Last night, a small group joined in Sandburg Hall for our monthly potluck before Vespers. It was a joyful gathering with delicious food and hearty conversation. One of the joys of ministry is creating space for community building and spiritual deepening during a shared meal followed by a time of reflection and ritual. This month, when we are invited to acknowledge and mourn the falsities that ground the Thanksgiving holiday story, we are also invited to reflect on what we are grateful for. One of my many gratitudes is for the opportunity to minister to our UU Avl community. As you consider what you are grateful for, I invite you to reflect on this quote from Dietrich Bonhoffer shared during last night’s Vespers gathering.
“In normal life one is often not at all aware that we always receive infinitely more than we give, and that gratitude is what enriches life. One easily overestimates the importance of one’s own acts and deeds, compared with what we become only through other people.”
Let us reflect on the people and communities who have shaped our becoming.
May we be grateful.
Steve and I will be attending our UU Avl Thanksgiving meal. I look forward to being with those who are able to attend.
Please join Rev. Audette for a potluck and then a Vespers service this May 7th, which will include the dedication of Rev. Mark Ward’s memorial plaque in our memory garden.
Potluck 6pm
Service 7pm
This will be the last Vespers before summer break. Vespers will return in August.
Join in fellowship and dinner at 6pm, followed by a short service at 7pm. While Vespers are generally held the first Wednesday of every month, we have scheduled January’s Vespers for January 8th, to accommodate the New Year’s Holiday. Please RSVP here.
Thanks to all who attended, participated and danced a little salsa at our Celebration Vespers. Your presence throughout the year during this time of fellowship and worship has strengthened and deepened our community. See you in the fall!
Join the Pride+ Team and Rev. Audette for this Very Special Vespers evening! We’ll have a potluck/cookout – bring a dish to share and we’ll have veggie and real hot dogs & chips available. During dinner, we’ll have conversation and reflection, and then we have a fun night of LEARN-SOMETHING-NEW Bingo (complete with prizes!). What is genderism? Are you apresromantic? How about ceteroromantic? Join us for this fun evening and learn something new with the Pride + team! Please RSVP here.
Our newly formed Reproductive Justice Ministry Team and Rev. Claudia invite you to join in and reflect on the meaning of Reproductive Justice. We will offer a time of ritual to honor the different paths we have taken whatever or reproductive story. Join us Wed., March 6th at 6 pm for a warm meal and after for a time of reflection & connection at our monthly Vespers service. Please RSVP.
Groundhogs. Robins. The swallows of Capistrano. All around us, nature tells us stories of how to find our rhythm in the world. You have a story, too! Join us Wed., Feb. 7th at 6 pm for a warm meal and after for a playful time of reflection & connection at our monthly Vespers service, with Rev. Audette. Please RSVP.
Join us for a special evening of Vespers and decision-making. Our vespers will consider, in story, how we offer back to the world the love that makes us whole, and the work of our hands which makes this possible.
After our dinner and a time of story and sharing, we’ll generate a list of justice areas we think that we, as a community, should focus on together. Over the evening, and the following few weeks, we’ll vote to determine our top four communal justice priorities. This will help guide Revs. Audette and Claudia in their efforts and focus over the next year or two.
September 6 Dinner, 6:00 PM & Vespers, 7:00 PM. Join in an all ages exploration of this month’s theme “The Gift of Welcome” using the tale of “Mice in Council.” There is no fee for dinner. RSVPto support this mid-week opportunity for fellowship and worship.
Soup & Bread, 6:00 PM & Vespers, 7:00 PM. Join Rev. Cathy tonight for a quiet time of reflection, healing, and hope as we prepare ourselves to work for peace and justice in our community, our nation, and the world. We need one another when we mourn and would be comforted. We need one another when we are in trouble and afraid. We need one another when we would accomplish some great purpose, and cannot do it alone…-George E. OdellThere is no fee for dinner. Link for RSVP. Vespers Leader: Rev. Cathy Harrington
1st Wed. Dinner, 6:00 PM & Vespers, 7:00 PM. There is no fee for dinner. Join us for this this mid-week opportunity for fellowship and worship. Please use this form to RSVP. Vespers Leader: Rev. Cathy Harrington
NOVEMBER 2 1st Wed. Dinner, 6:00 PM & Vespers, 7:00 PM. Vespers leader: Rev. Claudia; Musician: Cellist, Quetzal Jordan There is no fee for dinner. Click here to support this mid-week opportunity for fellowship and worship. Let us know if you plan to attend so we can plan accordingly. Thank you!
