Our April newsletter is now ready to view or download:
UUFJC Newsletter, "Flame on the Water" April 2022

Sunday, April 3rd:

This morning, Rev. Mike Adamek joined us to begin exploring our theme for April, "Awakening."  Women's clubs of nineteenth-century America were an important predecessor of the feminist movements of the twentieth century. Through mutually supportive and often rigorous intellectual pursuits, these clubs not only increased their members' levels of knowledge in various areas, but the realization of their personal identity, and often the limitations of the social environments in which they lived. Despite the members of these clubs being overwhelmingly white, Protestant, middle-class women, the consciousness that they raised, especially the need for female education and political participation, had influence far beyond their immediate sphere. There is a parallel between the effect of these clubs and the UU journey of lifelong learning, and the need to be "born again", in an intellectual sense, repeatedly, both as free and independent individuals, and as a communal passage. But we must also ask ourselves if UU's share the weakness of these clubs of not welcoming new members who do not already share the group's communal history.  (Summary by Rich Burdge.)

For those who would also like to keep up with our neighbors at the UU Church of Columbia, their service from this morning is now available to view online: https://youtu.be/JTmf65_7GGA

Sunday, April 10th:

Adult Forum - 9:15 am
"Global Partnership for Sustainable Solutions," Tim Haas

Haas, based in the US and spending time in the Philippines, will discuss a large-scale agricultural development and human development project with grass-roots organizing.

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
To Be Announced
We will be sharing a message from our wider UU community via video.

Our services are currently available both in-person and via 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 week: "Becoming: Finding Your True Self."

Masks are now 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:

Monday, April 4th at 6 pm, the local chapter of the American Association of University Women meets at our building.  The meeting is available both in-person and via Zoom and will feature Amy Regnier speaking on the topic of Homeschooling.  For more about AAUW, contact Charlotte Parsons.

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

Next Sunday, April 10th at 1 pm, an intergenerational book study group meets at our building, led by Emma Regnier.  This month's selection: "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak.  Contact Emma for more information.

Also next Sunday, April 10th at 4:30 pm, our Worship Service Committee meets in person at our building.  To get involved in creating our Sunday services, contact our vice president, Lisa Sanning.

Later next Sunday, April 10th at 6 pm, the UUFJC Board meets in person at our building.  All are welcome to attend our board meetings.  For agenda and more information, contact our president, Rich Burdge.

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 have a community event you would like to see listed here, please contact our administrator at [email protected].

For more events, see our online calendars:

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

Sunday, March 27th:

At our services this morning, we held our annual Election of Officers.  Those chosen for our 2022-2023 Board of Directors are:
President: Rich Burdge (continuing)
Vice President: Lisa Sanning (continuing)
Secretary: Logan White (incoming)
Treasurer: Bob Antweiler (continuing)
Director of Religious Education: Samantha Porter (incoming).
Many thanks to all our incoming, continuing, and outgoing board members for stepping up to serve our Fellowship!  The new board will take office at our Annual Business Meeting in May.

We also shared a video from our wider UU community to wrap up our month of reflections on "Renewing Faith."  Rev. Duffy Peet noted that UUs tend not to believe in renewing "blind" or dogmatic faith, but that we can embrace broader definitions of faith, not as belief in static received ideas, but as an ongoing journey.  Our principles call us to search for truth and meaning, to accept one another and encourage spiritual growth.  In these ways we can have faith in ourselves, our world, and in the transcendent while embracing our responsible freedom and reason.  The message is available to view online: https://youtu.be/2I5T1ck4dII

For those who would also like to keep up with our neighbors at the UU Church of Columbia, their service from this morning is now available to view online: https://youtu.be/UODrGQ6YmKo


Next Sunday, April 3rd:

Adult Forum - 9:15 am
"Poetry Readings," Bob Boldt

Please bring some favorite poems, your own creations or those of others.

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
"Consciousness Raising as a Group Activity through Education," Rev. Mike Adamek

To my mind, Awakening is a form of consciousness raising. Awakening is the Soul Matters theme in April.   Is awakening a solitary journey or a communal passage?  It is intimately personal even when it is fostered socially. We will examine Women’s Social Clubs in the 19th century, which were often fostered by Liberally Religious  women. As one such club motto put it, “Mental Culture is the Food of Humanity,” which I take to mean in the words of a 1911 poem, that the Rising of the Women, meant the Rising of the Human Race.

