Connection and Compassion, two of the four goals stated in our core values are front and center at UU Asheville lately as we work towards receiving our new minister and becoming a more welcoming congregation. A new committee, the Care and Connect committee, has been diligently working at identifying and exploring more personal and direct methods of connecting our members and our newcomers to all that we offer at UU Asheville.
Connection is how we do the work we do, at a personal level, the congregational level and within the greater community. Through our connections we are able to explore spirituality and faith development, support our varied groups and take our faith into our community in a variety of ways. We have, like many faith communities, lost contact with many of our congregants during the COVID years. The new Care and Connect committee will be reaching out to our MIA congregants to compassionately check in with them and find out how they are staying connected with us. Do they need more from us? How can we continue to support them? And how can we get them re-connected with UU Asheville? These are the main questions that the committee wants answered.
If it has been awhile since you have attended service, come back, we miss seeing you! If it has been awhile since you have served on a group, find one and offer your time. If it has been awhile since you have included your voice in upholding justice, find a way to speak up.
“We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men/women; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects.” ~ Herman Melville
Urgent Call to Action – NC’s Don’t Say Gay BillSB49 the so called “Parents Bill of Rights” would ban curriculum on gender identity, sexual activity or sexuality in grades K- 4 and would require that school staff out children to their parents. This bill is moving VERY quickly through the General Assembly. Please call your State Senator and Representatives today and tell them to Vote NO on “The Parents Bill of Rights.” You can find their contact info here: https://ncleg.gov/FindYourLegislators
Sunday, February 12, 2023 11am
Rev. Cathy Harrington, Interim Lead Minister
Based on the work of Sharon Ellison and Marshall Rosenberg, we’ll explore ways we can improve our communication by paying attention to unconscious words and gestures we employ when feeling defensive, angry, or frustrated. Ellison argues, “We have adopted war strategies in our communication.” We can change this by not focusing on the feelings of anger or frustration, but by looking for our common humanity. We can improve our lives by taking time to learn better strategies for communicating in every area of our lives.
Did you know it has been almost a year since we introduced our “Wee Worship” area in the Sanctuary? It’s true! We introduced it on Sunday, February 13, 2022. Our theme that month was “Widening the Circle” so it was the perfect time to widen our circle by making our worship space welcoming to young children and their families. You can read more about why we took this step here.
While it’s true there have been some growing pains, overall we have been successful in our goal to be more welcoming to families with young children. We currently have about 80 families registered for Religious Exploration here at UU Asheville, and that includes about 130 individual children and youth. This is GREAT news. As UU congregations around the country emerge from the pandemic, many of them have lost or drastically reduced their RE programs due to low attendance, reduced staff hours, and low volunteer turnout. Our children and youth programs are growing because this congregation has consistently demonstrated that being welcoming to families and offering excellent programs for children and youth is a priority. Instead of cutting RE staff and budgets, you have all empowered us to keep our core programs going, to try new things, and to recognize our professional RE staff with the appropriate titles and compensation.
Yes, I saw the flying (stuffed toy) pineapple during our multigen MLK service a few weeks ago. Yes, it was louder than usual that Sunday. Here are some other things I noticed that Sunday; our Sanctuary was full of people of all ages! We gathered together before and after the service to create colorful posters about love and justice that many of our congregation members took to the MLK Peace March the next day. I noticed that everyone in the Sanctuary loves to sing and move as an embodied aspect of our worship together. I do want you to know that RE staff and Rev. Claudia met following that service to talk about how we can do more education with folks about what our expectations are for parents and children in worship together, and how we have so many new families that may not know these expectations because they have joined us in the last 12 months. We have updated the pew cards in the Wee Worship area with clear language about how to be in this sacred space together, and Rev. Claudia shared a wisdom story with us about it as well. I know it was challenging for some folks and I want you to know that we took your feedback seriously, but that we also remain committed to inviting children and youth to be with us in the Sanctuary as often as possible. We grow adults who seek out faith communities by making sure to include our children in all aspects of congregational life, including worship!
Don’t forget that our service is broadcast into Sandburg Hall as well, this space is open for anyone who needs it! Some of us need to move around more or find it challenging to be in close proximity to so many people. One of the ways that we are welcoming is by providing spaces for folks to worship in ways that work for them, whether it’s in person with a large group, at home online, or in a non-traditional space like our fellowship hall.
The Dismantling White Supremacy Support Group meets the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month from 10 AM-Noon, via Zoom. Visit our event calendar for details. Next meeting is February 17 at 10am. Zoom
The foundational covenant of our denomination is changing. The Article II Report explains why and includes the revised covenant. Join the Revs to share your thoughts Feb 16 noon bagged lunch discussion, Sandburg Hall. New to UU Asheville? Learn about our on-going Anti-Racism Initiative
Connection and Compassion, two of the four goals stated in our core values are front and center at UU Asheville lately as we work towards receiving our new minister and becoming a more welcoming congregation. A new committee, the Care and Connect committee, has been diligently working at identifying and exploring more personal and direct methods of connecting our members and our newcomers to all that we offer at UU Asheville.
Did you know it has been almost a year since we introduced our “Wee Worship” area in the Sanctuary? It’s true! We introduced it on Sunday, February 13, 2022. Our theme that month was “Widening the Circle” so it was the perfect time to widen our circle by making our worship space welcoming to young children and their families. You can read more about why we took this step 