recommend: https://brenebrown.com/podcast/brene-with-emily-and-amelia-nagoski-on-burnout-and-how-to-complete-the-stress-cycle/
The short version is that feelings are neurological events that take place in our bodies. They have a beginning,
middle, and end. In our western culture, we are taught at a young age to short cut the process by ignoring, denying, suppressing or repressing strong emotions. This short-cutting of the emotional process impacts our health, our relationships, and our work. The remedy is to allow emotions to have their complete life cycle. Otherwise, they get stuck in our bodies causing stress and burnout.
Emily and Amelia Nagoski say that this kind of self-care requires a bubble of protection where others care about your well-being as much as they care about their own.
At its best, this is what a healthy church community does. To that end, on Sunday, November 8 there will be an opportunity at FUUN to gather online for some post-election debriefing and processing. Rev. Sara Green, one of FUUN’s
Affiliated Community Ministers, and I, will be available on Zoom at 10 a.m. to facilitate Listening Circles. You can find the Zoom link in the announcement below.
In the meantime, beloveds, take good care of your whole and holy selves – mind, body, and spirit. Democracy, as Molly Ivins points out, is not neat, orderly, or quiet. The confusion that is normally part of the process is especially present this election cycle.
Whatever the outcome of this election, our work remains the same – creating beloved community through acts of love and justice.
Vote As If: Your skin is not white Your parents need medical care Your spouse is an immigrant Your child is transgender Your sister was a victim of gun violence Your best friend is a veteran living with PTSD Your brother is gay Your land is on fire Your house is flooded Vote as if your family depends on it
This Music Sunday has been brewing since I began serving here three years ago. As I got to know who was in choir, a few folks emerged as leaders and creators. One of those is Worship Associate, Social Justice co-chair, and singer,Jessica Moore-Lucas.This is our shared brain-child, adapted for remote worship.
There is rich music in our country’s history… and there are new pieces that would have been wonderful to share. I was hoping to record “We Hold These Truths,” an anthem by UU composers that choir had been learning for our Choir Exchange with UU Huntsville that was cancelled in March. But as I listened deeply to the lyrics, and thought about the authors of the Declaration and Constitution, what they were resisting against but also perpetrating on the people they enslaved, I could not bring myself to add it to the program.
I, for one, have struggled with how to celebrate our Democratic society, holding the ideals and ideas the Unites States espouses in our vision, while also being aware of the founder’s shortcomings and the time and place that they were in. It is possible for there to be more than one thing true at the same time. It is possible for people to have high ideals and to also be flawed. The vision still holds true.
Our Choir has been rehearsing on Zoom every Thursday since September, and it has been a bright spot for me. Even better, as they send in their recordings, I get to hear each of their voices, and I treasure that so deeply. I see their faces as I listen to the track and think of moments that we might have shared during rehearsal, or in that quiet space before a Sunday morning service.
Thanks to technology, we will share your images of democracy merged with Elizabeth Alexander’s arrangement of This is What Democracy Looks Like. The composer wrote a note at the bottom of the score: “it is impossible to sing this wrong.” I turned the tracks over to audio engineer Alex Wilder to handle the mix and have instructed him not to use all the tricks that make a smooth studio recording. I have faith that it will come out just right. Member Sean Appelt has volunteered to create a video for us with your images, and it will be a grand closing song for our morning.
I hope that our shared vision, with songs from Roy Zimmerman, The Conscious Collective, UU the Vote, and your First UU Nashville Choir will inspire you to get to the polls, to call your friends and encourage them to vote. We follow a long history of Congregational preachers who spoke on Election Day, reminding those assembled of the Divine provenance of the elected officials. While our 21st century sensibility might interpret that as choosing the stewards of the interdependent web of our nation, it is still holy work to do, and this Sunday, we do it with music.
Photo Call: You and your Chalice at home In preparation for worship on Nov. 8, Rev. Dianeinvites you to share photos or short videos of you and your chalice. Want to make a video? Light your chalice, smile, and then recite the chalice extinguishing and snuff the flame.
You can use the camera on your cell phone or even start a personal ZOOM room to record.
Sharing a photo or video grants consent for FUUN to use the images for worship, streaming, and this year’s virtual Interfaith Thanksgiving Concert, hosted by The Temple Congregation Ohabai Sholom.
“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” Audre Lorde
All during the month of October we are exploring the themes of death, loss, and grief. The losses we are living through are greater than most of us have ever known. From the enormity of COVID-19 to the ravages of fires and storms across the country, to the politics of division and the erosion of our democracy, it is all playing out against the ongoing backdrop of deadly police violence against people of color. Each is an assault on mind, body, and spirit.
Through my years of being companion to those experiencing loss and through the times of my own grief, I have learned the importance of self-care.
The wisdom of the late Audre Lorde, quoted above, came from her experience as a black, lesbian woman living with breast cancer. Her personal acts of self- care, self-preservation, and survival were acts of resistance against oppression in all its forms.
For me, as a white, heterosexual, cisgender woman, and all the privilege that comes with those identities, I sometimes find the line between self-care and self-indulgence to be blurry. Our consumer driven culture tries to sell self-indulgence in place of genuine self-care. Everything from consumption of wine to retail therapy to luxurious vacations are held out as the cure for what ails us. While there is nothing inherently wrong with any of these, they can work to distract us from the important task of caring for ourselves.
Beloveds, while no one gets out of this life alive, your survival through this tumultuous time is important. It will take all of us to set things right and create the world we dream of. Grieving takes energy and there is so much to grieve right now, so much loss. Grief takes a toll mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
My questions for you right now are these: Are you nourishing your body with nutritious food? Are you drinking enough water? Are you strengthening your body with regular exercise? Are you getting enough rest and allowing adequate time for sleep? Are you tending to the important relationships in your life, staying connected to those you love? Are you being gentle with yourself, extending as much compassion to yourself as to others? Are you creating moments that invite joy?
Your self-preservation matters. Your body is a good gift and worthy of care. You are a good gift and a blessing to this life.
Join us for a Community Conversation about the 8th principle
Beloved Community Committee, Social Justice and Committee for the Larger Faith are requesting the congregation to adopt the 8th principle at our January meeting. Never heard of it? Heard of it but want to learn more? Join these three committees in a Community Conversation and get all of your questions answered! Saturday Oct. 17, 10. Click here to join the Zoom session.
Join us for a Community Conversation about the 8th principle
Beloved Community Committee, Social Justice and Committee for the Larger Faith are requesting the congregation to adopt the 8th principle at our January meeting. Never heard of it? Heard of it but want to learn more? Join these three committees in a Community Conversation and get all of your questions answered! Saturday Oct. 17, 10. Click here to join the Zoom session.
“A real conversation always contains an invitation. You are inviting another person to reveal herself or himself t
o you, to tell you who they are or what they want.” -David Whyte
Gathering in small groups for meaningful conversation has long been a practice in our Unitarian Universalist tradition; from the colonial ancestors who met in homes to discern what form their church should take to the transcendentalist wom
en who held frequent salons to discuss the current issues of their day to the covenant groups of today whose members gather for deep sharing and deep listening, exploring common topics.