Our services are currently available both in-person and via 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.

Masks are now 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!

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 [email protected] to join).

Our April newsletter has been delayed.  Our newsletter editor, Laura Gilkey, had some unforeseen circumstances come up and offers her apologies.  The newsletter should be ready within the next week.

We are always in need of donations for our free community pantry.  For more information about the pantry and current needs, contact Joan Kurtzeborn.  Reimbursements are available; contact our treasurer, Bob Antweiler: [email protected].

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

Starting this Thursday, March 31st, a meditation group that previously met at Vipassana Center for Buddhist Development will be meeting in our building on 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:

Tomorrow, Monday, March 28th at 6:30 pm in their Art Gallery, Missouri River Regional Library hosts an Author Talk with Jeremy Amick.  Amick will profile General Hank Stratman, the subject of his new biography. General Hank Stratman’s life appears to be defined by overcoming challenges—whether pushing to victory during high school basketball games or crossing into enemy territory during the Persian Gulf War. Rising from inconspicuous beginnings in the small community of Vienna, Missouri, Hank graduated from the ROTC program at Lincoln University. His legacy includes service in the Cold War, combat operations in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, peacekeeping deployments to Bosnia, and more. General Stratman will join Amick for this program. Copies of the book will be available for sale and signing.  Contact Madeline Matson.  For more on library events, visit MRRL.org.

This Tuesday, March 29th at 6:30 pm in their Art Gallery, MRRL presents: "Cryptocurrency: Investment or Gamble?"  Bitcoin, Ethereum, crypto mining, blockchain—you might have seen these terms in news stories about the future of money. If you’re wondering how crypto operates and what investment in this form of currency involves, Roger P. Dudenhoeffer, executive vice-president and mortgage lending manager with Jefferson Bank, will provide some definitions and answers in an informative presentation on the safety and stability of tomorrow’s money today. Can we bank on it?  Contact Madeline Matson.  For more on library events, visit MRRL.org.

This Friday, April 1st at 7 pm in their Art Gallery, MRRL presents their First Friday Film.  This month's selection: "Belfast."  Nominated for multiple awards, including best picture of the year, "Belfast" is a poignant story of love, laughter and loss in one boy's childhood amid the music and social tumult of the late 1960s in Northern Ireland. Buddy's family lives in a largely Protestant district with a few Catholic families, but one day his community and everything he thought he understood about life is suddenly turned upside down. His family gets caught in the mayhem and must decide to stay or leave the only place they have ever called home. Academy-Award nominee Kenneth Branagh wrote and directed the film, which is based on his childhood experience during a troubled time.  Contact Madeline Matson.  For more on 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  

On Sunday, March 20th, our own Katherine Connor shared her reflections on one of the Unitarian Universalist Association's "Braver/Wiser" readings, "The Question" by Erika A. Hewitt.  As we consider the rare miracle of life on earth --- and its fragility in the face of some of the human behavior we see --- it can be a challenge to renew our faith in humanity and the future, but Katherine reminded us that "resignation is not an option."  If we look beyond the ugly events that grab our attention, we can see the arc of history bending toward justice against the odds, and we can see acts of compassion and courage all around, from the outpouring of support for the people of Ukraine to a UUFJC friend donating to our community pantry.  In a complex and interconnected world, we can't know what difference our actions will make, but we know that even small actions do make a difference.

The Braver/Wiser collection is a great resource for reflection, and we invite other members and friends to share essays that speak to them and their reflections on them.  If you are interested, contact our vice president, Lisa Sanning.

In other news, our board is continuing to monitor the Covid situation, and we currently feel comfortable returning our seating arrangement to normal.  Full statement from our president, Rich Burdge:
"After two years and a very difficult winter, there are indications that the COVID-19 pandemic is easing. Various metrics and indicators show that Cole County, and much of the state and country, is now at relatively low risk, and that this risk will continue to decline. While there is word of a new subvariant in Europe, it is very similar to Omicron, and it is not clear how much of an impact it will have here. Given this situation, the UUFJC Board has determined that the time is appropriate to return to conventional, undistanced seating during our Sunday services. If circumstances change, we will change our practices as well. Virtual attendance by Zoom is still an option for those who wish, and our seating arrangement has always been somewhat flexible. It should not be a problem for those who wish to maintain social distancing to do so during the service. We would also like to thank all our members for their cooperation during these past difficult months, which has allowed us to successfully keep our congregation relatively safe from COVID-19. While we can't know exactly what the future brings, we are hopeful that the worst of this pandemic is behind us, and we look forward to gathering together again, and making the most of the days to come."

