One of the ministers, a UUCA Board Member, Linda Topp, or Venny Zachritz will be loitering on the Sandburg Hall deck every Thursday at noon, just waiting to talk to someone. Bring a chair, your lunch if you’d like, and sit a spell and chat. (Weather-permitting so it’s not likely we’ll meet on rainy days or those days below 40 degrees!) However, if you really want to talk with someone, feel free to contact Rev. Mark and he’ll set up something for you.
We’re reaching out to 1 million voters by November 3! That’s 1,000,000!
Join us for the last UU the Vote virtual mobilization before Election Day. At our Gather the Spirit event, on Wednesday, September 23rd at 7:30 ET / 4:30 PT 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! Then we’ll invite you to our October Week of Action and give you the tools you need to activate your congregation. Register Here
Yes, you should donate and participate and there’s a very good reason below. But first, let me just get the ad portion of this blog out of the way.
Yes, we are holding our auction–but in 2 parts. Part 1 is a Silent Auction and it lasts for a week, starting November 11 and ending November 18. (That’s the part where back in the day we walked around the room—either before auction day at UUCA or on the night of the auction—and wrote our bids on bidding sheets.) Part 2 is a LIVE Zoom Auction on November 14 where about 10 items will be auctioned. (That’s the part where our auctioneer works hard to get prices up for what we hope are desirable items and where back in the day we ate, visited, enjoyed The Sandburgers, and danced.)
The auction committee has been working on this for several months now. They have attended a variety of other online auctions to see how it’s done and are sure we can come up with an auction that will actually be fun to experience online. I believe them. (I know they’re working on some very clever add-ons for the LIVE Zoom auction.)
But really, why bother this year? The most obvious answer is that the auction most assuredly raises more money than any other fundraiser for the congregation (about $35,000). And this is money that makes a huge difference in what we fund. But with our budget skewed this year in every direction, we don’t have any idea if this money is critical or not. And believe me, running an auction, especially one like never before, is a LOT of work.
Here’s a better answer though, which I re-learned on Sunday. It is literally all about connections! At last year’s auction, UUCA members Mike Closson and Jill Overholt donated 100 Frozen Monkey* ices for a gathering of the buyer’s choice. Without having any plan for it, the McLellans bought that item. Fast forward to about 2 weeks ago. I’m having a casual conversation with the McLellans about how I’m trying to figure out how to offer some kind of outdoor gathering for UUCA and they offer their auction win (honestly, I didn’t even remember they had bought that!). And next thing you know, 75 or so of us enjoyed a beautiful late afternoon at UUCA, SEEING each other!!!
Frozen Monkey gathering on September 13
We had younger members (down to about 2), older members (up to about, well, never mind), and everyone in between. Nothing warms the heart of a UUCA staff member more than seeing a multigenerational gathering!
This, of course, is not the only auction item that works this way, although the scale is larger than normal. Any time you donate an item that gathers people together, you are creating micro “small-group” ministries. It really doesn’t matter if you are one of the amazing dinner providers or someone who has a few people over to bake bread. These gatherings make connections and these connections are what makes UUCA important in the lives of its congregants.
So, bottom line, the auction is an important part of our congregation’s year and through your generous participation–by donating items and buying items (we ask for donations at all price points)–you support the church through your time, talent, and treasure. It’s real stewardship; taking care of this congregation!
*Just because it’s interesting to know, Mike created this business himself and got a designer to create all his graphics on the trailer. It is not a franchise. (UUs can be so creative!)
Install covers over your window wells to prevent small critters like frogs from entering and becoming trapped in the window wells. The plastic covers are an inexpensive fix and easy to install.
Religious Education at UUCA has kicked off! We’d love for you to join us!
We are so excited to start this new year, though it looks different than we had imagined when we began planning last year. We have worked hard over the last few months to make a plan that we hope will help nurture the spirituality of our children, youth, and parents. We have simplified things significantly in response to the many complications and challenges that we are all facing. We are looking forward to continuing to foster connections while making time for fun and silliness!
Do I need to register? YES! This is how we know you still want to stay connected to UUCA this year and beyond. We use our registration list to communicate about both current and future offerings, including OWL and Coming of Age (once we can offer those programs again), youth group, parent groups, and home deliveries (a special feature we have planned this year). To register, use this link: Registration
What if my kids don’t plan to participate Sunday mornings very often? Even though this year will look different, we encourage your family to stay involved for some needed spiritual grounding and social connection. We would love to see you whenever you can make it.
Will this be like the typical (curricula based) RE classes that we normally have? There will be spiritual elements to our virtual gatherings to help foster UU faith development and personal growth. There will also be an intentional focus on FUN, social and supportive connections, compassion, inspiration and justice – our UUCA core values.
Religious education for children and youth has been divided into 4 groups: PreK-3rd grade, 4th-6th grade, 7th-9th grade, and 10th-12th grade. Groups will typically meet 2 Sundays/month via Zoom: PreK-3rd & 10th-12th will meet on the first and third Sundays of the month and 4th-6th & 7th-9th will meet on the second and fourth Sundays of the month. Zoom links will be emailed weekly.
In addition to classic (virtual) RE, we will have other opportunities as well, possibly even some occasional small, safer in person gatherings for youth or adults. We will host Family Fun Nights via Zoom for fellowship and fun. Look for a special delivery of a “Church in a box” We also encourage families to “attend” multigenerational services together.
We also plan to offer more Faith Development for parents and caregivers. First up is an Anti Racist Parenting Zoom with Rev. Claudia. This is a follow up to the book group that met online over the summer. How are things going for you? What do you want to bring forward? We might have something to watch, listen or read…or we might not and just have a chance to check in together. This will take place on October 12 at 8 pm. RSVP to Jen at lreasst@uuasheville.org.
Kim is planning to offer the Parents and Caregivers as Sexuality Educators small group experience beginning in early November. Since we cannot offer Our Whole Lives for children and youth this year, we are offering this program to help equip parents and caregivers to have important conversations with their kids. You can find out more here: https://www.uua.org/families/sexuality-educators To find out more or sign up, email Kim at lrec@uuasheville.org.
