Sunday, we continued exploring our monthly theme of "Possibility" with an observance of "Evolution Sunday," a time to reflect on nature's way of finding new possibilities for life and reason's way of finding new possibilities for human knowledge.  Bob Boldt and Roger TannerThies presented a cordial debate in which Bob took the part of a defender of intelligent design and Roger defended evolution.  Their arguments were based on current knowledge rather than what might have been said 150 years ago, and Roger got a laugh when he said ”Evolution has come a long way.”  Jim Davis also offered a reflection.

Next Sunday, February 19th:

Newsletter Submissions Due.
Please submit your items for the March Newsletter and Print Calendar to Laura Gilkey by e-mail or in writing.

Adult Forum - 9:15 am
Jim Davis

Service and Religious Education - 10:30 am
Message: "Possibilities, Responsibilities, Power," Rev. Nancy TannerThies
We will explore how these three interact as we share our collective future.
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 --- Volunteers Needed!

UUFJC Board - 1:30 pm.
All are welcome to attend the board meeting.  Contact President Katherine Connor.

UUFJC News and Events this week:

We are updating our Members and Friends Directory.  If you would like your contact information updated, added, or removed, there is a paper copy of the directory in the back of the Sanctuary where you can note any changes, or you can e-mail the administrator: [email protected].

Monday, February 13th is the monthly UUFJC Lecture Series.  This month, our own Betty Cooper will speak on “The Power of Kindness.”  Contact Frank Rycyk or Carol Bontempo.

This Thursday, February 16th, American Association of University Women will not meet at the Fellowship as previously announced; instead they will be co-sponsoring a “Meet the Candidates” forum for School Board at Bones starting at 5:30 pm.  Open to the public.  Contact Charlotte Parsons.

Later Thursday evening at 7 pm at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Capitol Area Interfaith Alliance hosts an Interfaith Music Event.  Father Jeremy Secrist of Saint Thomas the Apostle Church will present “The Music of Gregorian Chant,” and Joshua House will present “African American Religious Music and Dance.”  The event is free and refreshments will be provided with time to mingle afterward.

This Saturday, February 18th from 10 am to 4 pm is a Faith Voices Resistance Training session at the UU Church of Columbia.  Registration is required; the registration form is here.  Lunch is provided. There is a $25 suggested donation.

Next Sunday afternoon at 4 pm is the monthly Laughter Yoga session.  Free and open to all.  Contact Jan Harcourt.

Community Events this week:

This Tuesday, February 14th at 4 pm, Citizens for Peace meet at Missouri River Regional Library, upstairs in the Storyhour room.  Contact Betty Cooper.

This Thursday, February 16th at 7 pm, MRRL presents "Essential Oils 101."  Gain the knowledge you need to support your immune system, boost energy, relieve stress and anxiety, soothe occasional aches and pains, and ease digestive upset. Wellness advocate Laura Williams will conduct this class. Registration is required. Contact Madeline at 634-6064, ext. 250, by February 14.

This week, Capitol City Cinema presents the Live-Action Oscar-Nominated Short Films (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday).  For showtimes 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 we began exploring our Soul Matters theme for February: Possibility.

Rev. Mike began by sharing the words of newspaper editor and publisher [and Universalist], Horace Greeley, who used to say that liberals were the sails for any society and conservatives were the ballast.  Like any sailing ship, a well functioning society needs both: the sails to move forward and the ballast for stability.  Many of us in the Fellowship are especially concerned with how to move forward into the future we hope for, and Rev. Mike offered the example of two pioneers in another mode of travel: the Wright Brothers.  In the story of how they invented the airplane, we find an example.  They had the discernment to see what was possible, put in the hard work to make it happen, and had the grit to courageously keep believing in their project in the face of failures and discouragement.

This week's reading for contemplation:

My boat struck something deep.
Nothing happened.
Sound, silence, waves.
Nothing happened?
Or perhaps, everything happened.
And I'm sitting in the middle of my new life.

Next Sunday, February 12th:

Adult Forum - 9:15 am
"Evolution," Bob Boldt

Service and Religious Education - 10:30 am
Message: "Evolution Sunday," Bob Boldt and Roger TannerThies
Our annual commemoration of the birth of Charles Darwin this year will consist of contributions by both Bob Boldt and Roger Tanner Thies. The highlight of the service will be a mock debate between the position of Intelligent Design advocates and the proponents of Evolution Theory. In his concluding remarks, Roger will discuss the work of Jesuit priest, Pierre Teihard de Chardin, who envisioned a revolutionary union of science and spirituality that has pointed a way toward harmonizing these two contending ways of knowing the Universe in which we live. Hopefully we will demonstrate that science and religion, reason and faith need not be in conflict.
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 --- Volunteers Needed!

Joys & Concerns Planning Meeting - after service
Jim Davis and Barb Koenig will hold a short meeting after service for those interested in planning an additional opportunity for members and friends to share Joys and Concerns.  Contact Jim and Barb for more information.

UUFJC News and Events this week:

We are updating our Members and Friends Directory.  If you would like your contact information updated, added, or removed, there is a paper copy of the directory in the back of the Sanctuary where you can note any changes, or you can e-mail the administrator: [email protected].

The Nominating Committee is seeking volunteers willing to serve UUFJC on next year’s board.  If you’re interested, please talk to one of the committee members: Carol Bontempo, Betty Cooper, or Lisa Sanning.

Our Salvation Army work group is re-thinking when they will be serving meals.  If you would like to have input or stay in the loop, contact Bob Antweiler.

The Transgender Support Group meets this Thursday, February 9th at 7 pm.

