Our August Newsletter and Print Calendar are now available to view or download:
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Calendar

This Sunday, retired Disciples of Christ minister David Avery visited our Fellowship to help us wrap up our month of reflections on Compassion, and he focused on Compassion and Fear.  Fear is a frequent obstacle to Compassion; it's easy to dehumanize those we fear and harm them, or to back off from compassionate action because we fear being hurt.  Avery went so far as to call Compassion "The Great 'Anyway'" --- loving acts that we do anyway in the face of all our fears, trusting in something greater than fear that lies beyond our knowledge; he said, "The opposite of faith is not doubt, but fear."  However, he also pointed out that the relationship between Compassion and Fear is not so simple as fear being bad; it is also the experience of our own brokenness and fear that can lead us to understanding and compassion for others in the challenges they face.

Next Sunday, August 5th:

Adult Forum - 9:15 am
"2015 Mizzou Protests," Marvin Feldman
Marvin is an Assistant Professor of Nuclear Medicine at MU School of Health Professions.  He will discuss the racial protests that occurred on the University of Missouri campus in the Fall of 2015.  This will be his personal view as an onsite observer of the process that led to the resignation of the Chancellor and President and the resulting changes to the University.  There will be an exciting slide presentation and a question and answer session to follow.

Service and Religious Education - 10:30 am
Message: "What Happened to Getting Lost?" Rev. Mike Adamek
Where are we, here and now? No problem, just look at your GPS on your phone.  Thoreau believed that you can’t know where you are unless you often get lost. Then you really have to look around.  Emerson swore that if you could put Thoreau asleep and place him anywhere in the Concord woods and woke him years, months and weeks  later, he could upon rousing tell you within a week when he awoke and where he was simply by looking at the plants and insects in the surrounding area.  In our changed circumstances, how might we become more observant so we too know where we are, here and now so we can find our way forward.
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 --- "People of Courage - Courage and Good Risk"

UUFJC News and Events this week:

The August newsletter and print calendar are ready.  Paper copies are available in the box on the wall near the coat rack.  Electronic copies are available at the links above.

Coming Sunday, August 19th after services, we will be having a Congregational Covenant-Building Session.  This will only be the start of a process that we want to ensure everyone has a voice in.  For more information, see the August newsletter or contact our President, Katherine Connor.  Please RSVP to Katherine if you plan to attend.

This Thursday, August 2nd, the local chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America meets in our building at 7 pm.  Contact Susan Randolph.

This Friday, August 3rd, our building is reserved by a community group starting at 6:30 pm.  Please allow privacy.

Community Events this week:

Monday, July 30th at 7 pm in their Art Gallery, Missouri River Regional Library hosts a presentation on Edible Flowers.  Edible flowers are a versatile ingredient in many food preparations from beverages and salads to jams and vinegars. Join master gardener Ray Evans as he explains how to incorporate a variety of edible flowers into your cooking as well as how to preserve flowers for later use.  Contact Madeline Matson.

This Friday, August 3rd at 7 pm in their Art Gallery, MRRL presents their First Friday Film: "Lean on Pete."  Fifteen-year-old Charley rescues an aging racehorse bound for slaughter and the two set off on a journey in search of a place to call home.  From Willy Vlautin’s acclaimed novel.  Contact Madeline Matson.

This week, Capitol City Cinema presents "The Seagull" (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!

This Sunday, Catholic priest Father George Kramer visited us to talk about Ecumenism --- friendship and cooperation among Christian denominations --- and the Catholic Church's place in it.  For too long, Father Kramer argued, churches of all stripes bogged down in their sense of knowledge --- insisting that the doctrines they knew were true, those of others were false, and that, Tower of Babel-like, punishment awaited those who wanted to know too much.  Father Kramer sees hope in a new dynamic begun under Pope Francis.  Institutional resistance continues, and individual Catholics vary in their opinions, but Pope Francis, we were told, has moved to emphasize heart and pastoral mission above intellect and truth claims, bringing the Church closer to a point where they can join together with others in divine love, the all-embracing "agape" love that dwells not only in Christians but in all people.

Please note: We need volunteers to help with our monthly Salvation Army meal!  See below for details and contact Jim Babb.

Next Sunday, July 29:

Adult Forum - 9:15 am
"Inter-Racial Harmony," Chief Gary Hill presenting, Frank Rycyk moderating
We hear a bit of negativity, occasionally, about race relations.  Reading in Jefferson City Magazine about Hill's mixed marriage was a "breath of fresh air."  The couple will visit our forum to share hope for the future.

