WUU News

Our theme for this month is an interesting one, it takes the central value of love and calls on us to do something more with it. It’s not just love, it’s considering the gift of liberating love. One of the things I hope for folks to be able to find in our congregation is a place to feel cared for and cared about. It’s what our pastoral care does, but it’s also what folks find in our small groups and on Sunday mornings and hopefully in just about everything that we do here. That’s one of the ways that we…

by Linda Lane-Hamilton, president; Pat Russo, vice-president As we kick off the new year and think about what success looks like at WUU in 2024, the Board will focus on work that will shape the future of WUU. This Spring, the board will make decisions about our next minister—whether to form a search committee for a called minister (a year-long process) or hire a development minister, contract minister or other options. The board meets with UUA Transitions Manager Christine Purcell Jan. 10 on Zoom to discuss next steps. Rev. Michelle’s interim ministry ends June 30, 2025. The board will vote…

by the Soul Matters Sharing Circle team We live in a culture that loves to conquer mysteries. For us modern folks, the unexplainable is simply a lock to be picked, a code to be cracked, a puzzle to be figured out. But what if mystery isn’t just something to solve? What if it’s also something to be listened to? This is the lesser recognized call of our faith. “Yes,” it says, “Stay skeptical, continue to question and seek answers. But at the same time, leave space for life to speak!” One of the most elegant articulations of this comes from…

December is upon us, with the traditions, gatherings, expectations, calendars that may be packed as well as hearts that may be packed with a variety of memories. Thus it is during this month that I’d like to encourage us to turn our minds and hearts towards the perspective of mystery. In our Unitarian Universalist tradition, we honor the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. We value intellectual exploration and rational thought. Yet, we also open ourselves towards the importance of mystery in our spiritual lives. Mystery invites us to embrace the unknown, to acknowledge the limits of our…

by Linda Lane-Hamilton, president; Pat Russo, vice-president Much board work is invisible to congregations until it’s time to give feedback and vote. We’d like to make sure you as congregants know what’s going on in a major “infrastructure” or “foundational” initiative right now—a WUU by-laws revision. By-laws provide the formal structure of the congregation, and policies and procedures govern day-to-day matters. We’ve been working on by-laws since August, when we realized our by-laws did not reflect some of our needed governance practices. We must update our by-laws relating to a ministerial search to allow for options offered in current UUA…

Kids: We’re about to launch a new OWL class for you in 2024 — tell your parental unit! Parents: Come have a café conversation with parent and OWL facilitator Natalie Miller-Moore about the importance of comprehensive sexuality education. “I’m finding it hard to talk to my kids about sex, and they aren’t getting it at school. What can I do?” Let’s talk! Our Whole Lives is one of the benefits of the Unitarian Universalist perspective — we are all role models for consent, sex positivity and lifelong learning. Join us for a conversation in person on Thurs. Nov. 30 at 6 pm at Precarious Beer…

November is upon us, and the Soul Matters theme for the month is a pertinent one: generosity. This is also the first of a number of monthly themes taken from the proposed Article II revision which names a set of core values for Unitarian Universalist faith. Our Soul Matters and worship themes for the next several months will be taken from this set of values. Generosity is a cornerstone of our faith. It is an expression of our commitment to the inherent worth and dignity of every person and our belief in the interdependent web of all existence. It is…

by the Soul Matters Sharing Circle team It would be easy to see this as a month of niceness. After all, for many, the call of generosity is equated with the call to be kind. But that’s not the spiritual understanding, and certainly not the sort of gift our faith sees in generosity. First of all, it’s transformative. Generosity doesn’t just brighten our days; it changes how we relate to life. Let’s be honest, life can harden us. And before it does that, it often hurts us. So we can’t be blamed for viewing it as a threat. Like some…

Wow! What a crowd we had this past Sunday for our first Baker’s DUUzen/Savory SUUnday. Kudos to our many bakers and cooks who contributed their culinary skills, and to those of you who snatched up their offerings. All items sold out! We were able to raise $1,100 on our first sale! Our next sale will be Nov. 19, the Sunday before Thanksgiving. We will be preparing soups, pre-made meals, breads, and an assortment of holiday pies, snacks, and appetizers you can use for your own holiday meal. We are looking for vegetarian or vegan cooks and bakers as well as…