Sunday morning, Jim Davis wrapped up our month of focus on Blessing with reflections on the blessings of our Unitarian Universalist tradition.  We as UUs value individualism, freedom of thought and belief, to the point that some may wonder how all these individual seekers add up to one faith.  And yet, we have a long history, with unitarian and universalist thinking dating back to the origins of Christianity.  As Jim related, 19th century minister Theodore Parker may have hit upon the answer when he spoke of "the transient and the permanent."  The ideas we hold at any time are vital, but they are transient; ideas develop and change over time.  But our bond of covenant, our agreement to respect one another's individuality, allows us to enter together into a faith community that lasts.

Our July newsletter and print calendar are now ready.  Paper copies are available in the box on the wall near our coat rack.  Electronic copies are available to view or download:
Newsletter
Calendar

Next Sunday, July 1st:

Adult Forum - 9:15 am
"Nuclear Medicine," Marvin Feldman
Marvin Feldman, Assistant Professor of Nuclear Medicine at MU School of Health Professions will discuss the science behind, how it works and what Nuc Med can do for you. There will be an exciting slide presentation and a question and answer session to follow.

Service and Religious Education - 10:30 am
Message: "When the Heart Opens," Rev. Mike Adamek
The Dalai Lama says compassion is not a luxury but a necessity.  With love and compassion we can make a joint effort to solve the problems of humanity. Yet entering into compassionate service to others requires in his words “selfish altruism.” Ram Dass interprets the Dalai Lama’s provocative term in this way. “Compassionate action is not done for others–it is done with others, for ourselves, because we can no longer avoid it.  It helps fulfill our lives.”
If you have a joy or concern that you would like to have read during the Service, please submit it by noon on Friday through our website: http://uufjc.org/joys--concerns.html

Plus Children's RE --- Lesson TBA

UUFJC News and Events this week:

The UUFJC Board has revisited our building use policy and developed a new application form to use when people reserve our building for personal and community events.  Copies of the policy and form are posted on our bulletin board and available on request from the administrator ([email protected]).  Groups using the building should already have received the policy and application form by e-mail.  If you have not received it or you want more information, contact the administrator or a member of the board.

The art pieces from our previous display of Pour Art are now ready to be returned to the artists.  Look for them in a box in the Forum Room or contact Patt Behler to pick up your creations.

As a follow-up to a proposal raised during our Annual Business Meeting, Patt Behler has submitted a draft resolution to the UUFJC Board to name our Sanctuary/Fellowship Hall in honor of William Bradford Connor and Katherine Hanson Connor, in recognition of their role in founding and maintaining this Fellowship.  If you have any thoughts on this proposal, please talk to a member of our Board.

Monday, June 25th, Faith Voices for Jefferson City holds its monthly assembly at 6:30 pm at Quinn Chapel AME Church.  See Katherine Connor for more information.

Also Monday, June 25th, Jan Harcourt is hosting a Yoga Workshop in our building from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.  Contact Jan for more information.

This Thursday, June 28th, our building is reserved from 6:30 to 8 pm by a community group.  Please allow privacy during this time.

This Friday, June 29th, Citizens for Peace present their monthly peacebuilding documentary film at 6 pm at our building.  There may be a refreshments hour beginning at 5 pm.  Please RSVP for refreshments or direct any questions to Betty Cooper.

The Soul Matters Small Group meets next Sunday, July 1st from 2-4 pm.  To get involved with the group, see Jim Davis.

Community Events this week:

This Thursday, June 28th at 7 pm in their Art Gallery, Missouri River Regional Library presents Music at the Library with Buddhaloka.  Buddhaloka performs Pali chanting set to music. The group includes Artie Langston, Bruce Hibbett and William B. Edwards, all members of the Vipassana Church/Center for Buddhist Development in Jefferson City.  Contact Madeline Matson.

This week, Capitol City Cinema presents "Chappaquiddick" (Thursday through Sunday).  For showtimes, more events, and more information, visit capitolcitycinema.org.

For yoga and even more events, see our online calendars:

Service Committee
Religious Education
Building Use (other)
Social Action
Community Events

Have a great week!

Sunday morning, Rev. Nancy TannerThies continued exploring our monthly theme of "Blessing" with reflections on how offering a blessing brings us into "the tenuous territory of change."  When we bless someone, we make a wish for their future; we intercede on their behalf.  But to make the blessing real and deeply intentional, we must be willing to participate in the future we are wishing for.  With our limited viewpoints and human powers, we can't create all of the futures we envision, but we can find the corners that are ours to create, and let our blessings lead us into the essential human task of making the future together.

Next Sunday, July 24th:

Adult Forum - 9:15 am
"Being a Blessing to our Nation," Betty Cooper
How can we be a Blessing to our nation?  For years Caroline Myss, journalist, medical intuitive and author studied the soul and its intimate relationship to our bodies, minds, and emotions before shifting to the “global soul.”  We will use Myss’ essay, “Our Collective Soul,” to help us focus on “being a blessing to our nation.”

