May 24, 2023 | Featured
The NC General Assembly overrode Gov. Cooper’s Veto of SB20. The law will take effect July 1st. THANK YOU to all who have taken action over these last few weeks to beat this bill. It’s a heartbreaking loss, and we will continue to advocate for abortion healthcare. The Reproductive Justice Advocates at UU Avl meet via zoom May 30 at 7pm. Contact Rev. Claudia faithdev@uuasheville.org for the link.
What can you do? If you are in the position to do so, please consider doing an urgent Share the Plate or other invitation to donate to our trusted partners, Carolina Abortion Fund. CAF operates a confidential, toll free helpline that provides financial, practical, and emotional support to callers in North and South Carolina trying to access abortion care. They serve all callers regardless of gender identity, race, age, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, religion, ability, place of origin, citizenship, and all other physical or social defining factors. You can Donate Here.
May 24, 2023 | Faith Development
Welcome! Our theme this month is Creativity.
Faith Development Calendar
May 24, 31- Article II Exploration Series, Sanctuary, 6:30-8:00 PM
Please contact Rev. Claudia faithdev@uuasheville.org to register.
May 25 – A Taste of Soul. Noon-1PM, Sandburg Hall; Bring a bagged lunch and join Rev. Claudia to learn about our Soul Matters Small Group Ministry.
May 25 – Soul Matters Facilitators: Celebration & Dessert Reception; 7PM, SH
May 27 – Building A Culture of Inclusion; Facilitator – Paula Cole Jones; online, 10:00 AM- 2:00 PM.
Spiritual Deepening Groups
Covenant of UU Pagans – CUUPS. Contact: Sherry Lundquist sherry_lundquist@yahoo.com
Buddhist Sanhga – meets 2nd and 4th Tuesdays at 7:30 pm in Sandburg Hall; Contact: Sequoyah Rich sequoyahrich333@gmail.com, or Stef Garvin stef@giftsintogold.com.
Soul Matters Groups – Conversation Groups, UU Writers Group and Creativity Matters group explore monthly themes Sept.- June. New groups form each Sept. Contact: Rev. Claudia faithdev@uuasheville.org
May 24, 2023 | Justice Ministry
UU Avl Events
May 26th, 7:30 pm & May 27th, 3 pm – Womansong Concerts “Love Your Mother (Earth)”, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Asheville, 20 Edwin Place, $20. Get details and tickets here.
May 27, 8th Principle Workshop (on-line): Building a Culture of Inclusion, 10AM – 2 PM; Facilitator: Paula Cole Jones sponsored by UU Justice Ministry NC
Community Events
May 25th – Veterans for Peace offer “Peace Talks in WNC”, 7 pm, at 15 Overbrook Place. Get details here.
May 28 Raise your voice with the Beer City Sisters at Rally 4 Rights, a free speech rally in response to the wave of anti-trans and anti-drag legislation introduced in the NC General Assembly. Rally 4 Rights will be held in Pack Square on Sunday, May 28 from 3 to 5 pm. The Beer City Sisters are joining forces with Blue Ridge Pride, Tranzmission, Arms Around ASD, Planned Parenthood, and other concerned citizens to give voice to how this legislation will affect our community. This is a City of Asheville Non-Permitted Free Speech Public Assembly and in light of NC’s new anti-protest law HB 40, we ask all participants to maintain the event as a peaceful rally.
Next month…
June 4/5 – EAC Book Study: The Green Boat: Reviving Ourselves in Our Capsized Culture, by Mary Pipher. In person Sunday, 9:30-10:45 am, 23 Edwin Parlor; Zoom, Monday 7-8:15 pm (contact Sunita for zoom link sunitapatterson@gmail.com); Section 3: Awareness to Action
June 6th – Learn about income taxes and the decisions that may be made by the NC General Assembly that could impact revenues needed by NC, noon. Sponsored by the NC Budget and Tax Center. Get details and registerhere.
June 12th – 18th – “Juneteenth Celebration” in Asheville. Get details about the events offered here.
June 15th – World Elder Abuse Awareness Day Walk, 5-7 pm, at Carrier Park. Get details here.
June 15th– Leicester Reads Together: Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America’s Overdose Crisisby Beth Macy, at the Leicester Public Library, 6 pm.