We claim conversation as a spiritual practice!
During this time when we must be physically distant from each other, Covenant Groups that meet via Zoom are a way to stay connected with FUUN. Members of these groups report that they form meaningful friendships with people they would not have known otherwise. Groups members learn new things about themselves, too.
Marguerite Mills, your Director of Lifespan Religious Education tells me that the Covenant Group program needs facilitators. Having facilitated a number of these groups myself over the years, I can attest to it being a rewarding experience. Training is provided. If you are interested in facilitating or being a member of a Covenant Group, contact Marguerite at
Halloween Parade Saturday, Oct. 31, 2 p.m. What will your car dress as for Halloween? What will you dress as? Come show us during the FUUN Halloween Parade at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31. It will take place in the lower parking lot, and a parade route — along with other information — will be published soon. If you have questions, email Marguerite Mills, Director of Lifespan Religious Education, at mmills@firstuunash.org.
It’s time to reassess our communication at FUUN, and so I would love your feedback on what works best for you. This is especially important as your Director of Communication has had an expanded role bringing weekly live-streamed services to you and needs to put energy where it is most appreciated. I thank you in advance for participating in the process by filling out the suvey below.
–Sheri DiGiovanna, Director of Communication
Communication Survey
Tell us how you get your FUUN news to assist us in providing communication that works for you.
(Please select all that apply)
If we had to remove some of these communication channels, which are your top 3 for getting information at FUUN?
If we had to remove some of these communication channels, which are the 3 you would miss the least?
You are ...
If so, please be sure to include your contact information.
We welcome suggestions and feedback about communincation at FUUN. If you'd like to provide either, please use the space below.
“Joy and woe are woven fine, a clothing for the soul divine.” William Blake
When life got hard or when difficult news arrived, may dad would take a deep breath and say, “Woe is me.” For a small word, woe packs a big punch. It means great sorrow or distress. The word has gone out of fashion. One rarely hears it these days. It was my dad’s form of lament, an expression of the grief and sorrow he felt. “Woe is me.”
These are days of woe for Unitarian Universalists here in Nashville, with the deaths of two beloved FUUN members, Tom Hagood and Joan Moore – and then Elandria Williams, former co-moderator of the Unitarian Universalist Association and native Tennessean, died at the age of 41.
To lament is to give voice to the pain and anguish we feel at times of great loss. If ever there was a time for lamentation, it is now. Lamentation is good for the human spirit. One entire book of the Bible is dedicated to lamentation.
There is something in us as humans that wants to avoid painful feelings. Paradoxically, it is in going through them that we heal and are thus able to feel joy again. I think this is what William Blake meant when he said: “Joy and woe are woven fine.” Both are part of life.
In these hard days, I’m remembering my father’s way, simply voicing the woe that I feel. I’m remembering, too, that joy is a form of resistance. It’s okay to experience joy even when times are hard.
How are you giving voice to your deep sorrow and grief?
What are you doing to cultivate joy? Yours in shared ministry, Rev. Diane
Drive-thru Welcome for Rev. Diane Dowgiert: While many of us have met our Developmental Minister Rev. Diane Dowgiert through our small screens, most of us have not met her in person. Rev. Diane‘s Transition Support Team will host a safe and socially-distanced drive-thru opportunity to say hello and welcome, and to give her a chance to meet more members of the congregation. The event will take place Sunday, Oct. 4, 1-3 p.m. So plan to join us in a drive through the lower parking lot for a warm welcome to Rev. Diane into the FUUN family!
Nashville Organized for Action and Hope (NOAH) Voter Challenge For all of us in NOAH, democracy and voting rights are as sacred as they are personal. First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville is joining NOAH organization members throughout Nashville to strive for 100% registration and voting among all eligible members. As John Lewis so beautifully expressed in his New York Times essay, printed on the day of his funeral, “The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.”
We are asking you today to make a personal pledge ensuring that you are registered and ready to vote in the November election. We also encourage you to reach out to other First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville members and encourage them to complete the pledge. With your help and influence we are confident we can reach 100% of eligible voters.
Our campaign kicks-off today! Our theme is simple and non-partisan… “Vote Like Our Future Depends On It.” We need your help making sure this message reaches every member. When you complete the pledge, you will find opportunities to participate in our efforts, and to pledge to attend the NOAH Public Meeting on Oct. 25.
We hope you will commit to democracy and take this pledge today!
It’s time to UU the Vote! Are you interested in turning the tide of American politics through the lens of Unitarian Universalist values? Please mark your calendars for UUCE’s engagement with voters in other states – where getting them to vote is CRITICAL.
Kickoff: UU the Vote Nationwide event, “Gather the Spirit” is Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 6:30 p.m. Be a part of the team that helps us achieve our goal of reaching out to 1 million voters by Nov. 3. Join us for the last UU the Vote virtual mobilization before Election Day. At our Gather the Spirit event, we are unlocking the full power of our community and our values to go All In during the UU the Vote Fall push.
We’ll have musicians, speakers from our national partners, and volunteers announcing our progress toward our goal to contact 1 million voters!
To sign up to attend Gather the Spirit, click here.
Full Interview with Dr. Paulette Coleman (9/10/20)
Appointment
As you know Mayor Cooper appointed me to the MDHA Board in October 2019 and I attended my first meeting December 10, 2020. After the Mayor’s recommendation, there is a meeting/interview with the Council Committee that reviews the Mayor’s recommendations for boards and commissions. That Committee makes a recommendation to the full Council and the full Council votes the recommended person, up or down.
What is the purpose/plans of the MDHA Board that you have been appointed to?
Role and Purpose of MDHA
The MDHA Board of Commissioners is comprised of seven members, two of whom are residents of MDHA housing. The members are appointed by the mayor. The Board of Commissioners meets on the second Tuesday of every month at 11:30 AM. At these monthly meetings, the Board of Commissioners establishes policies, approves expenditures and gives guidance to the staff in carrying out the Agency’s programs, and hears reports from the Executive Director. The Board works through several committees known as Development, Finance and Audit, Management Review, Housing and Community Services, and Personnel and Career Development.
The meetings are open to the public and usually take place in the Gerald Nicely Building, located at 701 South Sixth Street. During the pandemic and in accordance with Governor Lee’s Executive Orders, meetings of the Housing Agency are held virtually.
MDHA was established in 1938 to serve the citizens of Nashville by providing safe, decent, and affordable housing. Initially, MDHA had a singular focus on public housing. Over time, that focus has evolved to include development and redevelopment districts, TIF (Tax Increment Financing), CDBG (Community Development Block Grant Program), PBRA (Project Based Rental Assistance) under RAD, the Voucher Program, etc.
Questions
What is the purpose/plans of the MDHA Board that you have been appointed to?