This Friday, February 10th at 7 pm is the monthly Reader’s Eye Film.  This month's selection: "Frost/Nixon."  Contact Cinthy Wilcox.

Coming a week from tomorrow, Monday, February 13th at 7 pm is the monthly UUFJC Lecture Series.  This month, our own Betty Cooper will speak on “The Power of Kindness.”  Contact Frank Rycyk or Carol Bontempo.

Community Events this week:

This Tuesday, February 7th at 7 pm, the Jefferson City Symphony Orchestra and MOstly Opera present the opera "Hansel and Gretel" at Lincoln University's Mitchell Auditorium.  Featuring UUFJC's own Ruth Robertson as The Witch!  Ticket prices: Adults: $15; Students: $5; Family of 5: $35; Pre-schoolers: free with paying adult.

This Thursday, February 9th at 7 pm in their Art Gallery, Missouri River Regional Library presents: "It's a Dog-Beat-Dog World: What an AKC Judge Really Looks For."  Contrary to what you might think, it's not the cutest dog. Learn how dog shows work from Barb Barnard, whose 25-year career exhibiting purebred dogs, both owned and as a semi-professional handler, includes five champions, three  nationally ranked, and National Specialty winners.  Contact Madeline Matson.

This week, Capitol City Cinema presents a program of the Oscar-Nominated Animated Short Films.  For showtimes 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 held another "This UU Life" service, in which members explored how they had "awakened" from beliefs they once held into beliefs they hold now.

Bob Boldt shared experiences from his youth in the '50s that taught him the importance of honoring his own moral compass and questioning authority.

Sharon Morgan shared how her relationship with prayer has developed again and again in the course of her life.  She said that prayer felt good to her even when she awakened to her own non-belief in God, but she still searched for what prayer could be authentically for her.  Now, she said, it's not about who or what she prays to; prayer is an act of centering and connecting with her better self.

Dwight Politte shared the maxim "Progress, not Perfection."  He had awakened to his own bad habit of holding himself back by holding himself and the possibilities for community around him to impossible standards --- an awakening that helped him re-connect with our own Fellowship.

In closing, Alexis reminded us that the importance of Awakening goes beyond the "ah-ha!" moment.  The true gift and challenge of Awakening is to live out what we learn.

Next Sunday, February 5th:

Adult Forum - 9:15 am
"Imagining the Future," Laura Gilkey
Science Fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson shares ways sci-fi authors envision possible futures and considers possible futures after capitalism.

Service and Religious Education - 10:30 am
Message: "Sails and Ballast: Exploring New Worlds," Rev. Mike Adamek
Horace Greeley, a New York newspaper editor and publisher [and Universalist], used to say that liberals were the sails for any society and conservatives were the ballast.  Like any sailing ship, a well functioning society needs both.  But as a liberal, Greeley knew that it is the people who see and pursue what is possible, who leave port and sail to destinations that others had never considered, because no one knows what is possible until you move toward what you imagined as possible.
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 --- Volunteers Needed!

UUFJC News and Events this week:

The February newsletter and print calendar are ready.  Paper copies are available by the entrance and electronic copies are available here: Newsletter, Print Calendar.

The Nominating Committee is seeking volunteers willing to serve UUFJC on next year’s board.  If you’re interested, please talk to one of the committee members: Carol Bontempo, Betty Cooper, or Lisa Sanning.

Our Salvation Army work group is re-thinking when they will be serving meals.  If you would like to have input or stay in the loop, contact Bob Antweiler.

The Worship Service Committee meets next Sunday, February 5th at 1:30 pm.  Contact Alexis.

Also next Sunday afternoon, Capital Area NOW will be meeting at the Fellowship at 2 pm.  Contact Sue Gibson.

Community Events this week:

This Tuesday, January 31st, Missouri River Regional Library presents a program on Home Care.  Often families don’t think about what’s involved in keeping a loved one at home once care needs begin to increase. Other times families are ill-informed or have misconceptions about arranging for and paying for home care.  This interactive session, moderated by Mary Schantz, former executive director of the Missouri Alliance for Home Care, and featuring Heather McCreery, elder law attorney with Turnbull and Stark, representatives from the State Veterans Administration, and the Area Agency on Aging will provide information and answer questions.  Contact Madeline Matson.

This Friday, February 3rd, MRRL will present their First Friday Film.  For film selection and more information, contact Madeline Matson.

This week, Capitol City Cinema presents "Groundhog's Day" (Thursday only).  For showtimes 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 week's announcements are posted. 

Zumba classes are cancelled until further notice.

UUFJC's monthly calendar of events is ready: January 2013 Calendar.  Also, please check out our Announcements via Google Docs. Some highlights:

• MRRL: January 10 at 7 p.m. -- Jefferson City's brewing history with Dr. Walter Schroeder, author of Breweries and Saloons in Jefferson City.  Books will be available for sale.
• MRRL: January 14 -- Winter Backyard Birding with Betty Richey
• MRRL: January 16 -- Documentary film screening of Nonfiction at Night (the Other Side of Immigration) 

Meditative Writing with Laura Gilkey is cancelled until further notice.

Religious Education teachers are needed for December and January, and Adult Forum leaders are needed for January. Contact Rebecca Bax if interested in RE and Laura Gilkey if interested in AF.

Musicians are needed for December. Contact Pat Behler.

Tie-dyed t-shirts for sale in Observation Room to benefit Youth Group trip to GA.

Equal Exchange gift collections are available; Sign up at coffee bar.

The Art Committee is seeking small holiday photos; place your photos  in the blue bin in the Forum Room.