Service and Religious Education - 10:30 am
Message: "Compassion and Fear: How the One Touches the Other," Rev. David Avery
Rev. Avery is a retired pastor of First Christian Church and a member of Capital Area Interfaith Alliance (CAIA).
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 --- "People of Courage - Following Your Heart"

Potluck Lunch After Service - Please bring a favorite dish!

UUFJC News and Events this week:

Monday, July 23rd, Faith Voices for Jefferson City holds its monthly assembly at 6:30 pm at Quinn Chapel AME Church.  This month’s program will be outlining a path for moving forward together in this community by building a multi-faith and multi-racial movement.  Information will be shared on Prop A and other initiatives on the August 7th Ballot.  Contact Katherine Connor.

This Thursday, July 26th, our building is reserved by a community group starting at 6:30 pm.  Please allow privacy.

This Friday, July 27th is our monthly Salvation Army Meal.  Helpers are needed to provide and serve food for those in need.  Organizer Jim Babb is asking for three more volunteers to help serve this month, and is also looking for an organizing partner until Joanna Babb is well again.  Serving this Friday begins at 5 pm; please arrive early to help prepare.

Later this Friday evening, Citizens for Peace present their monthly peacebuilding documentary film at 6 pm in our building.  For film selection and more information, contact Betty Cooper.

Community Events this week:

This week, Capitol City Cinema presents "The Seagull" (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 our month of reflection on Compassion.  Compassion can sound simple --- who doesn't want to be compassionate? --- but there is danger of letting what we think we should do eclipse what we really want and feel.  All of us hold resentment, and all of us can let comfort or fear hold us back from the deep giving commitment of true compassion.  True compassion, Rev. Nancy said, is grounded in the ability to lovingly accept yourself, with an inner self-knowledge that includes your not-so-compassionate side.  Who do we resent?  What do we fear?  What do we dislike about ourselves?  When we realize our flaws and see them as part of a shared human condition, we can move beyond mere concern and confession onto the long and challenging path of forgiveness and opening up.  We must compassionately own how frightened we are to break ourselves open, but still we must break open --- or else we will break down.

Next Sunday, July 22nd:

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

Adult Forum - 9:15 am
"The Missouri Department of Conservation," Tim Frevert
Tim was an Urban and Community Forestry Specialist at MDC before retiring.  He will discuss the Conservation Department, the history of the agency and his work in the Forestry Division.

Service and Religious Education - 10:30 am
Message: "Ecumenism," Father George Kramer
Description:The Catholic Church, in recent years, has reached out out to members and leaders of many religious denominations.  Father George will share ideas about these interactions.
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 --- "People of Courage - How Can We Practice Courage?"

UUFJC News and Events this week:

This Friday, July 20th, our building is reserved by a community group starting at 6:30 pm.  Please allow privacy.

The Worship Service Committee meets next Sunday, July 22nd at 6 pm.  For more information or to get involved in creating our Sunday Services, see our Vice President, Lisa Sanning.

Community Events this week:

This Tuesday, July 17th at 7 pm in their Art Gallery, Missouri River Regional Library presents: "They Came From Outer Space? Exploring Aliens, Archaeology, and Our Ancient Past."  Ancient civilizations and cultures produced some seemingly impossible creations, such as the Egyptian pyramids and Nasca lines, but there is a fringe group of individuals who believe that extraterrestrials must have been involved in some way. They also believe they have evidence to support these notions.  Archaeologist Dr. Christine Boston will explore alien hypotheses from ancient mummies and head-binding practices, bringing together the human elements of the ancient Egyptian pyramids, NASCA lines, cranial modification, and Ata, the “alien” mummy.  Contact Madeline Matson.

This Thursday, July 19th at 7 pm in their Art Gallery, MRRL presents "Lifting Missouri Out of the Mud."  Dr. Thomas J. Gubbels, an expert on Missouri’s highway history, will trace the evolution of the state’s highways in the 20th century. He will discuss the creation of the Missouri State Highway Department and political resistance to road construction, Missouri’s Centennial Road Law, and the state’s role in the creation of Route 66 and the interstate highway system.  Contact Madeline Matson.