Service and Religious Education - 10:30 am
Message: "Individualism and Unitarianism," Jim Davis
If you have a joy or concern that you would like to have read during the Service, please submit it by noon on Friday through our website: http://uufjc.org/joys--concerns.html

Plus Children's RE --- "Blessing and the Web of Life - Senses"

Note, the after-service lunch location has been changed since the publication of our June newsletter.  Lunch will now be at J. Pfenny's.

UUFJC News and Events this week:

As a follow-up to a proposal raised during our Annual Business Meeting, Patt Behler has submitted the following draft resolution to the UUFJC Board:
"The membership, in recognition of the outstanding leadership of William Bradford Connor and Katherine Hanson Connor, co-founders of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Jefferson City in 1991, and in honor of their numerous contributions to this Fellowship, chooses to name the fellowship hall of the organization the William Bradford Connor and Katherine Hanson Connor Meeting Hall, and more informally, the Connor Hall.  This will be used as the official name at all times when the Hall is in use, either by Fellowship activities or when other groups utilize the hall.  A plaque so designating this information will be placed in a prominent site in the Hall."
Please direct any comments on this proposal to the UUFJC Board.

The art pieces from our previous display of Pour Art are now ready to be returned to the artists.  Look for them in a box in the Forum Room or contact Patt Behler to pick up your creations.

Monday, June 18th, a local Girl Scout Troop meets in our building at 6:30 pm.  Contact Kim Connor.

This Friday, June 22nd is our monthly Salvation Army meal.  We urgently need more volunteers to continue providing and serving food for those in need, particularly while our regular organizer, Joanna Babb, is still in the hospital.  If you can help, please see Jim Babb.  Serving begins at 5 pm; please arrive early to help prepare.

This Saturday, June 23rd, the Hola Amigos Spanish Speakers group meeting previously announced to take place in our building has been moved to another location.  Contact Patt Behler.

Community Events this week:

Monday, July 18th at 7 pm in their Art Gallery, Missouri River Regional Library presents a program on "Photography and the Elements of Composition."  Today’s photo technology enables almost anyone to take pictures that are in focus, properly exposed and fairly well lit. The challenge that remains is composition. Steve Stacey, who comes from three generations of professional photographers, will explain basic composition guidelines and provide tips on how to make great photos no matter what kind of camera you use.  Contact Madeline Matson.

This  Wednesday, June 20th is the annual SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital Auxiliary Ice Cream Social, 11 am to 6:30 pm at the St. Joseph Cathedral Undercroft.  Tickets are $3 at the door for delicious homemade cakes and Central Dairy ice cream, and in addition, lunch and dinner items will also be available for purchase.  Activities for the event include the Kids Corner, a Quilt Raffle, a Country Store, Treasures from the Attic items, a Silent Auction and a Book Nook.  Contact Kris Ballage at [email protected] or (573) 690-7300

This week, Capitol City Cinema presents "You Were Never Really Here" (Thursday through Sunday).  For showtimes, more events, and more information, visit capitolcitycinema.org.

For yoga and even more events, see our online calendars:

Service Committee
Religious Education
Building Use (other)
Social Action
Community Events

Have a great week!

Sunday morning, the blessings of modern technology let us connect to our wider UU faith community and hear a sermon delivered by Rev. Tamara Casanova Suzuki at the Live Oak Congregation in Goleta, California in 2015.  Rev. Suzuki addressed what it means to be a UU; though we value openness, we are not a faith where "you can believe anything you want."  Our searches for truth and meaning are unique and free, but they must also be responsible; they must also support a caring a humane life.  As UUs, we come together around shared ethics, around covenants, Principles, and Sources, but often we ourselves can get vague and quiet about why we're here --- unless we make the effort to focus on it.  Rev. Suzuki delivered a challenge to make that effort, to find a succinct and powerful answer to the question "Why Are You UU?," an "elevator speech," so to speak.  In a faith as diverse as ours, received boilerplate may not do; look to what resonates with you, to remind yourself why you're here, and to help you share the blessings of our faith more bravely.

Next Sunday, June 17th:

Newsletter Submissions Due.
Please send your items for our July newsletter and print calendar to Laura Gilkey by e-mail ([email protected]) or in writing.

Adult Forum - 9:15 am
"Should Donald Trump get the Nobel Peace Prize?," Frank Rycyk
USA Today presents arguments for and against.  Korean negotiations are the main topic.  Should be a lively discussion.

