Midweek Update 2/6/25

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          809 S. 4th Street   Louisville, KY 40203     https://firstulou.org/
[email protected]              (502) 585-5110

Proudly Progressive, Boldly Inclusive, Radically Friendly
Midweek Update February 6, 2025
The Announcements (FYI) are Below. 
FYI 
NEW: Adult Religious Exploration for February  click here for details
10 am Sundays in the Library
Families Welcome / Childcare Available beginning at 9:30
NEW Way to Donate
We now have a QR code on the back of the bulletin which offers an additional way for you to make your donations. As always, donations may be made on our website, automatic banking set up with your bank, or by phone using a mobile app.
Fake Emails Continue to Surface
Phishing emails that claim to come from someone you may know about and are asking for information continue to arrive. A common email asks for directory information  or information about staff or a church member, whether online or the phone version. Even if it claims to be from a church staff or Board member, do not respond if you aren’t positive.. They use a different email address but you may not know that. Do Not give out that information. A true request must be confirmed through  a secondary line of communication such as a verbal request. If you are unsure of whether or not an email is from the person it claims to be from, feel free to forward it to Building Superintendent, Kristi Drehmel, or the Office for review.
Last Chance: Valentine’s Day Dinner
There is still one opening (for a couple) to celebrate Valentine’s Day together with like-minded UUs. Complete evening of drinks and appetizers, lasagna, salad, bread and wine, plus a special dessert.  This service auction event is a bargain with a set price of $100 per couple (and you won’t have to leave a tip.)  Click on the link Kathie Johnson or call 502-454-5957 by Sunday night, February 9 if interested.
Room at the Inn
This is the youth group cooking at First Unitarian before they delivered the food to Room at the Inn at Christ Church Episcopal on 421 2nd Street. It’s a new shelter for women. Others at First have been preparing and delivering food also. There are several First U’s staffing shifts at the shelter to serve food, check guests in and stay overnight.
Souper Bowl Sunday (CLCM)
Super Bowl Sunday is February 9, and we all tend to enjoy great football, the great half-time show, and great snacks. But for many in our downtown neighborhood, snacks and meals are not reliably available. The food pantry at Calvary Episcopal Church serves the clients of Central Louisville Community Ministries and will be collecting canned soup, canned spaghetti, and all other non-perishable foods through the months of January and February in observance of what we call “Souper Bowl Sunday.”Food donations can be placed in the blue basket in the sanctuary or are gratefully accepted at Calvary Episcopal Church, 821 S 4th St, on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30-11:30am. Questions? Call CLCM at 502-587-1999.
New Year’s Resolution from the Seventh Principle Team
In the spirit of the church-wide 2022 Resolution on the Climate Crisis, we remind everyone who attends meetings at the church to turn off lights, reset thermostats, and put recyclables in the kitchen recycling can before you leave. Thank you.
Upcoming Services
For the zoom link, Click here. The Meeting ID is 4508929882 if you can’t attend in person.  You will not need a password. Contact the volunteer desk if you have trouble getting online.
Join Us February 9

Inclusion in an
Exclusionary Moment
Speaker: Rev. Ben Burton
Inclusion is more than just an idea or a vision. What does it mean to practice inclusion for all? Join us for this new series as we explore Inclusion together.

About the Speaker:
Rev. Ben Burton, Ben or ‘B’, is a native Appalachian who has called Louisville home since 2007. Ordained in the Baptist tradition, Ben found their way to First Unitarian Church in their continued quest for truth and spiritual community. Ben is a hospice chaplain and previously pastored a church in Hart County, Kentucky. Ben and wife Sara reside in Germantown.

Ben began attending First Unitarian in 2023, became a member in 2024 and has joined the Care and Worship Teams. Ben is passionate about building beloved community and connecting folks with physical and spiritual resources. Ben enjoys cooking, exploring the woods, and drinking tea.
February 16
Inviting Inclusion, Nirvana and Wicked Dancing
Speaker: Revered Mary Ann MacklinCorporate Executive, author, speaker, and diversity consultant Verna Myers states, “Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance.” This simple statement evokes many questions: Whose party is it? Who does the asking? What if they don’t like how I dance? What if I don’t want to dance? Rev. Mary Ann does, indeed, plan to use some popular culture references to the movie Wicked. She will not sing Defying Gravity nor perform any aerodynamic feats. Of note, many Buddhists celebrate Nirvana Day on February 15, so expect some Buddhist thought to be included in this worship service.
RE: Religious Exploration
Contact Loren Crawford, Director of Religious Exploration (DRE)
NEW: Adult Religious Exploration for February 
10 am Sundays in the Library
Families Welcome / Childcare Available beginning at 9:30

February 9  – Making Gods
Author and activist Wren Awry writes, “In Witchcraft and the Gay
Counterculture”, Arthur Evans argues that one of the things we’ve lost to
capitalism, the nation-state, and industrialized society is the long held
human ability to create our own gods, to imbue the world around us with
beliefs and rights tied to our own values and life ways.”  As UUs, whether
we’re atheists, pagans, cultural Christians, etc., we should be good at
making our own gods and goddesses and god-folx, so let’s do that
together.