1) Partially addressed above. Part of MDH’s strategic plan includes a policy of de-concentrating poverty through the recapitalization and transformation of its legacy public housing developments starting with Cayce Place, Sudekum Apartments, Napier Place, and Edgehill Apartments. In January 2020, MDHA successfully completed the RAD (Rental Assistance Demonstration) conversion, which is a major shift in the character and operation of current housing. Given the continuing decrease of HUD funding for traditional public housing, MDHA’s move to RAD conversion is positive and proactive. This change is not without its critics and challenges, but all change in public policies produces increased scrutiny and that is healthy. MDHA is a high-performing PHA and is at the forefront of RAD conversions nationally. As outlined in the Public Housing Authority Plan, the following is a summary of MDHA’s plans:
A. Continue replacing its legacy family housing with new mixed income housing developed with a multiplicity of funding sources including Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC) and market rate bank loans, HOME grants, state and federal Housing Trust Fund grants, Federally insured multi-family loans, private donations, and MDHA equity.
B. Conversion of Public Housing to Project-Based Assistance under RAD
C. Project Based Vouchers MDHA Board of Commissioners approved up to 1,400 of its allocation of Housing Choice Vouchers to be converted to Project Based. MDHA has issued an RFP for 900 of these units.
Goal 1. Increase the supply of MDHA-Owned Housing
Goal 2. Increase and improve the Supply and Access to Housing Choice Vouchers
Goal 3. Sustain Viable Communities and the Urban Core
Goal 4. Pursue the Best Housing and Business Practices
2) How does the appointment correlate with NOAH’s AHTF goals? My appointment to the MDHA Board is related to the work of the NOAH Affordable Housing Task Force in that it provides an opportunity for NOAH’s commitment to addressing Nashville’s affordable housing crisis and increasing the inventory of affordable housing to be an integral part of the discussions, deliberations, policies, and actions of the MDHA. Even with the RAD conversions, the inventory of affordable housing units is not significantly increased, because the units being built are largely replacements for demolished units. Though they are new, modern, and attractive and within a mixed-income development featuring workforce and market-rate apartments in the same building.
NOAH’s commitment to an Office of (Affordable) Housing staffed with best in class civil servants, a dedicated and recurring source of funding for the Barnes Fund, and other goals are beyond the scope of the MDHA’s mission and function. These goals cannot be accomplished by MDHA alone. With the presence of two current members of the NOAH Affordable Housing Task Force as MDHA Commissioners, the opportunity exists for MDHA to be an ally as NOAH seeks to respond proactively, innovatively, and justly to Nashville’s affordable housing crisis.
3)What has been achieved so far? Having served less than a year as a Commissioner, I would be hard pressed to say that xyz has been accomplished in that time frame. With most current commissioners having served for less than three years, I can say that there is an incredible expectation of greater transparency of how information is conveyed to the Board and shared with the public. The work of MDHA necessitates much advance planning; long range time lines; periodic reviews, evaluations, and adjustments; extraordinary collaborations; and an agility to comply with HUD, state, local, and other rules, regulations, and polices while producing more affordable housing.
One of the major and very significant transitions within MDHA is a greater emphasis on the H in housing, rather than the D in development in it current work and future plans. While MDHA may not be the driver for solving Nashville’s affordable housing crisis, it has unique capabilities and experiences that should inform those developing solutions.
4) What are your feelings about MDHA? My feelings about MDHA are that it seeks to put tenants first. This was demonstrated to me in MDHA’s swift and empathetic responses to tenants whose homes were damaged by the tornadoes. They were rehoused in good hotels until their damaged units were repaired. They were provided meals, and provided new accommodations, if needed. I think they also received vouchers to assist them through the difficult post-tornado recovery period and I believe, counselling, if warranted.
Another example of this is the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Voucher households program which promotes homeownership and economic empowerment. Among MDHA residents, there are a number who are dialysis patients. Getting back and forth to treatment was problematic. MDHA was able to get a dialysis unit on site to overcome the transportation problem. MDHA went further and then developed a training program so that residents could receive training to be become dialysis techs and earn somewhere around $15/hour. I believe 11 residents have completed the training and been employed during the four years that the program has been in existence.
My final example of this relates to MDHAs response to COVID-19 and how best to protect residents. The voluntary testing of all residents and special precautions applied to the residences for seniors have resulted in very few positive results in the senior residences. The start-up of voluntary testing may have been a little awkward and flat-footed, but MDHA immediately self-corrected and made adjustments and testing is proceeding well. In all of these examples, sensitivity to realities, a humane response to each situation, careful monitoring, flexibility and capacity to adjust, collaborations, and good community relationships have all contributed to the success of the examples cited.
MDHA is a very complex organization with lots of moving parts that are strictly regulated by HUD. I had the opportunity to attend the PHADA (Public Housing Authorities Directors’ Association) Conference in Phoenix and saw first hand the high regard with which Jim Harbison, the Executive Director, and MDHA as an agency are viewed by his and its peers. Regarding RAD, MDHA is a rock star and is the only PHA that has converted fully to RAD, though the final outcome is still a work in progress. There are very hard working, ethical, and talented employees at MDHA.
5) What do you hope for? With the recent resignation of the MDHA Executive Director, I hope for the continued and expanded success of the agency. I also hope and pray for MDHA to be a leader in helping to address Nashville’s critical affordable housing problem in the near term. I would also like to see a comprehensive plan for affordable housing in Nashville, with MDHA being involved in that process. At the recent MDHA Board meeting on September 8th, Ms. Denise Cleveland-Liggett, the US HUD Southeast Regional Administrator announced virtually another singular honor for MDHA of receiving the designation of an Envision Center, the first in Tennessee. There are four Envision Centers in Kentucky, two in Georgia, and now one in Tennessee at MDHA. Envision Centers are important because they connect low-income households with a variety of resources and tools that offer pathways to economic opportunity and self-sufficiency.
“Perhaps love is like a resting place, a shelter from the storm.” –John Denver
Several years ago, my husband A.J. and I took a vacation to Lake Powell. We shared a houseboat with three other couples to explore the human-made reservoir on the Colorado River, nestled in the deep desert canyons of Utah and Arizona.
The day was bright and sunny as we loaded our food, clothes, and camping gear onto the boat. A.J. was the designated boat captain that first day. With high spirits, we made our way out of the port and into the channel lined with steep red cliffs. We hadn’t gone far when the sky turned dark, the wind kicked up, torrential rains began to fall, and we were in the midst of a dangerous monsoon storm.
A.J. was at the helm. I stood next to him. Everyone from the back of the boat started shouting, “Turn around! Turn around!” Having studied the map before embarking, A.J. knew there was a small cove not too far ahead. He shouted back, “This is a big boat that doesn’t turn quickly. It will take too long to turn back. What I need you to do is keep your eyes out for an opening in the rocks. There’s a cove ahead where we can shelter until the storm passes.”
We did make it to that cove. The storm did pass. Our plans for the rest of the trip changed. We didn’t get to see all that we had hoped, but a lovely vacation was had by all.
