Aug 15, 2024 | Weekly Message
Summertime has been a wonderful opportunity for downtime and family time. Our youngest daughter was married in NY and a few weeks later I was able to visit familia in Colombia. It had been ten years! It was an amazing trip. Here is a photo from one of the towns we visited, Guatapé. The murals were amazing!
In between trips and throughout this month planning continues at UU Asheville for adult, children and youth Faith Formation. Yes, Faith Formation, a new name to remind us that spiritual deepening, developing UU identity, exploring spiritual practices and living into our UU values are an individual and collective process for all ages. Whew! Faith Formation occurs not only during programs for all ages. It also occurs during worship, vespers, and as we strive to live into our UU values. Next month, Religious Educator, Kim Collins will blog about our plans for Children and Youth Faith Formation. She and Jen Johnson are looking forward to launching our programs for children and youth.
This month I share my excitement for the launch of Adult Faith Formation this congregational year! First, a shout out to our Adult Faith Formation Team: Cathy Gabe, Abby Holmes, Bernise Lynch, Wilma Oman, Kim Collins and Sue Williams – our newest member. We meet monthly and welcome your proposals for programs (use this form to propose a program). I am also sharing our tentative calendar for the fall. Two highlights for you to consider:
An online course focusing on UU views of Jesus discussing the book from “Christ for Unitarian Universalists” facilitated by Amy Glenn Wright. Details here.
An onsite book conversation: “Not the End of The World” by data scientist Hannah Ritchie, meeting between the two Sunday services, 9/15, 9/29, 10/13, 10/27, & 11/10. The co-facilitators ask, “Are you looking for a fresh perspective on environmental issues? We invite you to join our reading and discussion group starting this September! Our goal is to reframe our views to a historic and data-backed perspective, moving away from the doomsday approach that often dominates conversations. Guided by UU values, we believe that we can take action and create positive change in the world. Now, more than ever, we need optimism over pessimism and cynicism. For the next few months, let’s support one another as we explore these ideas.” Co-facilitators: Kelly McEnany and Olivia Martin
Looking forward to ongoing faith formation at UU Asheville this year that supports our living into our values in this community and beyond.
With gratitude,
Rev. Claudia Jiménez
Minister of Faith Formation
Aug 8, 2024 | Weekly Message
This Sunday, your energetic and growing Pride + LGBTQIA+ Gender and Sexuality Justice team is offering a free
Big Gay Ice Cream Social to our members, friends, and visitors. It’s just one of the ways that we’re working to make sure there’s a big-welcome feeling about our congregation – and to let folx know how we work together to remain one of the Unitarian Universalist Association’s official Welcoming Congregations. We hope you’ll make time for your friends and UUAvl family this coming Sunday, and join us!
One thing I know about UU Avl is that it’s invested in being a warm and welcoming congregation. It’s one of the (many) things that drew me to you, and also one of the descriptors we hear often from people who know us. But being welcoming is a big and never-ending job. Communities of friends and folx who know each other can quickly fall into “insider” behavior before they know, and create barriers to a genuinely inclusive atmosphere. Sometimes we use lingo, like saying “UUA” or “23” around newcomers. Sometimes we gather with our friends in coffee hour without making sure to “say hello to three” – taking a look around and saying hello to three people we don’t know or haven’t had a chance to speak to personally as yet. As an introvert, I get that this can be tough for some folx – but also as an introvert, I know how wonderful it feels when someone takes the time to break the ice, so when it comes to the communities I am a part of, I push past any discomfort – because I want to be sure others feel safe and included when they enter in. We are ALL on the welcome team.
Welcome means other things, too, of course. It’s always wearing your name tag. It’s using and asking for pronouns. It’s making sure the path to the accessible bathroom remains open and untrammeled during coffee hour, so anyone with mobility issues can access it easily. It means parking a little further away, so visitors or newcomers can find a parking spot. It’s volunteering to make coffee or staff our welcome table. It’s offering childcare for activities that are adults-only. It’s paying attention to our practices of accessibility in worship and everyday activities. And more.
We will always be about the work of learning, growing, and doing more. I am just grateful to be able to serve a community where this is an active practice and an ongoing conversation. So tell me: how will you help build our Big-Welcome this week?
See you Sunday – love,
Rev. Audette
Aug 1, 2024 | Weekly Message
August finds us deep in the throes of summer. The solstice has passed but the weather has stayed wa
rm and sticky. It’s the season of days by the pool, hikes to swimming holes, or maybe a road trip to visit family or a national park. All of these outdoor activities get me thinking about my introduction to The Church of the Blue Dome.
As young parents at the turn of the millennium, we felt it was time to seek a new spiritual home. We were living in Tallahassee, Florida, a pocket of blue in a conservative part of the state much like Asheville. We found the small UU fellowship and decided to give it a try. After a few visits we were ready to pursue membership and signed up for their newcomer class, ‘UU 101’.
Trudee, the facilitator of the class, was a long-time member and trustee. She kicked off with a round of introductions asking that we describe our spiritual path that had brought us to Unitarian Universalism. Trudee led off by describing her upbringing in a mainline Protestant denomination but drifting away as a young adult. For many years she and her husband considered themselves members of The Church of the Blue Dome. They found their spiritual connection through being out in nature.
This story really resonated with me. I had a similar experience as a young adult. My mom even gave me a shirt with a quote from Steve McQueen, “I’d rather sleep in the middle of nowhere than any city on Earth.”
While Trudee still spent plenty of time in nature, it was the community that she found at the UU Fellowship in Tallahassee that led her to a deeper spirituality. This is another parallel in our paths. Our experience in Tallahassee, then Raleigh, and now Asheville has been one of community.
Summer is a season that our family packs in as many outdoor adventures as we can. There are lots of days in The Church of the Blue Dome. We can rest and recharge in the dark days of winter. It feels good to reconnect with the natural world but it also makes me look forward to reconnecting with our UU community in the fall.
I wish you long summer days with family and friends and look forward to seeing you back at UU Asheville in the fall.
Ben Fleming, UU Asheville Board Member