For those who would also like to keep up with our neighbors at the UU Church of Columbia, their service from this morning is now available to view online: https://youtu.be/sT1DKOt9_G4


Next Sunday, March 27th:

Adult Forum - 9:15 am
"Alternative Energy Readings," Frank Rycyk

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
UUFJC Election of Officers
We will be sharing a message from our larger UU community via video.
This service will also include our annual Election of Officers.  Voting members, please plan to attend.  If you have any questions, contact our president, Rich Burdge.

Our services are currently available both in-person and via 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 week's lesson: "Compassion."

Masks are now 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 [email protected] to join).

Submissions for our April newsletter are due TODAY.  Please email any last-minute items to Laura Gilkey ASAP ([email protected]).

We are always in need of donations for our free community pantry.  For more information about the pantry and current needs, contact Joan Kurtzeborn.  Reimbursements are available; contact our treasurer, Bob Antweiler: [email protected].

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
This Friday, March 25th is our monthly Salvation Army meal.  Please contact Bob Antweiler if you can help provide food for those in need.  Due to the pandemic, we have been asked not to serve the meal in person at this time.  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:

Tomorrow, Monday, March 21st at 6:30 pm in their Art Gallery, Missouri River Regional Library presents the latest installment of the LU-MRRL Lecture Series: "Living the Dream: The Women of Lincoln."  The founding soldiers of Lincoln Institute had a vision of opportunity for education for those who had been denied previously. Seizing the chance offered to them, African-American women came to Lincoln to learn, nurture, and succeed. For 156 years, the Women of Lincoln have made a difference, Presenters for this program will be Mark Schleer, LU archivist, and Ithaca Bryant, assistant archivist.  Contact Madeline Matson.  For more on 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  

Our March Newsletter is now ready to view or download:
UUFJC Newsletter, Flame on the Water, March 2022
Newsletter Supplement: Minister Search Survey

Sunday, March 13

This morning, we were invited to join our neighbors at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbia for an online service that, as it happened, spoke powerfully to our monthly theme of "Renewing Faith."  UUCC's regular guest preacher Rev. Dr. C.W. Dawson and musical guest J. ARTiz reminded us that many of us experience "dark nights of the soul," and we all live in a culture that at times teaches selfishness, but we all have gifts, and our gifts are meant to be shared.  When we connect with our gifts, they can help us renew a sense of purpose, help us connect with others, and make a path forward for us.  They can renew our faith in our journey toward the blessed community and loving, just world we long for.  Some of the language may have been challenging for independent-spirited UUs (like myself), but it is worth thinking about: to what can you "give yourself away" in energizing faith?  To what can you say, "If you need someone, here am I --- send me"?

The service is now available to view online: https://youtu.be/-9Op3mUgBvw



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 [email protected] to join).

We are currently in urgent need of donations for our free community pantry; coordinator Joan Kurtzeborn reports that supplies are "perilously low."  For more about the pantry and current needs, contact Joan.  Reimbursements are available; contact our treasurer, Bob Antweiler: [email protected].
As part of our search for a part-time minister, we are asking everyone to complete a ministerial needs survey.  We have paper copies available at the building, and electronic copies are attached to this email.  The deadline has been extended, and responses are now due next Sunday, March 6th.  For more about the survey or the minister search, contact our president, Rich Burdge.

Registration is now open for our MidAmerica UUA Region’s annual Regional Assembly, to be held online April 30th.  For more information, visit the Regional Assembly Registration webpage.

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

Next Sunday, March 20th, the UUFJC Board meets in person at our building at 3 pm.  All are welcome to attend our board meetings.  For agenda and more information, contact our president, Rich Burdge.
Also next Sunday, March 20th, our Worship Service Committee meets in person at our building at 4:30 pm.  To get involved in creating our Sunday services, contact our vice president, Lisa Sanning.

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

Community Events this week:

We have no community events to list in this week's email; please check back next week.  If you would like to submit community events to be listed here, contact our administrator: [email protected].

For more events, see our online calendars:

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

A few highlights:

• In-person events have resumed at our Fellowship building. Masks are required.
• Registration is  open for our MidAmerica UUA Region’s annual Regional Assembly, to be held online April 30th.  For information, visit the Regional Assembly Registration webpage.
  