I took several lessons from that day. They all apply to church life. Here are a few. One is that large, moving objects don’t turn quickly. While turning back is the instinctual response, continuing straight ahead may be the less risky choice. Finally, the old adage of “any port in a storm” is actually wise advice.
In these stormy times, there is no turning back. The waters ahead are uncertain, and the map isn’t clear. My hope for each of you is that you have found a safe enough port, one that provides refuge and shelter from the storms we find ourselves in these days.
It is the people, not the place that make a church. Even when we must be physically distant from each other, the church is where we can turn to find strength, courage, support, and love – a resting place for the spirit.
Together, we will make it through to the other side.
Turn, Turn, Turn: UUA Southern Region Virtual Assembly 2020
Saturday, Nov. 14 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Join your Southern Region staff team and sibling Unitarian Universalist congregations in the Southern Region for a day of collaboration and learning. UUA President Rev. Dr. Susan Frederick-Gray will be the keynote speaker in the morning.
Afternoon workshops include:
Widening the Circle of Concern with Kathy McGowan and Rev. Nato Hollister
What’s Next? The Changing Congregational Landscape with Natalie Briscoe and Connie Goodbread
Small Group Ministry and Membership Paths with Cameron Young and Lillian Drab-Braddick
Looking for a way to engage with First UU? Come join our choir! Rehearsals are Thursday nights at 7pm on ZOOM. Learn good vocal technique, sing together over the internet (there are things we can do!) and learn special pieces for our upcoming ‘distance sings’.
Looking for a way to engage with First UU? Come join our choir! Rehearsals are Thursday nights at 7pm on ZOOM. Learn good vocal technique, sing together over the internet (there are things we can do!) and learn special pieces for our upcoming ‘distance sings’.
It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Tom Hagood died early this morning from complications of injuries sustained in an automobile accident. Wife Margy May and daughter Sarah were able to be with him throughout his hospitalization and while he was in hospice care. A memorial service has yet to be planned. At this time of loss, may all those who knew and loved Tom be held in the warm embrace of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville.
Did you post an ‘I Voted’ selfie on your social media last year? Are you voting by mail? We want to see you engaging your right to vote for our Music Sunday in October.
Three things to know about this:
No political affiliations: Our status as a faith community prohibits this.
No ballots: It is your legal right to keep that confidential. You can hold up the envelope, but not the actual filled out ballot.
Sharing this photo grants rights for the use of the image to First UU Nashville and Seafarer Press (Elizabeth Alexander, the composer). She has asked to cross-post our video.
NOAH’s Criminal Justice Task Force will hold a PRESS CONFERENCE Thursday, Sept. 10th at 2 pm at the Metro Nashville Police Department Headquarters located at 600 Murfreesboro Rd. We will present a LIST OF DEMANDS for Nashville and its Police Department to meet, in view of the multiple shootings of Black men & women in our city and country in the last 2 years.
The demands include:
SUSPENSION ON NO-KNOCK SEARCH WARRANTS
EXACT DATES OF WHEN BODY/DASH CAMS WILL BE IMPLEMENTEDIN EVERY PRECINCT
QUARTERLY EXTERNAL, INDEPENDENT AUDITS OF CURRENT & FUTURE BODY/DASH CAMS
IMPLEMENTATION OF ALL 8 CAN’T WAIT NATIONAL POLICING POLICIES
We need POSTERS of the above demands and the 8 CAN’T WAIT Campaign Zero Policies that are known to reduce police killings. The eight policies are:
BAN CHOKEHOLDS & STRANGLE HOLDS
REQUIRE DE-ESCALATION
REQUIRE WARNING BEFORE SHOOTING (implemented)
REQUIRE OFFICER TO EXHAUST ALTERNATIVES BEFORE SHOOTING (above implemented)
DUTY TO INTERVENE (implemented 6/22/20)
BAN SHOOTING @ MOVING VEHICLES
REQUIRE USE OF FORCE CONTINUUM (partially implemented)
REQUIRE COMPREHENSIVE REPORTING (all use of force reported)
We will bring Disposable Face Masks and Hand Sanitizer for those who personally attend. Parking is located in the Family Safety Center next to Police HQ’s, off Murfreesboro Rd. (intersection of Foster, 2 blocks from Fessler Lane).
After the press conference (around 2:30) there will be a car parade Those of us who do not participate in person can express their action in cars with the posters displayed. We will line up at the Family Safety Center. After the press conference Shawn Whitsell, Jane Boram, or Jerome Moore will be there to for people to connect with and they give instructions on the parade.
The Personnel Committee needs a chair and would welcome additional members. This important committee oversees update of job descriptions, staff salaries, and evaluations, as well as helping to recruit staff and ensure their timely hiring. An understanding of employment issues and some management or personnel experience are desirable. If you’d like to hear more about the committee, please contact Allison Thompson, Carol Copple, or Kathy Hiller (email addresses are in Breeze).
November 3 is fast approaching. Even closer is early voting. And if you want to vote by mail, you need to get your ballot (see vote.org) and mail it early. The free and fair election we all want isn’t a given this year. Here are steps we can take to make sure that everyone’s vote is counted and we all stay safe.
Act to combat voter suppression. Among other groups, the ACLU offers a range of actions you can take to help protect the election www.aclu.org/action/. A very valuable one is to volunteer as a poll official provided you are eligible and feel safe doing so. In light of covid 19, many older citizens—typically the mainstay poll workers—are deciding that in light of covid they can’t serve this year. So we face an urgent need for younger citizens to step up so polling places can all remain open. See www.nashville.gov/Election-Commission/Poll-Officials.aspx
Promote voter turnout. The pandemic changes the ways we can work to boost turnout. Door knocking, for example, can’t be done as it was. But there are many actions we can take, such as phone banking (lots of options online—google to find one that suits you), writing postcards (try postcardstoswingstates.com or postcardstovoters.org/), using social media to reach your Facebook friends, and sending group texts about voting to all the people in your contacts list callhub.io/send-election-campaign-text-messages/.
NOAH (Nashville Organized for Action and Hope) is active year-round in working on critical issues with the people of Nashville, especially those whose voices are rarely heard. NOAH works to integrate these ongoing community actions with voter engagement, using a nationwide, bipartisan model known as Integrated Voter Engagement (IVE). In a usual election cycle, NOAH does IVE training for door knocking and other community conversations. This year when interaction has to be more distant, outreach and conversations will be largely virtual. NOAH is asking member organizations like FUUN to join the Voter Challenge Campaign and enlist 100% of our membership in committing to register and vote. FUUN congregants will soon get an email with details on making and acting on this commitment.
Like the Integrated Voter Engagement NOAH is working with, the UUA’s UU the Vote is about integrating electoral engagement into our ongoing strategies for change so that we are advancing our vision of a just world and beloved community in every arena available to us. Google uuthevote.org/ to learn more about it.
