Tweaking the Midweek Structure: A Note from the Editor

I tweaked the usual topic arrangement method. Remember, “bottom doesn’t mean boring!”  If it’s in the last category, it’s just the last category and some of the most amazing things might be there waiting for you! Have suggestions? Want to share something? Contact Barbara in the office.

• FYI: Here are the new announcements, typically things affecting the most people, or things happening right away.
• OOS: Who doesn’t love the “Order of Service” section where one can learn about the awesome Sunday services coming up?
• Review: The FYI has cool stuff… but you may have seen it. There are new people added each week – they haven’t seen it. And if you’re like me, seeing doesn’t equal remembering! I’d suggest at least scrolling the Review section each week.
• GA: A new category! The UUA General Assembly is coming up and guess what? It’s in Louisville this year!!!! How cool is that?
• RE: Definitely not a new category but remember to check for information about various activities that come up.
• Justice (Social and Climate Justice… in other words, the heart of the church?) Check here for updates on activities you’ll want to participate in and support..

Some read via phone, others computers….any thoughts on how to format for both?

Budget Meeting for 2026 Annual Meeting Prep
Sunday, April 26 at 10am in Person in the Social Hall

Please join us to get a sneak peek at the proposed budget for 2026 -2027.  Ask questions, join the conversation, and get ready for the annual meeting!

Green Sanctuary at First U Sunday, April 26 – 10am in the Library

The Seventh Principle team will lead an entertaining and informative session on how getting everyone on board with helping First U attain “Green Sanctuary” status with the UUA is meant to be inclusive, rewarding, and a way to bring a spiritual connection to our environmentally-friendly practices.

Are you curious about Adult Religious Exploration at First U?

Just drop in on any Sunday and try it out with no strings attached! We meet each Sunday at 10 am in the Library. (Join us at 9:45 for our check-ins with one another.) There is never any advance preparation required.  There is also no homework assigned. No RSVP is necessary. Wee bairns may go to childcare or hang with us in the Library. Pre-adults are welcome to join the conversation. Our Sunday morning offerings are designed so you can pop in unannounced – for the first time or after an absence of any duration – yet participate as fully as everyone else if you wish.

Request for Donations: Wheelchair and Adjustable Crutches

Every so often, someone who temporarily needs a wheelchair or crutches asks First U for help finding what they need.  If you have either and don’t need them, please consider donating them.  They would be much appreciated. Contact the office for more information.

Loaning and Volunteering for the UUA

• Loaning Plants for the General Assembly Studio Stage
  The UUA is looking for plants to accent the stage in the ballroom at the Galt House. We usually have a couple of local volunteers to connect with a local nursery to inquire about plant rental. It’s a smaller stage than we have at a more traditional multi-platform General Assembly (at a convention center). Still, we anticipate that we might need 8-10 trees/plants. Anyone interested in offering assistance should contact LaTonya Richardson with the UUA. 
• Volunteering at General Assembly (June 15-22 at Galt House): Anyone interested in volunteering at the studio site – doing a combination of greeting, counting attendance in our breakout rooms, assisting ushers in the ballroom, and/or other support as needed – should contact LaTonya Richardson. 
• The UUA offers complimentary General Assembly registration for volunteers.

That’s A Great Quote on “Flourishing Together?”

If you have a great quote on June’s Soul Matters theme of “Flourishing Together,” please share it with Chalice Circles so we can use the power of community to create a Chalice Circles plan on that theme! If you are curious and have a prompt or question about how other First U members and friends have experienced “flourishing together” send that along too!

Last Chance To Suggest 2026-2027 Soul Matters Themes!

Your input for the ten monthly themes for next year (September through June) is welcome. We have posted a survey HERE Don’t put this off! The survey closes at 11:59 pm on Sunday, April 26 so we can include your thoughts with the Soul Matters team.

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

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

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.

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 Rev. Liz and the 7th Principle Team for this service inspired by ministers along Colorado’s Front Range and by Joanna Macy.

About the Speaker: Rev. Ben is a member at FirstU and a staff chaplain at UofL Health – Jewish Hospital. Ben enjoys cooking, long walks, bike riding, building beloved community and deepening connections. Ben and their wife Sara live in Germantown.

Flower Communion is a uniquely Unitarian ritual, one that’s been with us for over 100 years across at least two continents. On this day, you’re invited to bring a flower to share with your fellow congregants. Together, we’ll build a beautiful bouquet. And you’ll leave with a flower to take home that’s a gift from someone else. This year, we’ll explore our interdependence as well as the rich history of this ritual.

From Our Connections Ministry

General Assembly worship services and workshops are June 19-21, with national business sessions June 14-16. It will be at the Galt House. Some highlights:

• Get to know UUs from around the region and country
• Keynote from Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of the Washington National Cathedral
• Multiple worship services with our faith’s best preachers
• Interactive “Meet the Moment” workshops both in person and online
• Lots of webinar-style workshops you can stream all summer

If you have questions, I (and other General Assembly alums) am available to talk.

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.

Click here for more information about  Children’s RE.

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.

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 shared three Earth Centered action-oriented Sundays this April and will share a Sunday service in May.

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.

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!!