Our February newsletter is now ready to view or download:
UUFJC Newsletter: Flame on the Water, February 2023

Sunday, January 29th:

This morning, we shared a recent message from our neighbors at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbia.  Two weeks ago, intern Minister George Grimm-Howell honored Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday with a sermon sermon titled "The Road to Jericho," in which he explored themes from Dr. King’s sermon “On Being a Good Neighbor.” Stories from Toni Morrison, the parable of the Good Samaritan, and George’s chaplaincy experiences among the urban poor of St. Louis helped point the way to our personal transformation on our personal roads to Jericho.  (Summary adapted from the UUCC Youtube page with additional notes from Rich Burdge.)

Reflections on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy form a timely bridge from our January theme of Finding Our Center to our upcoming February theme of Love.  Many of us, and UUism as a movement, work to center ourselves on the kind of justice Dr. King worked for: justice that reaches out in love, lifting up the full diversity among us and forming beloved community.

The message is available to view online: https://youtu.be/R7yxqD6HMPI

Next Sunday, February 5th:

Adult Forum - 9:15 am
Bob Boldt
Our Adult Forum is currently available both in-person and via Zoom.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/98858741051?pwd=d3ZMbHJSL3NjMGMxZEM5N1VxUysxQT09
Meeting ID: 988 5874 1051
Password: 047662  
Phone
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago - US toll)
Find your nearest number: https://zoom.us/u/aeC2zyWdIo

Service and Religious Education - 10:30 am
"Love is a Rose," Rev. Mike Adamek

Is there only good Love or is there both good Love and bad Love? My take is simple.  Love is a positive virtue, a positive form of human excellence and yes there are myriad ways we fool ourselves when we act badly and blame it on love. Love does not inoculate us against great pain however, but it can help us weather it. If Love is a rose, where you touch it, always on the stem and never on the petals, naturally comes surrounded with thorns.

Our services are currently available both in person and on Zoom:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/94285041130
Meeting ID: 942 8504 1130
By Phone (US toll):
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
Find your nearest number: https://zoom.us/u/ak1ZLCDJG

Children's Religious Education - 10:30 am
Children attending in-person are welcome to join RE Instructor Samantha Porter for a lesson during the service hour.  This month's theme: "Love."  This week's lesson: "Love for Self."

Lunch after Service: If you would like to join other members and friends for lunch, look for a whiteboard in our entry hallway near the water fountain to see the weekly lunch location.  Please add a tally to the whiteboard if you plan to attend.

Masks are currently optional for those attending UUFJC events in person.

If you have a joy or concern that you would like to have read during a service or shared in our weekly email, please submit it by noon on the Friday before through our website: http://uufjc.org/joys--concerns.html
We will also have paper forms available Sunday morning for submissions.
Zoom participants, please use the web form.  Submissions made after noon on Friday may not be read or shared until the following week.

UUFJC News and Events this week:

For accessibility and convenience, we now have an option to donate to our Fellowship online through PayPal:

Donate to UUFJC
You can also mail donations and pledges to:
UUFJC
Attn: Treasurer
PO Box 1245
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Thank you for being with us and supporting us!

And remember all our ways to stay in touch!  You can visit our website at uufjc.org.  You can also join our open-posting "UUFJC Cafe" Google Group to chat with other members and friends via e-mail and receive additional announcements and reminders (contact the Administrator at uufjc1@gmail.com to join).

We are seeking a volunteer to manage our website and Facebook page.  Please contact our president, Rich Burdge, if you can help.

We are always in need of donations for our free community pantry.  Cereal, Vienna sausage, and tuna would be especially helpful at this time.  For more donation ideas and information on the pantry, contact Joan Kurtzeborn.  Reimbursements are available; contact our treasurer, Bob Antweiler: rp8mm9@gmail.com.

On Thursdays at 5:30 pm, Katherine Connor hosts a weekly Zoom Happy Hour for UUFJC Members and Friends to gather and check in.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/91843966450?pwd=djBwTEx4YUxseW9SdytSZjJGS0xrdz09
Meeting ID: 918 4396 6450
Password: 918925    
Phone:
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago - US toll)

Find your nearest number: https://zoom.us/u/aeC2zyWdIo

An independent Insight Meditation group taught by Joe McCormack meets at our building Thursday nights at 7 pm.  For more information, contact Bob Antweiler.