“I say it is our need for one another that binds us together.” -Elizabeth Tarbox
It is times like these – these very times we are living through – that I am reminded of just how precious a gathered community of kindred souls is. I have often wondered how anyone can get through life without a religious community, especially during the inevitable trials and tribulations that come with being alive. In our Unitarian Universalist congregations, there is a love beyond belief that is available to each and every person during their time of need. I am grateful for each of you who have made the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville such a place. I am grateful, too, for the wider association of Unitarian Universalists of which we are a part. We are not alone in this endeavor of co-creating the beloved community.
This past week, the Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, put out a video message of comfort and hope for these challenging times. I find her words to be heart-felt and inspiring, so I have included a link to the video here. If you have not yet seen it, I encourage you to do so by using this link: vimeo.com/450181394.
During the month of September our services will explore the theme of forgiveness. We’ll consider what it means and how we might forgive ourselves and each other amid all the complex choices this time of pandemic presents. Rev. Frederick-Gray says “This is no time for a casual faith, and, this is no time to go it alone.” It is because we need one another that we practice forgiveness: repairing, restoring, and renewing the tie that binds us in relationship to each other and to life.
As you go about your daily life, know that you are not alone. The spirit of this loving community is always with you.
The Beloved Community Committee has setup an email group to be used for notifying members of upcoming anti-racism activities. There’s so much going on these days. We feel there’s a need for timely notifications about activity that we can participate in.
If you’d like your email address to be included in this email group, send an email to beloved@thefuun.org.
UUA Southern Region is offering the following Toolbox Webinars for 2020-2021. FUUN will reimburse the $15 registration fee for any of our members that would like to participate. Please see the links below for registration.
The Southern Region of the Unitarian Universalist Association Presents: The 2020 – 2021 Toolbox Webinars
Toolbox Webinars are compact and efficient one-time training sessions that support congregations and congregational leadership. Toolbox Webinars are offered live, and recordings of these live sessions are sent to all participants who registered for the webinar.
Lifespan Faith Development and Membership Paths: Sept. 8, 2020 at 6 PM Central/ 7 PM Eastern. $15.00 per participant.
Congregational Stewardship Practices: Oct. 13, 2020 at 6 PM Central/ 7 PM Eastern. $15.00 per participant.
Dismantling White Supremacy Culture within the Congregation: Nov. 10, 2020 at 6 PM Central/ 7 PM Eastern. $15.00 per participant.
Practicing Shared Ministry: Jan. 12, 2021 at 6 PM Central/ 7 PM Eastern. $15.00 per participant.
Systems Perspectives on the Congregation: Feb. 9, 2021 at 6 PM Central/ 7 PM Eastern. $15.00 per participant.
Policies and Resources for Safer Congregations: March 9, 2021 at 6 PM Central/ 7 PM Eastern. $15.00 per participant.
Pastoral Care and Chaplaincy Resources: April 13, 2021 at 6 PM Central/ 7 PM Eastern. $15.00 per participant.
Governance in the Congregation: May 11, 2021 at 6 PM Central/ 7 PM Eastern. $15.00 per participant.
On Sunday evening, police officers in Kenosha, WI, shot Jacob Blake seven times in the back as he was entering his vehicle. Inside the car, his three children watched their father as he was shot. As I write this message, Mr. Blake remains in critical condition, fighting for his life.
Jacob Blake. Jacob Blake. Jacob Blake. We speak your name aloud in this liminal time, holding you in prayer and love. We surround you–a great cloud of witnesses, living and dead–holding you tenderly and sending you energy and strength as your sacred body struggles to live and to heal. We pray for your sweet babies, who will never unsee what they saw on Sunday. We keep vigil with all who know and love you, buoying them with hope and courage. Jacob Blake: Your life matters. Your body matters. Your spirit matters. We are with you.
Accompanying all of our particular, laser-focused prayers toward Mr. Blake, there is also a nauseating déjà vu to everything we’re watching out of Wisconsin this week. Too many times, we’ve witnessed the police’s blatant disregard for the lives and humanity of Black people. Too many times, we’ve had to take to the streets, to bail out our comrades who get arrested, to counteract media messages and police spin trying to make victims into criminals. Too many times, we’ve had to ask how we can take action, demand accountability, prevent another “next time.”
At our UU the Vote staff meeting yesterday, we grappled together with how to respond to this latest act of police violence against Black people. As we talked about what message to send out as a response, and whether to shift our planned calendar of events, we arrived back with clarity at some of the fundamental commitments we have held since the beginning of this campaign:
The people we elect, and the policies they are able to enact, matter deeply. When terrible acts of violence like the shooting of Jacob Blake occur, it matters deeply who the mayor and the district attorney and the judges are, which statutes and laws are in place, and more. When we organize to #VoteLove and #DefeatHate, we can reduce harm in the present while working in a thousand other ways to build a world in which all people are safe and free – where peoples’ lives and livelihoods always come first because as Rev. Erik David Carlson of Bradford Community UU, Kenosha’s UU congregation, reminded us in the congregation’s statement “…we affirm that we would rather lose 100 buildings than one more life to police violence.”
And, it also matters deeply that our electoral organizing be inextricably linked to other movement strategies. Protesting, direct action, cultural organizing, healing justice, art making, community organizing–all of these responses are critical to building and leveraging power, holding our elected officials accountable, pushing forward a liberatory agenda, and sustaining our spirits even in the midst of heartbreak and grief. So it matters that we also continue to show up, with our bodies and our resources and our networks, for long-term organizing led by frontline movements.
So, beloveds, please know that we at UU the Vote are with you in the tension, and we are committed to moving forward in the both/and that is required of us in this moment:
For those of you who are grieving and broken right now–especially to our Black siblings and kin–we pray for you to have space for rest and healing and grief. May you find gentleness and support, and room to breathe and rage and mourn.
For those of you who are outraged, or activated, or desperate to find a way to be of use right now, we pray for you to channel that energy into organizing. Show up in the streets with your own local Black-led organizing collective, and donate to the Milwaukee Freedom Fund supporting bail, ticketing & legal support for organizers in Kenosha. Watch this conversation organized by Freedom, Inc. featuring WI-based Black and Hmong organizers, talking about violence and safety in the wake of Jacob Blake’s shooting. Demand that your city defund the police, and work to enact the BREATHE Act. Stay tuned as further demands and opportunities to support emerge from Southeastern Wisconsin.
Let’s keep showing up, together, for ourselves, each other and our collective futures.
In faith and solidarity,
Rev. Ashley Horan UUA Organizing Strategy Director
UU the Vote is a non-partisan faith initiative, in partnership with broader justice movements, to engage our neighbors, educate our communities, mobilize voters, and rally around key ballot initiatives. Join with your UU community to create a future defined by love, justice, and faith. #Votelove
“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” -Heraclitus
Forgiving the gendered language of ancient Greece, there is truth in what the philosopher Heraclitus had to say. One can never step in the same river twice. The same is true of a congregation. It is an ever-flowing stream of life. It changes every time a new person joins, a new child is born, a beloved member moves away or dies. One can never step in the same congregation twice.
