Broadening Our Base of Support

Broadening Our Base of Support

Mar 27, 2025 | Weekly Message

 
Vibrant Sunday services, lots of visitors and new members, a wealth of small groups to choose from, a bustling Faith Formation program. The positive energy around UU Asheville is palpable. Yet our congregation finds itself at a critical turning point in our financial health. After three years of deficit budgets covered by funds from our contingency fund, it is time to broaden our base of support. Here are two ways you can join us in making this happen.
 
First, make sure you have filled out your commitment form for the Annual Budget Drive. Each Sunday in March we have heard from our own members about the positive impact of this congregation on their lives. Each and every commitment is critical. By widening our circle of stewards or increasing your annual pledge, no matter the size, together we can reach our goal of a sustainable budget. It is as easy as clicking on this link:  https://uuasheville.org/annual-giving-drive/
 
Second, support the work of our new FUNraising Team. These stellar folks are working to create social events open to the wider community. Each ticket sold for their events goes toward our operating budget and broadens our base of financial support.
 
The Bunny Breakfast on April 5th and the Asheville’s Got Talent Showcase on May 31st are right around the corner. The team would appreciate your help in spreading the word around town or on social media. They also need volunteers to support the events which is a great way to give back to the congregation with a short-term commitment.
 

Now more than ever UU Asheville provides shelter for the storm. Let’s all work together to make sure this shelter has a strong foundation.

In stewardship,

Ben Fleming (UU AVL Board) 

 

 

 

 

The Work Continues

The Work Continues

Mar 20, 2025 | Weekly Message

 

The theme among the Soul Matters groups, the Faith Formation classes, and our congregation this month is Trust, which I am having a hard time with these days. I’m having a hard time trusting elected representatives when they host town halls full of angry people and their take away is that they are doing a great job. I have a hard time trusting elected representatives when they don’t stick up for the people they represent, agreeing to bills that have no place being passed by our legislature. I have a hard time trusting that there are still good people in our immigration system when green-card holders are being deported for their free speech. I have a hard time trusting that the moral arc of the universe is still bending towards justice. 

And I have been having a hard time trusting myself to do the work I know needs to be done to resist. While I was preparing to go to the town hall last week, I was stressing over what questions I was going to take with me to ask (someone had told me that printing them out ahead of time would be a good idea). And yet… When I arrived on the AB Tech campus, I saw the thousands of people that showed up and I saw the organizers walking up and down the line passing out fliers about more ways to act up and speak out. One organizer passed out a thoroughly researched and lengthy list of questions to ask our representative. The stress about making sure that I, on my own, was enough was understandable if I was actually standing alone. But… I wasn’t. There were so many who were acting together, and I didn’t have to be enough. We all had to play our part in the movement to hold our representative accountable on that Thursday afternoon. Did it work? Probably not, but THE WORK CONTINUES nonetheless. So now we go back to organizing in midst of our myriad lives, in small meetings and Signal threads, working to push back and to protect one another. But we do it now knowing that we aren’t alone in the work.

Maybe you have seen these posters hanging in our lobby and social hall since the election in November. I picked those up from an artist in Colorado Springs after the election in 2016, and brought them in. They’ve hung in our home for years. THE WORK CONTINUES, they affirm, in strong black type. STAY TRUE. STAY STRONG. STAY IN LOVE. They cajole us in red type. I might add, TRUST EACH OTHER and TRUST THAT THERE IS A FORCE OF LOVE MOVING AMONG US because those are messages I need to be reminded of on a daily basis. 

The work continues beloveds, stay in love. 

Trevor Johnson

Connections Coordinator 

 

 

 

 

EAC Newsletter- Earth Day

Mar 20, 2025 | Scoop

The Scoop

Environmental Action Team

 

March- April 2025

Image of food waste on a green and white background with text: Green tip of the month- Let's work on reducing food waste in the new year,

Earth Day reminds us of our responsibility to protect and nurture the environment. And if each of us does a small part, the collective can eventually have a huge impact.

 

Did you know that in the last 20 years, the country has lost 22 percent of its butterflies? Creating a sustainable landscape is an effective way to celebrate Earth Day and contribute to the planet’s health. By incorporating native plants, practicing eco-friendly gardening (not using chemical pesticides) and fostering wildlife-friendly habitats, we can have a meaningful impact, increasing the numbers of butterflies and other pollinators. 

 

This may sound like a lot to manage, but we can create habitat refuges for butterflies and other insects simply by planting native flowers, shrubs and trees. Incorporating native plants into gardens and green spaces can reduce our ecological footprint while providing essential habitats for pollinators such as bees and butterflies. And, native plants contribute to soil health and reduce the need for chemical pesticides, which can harm surrounding ecosystems.

 

With a little planning and foresight,  we can cultivate landscapes that not only enhance our surroundings but also promote environmental sustainability for generations to come. This Earth Day, let us commit to nurturing our landscapes in a way that supports the planet and its inhabitants.

 

Some resources: 

Homegrown National Park: homegrownnationalpark.org

Carolina Native Nursery: https://www.carolinanativenursery.com/

The Wild Ones: https://wildones.org/

 

Trust, and Keep Planting

Trust, and Keep Planting

Mar 13, 2025 | Weekly Message

This month our Soul Matters Theme is “living love through the practice of trust.” When reality and the news headlines seem surreal it is often difficult to trust that all will be well. And yet history reminds us that perseverance and hope (hope that fuels collective action) move us in the direction of justice. We engage with focus because we can’t do it all. We rest because we need to recharge our spirits with beauty and delight in nature, in each other, in art and that which brings joy. Then we engage again because we are faithful people. A people whose values and UU tradition call us to co-create a world in which all can thrive. As you consider your role in the work, I offer this spiritual practice Planting the Seeds of the Future shared by Rev. Cameron Trimble. 

“When everything feels like it’s unraveling, it can be easy to focus only on what is lost. But even in collapse, we have the power to plant seeds for what will come next.

Today, take a small, intentional action that reflects the world you long to see. Maybe it’s offering help to a neighbor, showing up for a community event, writing a letter to someone in power, or supporting an organization doing good work. Maybe it’s as simple as pausing to remind yourself: I will not let fear dictate who I become.

Whatever it is, do it as an act of faith. Trust that even in the breaking, new life is taking root. Keep planting. The future is not yet written.”

Take good care, Beloveds. I look forward to seeing you in June when I return from my sabbatical. Here is my pre- sabbatical blog in case this is a surprise.
Nos vemos en junio. See you in June.

With love,

Rev. Claudia
Minister of Faith Formation