First Sunday Lunch March 1

Join us for lunch Sunday after the service – it’s a great way to make new friends and enjoy community. Menu: lentil stew, crusty bread and dessert.  Suggested donation is $5, first time visitors are our guests.

Membership at First U Lou

We’re celebrating membership this season! If you’re new to the congregation and thinking about formally joining, here are two opportunities. Contact Rev. Liz  with questions.

• 3/1 at 12:30 – Membership Quick Q&A
  A Connections representative and Rev. Liz will be available after service for questions about membership and to help you discern whether you’re ready to join.
• 3/15 at 12:30 – Sign the Book! 
  This is your chance to formally join First U Lou as a member. We will gather in the library after service for a time to sign the membership book.

Looking for a Cool UU  Camp Experience for Youth?

Midwest Unitarian Universalist Youth Camp (MUUYC) is affectionately known as Marwood. Marwood is designed to be a 4-year experience for youth aged 12-15 (rising 7th graders – rising 10th graders) and the majority of campers choose to attend for all four of the summers they are eligible. See more information below in the RE section.

A Fun Way to Support First U: Friday, March 6 

We’re about a week away from the St Paddy’s Day Kickoff event featuring local Celtic band Guilderoy Byrne and the McClanahan Irish Dancers.  The proceeds of this event will 100% support First U!  The event is at First U on Friday March 6 – doors open at 6:30pm and the show begins at 7. Irish-theme foods will be sold – this is a family-friendly (alcohol-free) event.
For us to be successful, we need YOUR help. Make plans to attend, and spread the word as widely as you can (to your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers and on social media). Sign up to help set-up, clean up, in the kitchen, at the door. Look for posters at church to purchase tickets using the QR code – $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Have questions? Contact the office.

NEW: How to Request Childcare for Your Church Event

If you need childcare for your meeting, small group, or other First Unitarian Church event, please read the Childcare Request Guide and fill out the form.  Childcare is contingent on the availability of our staff and not guaranteed. If staff are not available, the Director of Religious Exploration will work with you on finding creative solutions, such as enlisting volunteers. Click here to read the guide and access a request form. Questions? Contact Loren Crawford, Director of Religious Exploration. The link to the guide will also be placed at the bottom of the newsletter with the contact information.

Thank You For Your Help

Thank you to all who have volunteered for your help washing dishes at the “First” Sunday Luncheon on March 8. Some may ask what does using reusable dishes have to do with protecting the environment.  A “Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)” evaluates the environmental impact on energy, emissions, and waste from a product throughout its entire life. LCA’s key stages of any product are: extracting raw materials, making, processing, transporting, distributing, using, and disposing or recycling a product. Both disposables and recyclables go through all of these phases, but the key difference is that disposables use more energy and emit more pollution. They last longer in landfills and in the end have a greater negative environmental impact by emitting greenhouse gasses and contaminating water and soil.  So for every reusable dishware we use at church, we are doing something for the environment. Your help is greatly appreciated.

– A pair of ecologically conscious members

Tone-Deaf Volunteers Needed – Thursdays During Choir Practice

As part of the ongoing effort to make First U more family-friendly, we need help on Thursday evenings during choir rehearsals from people willing to spend time with the children of parents, guardians and caregivers who are in our choir. This time goes beyond childcare as it will enhance the UU faith formation for our “choir kids” and lean into our shared UU values as we build community (and choir) together without having to sing. This is a light lift, especially with more people willing to pitch in. For everyone’s safety and peace of mind, we need two folks each time, but you don’t have to commit to doing this every week. There is light training and the programming is taken care of.  To learn more with no obligation, contact the office.

If you are not tone-deaf, why not join the choir?

No Other Land Viewing: Sunday, March 8, 2:30pm at First U

First U Adult RE will be joining the Jewish Louisvillians for Peace (JLP) and the All Peoples Justice Center to host a screening of the film No Other Land. A trailer for the movie can be viewed here.  Sign up for tickets here.
No Other Land won the 2025 Oscar for Best Documentary at Academy Awards – See acceptance speech here.
Made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective, this film shows the destruction of the occupied West Bank’s Masafer Yatta by Israeli soldiers and the alliance which develops between the Palestinian activist Basel and Israeli journalist Yuval.

Suggested donation: $10/person/film

Lunch with the ROMEOs – Monday, March 9, 11:30am at Locals

Join the “Retired Old Men Eating Out” at Locals on the southwest corner of East Broadway and Logan Street. They plan to meet on the second Monday of every month. Contact the office for more information.

First U Book Club: Monday, March 9

We meet in the church library. This month’s book is Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. We weren’t able to get the book kit for this one, but it’s well worth the investment. Come join us, even if you haven’t read the book! Questions? Contact the church office.

What does First U Lou mean to you? You mean a lot to us! On this pledge kickoff Sunday, we’ll celebrate our collective power and our hopes for how we’ll grow our light in the coming year.

From its beginnings as the Ladies Sewing Society to its embrace of all persons who identify as female, members will share the ways the Alliance has committed to “our great covenant: to dwell together in peace, to seek the truth in love, and to help one another.”

Children’s RE Contact: Loren  

This begins in the sanctuary at 11:00 with the Moment for Ages. They leave during the Song for the Children.

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.
• Check-in begins at 9:45. Class meets in the Church Library at 10am.
• Click here (or see above) for information about the

Looking for a Cool UU  Camp Experience for Youth?

Midwest Unitarian Universalist Youth Camp (MUUYC) is affectionately known as Marwood. Marwood is designed to be a 4-year experience for youth aged 12-15 (rising 7th graders – rising 10th graders) and the majority of campers choose to attend for all four of the summers they are eligible.

Therefore, a potential camper’s best chance to “get in” is the summer before 7th grade.  For summer 2026 we also have spots for rising 8th or 9th graders!

Camp for 2026 will be located at Pilgrim Park Camp and Conference Center in Princeton, IL. July 19th – July 25th. Please see this brochure for details about Pilgrim Park’s facilities and amenities.

Marwood is created each year as a collaborative effort between the campers, the staff, and the mystery we call the Marwood Spirit. With the UU Principles as our guiding light, we strive to create a welcoming community where the expression of our unique individuality is encouraged and celebrated, where friendship connections are fostered, and where growing ourselves into compassionate explorers of life is expected.

First UU has several Marwood alum from the 80’s and 90’s, and several First UU youth will attend this summer. Does your young person want to join camp? You can learn more and complete the application. You can talk with several member families to hear more as well. Campers do not need to have a UU church affiliation to attend.
 Marwood 2026 brochure.pdf

UU the Vote will rise again in 2026,

a very important election year. We will be writing postcards to get out the vote among traditionally under-represented voters in swing states, reminding folx of the important issues and values at stake. We hope that our first postcard campaign will be to get out the vote for the Virginia constitutional amendment to adopt a fair congressional district map — a vote that is currently being blocked by yet another court challenge! Once the Virginia Supreme Court rules (favorably, we expect), we will be writing postcards in the Social Hall after the service. You can also take cards home to write. Come check us out! Questions? Send us an email.

Resources for Resistance

Be sure to view the list of resources above and share with those that need them.

Save the Date: No Kings March : Saturday, March 28

Legislative Monitoring

As you know, the Kentucky Legislature is in Session. To find out what laws and regulations are being considered, to get contact information for your representative, or monitor the process, you can go to this website.