Each time I step into a new congregation to serve with them in a new ministry, it feels like stepping into a moving stream. Sometimes the flow is slow and steady, sometimes it is moving swiftly. Here at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville, it feels like putting my raft in at the rapids. You are an active congregation, on the move – in a time of pandemic.
What this looks like in real terms is that my email inbox is full to overflowing. Partly this is because right now it is the only way for y’all to connect with me. Absent social hour on Sunday mornings and in-person meetings when those informal connections happen, well, let’s just say, it’s hard. Add in the difficulties of getting computers up, running, and internet connected – I think you get the picture. This is my long-winded way of saying thank you for your patience while I get up to speed.
I’m not an experienced river rafter by any means, but what I have learned about navigating rapids is this: Everyone on board must keep paddling. Everyone must paddle in the same direction. Don’t focus on obstacles but keep your sight on the thru line, the path that will take you to the other side. Most importantly, keep everyone on board.
We will get to the other side of this pandemic together. The thru line is a vision of what lies beyond, a beloved community where all are welcome and worthy of love.
Grateful to be on this journey with you, Rev. Diane
Donating to our annual auction during this pandemic takes a little more care. Please read below for details.
Safely Donating Non-perishables to the Auction
If you are donating a non-perishable item, we encourage you to keep that item and make arrangements with the winning bidder to pick it up from you. However, if you are unable to do so for any reason, we will be accepting items at FUUN beginning Saturday, October 3. The winner will then pick them up from FUUN.
Once you’ve submitted the donation information into Auctria, you will receive an email that will include a link to sign up to drop off those donations at FUUN.
Photographing Your Items As this auction will be virtual, good quality photos of your donations will be what drives high bids. Here’s a quick guide to taking great pictures. If you are unable to photograph your items, plan to drop them off at the church on one of the drop-off days. We’ll shoot them for you and make sure they get to their new home.
guide to photos: https://www.salehoo.com/blog/how-to-take-fantastic-photos-for-ebay-and-get-your-listings-noticed
Donating Social Events in a Pandemic
We encourage you to be creative in planning social events. Virtual events will be available to most people, as so many of our community are in high-risk categories. If you want to offer an in-person event, we recommend following CDC guidelines in your planning process and expect that you will follow said guidelines during the event.
Here’s a quick list of precautions we expect you to take in planning any in-person event. Hopefully, it will help you to determine if and how you might donate a social event.
All attendees will wear masks.
Provide hand sanitizer or stations to wash hands.
Gear your events to small groups of less than ten people, including yourself and/or your family.
Plan for outdoor activities where social spacing can be maintained.
Keep events short.
Avoid sharing food, drinks, toys, or sporting equipment.
Include a “pandemic/rain delay” in your scheduling of at least two weeks after your event date. In the days before your event, check the local Nashville pandemic situation here.
Habitat for Humanity needs volunteers for fall build
The Habitat for Humanity Unity build will continue as planned. The need does not stop! We have spots open for a total of 20 volunteers over two weekends – 9 volunteers forSunday, Oct. 11(painting, cabinets, and porch) and 11 volunteers forSaturday, Oct. 17(landscaping, mirrors, and door stops). They are prepared for our safety with all personal masks, gloves, goggles and helmets (if needed). One hospitality volunteer is needed each day to help with sign-in, food, name tags, etc, so it will limit the number of people in that area.
Future homeowner Franco Abiangama worked with the Unity Build last year. We will work with the homeowner, as well as other volunteers from other faith backgrounds to complete the build.
We will be in groups of 10 inside and 10 outside so we can spread out. The Habitat team has been working tirelessly to be sure of our safety, and we feel confident that their efforts will result in a safe environment. We understand that many of our usual volunteers might have health concerns, so if you can workboth days, we welcome all the help we can get. You must be 16 or older. There are new volunteer protocols to ensure everyone’s safety.
Family information:
• Franco left the Republic of Congo and lived in Uganda for 12 years before arriving in the United
States in 2016. He left Africa because of war and “the difficulties that my children faced finishing
school and because I needed a better job,” he says.
• Franco has four children ranging in ages from 14 to 21 years. The oldest children work to help with the household expenses while also attending college.
• Franco has carpentry skills that landed him a job with Solomon Builders where he has worked
since 2017.
• In 2019, Franco volunteered to help his church, Woodmont Hills, build a Habitat home as part
of the Unity Build and told Unity Build Coordinator Gladys Wolfe that day that he planned to
apply for a Habitat home himself. His perseverance to create a better life for his family never wavered. After several applications, he qualified for Habitat’s home ownership program and is the 2020 Unity Build future homeowner.
Habitat for Humanity needs volunteers for fall build
The Habitat for Humanity Unity build will continue as planned. The need does not stop! We have spots open for a total of 20 volunteers over two weekends – 9 volunteers forSunday, Oct. 11(painting, cabinets, and porch) and 11 volunteers forSaturday, Oct. 17(landscaping, mirrors, and door stops). They are prepared for our safety with all personal masks, gloves, goggles and helmets (if needed). One hospitality volunteer is needed each day to help with sign-in, food, name tags, etc, so it will limit the number of people in that area.
Future homeowner Franco Abiangama worked with the Unity Build last year. We will work with the homeowner, as well as other volunteers from other faith backgrounds to complete the build.
We will be in groups of 10 inside and 10 outside so we can spread out. The Habitat team has been working tirelessly to be sure of our safety, and we feel confident that their efforts will result in a safe environment. We understand that many of our usual volunteers might have health concerns, so if you can workboth days, we welcome all the help we can get. You must be 16 or older. There are new volunteer protocols to ensure everyone’s safety.
Family information:
• Franco left the Republic of Congo and lived in Uganda for 12 years before arriving in the United
States in 2016. He left Africa because of war and “the difficulties that my children faced finishing
school and because I needed a better job,” he says.
• Franco has four children ranging in ages from 14 to 21 years. The oldest children work to help with the household expenses while also attending college.
• Franco has carpentry skills that landed him a job with Solomon Builders where he has worked
since 2017.
• In 2019, Franco volunteered to help his church, Woodmont Hills, build a Habitat home as part
of the Unity Build and told Unity Build Coordinator Gladys Wolfe that day that he planned to
apply for a Habitat home himself. His perseverance to create a better life for his family never wavered. After several applications, he qualified for Habitat’s home ownership program and is the 2020 Unity Build future homeowner.
NOAH (Nashville Organized for Action and Hope) is hosting a Public Meeting 3-4:30 p.m. Stay up to date on the issues confronting Nashville and its citizens from the comfort of your living room. So many important things are happening: voting, police reform, economical concerns, to name just a few. Tune in and be the first to know. It’s sovery important that Nashville’s policy makers know that we at the FUUN are concerned and committed. More information will be provided soon. See you there!