NEXT WEEK we are on Zoom! Vespers 6:30 PM Vespers Leader: Bernise Lynch Program 7:00 PM Liberation Conversations – Join us for an 8th Principle Reflection Circle facilitated by members of the 8th Principle Team and Rev. Claudia
Vespers 6:30 PM (in person & YouTube) will be oriented to Samhain and include a ritual. Vespers Leaders: Blue Ridge CUUPS Program 7:00 PM (in person only) Drumming Circle with Nanette Manhart. Bring your drum. We will have a few available.
NEXT WEEK
November 2nd is the 1st Wed. Dinner & Vespers. Vespers leader: Rev. Claudia; Musician: Cellist, Quetzal Jordan There is no fee for dinner. We are recruiting volunteers to bring soup and/or bread for 10 people, and volunteers to help set up and clean up afterward. Click below to support this mid-week opportunity for fellowship and worship. Let us know if you plan to attend so we can plan accordingly. Thank you! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0548ada92ba2f85-november
Vespers 6:30 PM (in person and YouTube); Vespers Leader: Neal Jones Café, Cultura y Conversación, 7 PM; (in person and Zoom link available in the Wed. e-News)on Co-facilitators: Michele Gregory & Rev. Claudia “Café, Cultura Y Conversación” is an opportunity for bilingual learning and conversation. We will be discussing the Asheville Art Museum exhibit “Border Cantos/Sonic Border.” If you have a chance to visit, use your cell to take a picture of what moves you in that exhibit. We will share in English and/or Español when we gather.
Next week: Vespers 6:30 PM(in person & YouTube) will be oriented to Samhain and include a ritual. Vespers Leaders: Blue Ridge CUUPS Program 7:00 PM(in person only) Drumming Circle with Nanette Manhart. Bring your drum. We will have a few available.
Vespers 6:30 PM (in person and YouTube); Vespers Leader: Jeff Jones Justice Conversation, 7 PM; (in person and Zoom link available in the Wed. e-News) Serving at the El Paso Border -Speaker Jeff Jones For eleven and a half months beginning August 1, 2021, Jeff Jones served refugees and asylum seekers at the El Paso border. He will describe his experiences living in the shelters including daily activities serving the guests, their happy as well as heart-wrenching stories, and the intensity of the service.
NEXT WEEK Vespers Leader: Neal Jones (in person & YouTube) Program: “Café, Cultura y Conversación”; Facilitators: Rev. Claudia and Michele Gregory (in person only) If you are interested in joining us Wed. Oct 19 after Vespers for “Café, Cultura y Conversación” an opportunity for bilingual learning and conversation, we will be discussing the Asheville Art Museum exhibit “Border Cantos/Sonic Border.” If you have a chance to visit, use your cell to take a picture of what moves you in that exhibit. We will share in English and/or Español when we gather Oct 19.
October 5th – Dinner 6PM & Peace Vespers 7PM. Join Rev. Cathy for a simple meal of soup and bread followed by a candlelight service of reflection in honor of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Holy Day of Atonement. With our roots firmly planted in both Judaism and Christianity, it is important to pause and remember. There is no fee for dinner.
NEXT WEEK
Oct 12 Vespers 6:30 PM; Vespers Leader Jeff Jones Justice Conversation, 7 PM; Serving at the El Paso Border
Speaker Jeff Jones
For eleven and a half months beginning August 1, 2021, Jeff Jones served refugees and asylum seekers at the El Paso border. He will describe his experiences living in the shelters including daily activities serving the guests, their happy as well as heart-wrenching stories, and the intensity of the service.
Looking Ahead…
If you are interested in joining us Wed. Oct 19 after Vespers for “Café, Cultura Y Conversación” an opportunity for bilingual learning and conversation, we will be discussing the Asheville Art Museum exhibit “Border Cantos/Sonic Border.” If you have a chance to visit, use your cell to take a picture of what moves you in that exhibit. We will share in English and/or Español when we gather Oct 19.
October 5th – Dinner 6PM & Peace Vespers 7PM. Join Rev. Cathy for a simple meal of soup and bread followed by a candlelight service of reflection in honor of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Holy Day of Atonement. With our roots firmly planted in both Judaism and Christianity, it is important to pause and remember. There is no fee for dinner.