• A reminder that our building is reserved by community groups Tuesday through Thursday, and Saturdays, starting at 6 pm . Please allow privacy at these times. Please also note that  this Friday, February 25th, our building is reserved for a private party starting at 7 pm.
  
• This Friday, February 25th is our monthly Salvation Army meal.  Contact Bob Antweiler
  
• Our ministerial needs survey is due February 27. Contact Rich Burdge
  
  

Sunday, February 20

This morning, our building was open once again both in-person and via Zoom as we shared a message from our wider UU community via video.  In January, Rev. Ruth MacKenzie spoke at the First Unitarian Church of Dallas about "Non-Negotiables."  Our commitment to freely chosen faith can make UUs seem like "a religion where you can believe anything you want," but this is not so.  We are also committed to responsibility, authenticity, and the common good, and we hold these "non-negotiables" in balance with our freedom.  Rev. MacKenzie drew on the work of theologian James Luther Adams, who studied in Germany during the rise of Nazism.  He saw too many liberal churches collapse into complacency and collaboration, but he also saw authentic faith speak out in the face of hatred and danger.  Our faith goes beyond choosing what to believe; authentic faith means seeking what we are truly committed to, how we make those commitments real, how they make a difference and raise up the common good.

The message is available to view online: https://youtu.be/m5oAtLQshrA

For those who would also like to keep up with our neighbors at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbia, their service from this morning is now available to view online: https://youtu.be/gjIAznQX7aI


Next Sunday, February 27th:

In-Person Events Have Resumed. Masks are currently required for everyone attending indoor UUFJC events in-person.  Free masks will be available if you do not have one.

Ministerial Needs Survey Due.
Contact our president, Rich Burdge, for more information.

Adult Forum - 9:15 am
"The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation," Betty Cooper

The February Soul Matters theme is: “Widening the Circle.” Our circle widens as we connect with the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and study Paul K. Chappell’s Peace Literacy curriculum. We will discuss some of the principles, and build practices that lessen violence and end wars worldwide.

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
Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbia Service

When we are not holding our own services, our building will be open for those who wish to come and share the online services of our neighbor congregation, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbia.  For more information, visit UUCC's website: uucomo.org.

Children's Religious Education - 10:30 am
Children are welcome to join RE Instructor Samantha Porter for a lesson during the service hour.

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:

Donate online: Donate to UUFJC
Or 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 [email protected] to join).

Submissions for our March newsletter are due .  Please email any last-minute items to Laura Gilkey ASAP: [email protected].

As part of our search for a part-time minister, we are asking everyone to complete a ministerial needs survey.  We have paper copies available at the building and by email if you receive our emails. Responses are due  Sunday, February 27th.  For more about the survey or the minister search, contact our president, Rich Burdge.

We are always in need of donations for our free community pantry  For more about the pantry and current needs, contact Joan Kurtzeborn.  Reimbursements are available; contact our treasurer, Bob Antweiler: [email protected].

Registration is now open for our MidAmerica UUA Region’s annual Regional Assembly, to be held online April 30th.  For more information, visit the Regional Assembly Registration webpage.

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

This Friday, February 25th is our monthly Salvation Army meal.  Please contact Bob Antweiler if you can help provide food for those in need.  Due to the pandemic, we have been asked not to serve the meal in person at this time.  Reimbursements are available.

Later this Friday, February 25th, our building is reserved for a private party starting at 7 pm.

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

Community Events this week:

This Tuesday, February 22nd at 6:30 pm in their Art Gallery, Missouri River Regional Library presents: "Climate Change and Your Health."  If you know someone with asthma, COPD, chronic cough, cancer, allergies, or other health problems includingCovid-19, this presentation by Gary Leabman is a starting point to getting healthier. Leabman is a member of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps, a global network of more than 40,000 messengers in 185 countries who are trained to talk about the impact of climate change and what we can do to support the shift to clean, renewable energy.  Climate change is already affecting daily weather, extreme weather events, ecosystems, and human health across the globe, but it’s not too late to take action. We now have clean, affordable technology for the worldwide implementation of renewable energy. The program will include a handout on how you can reduce your carbon footprint.  Contact Madeline Matson.  For more on 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  

"Non-Negotiables," Rev. Ruth MacKenzie
For our first Sunday with our building reopened, we're sharing a special message via video from our larger UU community:

"During WWII, Unitarian Universalist theologian and scholar, John Luther Adams traveled to Germany and watched one liberal church after another fold against the tide of fascism. As we continue to explore the gifts of a liberal faith, we ask questions about the nature of a faith that is free, and whether or not there are non-negotiables that we hold in balance with our freedom."
This service will not be available both in-person and via Zoom:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/94285041130
Meeting ID: 942 8504 1130
One tap mobile
+16465588656,,94285041130# US (New York)
+13017158592,,94285041130# US (Germantown)
Dial by your location (US toll)
        +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
        +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
        +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
        +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
        +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
Meeting ID: 942 8504 1130
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/ak1ZLCDJG

The message is also available to view online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5oAtLQshrA
​

Sunday, February 6

This morning, Rev. Mike Adamek joined us via Zoom to begin our month of focus on "Widening the Circle."  Rev. Mike suggested widening our circle by looking for ways to help others by finding common ground.  Often, such common ground is difficult to see, but we can remember that people have positive commitments that underlie even negative behavior, and that the cues we take from their words and actions might not be the ones that embody their meaning as they see it.  Everyone wants to be heard, and by deeply listening, we can be more helpful than if we try to impose our judgment and "fix" others.  While upholding our own values, we can listen even when it's hard and offer support, and we might find that we also receive support when we least expect it.

For those who would also like to keep up with our neighbors at the UU Church of Columbia, their sermon from this morning is available to view online: https://youtu.be/1vBEVDHhW_k

Sunday, February 13

No In-Person Events this Sunday.  See the UUFJC Board's latest Covid statement.

Adult Forum - 9:15 am
"The Struggles of Immigrants," Cristhia Castro, El Puente

Our Adult Forum is currently available only 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
Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbia Service

When we are not holding our own services, we encourage our members and friends to share the online services of our fellow UU congregations, such as our neighbors at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbia.  For information and Zoom links re: UUCC's services, visit their website: uucomo.org.  

Children's Religious Education - ON HOLD
Children's RE is on hold until we are ready to start meeting in person again.  For more information, contact RE instructor Sam Porter and RE director Kim Connor.

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


UUFJC News and Events this week:

We are always in need of donations for our free community pantry  For more about the pantry and current needs, contact Joan Kurtzeborn.  Reimbursements are available; contact our treasurer, Bob Antweiler: [email protected].
Registration is now open for our MidAmerica UUA Region’s annual Regional Assembly, to be held online April 30th.  For more information, visit the Regional Assembly Registration webpage.

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

Next Sunday, February 13th, Emma Regnier leads her own Intergenerational Classic Book Study in-person at our building at 3 pm.  This month's book selection: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  Contact Emma for more information.

Later next Sunday, February 13th, our Worship Service Committee meets at 5 pm via Zoom.  To get involved in creating our Sunday services, contact our vice president, Lisa Sanning.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/92182358580?pwd=VU9KaDNUbTdWeVlINFNDcHZodFRIZz09
Meeting ID: 921 8235 8580
Passcode: 407423
Phone:
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago - US toll)
Find your nearest number: https://zoom.us/u/ac6Js1cR9e

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

Community Events this week:

This Tuesday, February 8th, is the monthly meeting of the emergency housing subgroup of the Jefferson City homelessness working group. To get involved with this or other homelessness work, contact Patt Behler.

This Thursday, February 10th at 7 pm is the monthly meeting of the local chapter of the American Association of University Women.  For online meeting information, contact Charlotte Parsons.

Also this Thursday evening, February 10th at 7:30 pm, is the meeting of the local chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.  Meetings are currently being held virtually.  To register or for more information, contact Alicia Erickson at [email protected].

For more events, see our online calendars:
​
UUFJC Events
Virtual Gatherings
Affiliated Events 
Religious Education
Building Use (other)
Community Events  

Highlights:

• February newsletter is now available: UUFJC Newsletter "Flame on the Water" February 2022
• ​In-person events  at the Fellowship continue to be on hold
• Sunday, February 6 Forum, 9:15 am on Zoom only: "The Dawn of Everything" with Bob Boldt
• Sunday, February 6 Service, 10:30 am on Zoom only: Rev Mike Adamek
• Friday, February 4, 7 pm: Missouri River Regional Library presents their First Friday Film, "Big Night." 