Our building is reserved by community groups Wednesdays and Saturdays starting at 6 pm and Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 5:30 pm.  If you have access to our building, please allow privacy at these times.

Community Events this week:

This Wednesday, February 1st, begins Black History Month.

This Friday, February 3rd at 7 pm in their Art Gallery, Missouri River Regional Library presents their First Friday Film.  This month's selection: "Brooklyn."  Ellis Lacey, a  young Irish immigrant, navigates her way through 1950s Brooklyn in this award-winning film. Her initial homesickness soon gives way to romance, but when her life is disrupted by news from her hometown, she is forced to choose between two men on opposite sides of the world.  Based on a bestselling novel by Colm Toibin, the film stars Saoirse Ronan and was nominated for multiple awards in the U.S., Britain and Ireland.  Contact Madeline Matson.  For more library events, visit MRRL.org.

For more events, see our online calendars:

UUFJC Events
Virtual Gatherings
Affiliated Events 
Religious Education
Building Use (other)
Community Events  

Sunday, January 22nd:

This morning, local Rotarian Stephen J. Stark joined us to talk about the work of Rotary and how Peace is at the center of their mission.

But for this week's email, I would like to address our monthly theme of Finding Our Center with a quotation from the Tao Te Ching:

Thirty spokes share the wheel's hub;
It is the center hole that makes it useful.
Shape clay into a vessel;
It is the space within that makes it useful.
(translation by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English, from here)

When we set out to find our center, often we look for some solid core of purpose that our lives can revolve around, but such a thing may not be evident.  The Taoist master's words suggest that if this happens, it is not a reason to despair --- an empty center can be beautiful and powerful.

For those who would like to keep up with our neighbors at the UU Church of Columbia, their service message from this morning is available to view online: https://youtu.be/b3Xkl0FnKFo

Next Sunday, January 29th:

Adult Forum - 9:15 am

Micah Wright, Ph.D., Lincoln University
Wright will discuss how US policy in Central America influences migration to the United States.

Our Adult Forum is currently available both in-person and via Zoom.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/98858741051?pwd=d3ZMbHJSL3NjMGMxZEM5N1VxUysxQT09
Meeting ID: 988 5874 1051
Password: 047662  
Phone
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago - US toll)
Find your nearest number: https://zoom.us/u/aeC2zyWdIo

Service and Religious Education - 10:30 am
Message from UU Neighbors.
This week's service will feature a message from our wider UU community via video.
Our services are currently available both in person and on Zoom:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/94285041130
Meeting ID: 942 8504 1130
By Phone (US toll):
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
Find your nearest number: https://zoom.us/u/ak1ZLCDJG

Children's Religious Education - 10:30 am
Children attending in-person are welcome to join RE Instructor Samantha Porter for a lesson during the service hour.  This month's theme: "Finding Our Center."  This week's lesson: "Keep Your Balance to Find Your Center."

Lunch after Service: If you would like to join other members and friends for lunch, look for a whiteboard in our entry hallway near the water fountain to see the weekly lunch location.  Please add a tally to the whiteboard if you plan to attend.

Masks are currently optional for those attending UUFJC events in person.

If you have a joy or concern that you would like to have read during a service or shared in our weekly email, please submit it by noon on the Friday before through our website: http://uufjc.org/joys--concerns.html
We will also have paper forms available Sunday morning for submissions.
Zoom participants, please use the web form.  Submissions made after noon on Friday may not be read or shared until the following week.

UUFJC News and Events this week:

For accessibility and convenience, we now have an option to donate to our Fellowship online through PayPal:

Donate to UUFJC
You can also mail donations and pledges to:
UUFJC
Attn: Treasurer
PO Box 1245
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Thank you for being with us and supporting us!

And remember all our ways to stay in touch!  You can visit our website at uufjc.org.  You can also join our open-posting "UUFJC Cafe" Google Group to chat with other members and friends via e-mail and receive additional announcements and reminders (contact the Administrator at uufjc1@gmail.com to join).