NEXT WEEK
Oct 12 Vespers 6:30 PM; Vespers Leader Jeff Jones Justice Conversation, 7 PM; Serving at the El Paso Border
Speaker Jeff Jones
For eleven and a half months beginning August 1, 2021, Jeff Jones served refugees and asylum seekers at the El Paso border. He will describe his experiences living in the shelters including daily activities serving the guests, their happy as well as heart-wrenching stories, and the intensity of the service.
Looking Ahead…
If you are interested in joining us Wed. Oct 19 after Vespers for “Café, Cultura Y Conversación” an opportunity for bilingual learning and conversation, we will be discussing the Asheville Art Museum exhibit “Border Cantos/Sonic Border.” If you have a chance to visit, use your cell to take a picture of what moves you in that exhibit. We will share in English and/or Español when we gather Oct 19.
Vespers 6:30 PM – Vespers Leader: Sequoyah Christine Rich Program 7:00PM – Spiritual Practices Join us for an opportunity to learn about some of the practices of Buddhism. Sequoyah will lead us through a guided seated meditation and a guided walking meditation. She will also share about her experiences staying in a Buddhist Temple in Indonesia. Sequoyah currently co-leads the UU Asheville Buddhist Sangha and works as a Hospital Chaplain at the VA Medical Center. She graduated from Meadville Lombard Theological School with a Master of Religion.
Looking Ahead…. October 5th 1st Wed. Dinner & Peace Vespers. Join Rev. Cathy for a simple meal of soup and bread followed by a candlelight service of reflection in honor of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Holy Day of Atonement. With our roots firmly planted in both Judaism and Christianity, it is important to pause and remember. There is no fee for dinner. We are recruiting volunteers to bring soup and/or bread for 10 people, and volunteers to help set up and clean up afterward. Click below to support this mid-week opportunity for fellowship and worship. Let us know if you plan to attend so we can plan accordingly. Thank you! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0548ada92ba2f85-dinner
ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS & MONTHLY CALENDAR
Welcome Back! The Adult Faith Exploration Team has been busy planning for the new congregational year. We have two new offerings. A communal dinner and Peace Vigil every first Wednesday. Third Wednesdays you are invited to a bilingual conversation to explore Latiné culture and issues. Experimentation is alive and well and UU Asheville!
All Vespers services will be live-streamed. We’ll note on the calendar when programs are live-streamed or on Zoom.
Wow! So many details. Please contact me with questions, feedback and/or program ideas. Rev. Claudia, Minister of Faith Development, faithdev@uuasheville.org
2022-2023 Focus: Widening the Circle 1st Wed. Dinner & Peace Vigil
2nd Wed. Justice & Liberation Conversations
3rd Wed. Café, Cultura y Conversación 4th Wed. Theology & Spiritual Practices
September Calendar – Belonging (Soul Matters Theme) All Vespers in person/live streamed in September. Program in person and via Zoom Sept. 14; Oct 12 (only these dates)
14 Vespers 6:30 PM, Leader: Rev. Claudia Program 7:00 PM: Justice Conversation: Jeff Owens with Moms Demand Action
In 2005, John Owens was shot and nearly killed while entering the lobby of a Detroit television station by a man with a history of mental illness. Since that time, John has spoken about his experience and recovery at churches throughout Michigan and North Carolina, participated in gun safety forums, and wrote Op-Ed columns to support common sense gun legislation in the Detroit Free Press and the Asheville Citizen Times. He is the Group Co-Lead of Mom’s Demand Action for Gun Sense in Western North Carolina. John is also a member of the Everytown Survivor Fellowship, a nationwide community of survivors working together to end gun violence.
21 Vespers 6:30 PM, Leader: Michele Gregory, Rev Claudia Program 7:00PM: Café, Cultura y Conversación Join us for this bilingual opportunity to explore Latiné culture and issues while we practice and/or are exposed to the Spanish language. Our speaker will be Michele Gregory an Asheville native who has served as a bilingual caseworker for Buncombe County for 16 years.
28 Vespers 6:30 PM,Leader: UU Sangha Program 7:00 PM: Buddhist Practices
We’ll be taking the summer off but plan to be back in action in September. Planning has already started. Right now, we’re expecting this faith development opportunity to continue on Zoom next year. See you in September!
Adult Faith Development Planning Team: John Bloomer, Kim Collins, Sherry Lundquist, Jim Steffe, Kelly Wedell, with staff liaison Rev. Claudia Jiménez.
Vespers: Join Rev. Claudia for the final Vespers of this congregational year. We will explore the theme “nurturing beauty” engaging the question: How does the power of beauty affect your work for justice? Vespers will resume in September. Have a great summer!!
