Besides the Service, this Sunday at a Glance:

• Adult RE: Racketeers and Rapists of Renown
• Don’t Forget the Big Blue Basket!

House and Grounds – A Place for You (See You Saturday?)

House and Grounds meets the second Saturday of the month in order to save the church a lot of money and to eat donuts.   On our list so far is: repairing sanctuary chairs, replacing several light fixtures with energy sipping LEDs, mulching leaves and replacing caps on the social hall chair legs that are worn out.  You don’t need experience with these things because our ancient crew has tools and centuries of know-how to impart. Our next meeting is Saturday, December 13 at 9 AM.

Volunteer Now for Vespers Service – December 24

We are planning our evening service and we need volunteers to help us.  In particular, refreshment providers, choir singers (practice on Thursdays at 7pm), reception hosts, and service aides.  Let us know if you would be able to help with this church tradition! Email us at Connections Ministry. Thanks!

FUUD For All – Family Chili Night at First U on January 14

Save the date for our next Fun Unitarian Universalist Dinner (or FUUD) event on Wednesday evening, January 14. Families of all sizes, from one to oh-so-many, are invited. We will have sign-up forms later but if you bring a kid, you don’t need to bring a dish. Or help with set-up. Or clean-up. It will be an early evening of multigenerational connection – designed to get folks back home for bedtime or homework. Contact Matt , Alexis  and Jim  to learn more or help us plan our FUUD events

Faith & Science- second installment of The “& Science” Forums

During Faith & Science, we will celebrate community heroes & learn from an expert panel discussing the key intersections of faith & science. Ms. Elmer Lucille Allen (Artist and first African-American chemist at Brown-Forman) will also receive an “& Science” Trailblazer Award. See the Midweek Update for the full list of speakers.

• Thursday, December 11 at St. Stephen Baptist Church (1018 South 15^th Street, Louisville, KY 40210)
• Reception: 5:15 pm with panel discussion at 6:00 pm  Please RSVP.

Join us for our annual Christmas Eve Vespers service. The service will include an honoring of the many traditions as part of a winter celebration. The poinsettias ordered in honor of or in memory of loved ones and special people will be on display. The service concludes with candlelit singing in our beautiful darkened sanctuary, a moment not to be missed!  Afterwards, a reception will follow the service. Plan to join us, and invite your family and friends!

Children at Vespers
The Religious Exploration Ministry would like to encourage families to be in this special service together! The service runs an hour. Flameless electronic candles will be available for young children so they can participate fully in the candle-lit portion of the service.

Things to Know

•  Childcare will be available in the Nursery.
• Need a Break? The Library will be available with sound piped in and quiet toys, coloring, and a rocking chair available if littler ones need a break.
• Hearing Assist Devices are available. Ask an Usher.

Ways to Volunteer for the Vespers Service
We are planning our evening service and we need volunteers to help us.  In particular, refreshment providers, choir singers (practice on Thursdays at 7pm), reception hosts, and service aides.  Let us know if you would be able to help with this church tradition! Email us at Connections Ministry..

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.

Children’s RE – Contact Loren Crawford, Director of Religious Exploration (DRE)

This begins in the sanctuary at 11:00 with the Moment for Ages. They leave during the Song for the Children. Learn About More Upcoming RE Opportunities Here

The Nursery: Tadpoles will be open for babies and pre-k from 9:30am-12:15pm on Sundays. Registration Forms. Registration information is required for each child, including those in the nursery.

Adult (RE) – Contact Adult Religious Exploration

• All are Welcome: Members, friends, visitors, curious people, and people lost in the building are all welcome.
• Families Welcome / Childcare Available beginning at 9:30
• Check-in begins at 9:45. Class meets in the Church Library at 10am.

Sunday, December 14: Racketeers and Rapists of Renown
We resume our mini-series on abolition by looking back to the Boston Tea Party (December 16, 1773) and the thugs, gangsters, smugglers and other villains back then and now who walk among us, heads held high, celebrated as our heroes and leaders, as Alexis and Jim reveal how the prevailing views of crime and carceral punishment in America have always been defined through a lens of racism and classism.

Sunday, December 21: Abolition around the Dinner Table
Our mini-series on abolition continues to explore the things we can do, within our own spheres of influence, as we move from thinking about abolition to practicing abolition. We will start with some ideas borrowed from Ijeoma Oluo, consider what Metro Council is doing, and brainstorm from there.

Sunday, December 28: My Art Therapy Journey
Jane Martin-Buckley will share her entertaining story into the field of art therapy, using her own impressive and imaginative portfolio as a launching pad.

Room in the Inn Louisville

First Unitarian volunteers will once again have the opportunity to participate in the Room in the Inn (RITI) Louisville winter shelter program, January-February 2026. What is RITI? RITI Louisville’s community ministry is modeled after a program initially founded in Nashville in 1985 that has been replicated in nearly 40 other locales, including Washington, D.C., Charlotte, N.C., and the Kentucky cities of Bardstown, Bowling Green and Lexington. Nashville today has more than 100 participating congregations that provide temporary overnight shelter during the winter months for individuals experiencing homelessness.

What’s New This Year? More than 20 First U members and friends volunteered for the pilot winter shelter this past winter, contributing to the success of that launch. This winter, RITI Louisville is expanding to a second overnight shelter, offering life-saving relief from frigid nights on the streets for unhoused neighbors amid a shortage of permanent shelter beds. There will be a women’s (and children) shelter at Christ Church Cathedral, and a men’s shelter at Grace Immanuel United Church of Christ, doubling the program’s capacity, providing approximately 1,000 overnight stays for 30-50 guests. The program is supported by volunteers from at least 17 congregations and organizations.

RITI Louisville is now an independent 501(c)(3) organization, able to accept charitable donations. Suzanne Meeks of our Congregation is the President of its Board of Directors. Feed Louisville will be providing dinners at both sites Mondays through Fridays, while congregation volunteers will provide the meals on Saturdays and Sundays.

• How Can I Help? We are beginning to put together volunteer teams. We hope to cover 5-8 nights during the winter months of January and February, spread across the two months. We will need three volunteers for each evening shift (4:30-10 p.m.), two for each overnight shift (10:00 p.m. – 5:00 a.m.), and two for each morning shift (4:45 a.m. – 7:30 a.m.). There are opportunities for men and women to volunteer. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the office.
• Donation If you want to support RITI Louisville but cannot volunteer, consider making a donation. We are especially looking for mattress donors; each mattress costs $350. But every contribution helps, no matter the size! You can donate HERE.