Submissions for our February newsletter are due TODAY.  Please email any last-minute items to Laura Gilkey at uufjc1@gmail.com.

We are seeking a volunteer to manage our website and Facebook page.  Please contact our president, Rich Burdge, if you can help.

We are always in need of donations for our free community pantry.  Cereal, Vienna sausage, and tuna would be especially helpful at this time.  For more donation ideas and information on the pantry, contact Joan Kurtzeborn.  Reimbursements are available; contact our treasurer, Bob Antweiler: rp8mm9@gmail.com.

On Thursdays at 5:30 pm, Katherine Connor hosts a weekly Zoom Happy Hour for UUFJC Members and Friends to gather and check in.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/91843966450?pwd=djBwTEx4YUxseW9SdytSZjJGS0xrdz09
Meeting ID: 918 4396 6450
Password: 918925    
Phone:
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago - US toll)

Find your nearest number: https://zoom.us/u/aeC2zyWdIo

An independent Insight Meditation group taught by Joe McCormack meets at our building Thursday nights at 7 pm.  For more information, contact Bob Antweiler.
This Friday, January 27th is our monthly Salvation Army Meal.  Please contact Bob Antweiler if you can help provide food for those in need.  Reimbursements are available.

Our building is reserved by community groups Wednesdays and Saturdays starting at 6 pm and Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 5:30 pm.  If you have access to our building, please allow privacy at these times.

Community Events this week:

No community events were submitted for inclusion in this week's email.  If you know of a community event you would like to see featured in this space, contact our administrator at uufjc1@gmail.com.

For more events, see our online calendars:

UUFJC Events
Virtual Gatherings
Affiliated Events 
Religious Education
Building Use (other)
Community Events  

NOTE: The local Covid level is currently HIGH.  In accordance with our policy, masks are required at in-person indoor UUFJC events until the Covid level subsides.  We appreciate your help in keeping our members, friends, and community safer!

Sunday, January 8th:

This morning, we celebrated our annual Fire Communion, a ritual in which we write words of intention on pieces of flash paper and then the papers are burned with sudden and brilliant flashes of light.  Often this ritual is used to release the things we intend to let go of, but today, we shared words from Rev. Fiona Heath of the Unitarian Congregation in Mississauga, Ontario, who invites us to let the flame illuminate our dreams.  In these winter months, the earth speaks of darkness and rest, and dark and rest are the time for dreaming.  These dreams will shape us and in turn shape our world, not because we rush to add them to our to-do lists, but because we take the time to wonder at their flashes of brilliance and let them touch our hearts.

For those who would like to keep up with our neighbors at the UU Church of Columbia, their service from this morning is available to view online: https://youtu.be/U1sCy9IXAhQ


Next Sunday, January 15th:

Adult Forum - 9:15 am

"Breastfeeding Benefits - for Business," Renee Davis, Lactation Consultant, Covenant Chiropractic
Davis will explain how businesses can improve productivity by supporting breastfeeding mothers.

Our Adult Forum is currently available both in-person and via Zoom.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/98858741051?pwd=d3ZMbHJSL3NjMGMxZEM5N1VxUysxQT09
Meeting ID: 988 5874 1051
Password: 047662  
Phone
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago - US toll)
Find your nearest number: https://zoom.us/u/aeC2zyWdIo

Service and Religious Education - 10:30 am
Message from UU Neighbors.
This week's service will feature a message from our wider UU community via video.

Our services are currently available both in person and on Zoom:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/94285041130
Meeting ID: 942 8504 1130
By Phone (US toll):
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
Find your nearest number: https://zoom.us/u/ak1ZLCDJG

Children's Religious Education - 10:30 am
Children attending in-person are welcome to join RE Instructor Samantha Porter for a lesson during the service hour.  This month's theme: "Finding Our Center."  This week's lesson: "Putting Racial Justice at the Center."

Lunch after Service: If you would like to join other members and friends for lunch, look for a whiteboard in our entry hallway near the water fountain to see the weekly lunch location.  Please add a tally to the whiteboard if you plan to attend.