Program 7 PM: Ecotheology & the Interplay Between the 1st and 7th Principles; Facilitator – Rev. Claudia
Vespers: Nourishing Our Spirits. “What a gift we can give ourselves by paying attention to what our souls need and doing our best to give them that.” ~ Steve Garnaas-Holmes Led by Rev. Cathy
Program 7 PM: Gene Lambirth will talk about hiking as a spiritual practice and his journeys on the Camino de Santiago and other pilgrimages. What is it about this experience that can feed your soul and what lessons can you take from it that will allow you to lead a richer and more meaningful life?
Next Week:
Vespers Wed April 27 at 6:30 PM: Join Rev. Claudia for the final Vespers of this congregational year. We will explore the theme “nurturing beauty” engaging the question: How does the power of beauty affect your work for justice? Vespers will resume in September.
Program Wed April 27 at 7 PM: Ecotheology & the Interplay Between the 1st and 7th Principles; Facilitator – Rev. Claudia
Vespers Wed April 13 at 6:30 PM: “The God of Our Understanding”
Bill Wilson, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, was highly skeptical of the existence of a personal God. To help make AA accessible to persons of all beliefs (or none), he wrote the 12-step program with the suggestion that we “turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understand [God].”
As Unitarian Universalists who have many different beliefs (or none) regarding the existence of a higher power, who or what is the ultimate guiding principle, force or being in our lives? What practices do we have to help us cultivate or enlarge the existence of this guiding principle, force, or being in our daily lives? How can our practices help heal our hurting hearts and world?
Rev. Terry Davis invites us to reflect upon these questions and then share our thoughts and feelings.
Program at 7 PM: Liberation Conversations. Join us for an update on the final congregational assessment report that will be shared at the end of the month. We will also discuss next steps and brainstorm ways to welcome all levels of experience into the work of collective liberation/anti-racism. Facilitator: Rev. Claudia
Next week: Vespers Wed April 20 at 6:30 PM: Nourishing our Spirits
“What a gift we can give ourselves by paying attention to what our souls need and doing our best to give them that.” ~ Steve Garnaas-Holmes Led by Rev. Cathy
Program Wed April 20 at 7 PM: Gene Lambirth will talk about hiking as a spiritual practice and his journeys on the Camino de Santiago and other pilgrimages. What is it about this experience that can feed your soul and what lessons can you take from it that will allow you to lead a richer and more meaningful life?
Vespers 6:30 PM: Join Anna Martin in exploring our April theme of “Awakening” with poems, singing, sharing, and Lea Morris’ story of The Empty Cup.
Program 7 PM: Welcome to Awakening – Our program will explore Awakening, the theme for April. Does awakening arise slowly from experience, or is it more like an epiphany that hits us like a ton of bricks? Are awakenings more apt to happen when you are younger or older? What is your experience of awakening? Facilitator: Jim Steffe
Next week: April 13
Vespers Wed April 13 at 6:30 PM: “The God of Our Understanding”
Bill Wilson, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, was highly skeptical of the existence of a personal God. To help make AA accessible to persons of all beliefs (or none), he wrote the 12-step program with the suggestion that we “turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understand [God].”
As Unitarian Universalists who have many different beliefs (or none) regarding the existence of a higher power, who or what is the ultimate guiding principle, force or being in our lives? What practices do we have to help us cultivate or enlarge the existence of this guiding principle, force, or being in our daily lives? How can our practices help heal our hurting hearts and world?
Rev. Terry Davis invites us to reflect upon these questions and then share our thoughts and feelings.
Program Wed April 13 at 7 PM: Liberation Conversations. Join us for an update on the final congregational assessment report that will be shared at the end of the month. We will also discuss next steps and brainstorm ways to welcome all levels of experience into the work of collective liberation/anti-racism. Facilitator: Rev. Claudia
Last night, a small group joined in Sandburg Hall for our monthly potluck before Vespers. It was a joyful gathering with delicious food and hearty conversation. One of the joys of ministry is creating space for community building and spiritual deepening during a shared meal followed by a time of reflection and ritual. This month, when we are invited to acknowledge and mourn the falsities that ground the Thanksgiving holiday story, we are also invited to reflect on what we are grateful for. One of my many gratitudes is for the opportunity to minister to our UU Avl community. As you consider what you are grateful for, I invite you to reflect on this quote from Dietrich Bonhoffer shared during last night’s Vespers gathering.
Next week:
