Yesterday morning, George Grimm-Howell joined us to wrap up our month of reflections on Liberating Love.

Beyond our own services, the UUA shares words that connect Liberating Love to our beloved principle to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of each person, in this poem by Charles Thomas:

Worthship
Words of worth
rebound, resound,
walls cannot hold
the melody, the song
igniting fires, hearts
in motion, emotion
not alone, evolving
into revolution,
into action
for each one in the world
feeling alone,
unknown, reaching
to the root,
the radical source
Love.


For those who would like to keep up with our neighbors at the UU Church of Columbia, their service from yesterday is available to view online:

UUFJC News and Events this week:

For accessibility and convenience, we 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 [email protected] to join).

Our February newsletter is still in the works.  We will send digital copies to this mailing list as soon as it is ready.
This Thursday, February 1st at 7 pm, we are invited to join our neighbors at First UU of Springfield for their monthly “Date with Death Club” via Zoom.  These are standalone sessions exploring our shared mortality.  More information about the program can be found at https://datewithdeathclub.com.  Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87033373838

An independent Insight Meditation group taught by Joe McCormack meets at our building Thursday nights at 7 pm, when possible.  Zoom may also be available.  For more information, contact Bob Antweiler.

Our building (when available) 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, February 2nd at 7 pm in their Art Gallery, Missouri River Regional Library presents this month's First Friday Film: "Sweetwater."  Based on true events, this film portrays the journey of Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton, who made history as the first Black player to sign an NBA contract. At a time when segregation divided sports, his appointment broke barriers and forever changed the game of basketball.  Contact Madeline Matson.  For more library events, visit MRRL.org.

For more events, see our online calendars:

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

Yesterday morning, our services were canceled due to the extreme cold weather conditions.  Coming during our month of reflections on Liberating Love, this can remind us that love means caring for our well-being: our own, and that of the people we enter into bonds with and work together with for collective liberation.  Indeed many workers for liberation have also been pioneering thinkers about the need for self-care.  You can't draw from an empty well, and you can't end oppression by oppressing yourself.

We look forward to when we can come together again.  Until then, please stay safe and warm!

For those who would like to keep up with our neighbors at the UU Church of Columbia, their service from yesterday is available to view online:

UUFJC News and Events this week:

For accessibility and convenience, we 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 [email protected] to join).

An independent Insight Meditation group taught by Joe McCormack meets at our building Thursday nights at 7 pm, when possible.  Zoom may also be available.  For more information, contact Bob Antweiler.

Our building (when available) 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 Tuesday, January 16th at 6:30 pm in their Art Gallery, Missouri River Regional Library presents: "What’s Causing Back-to-Back Droughts and Floods?"  Dr. Zack Leasor is the new Missouri State Climatologist, and he will be discussing the extreme weather conditions we are seeing and what we might expect in the future. He holds an undergraduate degree in meteorology from Western Kentucky University, and graduate degrees from Ohio State University, where he was a postdoctoral researcher, funded by the National Science Foundation. He also developed and taught a new course on drought as a climate hazard. This program is co-sponsored with Citizens Climate Action.  Contact Madeline Matson.  For more library events, visit MRRL.org.

This Thursday, January 18th at 6:30 pm in their Art Gallery, MRRL hosts the latest installment of the LU-MRRL Lecture Series: "Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts."  Have you been struggling with intrusive thoughts seemingly coming out of nowhere? They can range from disturbing images to irrational ideas, leaving you searching for hidden meanings, questioning the root cause, and affecting your mental well-being.  Approximately 90 percent of individuals experience unwanted thoughts regularly, but it is the content of these thoughts that is unsettling. Intrusive thoughts often stem from your subconscious mind communicating, similar to dreams. Acceptance and effective coping strategies are essential to confronting intrusive thoughts.  Dr. Charles Hinton, lecturer in psychology, will discuss how to manage the psychological strain intrusive thoughts can cause. They don’t have to go away. However, they should not be in control.  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  

Yesterday morning, we began our January theme of "Liberating Love" with a message from our wider UU community via video, delivered by Rev. Krista Taves and titled "The Vulnerability of Needing Each Other."  The source summarizes: "As UUs, we know intellectually that we need each other. Emotionally, that can be harder. It’s often easier to offer help than to ask for it. And yet, we need to need each other."

