Midweek UUpdate 4/15/26

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We Did It! Thank You!
We are excited to announce that we reached our total pledge goal of $250,000! The final amount is $256,372! Thanks so much to our Members and Friends for helping make this achievement possible for our church and for helping to ‘Grow the Light’. If you have not yet pledged, but would like to, you may still do so by following this link.
 

Again, thank you so much to everyone for your participation this year.
– Matt, Tim, and Alexis

FYI 
 

The Church Endowment Board meets Tuesday, April 21

The meeting is at 5:30pm in the Church library.

First U Book Club: Monday, May 11 at 6pm

Our meeting is the church library (the room behind the sanctuary organ).

From Our Connections Ministry

This Sunday! April 19: New to UU Classes Begin
Our New to UU Classes will start on April 19th This is for any of our members and friends who want to learn more about UUism, our Louisville church history, and UU basic theology through four, one-hour sessions before Sunday services. Visit our link to be included in notices and materials or contact the office.

Everyone: Please Take the Activity Survey

Joining in Church Activities: We are using an activity survey to learn what activities all our members and friends are either engaged in or wish to do at First Unitarian. Help us develop our congregational activity and interest inventory by completing the survey!

Head’s Up: Annual Meeting Report Activity Coming Soon

Leaders of various ministries, groups, and organizations will soon receive notice about the upcoming reports to be shared. If you are a new leader or contact person for your group, please contact the office  to let Barbara know. (Mark the date: reports will be due to the office by Monday, May 4.)

CLCM Needs TP, books & magazines, and coffee add-ins

Central Louisville Community Ministry needs to stock up on toilet paper!  Bring your TP donation any time in the month of April. We are also perpetually in need of books and magazines for our waiting area (we offer them for free to folks), children’s books, and sugar and creamer for the Coffee Ministry.  Thank you!!

Cloth Bags Wanted: Most of the folks who walk to Central Louisville Community Ministries, housed at First U, to pick up groceries and personal care items, have to carry them long distances. Cloth bags would make them easier to carry.  If you have grocery-sized cloth bags to spare, please bring them to church and leave them in one of the baskets in the Library Lane entrance or in the Big Blue Basket in the Sanctuary. They will be greatly appreciated.

April is Earth Month

We place our planet and its inhabitants front and center of our social justice efforts. See below for details.

Join Us for Services on Sundays at 11:00am

April 19
The Art(emis) of Attention
Speaker: Rev. Liz Weber

 

What can we learn about attention and even intention from the Artemis II voyage and crew? They say that what you give your attention to grows.
Is that true, or is it that we feel more deeply the things we attend to? How can we use this idea for good? What is the relationship between attention and intention, and what happens when wonder gets thrown in for good measure?
 

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

April 26

Stepping Off the Ladder
Speaker: Jeff LaBonde
 

Many of us are holding a complex mix of thoughts and feelings about the future. What does it mean to nurture hope when the world feels so fractured? Is it possible to find a hope that is grounded and real? Jeff’s message will explore these questions, seeking a path forward that is built not on easy answers, but on our shared love, with eyes wide open.

About the Speaker
Jeff is a ministerial intern at the UU Church of Lexington whose path has been shaped by a search for grounded, realistic hope. His own journey with epilepsy and multiple brain surgeries has taught him that hope is not blind optimism, but a practice of seeing clearly and persevering. His theological education includes coursework at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Harvard Divinity School, and Starr King School for the Ministry. A classically trained vocalist and music minister, he is deeply committed to religious pluralism and has spent the last decade exploring Taoist and Hindu thought and practices.

Earth Month Activities
 

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.

Earth Month Activities

April is Earth Month at First Unitarian Church and a time we put our planet and its inhabitants front and center of our social justice efforts. The 7th Principle Team invites all to join in support of three Earth Centered action-oriented Sundays this April and a Sunday service in May.
  • April 19 –Water Step – Provides water to communities impacted by a warming Earth
  • April 26 – UUA Green Sanctuary – Aligning our church with UUA environmental stretch goals
  • May 4 – Honoring Earth and all species

RE: Religious Exploration
Contact Loren Crawford, Director of Religious Exploration (DRE)
Learn About More Upcoming RE Opportunities Here
Families Welcome / Childcare Available beginning at 9:30
 

Children’s RE Contact: Loren Crawford

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  Adult RE.

Justice Information

 

Save the Date: CLOUT Nehemiah Action 

Monday, April 20 at 6:30pm
If you’re willing and able, many members and friends part at the church parking lot at 6pm and walk as a unit with First U. Our goal is to have 50 people there from our church. Contact the office for tickets. (Tickets aren’t required, but that’s how they count how many people attend per church.) Childcare is available. Please let Jane know names and ages of kids under about age 8.  Older, more mature kids are okay to attend Assembly!

Save Haven for Transgender Ordinance

Councilman JP Lyninger and Louisville DSA are working hard to pass an ordinance making Louisville a Safe Haven for the transgender community. This has been in development for over a year, with input coming directly from our trans neighbors and other socialists and community members who are heavily invested in public dignity and safety. One of the steps to making this happen is having individuals and organizations sign on to our demand letter.