Masks are currently required for those attending UUFJC events in person.

If you have a joy or concern that you would like to have read during a service or shared in our weekly email, please submit it by noon on the Friday before through our website: http://uufjc.org/joys--concerns.html
We will also have paper forms available Sunday morning for submissions.
Zoom participants, please use the web form.  Submissions made after noon on Friday may not be read or shared until the following week.

UUFJC News and Events this week:

For accessibility and convenience, we now have an option to donate to our Fellowship online through PayPal:

Donate to UUFJC
You can also mail donations and pledges to:
UUFJC
Attn: Treasurer
PO Box 1245
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Thank you for being with us and supporting us!

And remember all our ways to stay in touch!  You can join our open-posting "UUFJC Cafe" Google Group to chat with other members and friends via e-mail and receive additional announcements and reminders (contact the Administrator at uufjc1@gmail.com to join).

We need volunteers to keep our free community pantry going.  Many of the members and friends who originally dedicated their time and service to it have had medical issues and other life changes, and our pantry coordinator, Joan Kurtzeborn, can't do it alone. Please contact Joan if you can help, or for donation ideas and more information on the pantry.  Reimbursements are available; contact our treasurer, Bob Antweiler: rp8mm9@gmail.com.

On Thursdays at 5:30 pm, Katherine Connor hosts a weekly Zoom Happy Hour for UUFJC Members and Friends to gather and check in.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/91843966450?pwd=djBwTEx4YUxseW9SdytSZjJGS0xrdz09
Meeting ID: 918 4396 6450
Password: 918925    
Phone:
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago - US toll)

Find your nearest number: https://zoom.us/u/aeC2zyWdIo

An independent Insight Meditation group taught by Joe McCormack meets at our building Thursday nights at 7 pm.  For more information, contact Bob Antweiler.

Next Sunday, January 15th at 1 pm, Emma Regnier leads an independent intergenerational book study group at our building.  This month's book selection: "Animal Farm" by George Orwell.  Contact Emma Regnier or Betty Cooper.

Later next Sunday, January 15th, our Worship Team meets at 4:30 pm at our building.  Anyone interested in Sunday morning Worship is welcome to attend.  Contact our vice president, Lisa Sanning, for more information.

Our building is reserved by community groups Wednesdays and Saturdays starting at 6 pm and Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 5:30 pm.  If you have access to our building, please allow privacy at these times.

​
Community Events this week:

This Thursday, January 12th, the local chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America holds its monthly online meeting.  To register or for more information, contact Alicia Erickson at aerickson365@yahoo.com.

For more events, see our online calendars:

UUFJC Events
Virtual Gatherings
Affiliated Events 
Religious Education
Building Use (other)
Community Events  

Our January newsletter is now ready to view or download:
UUFJC Newsletter: Flame on the Water, January 2023

Sunday, January 1st, 2023:

This morning, Rev. Mike Adamek joined us to begin our month of reflections on Finding Our Center.  Rev. Mike shared this Swedish proverb:

"Fear Less, Hope More
Eat Less, Chew More
Whine Less, Breathe More
Talk Less, Say More
Hate Less, Love More
And all good things will be ours"

It strikes me that there are many such words of wisdom for finding our center, and if we rush to add them all to our to-do lists, we can ironically pull ourselves off-center this way and that.  But if we slow down, listen to ourselves, and listen deeply to the words rather than rushing to make them useful, we can center ourselves and hear what the creators of these proverbs wanted to share with us.

For those who would like to keep up with our neighbors at the UU Church of Columbia, their service from this morning is available to view online: https://youtu.be/x4v-3jfD5kU

Next Sunday, January 8th:

Adult Forum - 9:15 am
"People Helping Paws," Heather Maritz
Baristocat Cat Cafe.

"What's a cat cafe?," one might wonder.  It is a place where people can interact with "rescue cats" for potential adoption.

Our Adult Forum is currently available both in-person and via Zoom.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/98858741051?pwd=d3ZMbHJSL3NjMGMxZEM5N1VxUysxQT09
Meeting ID: 988 5874 1051
Password: 047662  
Phone
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago - US toll)
Find your nearest number: https://zoom.us/u/aeC2zyWdIo

Service and Religious Education - 10:30 am
Fire Communion

On or near the first Sunday in January, many Unitarian Universalist congregations hold a ritual to bid farewell to the old year, and to release it.