“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” William Faulkner
Transition is the process of adapting to change; the internal, emotional process of reorienting to a new reality. Transitions have three distinct phases or stages: the long goodbye, the messy middle, and the new beginning. The process is non-linear. The stages don’t necessarily happen sequentially. It’s not a one-and-done process. Much like moving through grief, the journey will unfold differently for each person.
Individual people go through transitions. So do communities, organizations, institutions, and countries. Bruce Feiler, author of the recently released book, Life Is in the Transitions, says that navigating life’s inevitable transitions is a skill that can be learned – an essential skill for times such as these.
When a group of people goes through a change together, not everyone will be in the same place at the same time. Some will be in the long goodbye with the sadness and grief that come with goodbyes. Some will be in the messy middle which feels chaotic, disorienting, and even overwhelming. Some will be in the new beginning, full of excitement for the new possibilities presented by the change. Some will move back and forth between all three.
We live at a time of momentous change, upheaval, and disruption. Not only that, FUUN is in the throes of transition – having said goodbye to a beloved minister and welcomed someone new, working to change your governance structure, considering new possibilities for your buildings and grounds all while trying to figure out how to do church during a pandemic. That’s a lot of change; a lot to process.
One skill for navigating transitions is letting go of shoulds. The process is non-linear and does not bend itself to timelines. Losing sight of the shore means letting go of the way things have been before the way things will be has come into sight. It takes courage and it takes trust, trusting that we will get to that distant horizon, difficult as it might be. We will arrive there transformed.
During this time of change and transition, take the time to breathe and be in touch with your emotions. Be gentle with yourselves and each other. When things are tough, you can always reach out to someone in your church community, including me. I’m here if you need me.
Coming Soon: 2020 Fall Auction: Our Auction Team is hard at work planning a fun event for you. This year the Auction will be online, Oct. 17-24, and to celebrate, we’ll have avirtual partyon the final Saturday (Oct. 24). So save the date and think about what you might want to donate. In the next couple of weeks, look for some ideas from us to spark your imagination.
How to bring your water to Water Communion this year
We will celebrate our annual Water Communion during a multigenerational online service onSunday, Aug. 30. The gathering of the waters will look a little different from most years, but we want to include you and your water! Here’s what to do:
1. Please take a selfie—just yourself or with your household—holding your water and a sign telling us what direction your water came from (N, S, E, or W—interpreted literally or figuratively) and sending your one-word blessing for the congregation. (Like in these sketches, but don’t forget the water!)
“I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. So choose life, so that you and your descendants may live.” Deuteronomy 30:19
The phrase, “may you live in interesting times,” is often misattributed as a Chinese curse. There is no evidence for that attribution. Yet, the idea that uninteresting times, or trouble-free times are somehow more blessed than interesting or troubled times, persists. Life is rarely one or the other, but an intertwining of both. Poet William Blake noted that “joy and woe are woven fine.”
There is no doubt that we live in troubled times. Beginning a new ministry together in these circumstances is, shall we say, interesting? It has long been a belief of mine that meetings and connections are the lifeblood of congregational life. At a time when we must be physically distant from each other for the health and safety of everyone, I feel the need to meet and connect even more profoundly. In the short time – a little over a week – that I have been here as your developmental minister, I’m sensing that the same is true for you. You are longing for more connection with your church community. And, news is such that we can expect to be planning for virtual programming for some time to come. Ugh.
What I can tell you right now is that your lay leaders and I are working to arrange virtual meeting times when we can at least connect over Zoom and start getting to know each other that way. I will be hosting the Zoom coffee hour on Aug. 23 at noon. Be watching this space for further information.
In the meantime, there is a practice I have found useful during the time of COVID. Each morning I reflect on these three questions:
What has COVID taken from me today?
What has COVID given me today?
What has COVID caused me to be grateful for today?
In this time that can feel so cursed, it is good to take time to notice the blessings and to practice gratitude. There are days when the list of losses is long and I can’t think of a single blessing. Gratitude doesn’t always come easily. What happens, though, is that when I have fully acknowledged what has been lost and allowed myself to grieve, the gifts become more obvious. Joy and woe are woven fine, indeed.
As we begin this new ministry together, I will be looking for the blessings in this odd new way of doing church. Not diminishing the curses, but open to the blessings.
May we be open to what will come, choosing life for ourselves, each other, and our descendants.
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.
Message from the Director of Lifespan Religious Education
July 28, 2020
I find myself thinking a lot about teachers lately. Andy Rooney said, “Most of us end up with no more than five or six people who remember us. Teachers have thousands of people who remember them for the rest of their lives.”
I’m remembering some of the teachers I had: a high school history teacher who engaged me in real conversation, accepting and challenging me at the same time; the college English teacher who awakened my love of the spoken word; my mother, who taught my Episcopalian confirmation class; my father, who found the resolve in middle age to pursue the path from being a CPA to teaching sixth grade. I remember my father saying there are those who teach, and there are those who are teachers. I think there is something relational about it. It’s a shared relationship, one in which both parties learn and teach together. Witnessing that a-ha! moment in someone else, and experiencing it themselves, is profound. As a Unitarian Universalist, I might say that relationship is itself a covenant.
Do you remember the teachers who inspired you? Who asked you questions, waited for your answers, and acknowledged that you had some interesting thoughts? Who was open to changing their mind based on what they might learn from you? Who encouraged you to do more than you thought you could? Who allowed you to fall, and extended a hand to help you discover how to get up and try again? What did you learn? Did you also teach?
Many of us are teachers, whether in a classroom or not, but the ones I’m thinking about these days are the classroom schoolteachers. And I am concerned for them. I know teachers who go to work each day understanding that they would instinctively stand between their students and harm, whatever that harm might be. But does that mean they must stand in the path of COVID-19? Will some have to make decisions to protect themselves or their loved ones that result in their not being able to teach? Will some teach and then become ill? Even with safe distance learning, what effect does that have on them being the teachers they know themselves to be? What does this disconnect cost them?
We are each facing our own difficulties these days, we need support in different ways at different times, and we offer support in different ways at different times. Today, if you can, I invite you remember the teachers in our midst. Reach out and ask if there’s something you can do to support them. Let them know you appreciate them.
Those of you who are teachers, remember that this church community is here for you. Rev. Denise and our lay ministers are here, Rev. Diane is on her way, your companion congregants are here, and I am here, too. Know that you are not alone.
I am so enormously grateful for all of you, I miss you terribly, and I can’t wait (although I will) to see you again.
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 17th 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 9th 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.
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.
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.
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
“Hate is too heavy a burden to bear. Love is a better way.” -Sen. John Lewis, after Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
On a hot summer Saturday, I arrived at Hadley Park in North Nashville. I waited in my car a few extra minutes, enjoying the privilege of my air conditioning and awaiting the familiar face of a professional colleague who I had only met on Zoom. I didn’t have to wait long; Tamar is the Director of Education at the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM), a museum as yet without walls, but with a robust online presence. Tamar and I said hello to each other from six feet away, and took in the three-dimensional reality before us. As collaborators in planning this event, we were first to arrive to the bandshell at this historic Nashville park. The media team arrived, and then our singers arrived one by one, four voices touched by the music we were here to create. Patrick arrived, and once everyone was wired for sound, it was time to roll.