June 16 – Justice Film (TBA) – No films July & August
June 21-25 – UUA General Assembly, Pittsburgh, PA
June 25/26 – EAC Book Study: The Green Boat: Reviving Ourselves in Our Capsized Culture, by Mary Pipher. In person Sunday, 9:30-10:45 am, 23 Edwin Parlor; Zoom, Monday 7-8:15 pm (contact Sunita for zoom link sunitapatterson@gmail.com); Section 4: Resilient Coping
June 26th at 7 pm. An opportunity to learn about the Jewish perspective on and origins of North Carolina’s death penalty Please be sure to watch Racist Roots, a 25-minute film (here is the link to watch: https://youtu.be/55mVMDkXheI) created by the Center for Death Penalty Litigation, beforehand and come ready to hear a panel discussion moderated by NCCADP Executive Director Noel Nickle.
July 9/10 – EAC Book Study: The Green Boat: Reviving Ourselves in Our Capsized Culture, by Mary Pipher. In person Sunday, 9:30-10:45 am, 23 Edwin Parlor; Zoom, Monday 7-8:15 pm (contact Sunita for zoom link sunitapatterson@gmail.com); Section 5: The Transcendent Response
October 17th – Save the Date for Pisgah Legal Services’ 13th Annual Justice Forum with Mathew Desmond.
May 21, 2023 | Sermons
Sunday, May 21, 2023 11am
Rev. Cathy Harrington, Interim Lead Minister
What is the difference between resume virtues and eulogy virtues, David Brooks asks in his book, The Road to Character. What if Erik Erikson’s eight stage of life is not the ultimate but the penultimate, a question asked by Lenora Montgomery at my Meadville Lombard Theological School graduation where I received my Doctor of Ministry degree. Kathleen Taylor said in her Ted Talk “Rethinking the Bucket List,” that it is never too late to shed what is false, and it is never too early to find out who we are.
May 17, 2023 | Weekly Message
As our time together is growing short, I wanted to pause and say thank you to all of you for the courageous way you have embraced the challenge of loss, change, and transition. As I reflect on the past two years, I feel it is nothing short of remarkable the way you have reinvigorated this beloved community following the pandemic. Many of our UU congregations continue to struggle to reinvent themselves. They are still grieving the past and seem to be trying to recreate the way things were pre-pandemic. I credit your staff and leadership for their energy and creativity as each new challenge emerged (and there have many). UU Asheville is a bright light of hope in our denomination as well as in your community and beyond. It has been a privilege and a joy to serve as your interim minister, and I will watch with interest from afar as you begin your new journey with Rev. Audette as your new lead minister.
Looking back, I am reminded of the many ways our congregations adapted and readapted over the 2 ½ year of the pandemic, but I’m also cognizant of how our priorities changed. Being with loved ones, connecting with friends, creating community however we could, walking in nature was the new “vacation,” baking bread, learning new hobbies, or reviving old one became our lifeline. Bonding with our beloved pets who were ecstatic to have us home all day was a bonus. It seemed that everyone in my apartment complex got a puppy in 2020, and their abundant joy was contagious.
Rev. Bill Sinkford’s article about predicting the future in the new UU World is worth a read. He writes, “Change is manifesting all around us in a variety of ways, which I believe offer hope for our faith’s future. Congregations are building new collaborations… There are new collaborative leadership models emerging. More shared ministry, less hierarchy, more leveling of leadership”.
My colleagues and I are also noticing large numbers of people of all ages seeking connection in our UU religious communities. Sinkford says, “Our task is liberation into lives of abundance and justice and joy”. We cannot know what the future holds, but we can choose to be a part of creating that future by saying, “Yes” to life and to love and by creating beloved community and a safe and loving home to all.
I am confident UU Asheville will continue to meet this moment and the next moment and the next moment with enthusiastic curiosity, faith, hope, and joy. I hope to see each of you throughout the remainder of my time at UU Asheville. I will be on the pulpit May 21st, May 28th, and June 11th. My transition begins on June 15th with a combination of vacation, General Assembly, and moving.
Sincerely with love,
Rev. Cathy Harrington, Interim Lead Minister