February 16 – Chalice Circles Sampler Session
Are you still curious about our small group ministry program, “Chalice
Circles,” and don’t know enough about it to commit to it? Are you
uninterested in commitments but would still like to take it out for a test
drive? If you have any curiosity about small group ministry and are not
already active in a Chalice Circle, join us for a one-time, no obligation 45
minute session on “Gratitude.” (If you’re in a circle and want to join,
you’re welcome as long as there’s room.)

February 23 – REsUUrrection
We’re going to brainstorm what adult and family-friendly religious
exploration should look like at First U. What do you think of having one-
time sessions that you can count on every Sunday morning? What are
more involved series you’d like to explore? What does it take to pique
your interest? What will satisfy your mind, your heart, and soul? (Note:
If you cringe at “REsUUrrection” for the unoriginal, tiresome way it
wedges RE and UU into the lingo, your attendance is mandatory!)
Justice Information
February 20: World Day of Social Justice
League of Woman Voters Update on Frankfort
Democracy in Action: What’s Happening in Frankfort? A Briefing by Policy Experts on Health, Housing, Economy and TaxesJoin us via zoom February 17, 2025 from 6:00-7:30
Passcode: 552274, 1-305-224-1968
KUUJAN – All Network Gathering February 20
Kentucky Unitarian Universalist Justice Action Network
Join us 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm (EST time)  Our next ANG will feature. Charles Booker who will lead us in a conversation of staying persistent in the midst of what’s going on. Here is the zoom link.Voting Rights Lobby Day Feb 11, 9 – 1 (EST Time)
The annual Voting Rights Day is quickly approaching.  Join us in Frankfort as we continue to raise our voices and apply pressure to our state leaders to allow people with felonies in their past to regain the right to vote.  Go here to Register
Room In the Inn Project
Update from the Committee on Homelessness (Suzanne Meeks and Cassandra Culin) First U volunteers provided coverage for several nights in January for the Room In the Inn (RITI) Winter Shelter pilot project! Other volunteers, including our youth (yay!), will be providing meals for these nights. We’re working on staffing some nights in February also. It is exciting to be involved in this important community project!
If you are interested in supporting RITI, but not up to pulling a shift at the shelter, there are two ways you can help:

  1. provide a monetary donation to support us buying food for meals. The monetary donation can be by check to First U, or on our online donation site, just be sure to specify it is for RITI.
  2. help prepare a meal. If interested in helping prepare a meal, please let Suzanne Meeks know.
Sustainability Tips: Bigger Steps: Solar
The Louisville Climate Action Network shares tips and offers educational programs and workshops, provides energy-efficiency services to other Louisville-area nonprofit organizations and advocates for smarter public policies—all to cut carbon pollution and costs. Check it out here.  From the Seventh Principle Team             
Past topics:
Heating and Cooling  Insulation, Weatherizing  Carbon Calculator   Lighting  Gardening  Tax Credits Bigger Steps: Cars   Windows
Ways to Make a Difference in Your Kitchen
Transportation Laundry  Landscaping Bigger Steps: Location The Five R’s–Refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and restore Thermostats  Kitchen Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency  Bigger Steps: Roofing Bigger Steps: Water Heating
Resolution on the Climate Crisis
First Unitarian Church of Louisville acknowledges the imminent threat of the climate crisis to both human civilization and the other species with which we share the planet. We join with All Peoples and other UU churches to call on all members of our community to take action to reduce the threat and mitigate the consequences of the climate crisis. Adopted by the congregation of the First Unitarian Church of Louisville at the annual meeting, June 2022).
LaCasita Center
La Casita Center provides support and empowerment based on the needs of the community, using a ground-up strategy to help the Latinx community access services and overcome barriers. Volunteers and donations of diapers, food and clothing are needed and welcomed. They are located near the church at 223 E. Magnolia Avenue, 40208. Reach them by phone (502) 322-4036, by email, or on the web. For more information, to read their monthly newsletter, or to sign up to receive the newsletter directly, click here.
First U Contact Information
In Case of Bad Weather:

We have a professional crew that clears our parking lot, ramp, and steps. First U will notify local media if there are closings. Additionally, check on Facebook or email. If you have a friend that doesn’t regularly check such things, please pass on the word!

Bad Weather Office Policy: When JCPS cancels classes, the church office is also closed. When in doubt, please call first to make sure someone is available if you need in the building. (That’s a good idea, no matter the weather!)
Contact Information
Interim Minister, Reverend Mary Ann Macklin [email protected]
Office Administrator, Barbara [email protected]
Volunteer desk [email protected]
Contact the Building Superintendent
Contact the RE Coordinator
Online See the First U webpage.
Phone (502) 585-5110. If you don’t reach someone, leave a message, including your email address, as messages are automatically emailed to the office.
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