If you haven’t met Patrick Dailey or heard him sing, I hope you will have the pleasure. Every conversation is a blessing; not only do I learn something intellectually, I feel my heart opened and my soul nourished as well. He began this amazing workshop by invoking the ancestors; our ancestors, and the people who lived on the land before written record. He reminded us that we would get to take breaks, which some of the people who lived on this land in the late 1800’s were not allowed to do. He recounted that Frederick Douglass spoke from the porch of the manor house, and that maybe we were standing near where that house had been. We went to church.
When Pam and I began discussing this workshop and I suggested that we hire Patrick to work with our choirs, I knew that we would be doing a good thing for our groups. As choirs with singers who appear mostly white, we have a strained relationship with Negro Spirituals and are afraid of misappropriating works of other cultures. This fear, if it causes us to be cautious, to give credit where it is due, to study and be informed, and ensure equity and justice, is rightly placed. Some of our singers in choir were uncomfortable, and I was grateful to have the uncomfortable conversation. But that discomfort can’t stop us from exploring the works of these American composers. Where would the justice be in that? If we avoid the works by Hall Johnson, Moses Hogan, Undine Smith Moore, Florence Price, we do a horrible disservice to their art and to ourselves.
Our four singers stood in for the 40 or so singers who were to have gathered together, from First UU and from the UU Church of Huntsville, for a choir exchange originally schedule for March. I wished everyone could have been there… They listened, they heard, they internalized the vocal technique, the rhythmic importance, and the grace. The transformation in the sound from the start of the morning to the end of the workshop is palpable. And the miracle of this time of physical distancing is that we are able to bring this workshop online and to share it with more singers, directors, music lovers.
It is my sincere hope that this collaboration is the first in a long relationship between our churches, with Patrick, and with NMAAM. Our church’s history in being on the side of social justice and in partnership across the manufactured separations of race will continue through music as well. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for this experience.
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:
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.
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.
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.
Hello, Friends! I just had a bookshelf-induced epiphany! You know, like when you don’t know what to do—or to write (ahem!) — next, and you wonder if scanning the collection of books available in the moment might provide a clue of some sort, and it does!
This morning, my eye fell on Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life, by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, and I remembered not just that I enjoyed reading it a year or two back, but that some of you, working on visioning and planning for our congregation, liked it, too. In this time when it seems almost futile to be “designing” anything at all, since so many
decisions are being made and unmade, put on hold and remade, I wondered if the idea of engaging the design process is even relevant. But the book has this cheerful light-blue-green cover, so I picked it up….and you know what? (Here’s the aha moment!) We, as individuals, as a congregation, a city, a nation, a human race, are exactly right smack-dab in the middle of a moment, a season, heck, a
n entire year just ripe for design thinking!
Design thinking, according to Burnett and Evans, is about finding a way to move forward, and it fuels that movement not by thinking, but by building, creating, and moving, which excites me this morning, having already spent a considerable chunk of time reading the latest news and emails, mentally adding to the (already long) list of things we don’t know about the near and more distant future, and trying to figure out how to plan, knowing that all plans must be subject to change as new information comes along.
This is a season of so.many.questions: What will school look like this fall? How do we balance safety and sanity in making decisions about being out in the world? How long will we have to pay such careful attention to our safety and to each other’s health? (But wait, maybe that’s a healthy balance to our habitual hyper-individualism and we should nurture that attention!) When will casually going out to run errands be normal again? (Or maybe it’s good for the planet if I’m a little more planful about that than I used to be?)
But design thinking, it turns out, really works well with all the questions. Here are the five “mind-sets” Designing Your Life introduces. (Some of them might look familiar; can you find them in our Seven Principles?):
Be Curious (ooh, questions are a good start here!)
Try Stuff (aka, a “bias to action” and “building your way forward”; this one reminds me of this spring and summer, when we’ve been trying lots of stuff for worship and other ways of staying connected at church under unprecedented circumstances.)
Reframe Problems (This is about dropping back to notice our biases and perhaps find new, more productive questions.)
Know it’s a Process (Life is messy, but paying attention to the process and not over-focusing on the end product can have surprisingly wonderful results!)
Ask for Help (aka “radical collaboration” or the recognition that no one creates alone)
Can you, too, see how many opportunities we have right now, despite the pandemic, despite our limitations and incomplete knowledge, to move and build toward new and better lives, a reinvigorated congregational life, and the world we dream of inhabiting?
“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.
“All I ask of you is forever to remember me as loving you.” -Gregory Norbet
Every year, at this time, I remind you that I am going on vacation in July and that our Assistant Minister will be covering for me along with the Lay Ministers and the Worship Committee. This year is the same in many ways. Rev. Denise will cover my worship and pastoral care duties as she has done for the last two summers. She has been working with the Worship Committee for months to arrange for some of your long-term favorites to preach in July: two of your past ministerial interns – Sara Green and Michelle Pederson, as well as member Cynthia Stewart who was called to pastoral ministry from here, and Holly Mueller, who did her Divinity School field placement here and then worked as Assistant Minister. Sara, Cynthia and Holly are all affiliated with First UU as community ministers. All four of them are excited to share with you their present varied ministries including spiritual direction, chaplaincy to released prisoner, hospice, and programing for the UUA.
This year is different in other ways. I am not going on vacation – I am retiring. I am not coming back in August, your new Lead Minister, Rev. Diane Dowgiert is. What is the same is that you are prepared for change. The board has appointed a stellar task force to help Rev. Dowgiert get to know you in this on-line world. What is the same is the strong leadership you will receive from your Board of Directors, who bring more than 100 years of experience as leaders in this congregation. What is the same is that you have a very experienced staff of 10 people who have served you for a total of about 55 years. These leaders, professional and volunteer, know you. They know the culture of this congregation. They will continue to take care of you.
I leave knowing that you are in good hands. I have only one personal request. Please remember me as loving you.
To register for Virtual SUUSI, just log in toSOLIS, 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.
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 budgetHERE.)
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 isHERE.)
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 atstream.nashville.gov, Comcast channel 3, or AT&T Uverse channel 99.)
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 theBarnesAffordable Housing Fund, – More property tax relief for seniors and other low-income homeowners, – Adequate funding for Metro Nashville Public Schools, and – A moralbudgetmaintaining 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.
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A Covid-Related Action by NOAH (Nashville Organized for Action and Hope, an organization of which FUUN is a member): 
For all of us in NOAH, democracy and voting rights are as sacred as they are personal. First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville is joining NOAH organization members throughout Nashville to strive for 100% registration and voting among all eligible members. As John Lewis so beautifully expressed in his New York Times essay, printed on the day of his funeral, “The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.”