Indeed, the connection of Love is a risk, but the work of Liberation is larger than any one of us.  And so, we must face vulnerability --- with both its fears and its opportunities for authenticity and connection --- because we need each other if we are to get free together.

For those who would also like to keep up with our neighbors at the UU Church of Columbia, their service from yesterday is available to view online:

UUFJC News and Events this week:

For accessibility and convenience, we 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 [email protected] to join).

An independent Insight Meditation group taught by Joe McCormack meets at our building Thursday nights at 7 pm, when possible.  Zoom may also be available.  For more information, contact Bob Antweiler.

Next Sunday, January 14th, our Intergenerational Book Study meets at 2 pm at our building, construction permitting.  This month's selection: “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger.  Contact Emma Regnier or Betty Cooper for more information.
Also next Sunday, January 14th, the UUFJC Worship Team meets at 4:30 pm at our building, construction permitting.  All are welcome to get involved in creating our Sunday services, in ways big and small (and remember, we're a friendly audience!). For more information, contact our vice president, Lisa Sanning.


Our building (when available) 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.

For more events, see our online calendars:

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

Yesterday morning, we wrapped up our month of reflections on Mystery, and wrapped up the year 2023.

One could say that the transition from one year to another is an arbitrary social construct (other cultures have celebrated the start of the year at different times), but still it invites us into the mystery and wonder of endings and beginnings.  On this New Year's Day, I'd like to share these words from Beth Monhollen:

Carry Each Other into the New Year

In this new year, may we leave behind the weight of unfulfilled resolutions, of unrealized dreams, and of unrealistic expectations.

May we unpack the heavy weight of stories that tell us we are unworthy and unlovable.

May we remember that we each carry inside of us a spark of the Divine.

In this new year,

May we carry kindness, gentleness and hope that hold us through even the hardest days and the most daunting risks.

May we carry the weight of memory that reminds us of who we are, and the weight of spirit that reminds us we are still becoming.

May we carry the seed of knowledge that teaches us that improvement and growth aren’t linear and individualistic but are cyclical and communal.

May we carry the wisdom to seek rest and connection, to lean into mutual care.

May we carry the certain belief that when we have patterns of thinking and behaving that harm ourselves and others, we can seek resources that will help us move towards healing.

May we carry the knowledge that happiness and success take many shapes and one of those shapes is purpose.

May we carry purpose lightly, trusting that it changes and evolves and surprises us.

May we carry curiosity, wonder, and the ability to be surprised.

This year, may we carry space for all of our flaws, all of our longings, and all of our love, remembering that the truly daring adventure of life is not to be better-better-best! but to show up wholly, authentically, lovingly as ourselves.

May we carry these prayers and carry each other into the new year.

(from UUA's WorshipWeb)

For those who would also like to keep up with our neighbors at the UU Church of Columbia, their service from yesterday is available to view online:

UUFJC News and Events this week:

For accessibility and convenience, we 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 [email protected] to join).

Many thanks to everyone who helped with our work day at our building this weekend!  We made a lot of progress, but we still have a long way to go.  Please stay tuned for further updates and volunteer opportunities, or contact our president, Rich Burdge, for more information.
This Thursday, January 4th at 7 pm, we are invited to join our neighbors at First UU of Springfield for their monthly “Date with Death Club” via Zoom.  These are standalone sessions exploring our shared mortality.  More information about the program can be found at https://datewithdeathclub.com.  Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87033373838

An independent Insight Meditation group taught by Joe McCormack meets at our building Thursday nights at 7 pm, when possible.  Zoom may also be available.  For more information, contact Bob Antweiler.

Our building (when available) 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.

For more events, see our online calendars:

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