Join us for a meditative Vespers led by Rev. Cathy.
Our 7PM Program launches our Spiritual Practice series focusing on Centering Love because LOVE is a core value of our UU faith. We will begin the series by centering our spiritual practice of love-in-action with self.
Wednesday Vespers & Program themes:
1st Wed. Theme Talk or Special Program Discussion about the monthly Soul Matters theme.
2nd Wed. Liberation Conversations: Pursuing our Congregational Goals to practice Anti-racism. These conversations will provide updates on the work of the Racial Justice Advisory Council and an opportunity to ask questions and discuss why the work of liberation at UUAvl matters.
3rd Wed. Spiritual Practices: Centering Love Centering Love – Love is a core value of our UU faith. On the 3rd Wednesdays this fall at 7 p.m., we will center our spiritual practice of love-in-action with self, others, and the world. As Cornel West says, “Justice is what love looks like in public.”
4th Wed. Theology We will begin with an introduction to theology: What is it? Do UUs do Theology? Participants will select theological themes for future sessions. Examples: Hope, Death, Forgiveness and Reconciliation, Evil, Covenant.
Sunday, October 18, 2021 11am Live Zoom Mariela Perez-Simons, Guest Speaker Oxytocin, the Nervous System, and the Biology of Love.” How the practice of devotion can help us heal our nervous systems as well as our ecosystems. BIO: Rev Mariela is a Cuban-American maestra & minister in the Unitarian Universalist denomination; she currently lives in Grand Rapids, MI from where she teaches about religious naturalism and intimacy with the natural world.
Last month on the 3rd Thursday, a small group gathered on campus to listen to poetry and drum with our ministers and drum circle leader, Nanette Muzzy-Manhart. It was fun to be in community and on campus after almost two years of mostly Zoom gatherings. Weather permitting we will gather on 3rd Thursdays in October and November, too. Our October drum circle leader will be Will Jernigan. Join us!
Tomorrow, many UU Asheville friends, members, and staff will head to The Mountain for our annual congregational retreat and I am giddy with anticipation. For new folks, the Mountain is a UU camp and conference center located outside Highlands, NC atop 4,200’ Little Scaly Mountain. I still get butterflies when driving up the winding road even though I know I am too old for youth camps there. No, things will not be as they were two years ago at the UU Asheville Gathering at The Mountain – putting our infant daughter on our dining table as a centerpiece, gleefully singing and eating indoors – unaware of how special unmasked times like those would become. But this weekend will still be awesome thanks to the preparation by Kristi Sanborn Miller and a host of others who have planned outdoor events and activities like a nice warm fire complete with stories and music on Saturday night.
My days of summer camp at The Mountain were filled with similar evenings listening to the music of local musician, Lee Knight. Lee was born in the Adirondack mountains but came to The Mountain as an employee about the time The Mountain was founded. He entertained youth camps there for more than four decades and became an accomplished musician playing with Pete Seeger, Wu Man, and the Kronos Quartet. I regret not seeing him at Carnegie Hall, but I have many bootleg recordings of his including one from our wedding and other recordings from around the campfire circle where we will be gathered on Saturday night.
A campfire almost sounds like an event that could happen on our new patio (is that a hint for a program?) Now that our sweet patio has been dedicated and broken in with a service under its belt, we can plan more outdoor and hybrid events, which is exactly what the staff has in mind. (The pet dedication service was a barking success, so much so that I was not able to listen at home thanks to our Labradoodle, Chloe, who was happily conversing with other attendees.) Yes, UU Asheville leaders are brainstorming creative ways to get together and we will continue our pivot and roll with the punches. For me, being in the presence of others seeking a deeper connection is the core of UU Asheville. Looking around and seeing a smiling face looking back at you in the midst of a shared experience is what we find at UU Asheville and it reminds me of some of my favorite lyrics from a Lee Knight’s song:
Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Sometimes you have those lowdown blues. But your smiling face and this pretty place, And I’m so glad to be with you.
I hope to see you at The Mountain or on the patio soon.
I love the theme of Cultivating Relationships for this month. It is exactly what we need to be doing and exactly what we are trying to do at UU Asheville right now. We are coming back together in ways that used to be so familiar and can now be a little scary for some of us. Luckily, we have the chance to take it slow, and to work on our relationships with each other. As RE groups are beginning to meet again, both online and in person, we are thinking and talking about our covenants with each other. We are reviewing and renewing, and changing them when needed. After all, covenants can provide structure and meaning to all of our relationships. It is not work that we do one time and then declare that we are done. It is work that we need to be constantly thinking about and working on. I would encourage your family to do some covenanting work together at home, especially if you have kids.
It is also important to take some time to cultivate a better relationship with yourself! Check out this suggestions from this month’s Soulful Home Packet.
Cultivating Better Relationships with Self
According to the National Institutes of Mental Health, fully 25% of 13- to 18-year-olds will experience an anxiety disorder. As caregivers, we have only so much control over the environmental and broader cultural stressors they will encounter. But we can influence the ways they do–or don’t–internalize the most damaging of the messages they are receiving. Meditation and movement coach Kimberly Campbell guides us toward kinder self-talk in this 12-minute video. Watch it together with some combination of your loved ones, and afterward, talk about what you noticed. Did anything shift inside you, or click into place? Did you find yourself resisting any part of it? Name one phrase or practice that you’ll be carrying forward from this exercise.
There are several opportunities this month to join together in person – especially for those of you who have joined us during the time of the pandemic, we’d love for you to come get to know us better!
Make a plan to attend on of these upcoming Soup fundraiser dates for Coming of Age!
UU Asheville’s Coming of Age youth invite you to join us for a twist on beloved tradition: Soup-er events! Choose from a variety of delicious homemade soups and pre-order using this form (order early for the best selection). Each quart of soup comes with 2 generous pieces of garlic bread AND the joy of supporting the youth of our congregation! Pay for and pick up your order at UU Asheville on Thursday, October 21st, between 5:30 and 6:30pm. Take home to enjoy! **Orders close on Tuesday, October 19, to allow time for the chefs to prepare.
And save the dates for all of the Soup-er events, including one on October 31 that has on-campus dining option! Come that day to enjoy fellowship with your UU friends (new and old, young and less young), have a delicious meal, and stay for the Halloween parade! Thursday, October 21Sunday, October 31 – on-site dining or drive thru — you decide what works for you!Saturday, November 6Thursday, November 18
Finally, don’t miss our Remembrance Service on Sunday, October 31st! Come in costume for worship, candle lighting, music, and of course Soup! We’ll have goodies for for everyone, including your furry friends (pets also encouraged to come in costume)!
Tomorrow, many UU Asheville friends, members, and staff will head to The Mountain for our annual congregational retreat and I am giddy with anticipation. For new folks, the Mountain is a UU camp and conference center located outside Highlands, NC atop 4,200’ Little Scaly Mountain. I still get butterflies when driving up the winding road even though I know I am too old for youth camps there. No, things will not be as they were two years ago at the UU Asheville Gathering at The Mountain – putting our infant daughter on our dining table as a centerpiece, gleefully singing and eating indoors – unaware of how special unmasked times like those would become. But this weekend will still be awesome thanks to the preparation by Kristi Sanborn Miller and a host of others who have planned outdoor events and activities like a nice warm fire complete with stories and music on Saturday night. 