Service and Religious Education - 10:30 am
Message: "Blessing: The Tenuous Territory of Change," Rev. Nancy TannerThies
Exploring how it is that we participate in making change happen when we offer a blessing.
If you have a joy or concern that you would like to have read during the Service, please submit it by noon on Friday through our website: http://uufjc.org/joys--concerns.html

Plus Children's RE --- "Blessing and Freedom - Juneteenth"

UUFJC News and Events this week:

The art pieces from our previous display of Pour Art are now ready to be returned to the artists.  Look for them in the Forum Room or contact Patt Behler to pick up your creations.

Tomorrow, Monday, June 11th at 7 pm is our monthly UUFJC Lecture Series.  This month's speaker is Michael Couty, Director of Juvenile Justice, Cole County.  Mr. Couty makes every effort to help juvenile offenders avoid getting caught up in the adult system.  He will also share with us his work while serving on the school board.  Contact Carol Bontempo or Frank Rycyk.

This Thursday, June 14th, the local Transgender Support Group meets in our building.  A closed session at 6:30 pm in the RE Room will be followed by an open meeting at 7 pm in the Sanctuary.  Contact Liberty Sitzes: [email protected]

Community Events this week:

This Wednesday, June 13th at 7 pm in their Art Gallery, Missouri River Regional Library presents Reel Life Cinema: "Whose Streets?"  This powerful documentary focuses on the aftermath of the 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Using actual footage of protests and encounters with police and citizens, it shows how protest activated the community to come together and sparked a global movement.  Contact Madeline Matson.

Coming Wednesday, June 20th is the annual SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital Auxiliary Ice Cream Social, 11 am to 6:30 pm at the St. Joseph Cathedral Undercroft.  Tickets are $3 at the door for delicious homemade cakes and Central Dairy ice cream, and in addition, lunch and dinner items will also be available for purchase.  Activities for the event include the Kids Corner, a Quilt Raffle, a Country Store, Treasures from the Attic items, a Silent Auction and a Book Nook.  Contact Kris Ballage at [email protected] or (573) 690-7300

This week, Capitol City Cinema presents "You Were Never Really Here" (Thursday through Sunday).  For showtimes, more events, and more information, visit capitolcitycinema.org.

For yoga and even more events, see our online calendars:

Service Committee
Religious Education
Building Use (other)
Social Action
Community Events

Have a great week!

Sunday morning, we were blessed with beautiful weather for our service at Memorial Park, and Rev. Mike Adamek's message began exploring our monthly Soul Matters theme of Blessing.  Many blessings are things that happen all the time, but they truly become blessings when they come to us as "ordinary miracles."  Rev. Mike emphasized four points about blessings:
First, they are gifts we did not earn and can never repay.
Second, they must be recognized and acknowledged by the receiver.
Third, blessings can be mixed blessings; gladness can mingle with regrets.
And finally, blessings call us to respond with gratitude and become a blessing to others in turn.
As Rev. Mike pointed out, these aspects of blessings become more challenging as you go along, but they can lead us to feel more blessing in our own lives and help build a kinder and more blessed world.

Next Sunday, June 10th:

Adult Forum - 9:15 am
"Energy Medicine," Laura Wilson
Energy medicine helps you make important connections between your life experiences, your emotions, and what is happening in your body, resulting in better health, better relationships, and more happiness.  Laura Wilson is an Energy Healer and Coach.

Service and Religious Education - 10:30 am
Message: "Why Are You UU?," Rev. Tamara Casanova Suzuki
Through the wonders of technology, we will hear a sermon from our wider UU community.  This sermon was recorded on September 27th, 2015.
If you have a joy or concern that you would like to have read during the Service, please submit it by noon on Friday through our website: http://uufjc.org/joys--concerns.html

Plus Children's RE --- "Blessing and Prayer - Ramadan"

UUFJC News and Events this week:

Saturday was our Annual Rummage Sale.  Many thanks to everyone who helped organize, donated items and bake sale goodies, worked on setup and on the sale day, and who spread the word or came to shop!
If you lent tables or other equipment, thank you!  Please pick them up at your earliest convenience.
We will be doing final cleanup Monday, June 4th starting at 8:15 am.  Help is much appreciated!  Contact Bob Antweiler.

This Thursday, June 7th, the local chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America meets in our building at 7 pm.  Contact Susan Randolph.

This Saturday, June 9th, the Hola Amigos Spanish Speakers group meets at our building in the Forum Room from 1 pm to 3:30 pm.  Contact Patt Behler.

And coming Monday, June 11th is our monthly UUFJC Lecture Series.  This month's speaker it Michael Couty, Director of Juvenile Justice, Cole County.  Mr. Couty makes every effort to help juvenile offenders avoid getting caught up in the adult system.  He will also share with us his work while serving on the school board.  Contact Carol Bontempo or Frank Rycyk.

Community Events this week:

This week, Capitol City Cinema presents "RBG" (Thursday through Sunday).  For showtimes, more events, and more information, visit capitolcitycinema.org.

For yoga and even more events, see our online calendars:

Service Committee
Religious Education
Building Use (other)
Social Action
Community Events

Have a great week!