Sunday, January 30:

This week wraps up our month of focus on Living with Intention.  Over the years, we have come together several times to put our intentions for our Fellowship into words, and perhaps now is a good time to remember: we created our Covenant, our Vision and Motto, and longer ago our Mission Statement.  Are these words still effective touchstones of what you intend for your faith journey with our Fellowship?  Have we marked them off our to-do list and forgotten them?  Can we dust them off, or start fresh?  What parts of these communal intentions speak to you, and how can we work to make them real even in these pandemic times when we care for each other by staying physically apart?

For those who would like to keep up with our neighbors at the UU Church of Columbia, their sermon from this morning is available to view online: https://youtu.be/bKBUYl46o5Q


Sunday, February 6:

No In-Person Events this Sunday.  See the UUFJC Board's latest Covid statement.

Adult Forum - 9:15 am
"The Dawn of Everything," Bob Boldt

Our Adult Forum is currently available only 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
"What has someone done or said that has been helpful to you?," Rev. Mike Adamek
Rev. Mike writes:  "Each of us needs to widen the circle of sanity in a world that has always throughout history been one step from disaster. What simple steps can we choose to make that will be actions that help heal instead of harm our widening togetherness going forward?"

Our services are currently available only via 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 - ON HOLD
Children's RE is on hold until we are ready to start meeting in person again.  For more information, contact RE instructor Sam Porter and RE director Kim Connor.

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

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!

To 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).

Joan Kurtzeborn offers an update on our free community pantry: "The pantry donation box near the church entry has had new items donated every week!  We are able to help our neighbors with food, warm clothing and household supplies."  For more about the pantry and current needs, please call or text Joan.  Reimbursements are available; contact our treasurer, Bob Antweiler: [email protected].

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

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

Community Events this week:

This Friday, February 4th at 7 pm in their Art Gallery, Missouri River Regional Library presents their monthly First Friday Film.  This month's selection: "Big Night."  Called a treat for food lovers and movie lovers, this film tells the story of two brothers whose struggling Italian restaurant is near bankruptcy.  They risk everything on one "big night" that will make or break them.  It's a small, perfect immigrant film, set in 1950s New Jersey, about working to achieve the American Dream.  The all-star cast includes Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rossellini, Tony Shalhoub, Ian Holm, Minnie Driver, and Campbell Scott.  Tucci and Scott co-directed the film, which won a best screenplay award at Sundance.  Contact Madeline Matson.  For more on 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  


Please stay safe, well, and connected!

Laura Gilkey
Administrator, UUFJC

The UUFJC Board has continued to monitor the situation with the Covid-19 pandemic, and has decided that in-person UUFJC events will be suspended until February 20th.

Full statement from the board:
 
As you all know and have experienced, our community is experiencing extremely high levels of COVID cases due to the Omicron variant. In order to safeguard the health of our members, the UUFJC board has decided to temporarily suspend in-person services and functions for four weeks, to resume February 20. During this time, we have one service scheduled; Feb. 6 with Rev. Adamek, which will be conducted via Zoom. The other Sundays, we encourage you to stream the services from Columbia or another congregation. The Forum will also be conducted by Zoom, with no more than one person in the building. The board meeting on Jan. 30 will also be conducted virtually. Given the nature of this surge, there is good reason to believe that by Feb. 20, it will be safe to resume gathering in person, using the precautions we have been using under our current policy. Still, we know that this is not what we would like to be doing. Please continue to communicate safely and support each other during this time. We look forward to gathering together again soon.


UPDATE FOR Sunday, January 23rd:

February Newsletter Submissions Due.
Please email your items to Laura Gilkey at [email protected].

Adult Forum - 9:15 am
"Real ID Documents," Charlotte Parsons

Avoid long lines at the Dept. of Motor Vehicles when it comes time to renew your driver's license.  Know ahead of time what is required for the REAL ID-COMPLIANT Driver's License going into effect May 3, 2023.  If you're within 6 months of renewal, they will automatically ask you if you would like one.  It's good to know what's needed.  Come find out  at our forum discussion.

Our Adult Forum is currently available only 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

When we are not holding our own services, we encourage our members and friends to share the online services of our fellow UU congregations, such as our neighbors at the Unitarian Univeralist Church of Columbia.  For information and Zoom links re: UUCC's services, visit their website: uucomo.org.


Children's Religious Education - 10:30 am

Children's RE is on hold until we can resume in-person events.  For more information, contact RE instructor Sam Porter and RE director Kim Connor.

