Midweek UUpdate 4/29/26

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FYI 

Do You Need Help Attending GA? Contact Rev. Liz TODAY!

Our national Unitarian Universalist conference in coming to Louisville in June. The cost is $350 for basic (online access) registration with a sliding scale of $0-300 for the Louisville events (“studio site” access). Please contact Rev. Liz by Wednesday, April 29, if you’d like support with registration fees. Click here or see below for more information about the event.

Carbon Offsets

As summer travel gets closer, here’s a reminder that the Solar Array Project (SAP) at church offers a carbon offset option to reduce the impact of your travels. See below for more information about this project. Click here to learn more about the Environmental Justice happenings at First U.

Women’s Alliance Retreat May 23

Make sure you reserve your place. WA representatives will be in the social hall during coffee hour Sundays, May 3, 10, and 17 to take your registration. The retreat is on May 23 and is $20 and open to all Women’s Alliance members. If you are not a member, you can sign up to be one for $10. Cash and checks only. Checks should be made to Women’s Alliance (not First U)  Contact the office if you have questions.

Justice and First U:

Don’t forget to check the Justice Ministry section. This is a busy time of year.
 

First U Book Club
Monday, May 11 at 6pm

We’ll be discussing A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers. Come join us, even if you haven’t read the book!

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.

Annual Reports Due Friday, May 8

If you are the leader of a church ministry or group and did not receive information about submitting a report, please contact the office. If you are leading a group for the first time, please contact the office. Thanks.

Reminder: I-65 Routes

The ramp by the church to southbound 65 at First Street, near Jacob Street, is closing May 4. The ramp off I-65S at St. Catherine will close at the same time. To remain aware of the current status or sign up for notices, click here.

Join Us for Services on Sundays at 11:00am

Join us May 3

Love Letters to the Future
Rev. Liz Weber with
the 7th Principle Team

What inspires us to work towards climate justice? How are our lives interconnected with the life of our planet? What would we say to the earth and to those who will come after us if we were to write love letters to the future?
Art by Presentation Academy students

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

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.
 
May 10
Curiosity in an Age of Certainty 
Guest Speaker: Rev. Ben Burton

Curiosity and certainty may feel at odds at times. How can we build habits of curiosity to better understand ourselves, our neighbors, or our world?
 

Join us as we celebrate life and consider ways to awaken our curiosity.

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.
 
5/17
Curiosity and Its Cousins

Rev. Liz  Weber
Let’s explore May’s theme of “awakening curiosity” through the lens of what curiosity often sparks: by turns, excitement and gentleness.
How does one spark lead to such different places? What can we learn from these cousins of curiosity? We will also celebrate a Baby/Child Dedication ritual that day!
 
5/31

Flower Communion SundayRev. Liz Weber
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.
 

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.

GA (The Yearly General Assembly of the UUA) 
 

Our national Unitarian Universalist conference is coming to Louisville!
Register here to attend the meetings. If you need financial support to do so, please email Rev. Liz by Wednesday, April 29.
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
There is special reduced pricing during April. The cost is $350 for basic (online access) registration with a sliding scale of $0-300 for the Louisville events (“studio site” access). I would love for everyone who wants to participate to get to go. We have the Minister’s Discretionary Fund for registration fees. Please contact Rev. Liz by Wednesday, April 29, if you’d like support.
If you are interested in representing First U as a delegate for the business portions of the conference, June 14-16, let me or a Board member know. The business agenda is here. Broader information about General Assembly is here.

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

GA Volunteer Requests
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.

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

Are you curious about RE? Click here
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 for information about  Adult RE.

May’s Topics for Adult RE

  • May 3 – Leadership at First U. We’re going to look at the dizzying number of ways everyone is invited to shape the course we take together as a faith community.
  • May 10 – Discussion Cube. We’re going to take some randomly selected questions, conundrums, moral quandaries, dilemmas, and provocative topics – all with a view to having a lively discussion and never coming around to a final resolution.
  • May 17 – An Introduction to OWL – an overview of the award-winning sex ed curriculum co-created by the UUA and the United Church of Christ, explore what happens among the young people who take the course, and examine what OWL looks like for adults.
  • May 24 – Sociocracy for UU. Our annual meeting is coming up and while we neither make or second a motion for an amendment at this time, it’s never too late to bring awareness to the idea that there are excellent ways to run a meeting that look nothing like Robert’s Rules.

Justice Information

Looking for Pride Day Volunteers

Join First U and All Peoples for Louisville’s annual Pride Day on June 20 and we need volunteers! People are needed to help with the Glitter Blessing Booth and the Pride Day Parade! You can help leading up to the event and/or the day. If you’re interested in fun times for a bright cause, please contact the office for more information.

WaterStep Shoe Collection

The shoe collection boxes remain in several locations at church: lobby, library, etc. Your donation of gently-used shoes are brought to the WaterStep headquarters 1 mile away from church. This supports clean drinking water projects in communities all over the world.

Carbon Offsets

As summer travel gets closer, here’s a reminder that the Solar Array Project(SAP) at church offers a carbon offset option to reduce the impact of your travels.  Suggested rates are Domestic flights: $10; International flights: $20: Car travel (average 15,000 miles/yr): $60. These offsets fund First U’s efforts towards reduced consumption and use of sustainable energy, thus reducing the church’s environmental footprint. A contribution to SAP as a carbon offset can be made online using the church website’s “Donate” button and choosing “carbon offset.” Further information about First U’s efforts towards sustainability can be found at the Environmental Justice tab (on the “Justice Ministry” page, found on the drop down menu option under ministries on the church’s website).

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 the Sunday service this Sunday, May 3.

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.