This week, Capitol City Cinema presents "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" (Tuesday only), "The Rider" (Thursday through Sunday), and "Grease" (Saturday only, at Ellis-Porter Park).  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

This Sunday, via video, we presented a sermon by national Unitarian Universalist Association President Susan Frederick-Gray, which she delivered two weeks ago at the UUA's annual General Assembly.  Rev. Gray called on UUs to live out the fierce compassion of our faith --- to stand up for "the inherent worth and dignity of every person" in dehumanizing times.  She insisted that this is no time for casual faith or armchair concern.  And, she said, this is no time to go it alone.  We need to step forward with the courage of audacious love, and we need community to hold each other and heal each other and give each other strength to act.

Next Sunday, July 15th:

Adult Forum - 9:15 am
"Toltec Civilization," Stephen Carew
The discussion will center around the Aztecs who were strongly influenced by a culture that rose to power in the Valley of Mexico called Toltec.  The Toltecs were masters of architecture, art, medicine, engineering, and calendrics. They left no written records, but a masterpiece of the teachings was written by Don Miguel, called The Four Agreements.  Should these ancient practices be integrated in our lives today?

Service and Religious Education - 10:30 am
Message: Rev. Nancy TannerThies
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 --- "People of Discipline - What Does It Mean To Be Disciplined ?"

UUFJC News and Events this week:

Monday, July 9th at 7 pm is our monthly Lecture Series.  This month, our own Betty Cooper will speak on the topic of “Creating a Caring Society.”  For more about the lecture series, see Carol Bontempo and Frank Rycyk.

This Thursday, July 12th, our building is reserved by a community group starting at 6:30 pm.  Please allow privacy.

The UUFJC Board meets next Sunday, July 15th at 6 pm.  All are welcome to attend our board meetings.  Talk to our president, Katherine Connor, for more information.  Also please talk to a board member before the meeting if you want to share any thoughts about the new building use policy revisions and building use application form, or about Patt Behler’s proposal to name the Sanctuary in honor of Brad and Katherine Connor.

Community Events this week:

This week, Capitol City Cinema presents "The Rider" (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. Mike Adamek began exploring our monthly theme for July: Compassion.  He started with some of the readings in our hymnal from the Buddhist tradition, which both focus on the self ("be ye lamps unto yourselves...") and on compassion for others ("may all beings be free from harm...").  By transcending the boundary between self and other, "selfish altruism" becomes not a contradiction but a clear truth; as Rev. Mike pointed out, we also have greater compassion when we bring people we help into our us rather than relegating them to oh poor them.  To let people into our hearts in this way, we must first deal with our fear, the anger it brings, and the us-vs.-them thinking that follows in turn.  Making ourselves vulnerable will sometimes get us hurt, but Rev. Mike challenged us to remember that we are all on this brief journey of human life together, and that faith traditions teach us that the need for compassion outweighs the risk.

Next Sunday, July 8th:

Adult Forum - 9:15 am
"Activism," Betty Cooper
We are created to serve.  Sam Daley-Harris believes that if every American did his or her part in serving, there wouldn’t be enough problems to go around.  Sam is considered the world’s motivator of activists.  Could it be his simple “4-Step Activist Plan?”  This plan will be discussed.

Service and Religious Education - 10:30 am
Message: "No Time for Casual Faith," Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray
Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray is the current President of the Unitarian Universalist Association.  We will present a recording of the sermon she delivered Sunday, June 24th at this year's UUA General Assembly.
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 --- "People of Resilience - How To Practice Resilience"

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 the bulletin board.  Groups using the building should already have received the policy and application form.  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 contact a member of our Board.

This Thursday, July 5th, the local chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America meets in our building at 7 pm.  Contact Susan Randolph.

This Friday evening, July 6th, our building is reserved by a community group starting at 6:30 pm.  Please allow privacy.

And coming Monday, July 9th at 7 pm is our monthly Lecture Series.  This month, our own Betty Cooper will speak on the topic of “Creating a Caring Society.”  See Carol Bontempo and Frank Rycyk.

Community Events this week:

This Friday, July 6th at 7 pm, Missouri River Regional Library presents their First Friday Film.  This month's pick: "The Shape of Water."  Elsa is a mute, lonely woman who works in a top-secret government lab in 1962 Baltimore. Her life changes forever when she discovers the lab’s classified secret. This magical film, directed by Guillermo del Toro, won the 2018 Best Picture Oscar.  Contact Madeline Matson.

This Saturday, July 7th, MRRL will be holding an Artist Reception for Renee Hackmann from 2-4 pm.  Meet the artist and enjoy music and light refreshments.  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!