Sunday, January 9th:

This morning, we shared a recent sermon from our neighbors at the UU Church of Columbia, in which Rev. Molly Housh Gordon offered words on "Getting Free Together."  Our earliest experiences of unfreedom often come early, as we were told to tame our bodies into respectability.  For the privileged among us (white, male, straight, cisgendered, thin, abled), this unfreedom may seem like small potatoes, and in many ways it is, but it is important to acknowledge it because systems like white supremacy are about control, and controlling the privileged with the idea that respectability and worthiness are scarce and must be earned is key to perpetuating the injustices inflicted on the less privileged among us.  Wherever we are in this system, discovering abundance and liberation for ourselves and others go hand in hand.  Rev. Molly emphasized that this is not just a political vision, but a path to healing our own souls.

As part of this, Rev. Molly highlighted the "8th Principle Project," an initiative to add the following to the UU Principles:

"We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote: journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions."

Proposed by black leaders and encouraged by Black Lives of UU, the 8th principle has already been adopted democratically by over 100 congregations, and UUCC will consider joining them.  It is also expected to get a vote at the national UU General Assembly in 2024.  For more about the 8th Principle Project, visit https://www.8thprincipleuu.org/.

The sermon is available to view online: https://youtu.be/M9CslzAysdk


Sunday, January 16th:

Adult Forum - 9:15 am
"Russia, China, and US National Security," Darius Watson

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
"Intention — in tension," Rev. Nancy TannerThies

Our services are currently available both in-person and via 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 are welcome to join RE Instructor Samantha Porter for a lesson during the service hour.  This week: "Imagine a Better World."

Masks are currently required for everyone attending indoor UUFJC events in-person.  Free masks will be available if you do not have one.

If you have a joy or concern that you would like to have read during a service, 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 until the following week..


UUFJC News and Events this week:

We are currently holding our annual Guest At Your Table fundraiser to support the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.  UUSC empowers grassroots partners to work for human rights around the world.  Stories from UUSC's work, donation boxes, and donation envelopes are available at our building, or you can learn more about UUSC's work and give online: https://www.uusc.org/.  Donations to our drive are due in late January.

We are also collecting items to support an Afghan refugee.  For more information see our January newsletter or contact Social Action chair Katherine Connor: [email protected].

We are always in need of donations for our free community pantry.  For more about the pantry and current needs, contact Joan Kurtzeborn: j[email protected].  Reimbursements are available; contact our treasurer, Bob Antweiler: [email protected].

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

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

Community Events this week:

Tomorrow, Monday, January 10th at 6:30 pm in their Art Gallery, Missouri River Regional Library presents the latest installment of the LU-MRRL Lecture Series: "The Secret to Staying Motivated is a Choice."  How much does what you want to accomplish mean to you? What are you telling yourself when you set your goals? Following through on what you started and staying the course is not as hard as you think, but you may think it is, and that could be stopping you. The time has come for you to start seeing and getting the results you want, and you have it in you to do it. Join Richard A. Cross, retention specialist for LU’s Student Success Center, who will share how to stick to your goals and gain the confidence from achieving those meaningful goals you have for yourself. Cross is also the organizer of the LUMENtoring Program, which is geared toward mentorship of male students.  Contact Madeline Matson.  For more on library events, visit MRRL.org.

This Tuesday, January 11th, a subgroup of the Jefferson City homelessness working group holds its monthly meeting; this subgroup is focused on responding to emergency housing needs.  For more on getting involved with this or other aspects of the homelessness working group, contact Patt Behler.

This Thursday, January 13th is the monthly online meeting of the local chapter of the American Association of University Women.  Social begins at 6:30 pm, program at 7 pm.  Presenter Charlotte Parsons will address the topic of "Real ID Documents."  Avoid long lines at the Dept. of Motor Vehicles when it comes time to renew your driver's license.  Know ahead of time what is required for the REAL ID-COMPLIANT Driver's License going into effect May 3, 2023.  If you're within 6 months of renewal, they will automatically ask you if you would like one.  It's good to know what's needed.  Come find out this AAUW meeting.  All are welcome to attend.  Zoom meeting ID:  81802109143.  Password: 752794.  Contact Charlotte Parsons.

For more events, see our online calendars:

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

Please stay safe, well, and connected!

Laura Gilkey
Administrator, UUFJC