In the words of Rev. Elizabeth Harding, "The fire communion separates the end of the year from the beginning, helping us to put in perspective the joys and sorrows, the changes and transitions, the ups and downs of the year. It's a half-way point in our church year, but a celebration of the outside calendar’s year’s end and year’s beginning."

​In a ceremony of the burning bowl, people are invited to write down words, or a phrase, to sum up what they wish to release before entering the new year. They then come forward and the paper will be burned for them.

Our services are currently available both in person and on Zoom:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/94285041130
Meeting ID: 942 8504 1130
By Phone (US toll):
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
Find your nearest number: https://zoom.us/u/ak1ZLCDJG

Children's Religious Education - 10:30 am
Children attending in-person are welcome to join RE Instructor Samantha Porter for a lesson during the service hour.  This month's theme: "Finding Our Center."  This week's lesson: "A Center that Evolves."

Lunch after Service: If you would like to join other members and friends for lunch, look for a whiteboard in our entry hallway near the water fountain to see the weekly lunch location.  Please add a tally to the whiteboard if you plan to attend.

Masks are currently optional for those attending UUFJC events in person.

If you have a joy or concern that you would like to have read during a service or shared in our weekly email, please submit it by noon on the Friday before through our website: http://uufjc.org/joys--concerns.html
We will also have paper forms available Sunday morning for submissions.
Zoom participants, please use the web form.  Submissions made after noon on Friday may not be read or shared until the following week.

UUFJC News and Events this week:

For accessibility and convenience, we now have an option to donate to our Fellowship online through PayPal:

Donate to UUFJC
You can also mail donations and pledges to:
UUFJC
Attn: Treasurer
PO Box 1245
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Thank you for being with us and supporting us!

And remember all our ways to stay in touch!  You can join our open-posting "UUFJC Cafe" Google Group to chat with other members and friends via e-mail and receive additional announcements and reminders (contact the Administrator at uufjc1@gmail.com to join).

Please note: We need volunteers to keep our free community pantry going.  Many of the members and friends who originally dedicated their time and service to it have had medical issues and other life changes, and our pantry coordinator Joan can't do it alone. Please contact Joan if you can help, or for donation ideas and more information on the pantry.  Reimbursements are available; contact our treasurer, Bob Antweiler: rp8mm9@gmail.com.

Tomorrow, Monday, January 2nd, the local chapter of the American Association of University Women meets at 6 pm in our building.  For more information, contact Katherine Connor.

On Thursdays at 5:30 pm, Katherine Connor hosts a weekly Zoom Happy Hour for UUFJC Members and Friends to gather and check in.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/91843966450?pwd=djBwTEx4YUxseW9SdytSZjJGS0xrdz09
Meeting ID: 918 4396 6450
Password: 918925    
Phone:
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago - US toll)

Find your nearest number: https://zoom.us/u/aeC2zyWdIo

An independent Insight Meditation group taught by Joe McCormack meets at our building Thursday nights at 7 pm.  For more information, contact Bob Antweiler.

Our building is reserved by community groups Wednesdays and Saturdays starting at 6 pm and Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 5:30 pm.  If you have access to our building, please allow privacy at these times.

Community Events this week:

This Friday, January 6th, Missouri River Regional Library presents their monthly First Friday Film at 7 pm in their Art Gallery.  This month's selection: "The Music Box."  Attorney Ann Talbot takes the only course of action open to her as a woman who has chosen the pursuit of justice as her life's work, but she does so at the cost of destroying her family. In this courtroom drama, she defends her father, a retired Hungarian immigrant living in Chicago who is accused of war crimes in Hungary during World War II. The film stars Jessica Lange in an Oscar-nominated performance.  Contact Madeline Matson.  For more library events, visit MRRL.org.

For more events, see our online calendars:

UUFJC Events
Virtual Gatherings
Affiliated Events 
Religious Education
Building Use (other)
Community Events